In his Dec. 2 column, “News continues to expose false ‘global warming’ claims,” M. D. Harmon cites recently released emails that he claims expose a “hoax.” After a brief web search, I found several original documents, not the skeptics’ interpretation based on the emails that he cites.

Scientists playing politics for funding is nothing new. But also well known is the extent to which oil company executives and others have vested interests in discrediting evidence of climate change.

Writing in Forbes magazine, conservative Steve Zwick says, “We have scientists kicking around ideas, criticizing each other, disagreeing, getting angry, and changing their views as new information comes to light — all in a valiant effort to create a massive document summarizing complex scientific issues on which there is broad consensus (except) the degree to which man is causing the climate to change.”

NASA has concluded there’s a problem — check its website. And the Pentagon issued a report nearly two years ago citing climate change as a major concern for national security.

So what if, as Harmon and skeptics contend, everyone’s worrying unnecessarily? If they’re wrong, we merely would have become more efficient and healthier. If they’re right and we don’t fix it, there will be a point when there’s no turning back.

The most vulnerable populations will be affected first and we all will pay for the ensuing turmoil — drought, famine, disease, depleted resources, refugees and war. And these events are already occurring. The Portland Press Herald is positioning itself as one of the best newspapers in the region so why continue to publish a columnist who promotes such blatant misrepresentations?

Dawn Leland is a resident of Portland.