To the editor:

The bloom is finally coming off the global warming rose. A NASA study of satellite temperature data over the last decade has revealed that global temperatures stopped rising in 1998 and have declined since then. Even the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has grudgingly acknowledged that the temperature has dropped in spite of increasing CO2 production.

This 10-year cooling trend can't be happening, according to the computer climate models that predict warmer temperatures as CO2 increases. When the computer climate predictions don't match what we are actually observing, obviously there is something wrong with the climate models. So when Al Gore says "The science is settled, the debate is over," he is full of baloney. The science clearly is not settled, and simply claiming that the debate is over is a debating tactic designed to avoid debate.

It is with much amusement that I watch the global warmers desperately trying to convince the public that this unforeseen cooling trend, which may last for 10 or 20 years more, is really just a symptom of global warming.

It is worth pointing out that during the post-WWII industrial boom, from 1945 to 1977, we produced more CO2 than ever before and the global temperature kept declining. The "scientific consensus" at that time was that we were entering a glacial period. Scientists were envisioning billion dollar strategies such as placing giant mirrors in space to reflect extra sunlight to the earth to stop the advancing ice caps. Time magazine ominously headlined "The Coming Ice Age."

I guess it's a good thing we didn't spend all those billions fighting global cooling then. The scientific consensus was wrong 30 years ago; what confidence should we have that they are right this time? As the current scientific consensus crumbles and more and more scientists flee the global warming bandwagon, those remaining on board are becoming increasingly hysterical. They are downright angry that their predicted catastrophes have yet to materialize. Imagine that ... upset because millions of people haven't died!

As ski areas open earlier and earlier and snow falls at Foxborough in mid-October, people are beginning to realize that global warming is a fraud. This explains why Obama and his minions are pushing so hard for immediate passage of the Cap and Trade bill. The longer it's delayed, the more people ask why would we destroy what's left of our economy over a problem that only exists in computer models.

Why do global warmists persist in spite of contradictory evidence and data? Are they really that concerned about the environment or is there an ulterior motive? Christine Stewart, the former Canadian Minister of Environment, gives us a glimpse behind the curtain when she said "No matter if the science is all phony, there are collateral environmental benefits ... climate change provides the greatest chance to bring about justice and equality in the world."

This is a stunning admission. It's not about the environment at all; it's about the redistribution of wealth. The environment is merely the current vehicle to accomplish this socialist aim of "redistributive" justice. Don't let it happen, America. Cap and Trade must be stopped.

Rick Gilmore

Haverhill