Bogus climate-change claims

Regarding Larry Treffry’s letter of Feb 13: The ancient Greeks knew Earth was round, as it always cast a round shadow on the moon no matter what the orientation of sun, Earth and moon during a lunar eclipse. They also knew Earth’s size, the moon’s size, and the distance to the moon. At no time since did serious scholars believe in a flat Earth because they studied the writings of the Greeks. X-rays were discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Roentgen. Lord Kelvin did in fact call it a hoax, but when sent a paper by Roentgen himself, Kelvin reversed his opinion and offered congratulations, hardly the actions of a foolish “expert.”

Alas, shoddy “scholarship” such as Treffry’s is not only rife, but essential in 2019 to deny evidence and sustain the community of climate-change deniers. It will remain rife so long as there is so much financial gain to keep it so. And sorry, Mr. Treffry, the snake oil is in that big bottle you already bought.

Brian Houser, professor of physics, Eastern Washington University

Cheney