Action on climate change laudable

Charles Krauthammer's July 7 column, “Obama's global-warming folly,” contained some untruths as well as bad advice. He claims that “global temperatures have been flat for 16 years.” In fact, the 17 warmest years on record globally have occurred in the last 18 years. He concedes global warming and would even like to reduce carbon dioxide, but he doesn't think the president's plan will do anything about it.

If burning coal is producing carbon dioxide, wouldn't cutting coal-burning reduce carbon dioxide? And if subsidizing clean energy sources such as wind, sun and water will decrease carbon dioxide, then yes, the president's plan will decrease carbon dioxide.

Krauthammer says that no matter what we do, other countries will go on producing carbon dioxide. Is that an argument to keep on doing it?

I think far from being folly, President Barack Obama has taken bold steps to do something we all know we should do. And that's not our religion telling us that, though it does. It's science.

And to keep on debating something that's settled is only an attempt to keep us from doing something about it.

Charles R. Crawley

Cedar Rapids