Lawrence Journal-World opinion section

To the editor:

Ken Meyer, in reaction to Professor Krishtalka’s belittlement of climate change deniers, asks “Are we, mere mortals, supposed to bow down to the unquestioned authority of science?” (Journal World, May 11)

Science is not a fixed set of facts. It is an ongoing, raucous argument about the facts. All human decisions are made by weighing information. In science, that information is asked to be provable, to conform to facts gleaned from repeatable experimentation.

Science is, of course, plagued by the fact that its practitioners are human. Fudging data for personal income, tenure or fame is all too common. But, even the policing of these infractions enforces the concept that scientific truth comes from argument.

Does scientific consensus equal truth? No. Remember that, historically, most scientific theories have been disproved and gone the way of the Earth-centered universe. But, the refusal to honestly address the hard data of climate change is just wishful thinking.