Calgary Sun Columnist Licia Corbella suggests today that Canada ignore climate change because Canada’s contribution to greenhouse gas emission worldwide is just two per cent. Then she quotes denier-of-the-day Dr. Willie Soon, saying, “If all of Canadian man-made CO2 was removed, the effect on the Earth’s temperature would be minuscule – immeasurable.”

Is that the new standard for whether you should do the right thing? By that logic, the litter dropped by a single individual is irrelevant, so we should all feel fine throwing our burger bags out the window. For that matter, Corbella should be allowed to shoot her partner, her boss – or even me – because it would make only a 0.15-per-cent difference to Canada’s annual murder rate. Selfish, anti-social behavior cannot be justified by its statistical insignificance.

Corbella also quotes Dr. Tim Ball saying, “The world has actually been cooling since 1998 even though man-made CO2 levels have increased.”

Look at the attached graph and ask yourself whether Ball’s contention is an accurate statement offered in good faith by a knowledgeable climatologist, or a malicious bit of deception put forth by someone who should know better. The burden on scientists (and journalists) should be to present reasoned and reasonable argument, not to trick and deceive, and certainly not to provoke irresponsible behavior.