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Mason is misguided

Dear Editor:This is in response to Mike Mason’s letter to the editor of The Aspen Times of Friday, March 23.I admit, I’m no scientist, nor am I a parrot or hysterical; I just think Mike Mason is somewhat misguided in regards to global warming. Science sometimes gets its start in accumulating the facts from a gut instinct, and my gut tells me that all the crap we’re throwing up into our air is not helping what may well be a “normal” climatic shift.Like evolution vs. creationism, it doesn’t necessarily have to be an either/or proposition; it can very well be both (geez, I’m surprised I have to point this out!). There are a lot of dispassionate scientists lined up with armloads of ample evidence pointing to the reality of global warming. It may well be that humans didn’t start this warming shift, but human activities certainly aren’t making matters any better (the frequency and intensity of hurricanes and glacial melting, to cite but two instances). All the evidence accumulated thus far points to fossil-fuel burning as the likely culprit for the rapidity of the global climatic warming trend.If I was really the suspicious type, I might be tempted to think Mr. Mason was shilling for the fossil-fuels industry and the Bush administration.OK, I promise not to push the “global warming” thing anymore, Mike, but will you be willing to say you’re sorry if I happen to be proven right about it? (And I promise not to say “I told you so.”) A really good scientist needs to be able to think “whole-istically” rather than “dualistically.” Frankly, I can’t fathom why science and passion need to be mutually exclusive.Bob KeenanCarbondale