To the Editor:
Regarding Nis Kildegaard on vaccinations (Soundings, August 6, “If everybody did”), I agree that unless everyone is vaccinated, the epidemiological problems can be difficult. But the writer now goes a step further and compares those who oppose vaccination with those who deny climate change and are therefore ”deniers.”
The comparison is weak. Dow Corning was ruined as a company due to silicone scares that we now know are unfounded. DDT and malaria, Malthusian population explosions, food shortages and commodities scarcity, alar in apples, and all manner of issues were rendered certain by scientists over the last 40 years. We had Carl Sagan in the 70’s ranting about the ice age coming There were many deniers at the time and they were correct. Thousands of scientists are questioning the so-called climate scare and there is plenty of evidence that the globe has not warmed effectively for the last 17 years when carbon emissions were at their highest point.
Are we denying those in the third world an economic opportunity by railing against the dreaded carbon? Millions of lives have been saved and improved due to gas and oil being plentiful, including independence from OPEC and the Middle East turmoil. Mr. Kildegaard should stick to libraries and not venture beyond his capacity. To foreordain things that will come to pass due to the meticulous providence of a writer is intellectual arrogance at its finest.
Andrew Engelman
Vineyard Haven
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