To the editor:

It’s hard to know where to begin to correct the misinformation contained in Jed Dukett’s recent Enterprise article (Ignoring the bias in climate change science, 1/11/2025).

Despite his many allegations, increasing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere are well worth worrying about and there is near universal consensus in the scientific community that that is the case. CO2 is not “theoretically” warming the planet.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, human activities — not the sun, as Mr. Dukett claims — are estimated to have caused approximately 1.0 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) of global warming above pre-industrial levels, with a likely range of 0.8 degrees Celsius to 1.2 degrees Celsius.

Global warming is likely to reach 1.5 degree Celsius between 2030 and 2052 if it continues to increase at the current rate. This may not sound like a lot, but the consequences are devastating in the United States and around the world and are only getting worse. Sea level rises, ocean acidification, wildfires and severe storms, flooding and drought have all been linked directly to anthropogenic (human-caused) activities such as burning fossil fuels.

Mr. Dukett claims that Arctic summer sea ice is not melting as predicted. False. The National Snow and Ice Data Center, which has been tracking sea ice for decades states that “Including 2024, the downward linear trend in Arctic Sea ice extent for September is 78,000 square kilometers (30,000 square miles) per year, or 12.13 percent per decade relative to the 1981 to 2010 average.

Based on the linear trend, since 1979, September has lost 1.61 million square kilometers (622,000 square miles) of sea ice, which is roughly equivalent to the state of Alaska or the country of Iran. That sounds like a melting trend to me and one that should alarm us.

Mr. Dukett is right about one thing. Sulphur Dioxide, SO2, does mask the effect of CO2 in the atmosphere and causes cooling. But according to the MIT, it’s a well-known fact that CO2 is winning the battle and that the atmosphere is warming, rapidly.

Mr. Dukett concludes that we shouldn’t be concerned about human-made CO2 in our atmosphere and goes on further to suggest that it is “a benign opportunity for the planet.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Try telling the millions of climate refugees around the world that have been forced to flee from devastating floods, droughts, fires, hurricanes and extreme heat that a rapidly warming planet is an opportunity. I’m pretty sure they would beg to differ.

Joe Martens

Former Commissioner of the NYS DEC

Lake Placid