John Jones ("Letter: Sunday's carbon dioxide article was utter bunk", Letters, Nov. 1) claims that the greenhouse effect is a myth, and provides scientific-like statements to support his position.

Fortunately, he is wrong. The earth's mean surface temperature can only be explained through the greenhouse effect, primarily associated with low-concentration gases including water vapor, carbon dioxide and methane.

Without the heat-trapping effects of these gases, the planet would be about 60 degrees Fahrenheit cooler. This was already explained to Mr. Jones in a letter by Andreas Schmittner in the weekday Gazette-Times on Oct. 12. There are numerous web sites, text books and general science books that explain the effect.

Mr. Jones then explains what he really doesn't like; a group whose goals include social justice and a fair distribution of wealth and power. How do you argue against social justice? How can you even argue against "fair distribution"? Nothing in that statement says "equal distributio," just "fair."

Judging by polls, the climate-change denialist movement in the U.S. has had a good year. Mr. Jones, in his fight against the promotion of social justice and fairness, can claim some credit. The U.S. runs a significant risk, however, of being left behind in the global race for engineering solutions to a real problem, precisely because the public is so easily swayed by pseudo-science.

This doesn't augur well for the free market, or the American way of life, or whatever it is that Mr. Jones thinks he is protecting.

Laurence Padman, Corvallis