I agree with T. Nelson Thompson that oil companies have lied and controlled the politics of global warming for decades (“From science to spin,” Star-Advertiser, Jan. 11).
However, we must not allow their behavior to shift the responsibility for climate change away from ourselves. We, the public, are the ones who fill our gas tanks, fly in planes, use mountains of plastic, re-elect the politicians who support those companies, and act too slowly to significantly slow the rate of global warming.
We have known that increased CO2 could cause atmospheric warming for over a century. First demonstrated in 1896, it was accepted science by the 1950s, when the Mauna Loa Observatory was built to measure CO2 in the atmosphere.
We must continue our efforts to rapidly convert to a sustainable energy economy. This can only happen when we take responsibility for our own actions: with our votes and shopping choices, and with all of our lifestyle choices.
Michael Richards
Kaneohe
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