Human contribution to climate change is clear

By Mark Bird, Las Vegas

Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017 | 2 a.m.

Relative to global warming, for each of the following, research is more than 99.99 percent certain that:

• More than 7 billion humans eat and drink on a daily basis.

• It takes energy to produce tractors, shovels and all other farm equipment.

• It takes energy to daily produce tin cans, cereal boxes, water bottles, etc.

• Millions of refrigerated and nonrefrigerated trucks daily drive products to stores.

• Billions of humans regularly travel to and from grocery stores.

• Millions of global warming-contributing garbage trucks daily pick up food waste.

• Humans use more than a billion vehicles that produce global warming gases.

• Humans manage more than a billion animals that produce global warming gases.

• Humans use more than a billion appliances that produce global warming gases.

• Humans use more than 40,000 airports and thousands of coal-based power plants.

• The U.S. has thousands of miles of shoreline.

Slightly less data were well established over a decade ago. The belief that humans are not contributing to global warming is analogous to not believing in the multiplication table. Global warming skepticism is a sign of blatant illiteracy.

The writer, a professor at College of Southern Nevada, has written numerous articles about global warming.