There is a big lie in Burt Rutan’s view of human caused global warming, an Orwellian, overwhelming lie. It’s not on the part of the scientists, though, it’s from Rutan’s own misshapen set of data. If you’ll notice in the Big Lie column (I can’t think of a better description) there are no contrasts of data sets, just the assurance — believe Burt. But Burt Rutan designs aircraft; he has no training in climatology. Would you let a surfer design an oil supertanker?

So let’s look at the data, and we’ll find Rutan wanting in every issue. Satren brings up the tired old Climategate issue, even though six independent panels found the scientists involved not guilty. Did you notice the attempt to use dishonest airplane kit designers to blacken the reputations of reputable scientists? Yes, the scientists are alarmed. Of course they are: Twice in the history of life on this planet runaway greenhouse gasses caused extinctions of 90 percent of life or more.

The current levels of CO2 have caused mile-wide plumes of methane to bubble up from the Arctic Ocean. The tundra has the potential, unless Carbon Dioxide is brought under control, to pump trillions of tons of methane into the atmosphere. Yet, Rutan denies the need to worry. Remember that much methane means 90 percent-plus of life on Earth dies.

There is a common lie that the “alarmist” scientists are motivated by money. The opposite is true: of the 16 “sources” (only four of whom had scientific training in the field) that Rutan published within a soothing syrup editorial in the Wall Street Journal, 12 had connections to energy firms.

Closing the matter, let’s look at the BEST (Berkeley Earth Sciences Team) research on climate change and the possibility of a runaway greenhouse effect. Professor Richard Muller, widely regarded as a skeptic, said, “Global Warming is real.” His team, to avoid charges of cherry picking (which Rutan routinely implies), analyzed 1.6 billion data points. They found more than a 2 to 1 preponderance of evidence for warming. Nor can prejudice be implied for reasons of greed. The research was funded by the Koch Foundation, fossil fuel magnates.

The bottom line is that Burt Rutan is not competent in the field. His data field is biased. Most importantly, he is locked into the carbon cycle energy program and can’t imagine any other way of life. But we must find a new way of life or face a “Great Extinction” of more than 90 percent of life forms on this planet dying, including our own.

JEFF BOURGET

Coeur d’Alene