To the editor:
Maine recently set a record high temperature and a record low temperature.
We are told the world is on fire and extremes are becoming the new normal. Last week we watched as children rallied around the world to protest what we are doing to our planet. Al Gore was awarded a Nobel Peace prize in 2007 and 16-year-old Greta Thunberg may also receive a prize for her scolding of world leaders at the UN. Governor Mills recently addressed the UN Climate Action Summit and pledged Maine will be carbon neutral by 2045.
Maine’s record high is “today” in geological time; specifically, it was on July 10, 1911, 108 years ago. At that time, Czar Nicholas II was the emperor of Russia, The Great War (World War 1) was several years in the future, and the Model T Ford was only in its third year of production. Thirty-four states (68 percent) have record highs more than 50 years old. Only two states have set record highs in the last 20 years.
Low temperature records also do not support the often-stated extremes. Fourteen states have record lows over 100 years old. Only three states, Maine included, have set record lows in the last 20 years. A review of temperature records in world capitals shows Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America with some records set over 100 years ago.
The “scientific” argument for “man caused global warming” is even less compelling than a review of temperature records, but that is for another letter. A thought to ponder: If man could rid the planet of all greenhouse gases, world temperatures would drop to about 0 degrees Fahrenheit, most water would be frozen, and vegetation would die — a true doomsday event.
Joe Grant
1966 Houlton High School Graduate
Wiscasset
