Cliff Harris, in his Jan. 31 column, says both the Roman Heyday and the Medieval Climactic Anomaly were warmer than the ‘80s and ‘90s. He argues that Greenland was a verdant place. According to Eric the Red's Saga Eric was running a scam; he named it that because nobody would want to go to "Blasted, Cold, Hardscrabble Land." According to three different data sources the global temperature during the MCA was slightly lower than the Twentieth Century.

Harris claims that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declares global temperatures have dropped since the 1990s. David Easterling of NOAA, in January 2011, "There has been some notion that the climate ceased warming in 2005. This just lacks credibility."

Mr. Harris claims that glaciers are advancing at an "alarming rate." Not so, according to Skeptical Science magazine. "While there are isolated cases of growing glaciers, the overwhelming trend in glaciers is retreat. In fact, the global melt rate has been accelerating since the mid-1970s."

Harris argues that during October and November 2008 Arctic ice pack grew at an unmatched rate. October and November are the months when the Arctic Ocean freezes. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, January 2011 set an all-time low size for Arctic Ocean Ice. Harris' discussion of the increased snowfall and cold winters ignores a basic fact. The Arctic and Antarctic are warming. This increases the amount of moisture in the atmosphere. Tie that into the fact that lack of ice cover causes cold air to pass out from the higher latitudes. Of course you get cold wet winters, except in the Arctic and the Antarctic.

Cliff Harris lacks documentation. He ignores current information. I'll put this as kindly as possible. Climate change is here, it will cause record temperatures both high and low and if we don't act now, life on this planet will suffer a catastrophic die off.

JEFFREY E. BOURGET

Coeur d'Alene