Please help me refute the points in this global warming LTTE!

[bbernardini]

The "gentleman" who wrote this is a regular in the Editorial section. His singular goal in life seems to be to shoot down anybody who thinks global warming might be a problem. Of course, he always fails to mention that he works for Lyondell, a self-described "leading global producer of chemicals, fuels and plastics." One of Lyondell's subsidies is Equistar, "one of the largest producers of ethylene, propylene and polyethylene in North America and a leading producer of ethylene oxide, ethylene glycol, high value-added specialty polymers and polymeric powder." Both companies have had pollution complaints, particularly in Texas. According to one report, "Lyondell’s Channelview plant is the nation’s No. 1 polluter of 1,3-Butadiene."

Anyway, here's the bulk of the letter, which conveniently fit into four paragraphs:

First and foremost, the scientific community has not come to an “overwhelming majority decision that human actions are affecting our climate in a negative manner.” A 2003 German survey of 530 climate scientists from 27 countries found that although 82 percent believe that global warming is happening, 56 percent believed it was mostly due to human activity, and only 35 percent believed that models can accurately predict future climate conditions (Heartland Institute Web site). This view mirrors that of the American people polled in 2006 by the Pew Trust: 70 percent believe global warming is happening, 41 percent believe it is due to human causes and 19 percent think it is a high-priority issue.

Over 19,000 American scientists, including this one, are signatories of the global warming petition which states “There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the Earth’s climate. Moreover, there is substantial scientific evidence that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide produce many beneficial effects upon the natural plant and animal environments of the Earth.”

Last week, following an international conference in New York City featuring hundreds of scientists who say global warming is not a crisis, a new survey of 51,000 professional engineers, geologists, and geophysicists in Alberta, Canada, found only 26 percent believe global warming is caused by human activity, and 68 percent disagree with the popular statement that “the debate on the scientific causes of recent climate change is settled.”
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That’s a lot of very knowledgeable people who disagree with the notion that the “global warming debate is over.” If immediate action needs to be taken, it is that Mr. Long and the minority who share his beliefs stop telling everyone else to shut up and start listening.