OPINION:
Most of us remember hearing, beginning in the late 1990s, that on Jan. 1, 2000, almost every computer on the planet would go haywire because it might not be able to interpret dates like 01/01/00. Business, government, nonprofit organizations and even individuals spent a collective fortune trying to figure out what to do about the problem.
As New Year’s Day approached, we all held our breath, and nothing happened. The computers accepted the new date just fine, even with antiquated software.
More recently, the dire fossil-fuel shortage we were told we faced was blown away by huge new discoveries of natural gas right here in the United States. Again, the “experts” got it wrong.
In recent weeks, we were warned of all the dreadful things that might happen because of a record-size solar flare (“Solar storm shakes Earth magnetic field,” Web, Friday). It would disrupt satellites, communication, aviation and who knew what else - all starting on March 8. But again, nothing happened.
The “experts” seem to be a Greek chorus, constantly warning of this crisis or that, and none of their predictions seems to develop as predicted. So my question is this: Why, when the scientists and “experts” who make these predictions are so often wrong, should we slavishly believe them when they tell us about all the evils of global warming, or anything else, for that matter?
LYNDA MEYERS
Arlington
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