Why I love science and defend it

I admire our scientific community and the scientific method.  Could any pilot not admire science? I am a helicopter pilot who flew safely for thirty years through various weather and at the end of the day enjoyed, when I could find one, a cold beer. Helicopters are a wonder of science sometimes defined as 10,000 parts flying in loose formation. Flight planning is made possible only by the diligence of the atmospheric scientist. And, we helicopter pilots especially those that worked in 100-degree heat dispersing supplies to the US Navy in the Arabian Gulf, we appreciated refrigeration and air conditioning. In port, there was always a cold beer to celebrate another successful mission. The science wizards of chemistry and physics are the ones that make our modern life possible and they are also the ones who warn us of impending danger. The most strident warnings are about climate.

Rapid glacial melt in Alaska caught my attention. I saw this, myself. To understand what was happening, I went to the world’s best scientists, the US National Academy of Science. NAS was formed in 1861 and signed into existence by Abraham Lincoln. It has been, ever since, our trusted independent source of scientific advice. World-wide, there are 33 sister and brother national academies and they all agree we must stop putting greenhouse gasses into the air.  That means we need to cease burning coal, oil, and gas as soon as possible. The NAS official warning started in 2005.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science, AAAS, is the largest general science organization in the world. It is even more strident in its warnings.  

Similarly, the American Meteorological Society, AMS has firm well researched warnings. 

It takes a little bit of work to find their position papers on climate science, but I did find these and many more.  I spent weeks knocking around reputable web-sites including the American Chemical Society, the Physical Society, the American Geophysical Union, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the National Snow and Ice Data Center, NASA and NOAA. There is near total scientific agreement.  

I am 66 so “knocking around” web-sites can be a frustrating chore. I am a member of the digitally challenged. One way to make searching easier is to go to your local library. You might as well, you already paid to use it.   We have libraries in Mercer, Hurley, Ironwood, Bessemer, Wakefield and at the GCC. Librarians and Libraries are valuable resources terribly underutilized.


I subscribe to the National Geographic, Science News, The Scientific American, Discovery and the Skeptical Inquirer. If there are any science organization happy with the current administration and our withdrawal from the Paris Climate agreement, none of these magazines have noted their pleasure. Call me if you wish and I will mail or e-mail you the articles expressing dissatisfaction. 906-285-3702

If you value science and want scientists to work and publish and work independent of political intimidation a fine organization to join is the Union of Concerned Scientists. Today, more than ever, scientists need our support.

Greyson Morrow

Tip of the day: Minimize the time your car idles. A car only needs to warm about a minute prior to a slow acceleration first thing in the morning. If you are idling, you are burning your paycheck and you are putting eight pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere per gallon of gas burned. What the heck? Yeh, it is cold but are we not Yoopers? 

Reference of the Day: NASA:  https://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/

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