Editor:
    Your pink lead story on Oct. 26 with a young lady in a wetsuit in Dock Square is really irritating and in my opinion, nonsensical. I have one question for Step It Up: Can you prove man-induced global warming will cause the catastrophes you so easily throw out? I’ll bet you’re basing it on Al Gore’s movie.
    There are so many world-renowned scientists and experts on climatology who refute the kind of predictions made by this group. Is it possible the “jury is still out?” Why try to scare the folks, the elderly, the CHILDREN with the thought that their fine town may soon be under water? I don’t think they’ll get either party or any president to shortstop the economy based on a hunch, not even the four shown on their Web site. Well, maybe Kucinich. If I’m right and Washington agrees to few or none of their demands, what happens to the predictions? They’re telling you, say goodbye to your little town.
    There are countless eminent scholars and so much material to refute this scare tactic, but I don’t have the time or space to get into a debate. If Step It Up is so certain of its findings, why does the group say 20 endangered towns, including Kennebunkport, will be affected IF the sea level rises more than six meters. Are they sure of that six-meter measurement? I think a 19-foot rise in the Atlantic might have done damage even in the 1970s, when the prediction was “global cooling.”
    I have a lengthy treatise I could make available to anyone wanting to examine this scare strategy or maybe to learn facts. It’s called “Fire and Ice.” Its opening argument reveals how reporting on climates has changed over time. From The New York Times, these four examples:  Sept. 18, 1924: “MacMillan Reports Signs of New Ice Age”; March 27, 1933: “America in Longest Warm Spell Since 1776; “Temperature Line Records a 25-year Rise”; May 21, 1975: “Scientists Ponder Why World’s Climate is Changing”; “A Major Cooling Widely Considered to be Inevitable”; Dec. 27, 2005: “Past Hot Times Hold Few Reasons to Relax About New Warming.”
    Now we add this: 20 Maine communities will be under water IF the Atlantic rises 19 feet. You think?
    I’m not an authority and I don’t disagree that sometimes it’s warmer than other times and I’ve seen icebergs “calve” so I know nature is in action. Before you buy their argument, make them prove their position. Perhaps a wager would be good. Or you can start doing your own research and get both sides. While they’re running around telling you “the sky is falling” – and by the time you read this - I’ll be on my way to Florida. We had a frost the other morning. It’s warmer down there.

Arthur Thoms
Kennebunk