Willfully uncertain about science

Sue Lani Madsen is a willfully ignorant skeptic when she mixes political science with earth science (June 3 column). Madsen, like President Trump, attempts to create doubt. She claims an economic injustice was perpetrated by the voluntary Paris Climate Accords. The victim in this case wasn’t American workers but earth climate science.

Republicans love to cut funding for NASA earth science missions as the scientific data gathered might lead to enlightenment and a change of energy policy. Madsen can’t have data that contradicts her political view, so she questions science by citing uncertainty. She points to science being wrong in its predictions in order to create political doubt. Back in the day, Madsen would suggest that not all of Newton’s apples fell to the ground, creating uncertainty about the law of gravity.

After listening to Trump and reading Madsen, I can predict with certainty how they will respond to data and facts. We get lots of willful ignorance, deflection and denial. They don’t even believe the temperature readings taken from thousands of thermometers over decades of time. All they need is one dyslexic thermometer reader to invalidate all other readings.

Pete Scobby

Newport