Maybe it’s considered “editorial balance,” but it’s disappointing to see the Spokesman-Review provide a platform to pseudoscientific, conspiratorial arguments related to climate change.

Science is not a set of beliefs, but a process based on observation and measurement. Measurements from our atmosphere, oceans and polar ice show us that human activity is raising the earth’s temperature and destabilizing our climatic systems. In the face of this evidence, few now will outright deny climate change. Now, critics argue that the climate has always been changing and always will, with or without our action. It’s true that the earth’s climate has undergone major swings, but those changes occurred over millennia. Since 1960, we’ve increased atmospheric CO2 levels by one-third, to well beyond what the earth has seen in over 400,000 years.

The science is settled. To preserve our planet and our communities, we need action to reduce our dependence on climate-polluting energy. Climate change is a global problem that requires global and local action. Locally, we’re making great strides to make our communities more sustainable and resilient, with the funding of the Central City Line, infrastructure improvements to promote walking and biking, and Spokane’s pledge to increase the city’s tree canopy by 30% by 2030.

The Spokesman-Review is an authoritative, reliable source of news in our community about these and other important signs of progress, but the paper should reconsider its Opinion section policies. Views that lack scientific credibility and cloud and confuse important issues do no service to our community.

Pablo Monsivais

Spokane