An open letter to Samir Shukla - Page 2

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June 26, 2019: " 'Murder' of a tree: Why modern judiciary needs to rise above anthropomorphism and learn science"

It is interesting to note that you do believe in science, though selectively. You say:

"To start with, a tree is not a permanent storage of CO2. It is just a transit house where CO2 is captured and stored temporarily.

The day a branch or some leaves fall and are burned, as we do in our cities, CO2 returns back to the atmosphere along with some PM 2.5, as partial burning leads to a release to such particles. If you want to argue that burning is not the option, the other exit for a tree is organic decomposition that releases other greenhouses gases like methane."

Not everyone has the training to spot scientific errors and fallacies, and I beg you to not take advantage of that. A tree is not a permanent storage of CO2, but it is an excellent storage of CO2 nonetheless. Yes, the decomposition of trees releases methane. No, the entire tree is not converted to methane after dying. No, the organic decomposition of a tree does not always result in a net release of greenhouse gases. Yes, trees lock up carbon pretty well when alive or after their death. Yes, that's where the whole fossil fuel problem lies -- carbon sequestered by trees and peatlands which was firmly locked up deep in the ground is being released into the atmosphere.

CO2 is not a universal problem. Increasing CO2 in the atmosphere is a problem. Perhaps you should consider science lessons yourself before suggesting them to the judiciary.

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April 20, 2019: "To Greta Thunberg, and all young planet saviours, on dangers of creating a religion when you need a new science"

To be honest, this attempt to equate climate science with religion explains a lot about your motivations. Aligning with religious elements is certainly beneficial in the India of 2019. And in the wake of remarkable anti-science comments as well as policies, it is certainly beneficial to write an article like that. Even though it means publicly denouncing all academic values, I'm sure the benefits far outweigh anything academia can offer to a person like you.

When we take a loved one to a doctor and are handed an alarming diagnosis, we do not ask for a new medical science. If we cannot see the molecular structure of cholesterol or cancer cells ourselves with a naked eye, we do not reject expert advice saying there's "no real proof". Every scientific result must "survive rational scrutiny of logic", no doubt, but your incapability to understand the logic does not render the science wrong.

Turns out, we do know what is right in many situations. Why should Greta tell young people that we don't have answers, when we clearly do?
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October 25, 2018: "Third world nukes and climate change crisis"

Climate debates are forced to repeat the same thoughts again and again and again because people refuse to understand what's going on. There is no point progressing to college mathematics, when someone refuses to try to understand middle school arithmetic. Please do not tell me that a person with the intellectual abilities of becoming a faculty member does not have the ability to understand even the crudest basics of this crisis which affects all of us so much. There are tremendous outreach efforts to explain the facts, including numerous websites and blogs that lay it out to the layman. It is a matter of motivation to open some links and try to read and learn.

Some suggestions:

  1. Climate Change -- The Basics
  2. What You Need to Know About Climate Change
  3. What is climate change?
  4. The Basics of Climate Change
You are gracious enough to accept that the climate is changing (30 years late, but welcome to the group), even though it doesn't seem like a "real climate change crisis" to you. You have written paragraphs on your own unwillingness to change, and then you write posts targeting all those who are changing.

If you'd like to openly be a climate denier, feel free since it is not yet illegal to harm others through your climate crisis-aggravating actions.

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 I'm sure I could go on and on if I subject myself to more of your writing, but I will stop here. I hope I could explain myself clearly. Please do ask if you have questions.

Sincerely,
-Shivangi Tiwari

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