Research history when it comes to climate change

The statement “far more people die from being too cold than too warm” is absolutely accurate. In fact, globally, approximately five times more people die from cold than heat. In the United States, heat deaths have declined by approximately half since 1960. That the author of the referenced letter decides to change the argument to “health impacts” does not change the fact that cold is more often fatal than heat.

The letter also mentions “impacts of climate change, including more frequent and severe heat waves, droughts and storms.” This is absolutely false; the peak intensity and frequency of heat waves was in the 1930s. There has been no increase in droughts or floods in the United States when one looks at actual historical data. For storms, there is no trend in hurricanes, either in terms of frequency or intensity, but there is a downward trend in the number of tornadoes. 

It should also be noted that the peak in wildfires, in terms of acreage burned, also occurred in the 1930s with approximately five times the number of acres burned than we see today. This decade, not surprisingly, was when most of the U.S.’s high temperature records were set, and was obviously well before any significant increase in CO2. 

All this data is from U.S. government websites, if people would take the time to look for it, rather than depend on climate models, which don’t match historical observations.

Bob Cohen 

Menlo Park