Jeremy Conlin (Nov. 4, 2018, Daily Bee) characterizes my evidence-based criticism of climate-change denier, Joe Bastardi, as an “attack” using “personal derision and innuendo.” Yet in his letter of Sept. 18, 2018, he ridicules mainstream climate scientists, calling them “climate alarmists” who “merely want to promote fear.” Why the double standard?

The fact Mr. Conlin would dredge up the long-debunked “Climategate” conspiracy reveals how willing he is to scrape the bottom of the barrel of denialist misinformation. For a detailed refutation of this manufactured fake news, see “ClimateGate” at ossfoundation.us.

CO2 and temperature fluctuations on geological time scales involve complex relationships. Sometimes maxima in carbon dioxide levels lag temperature extremes. For an explanation, see “CO2 lags temperature — what does it mean?” at skepticalscience.com. That substantial variations in CO2 levels and temperatures have occurred throughout the Earth’s history is not in dispute. What is of immediate concern to at least 90 percent of the world’s climate scientists is what has happened (and is now happening) since the beginning of the industrial revolution.

Climate scientists have evaluated the natural drivers of temperature change such as orbital cycles, solar radiation, volcanic eruptions, El-Nino Southern oscillations, rock weathering, and albedo. Taking all the natural factors into consideration, the Earth’s temperature should now be cooling somewhat. The only driver that can account for the fact that global temperatures are now rapidly increasing is the production of human-produced greenhouse gasses, primarily CO2. If not human influences, to what do climate contrarians attribute the increase?

JACK DeBAUN

Sandpoint