In my letter of Oct. 8, 2020, I stated that two climate change contrarians, Roy Spencer and Joe Bastardi, are “discredited sources.” Monte Heil (Daily Bee, Nov. 3, 2020) insists that I must provide justification for that conclusion. In past letters, I have done precisely that. Unfortunately, I cannot compel Mr. Heil to carefully read my responses. For further clarification concerning Spencer, see: “Climate Misinformation by source: Roy Spencer.” And for Bastardi, who is not a climate scientist, see: “Climate Misinformation by source: Joe Bastardi.”

Mr, Heil recommends books on climate change by these authors. The affiliation of these authors with a fossil-fuel funded think tank is reason enough to question the reliability of their opinions on the subject. However, it is their habitual dissemination of misinformation and lack of scientific rigor that clearly discredits them. Their books give a misleading, self-serving assessment of the current science. I recommend the “Skeptical Science” website for a mainstream science perspective on the subject.

Mr. Heil rejects/ignores the near unanimous consensus of the world's top climate experts who overwhelmingly agree that anthropogenic warming is a serious reality. Will he please explain why we should give more credence to his opinions on the matter than to the strong consensus of experts? He is so preoccupied accusing others of committing logical fallacies that he is blind to his own, e.g., cherry picking, suppressing evidence, making hasty generalizations, appeals to false authority, inflation of conflict, special pleading, and wishful thinking. He is an exemplary poster child for the Dunning-Kruger Effect.

JACK DeBAUN

Dover