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Regarding the opinion piece by Rev. John Vaudry in the July 17. 2025 edition of the Pembroke Observer and News entitled ‘Creation care meets scientific complexity.’ 

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Rev. Vaudry,

I commend you for reading through Dr. Judith Curry’s book, “Climate Uncertainty and Risk – Rethinking our Response”. The topic of climate change interests me intensely so I did some online research to learn more about Dr. Curry and her work. She was indeed a strong scientific voice on climate change in the earlier part of her career. Over the past 20 years, however, Dr. Curry has shifted her focus to other earth science factors that contribute somewhat minimally to global warming. This shift has caused her climate science colleagues to brand her as a heretic. Dr. Curry’s publications have downplayed the urgency of the climate crisis in her desire for further finely-tuned data. 

There is no doubt that the planet is warming, that human-generated greenhouse gases are in large part to blame, or that the plausible worst-case scenario could be catastrophic. Dr. Curry said that herself, but over the past 20 years Dr. Curry has become known as a climate skeptic. Her recent works diminish the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) strong position that climate change is predominantly human-caused. The IPCC is composed of hundreds of scientists analyzing all available data not just on climate but also on ecosystems, including humans, affected by climate.  

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Dr. Curry hosts a climate change denialism blog. In the past she has been repeatedly invited as a witness to U.S. Congressional hearings and Republican-led House committees to advance their position that humans are not the main contributor to climate change. Some of her statements have been quoted by climate deniers / skeptics (not only in the U.S.) in promoting their own agenda against taking action on climate change. These actions show us that she has left the climate action camp. Dr. Curry is intent on pointing out the things we don’t know, rather than what we do know and what we should do about it. 

Your comments are not incorrect, Rev. Vaudry; climate change is scientific complexity at its height. It involves practically all branches of science. Dr. Curry, along with her colleagues, understand that in science, uncertainty is not the same thing as ignorance; rather, science is a discipline for quantifying what is unknown. The natural climate variability to which you referred may be difficult to predict accurately, but it by no means accounts for the dramatic increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases just in the past sixty years. It is definitely from burning fossil fuels. It’s us. 

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By your quoting bits of Dr. Curry’s works, you are presenting only the climate skeptic’s position on climate change. This aids the mission of the oil and gas industry and climate-denying governments to cloud the issue with less significant questions and data, slowing us down so we don’t take action. People who are uncertain of what to think will use these arguments to say that scientists are vague and divided, so we won’t do anything until we know everything. When people want to dismiss the depth of the climate crisis, they will search out and find those few voices that raise questions or deny the data. We can see this happening right now in the United States. There are unlimited actions that individuals and all levels of government can take right now. Waiting until every person is satisfied that we know everything and that we all agree upon action to be taken, it will be too late. We know what is wrong, we know how to fix it, and we can do it now.   

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If you want to have a balanced examination of climate change, check out Canadian-born Dr. Katharine Hayhoe who is quoted as saying “the six stages of climate denial are: It’s not real. It’s not us. It’s not that bad. It’s too expensive to fix. Aha, here’s a great solution (that actually does nothing). And – oh no! Now it’s too late. You really should have warned us earlier.” If you want to read about one event exacerbated by climate change in Canada, read “Fire Weather” by Canadian-American journalist John Vaillant; it is a fascinating report on the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire and how climate change contributed to the disaster. 

What is at risk here following your opinion piece is that people will use Dr. Curry’s words for releasing humans from their responsibility for good stewardship of air, land, and water. Your opinion piece leans toward questioning the validity of climate change, to which you are entitled, but what we need is to accept that humans have a responsibility to protect the planet that sustains us. Certainly, we see that climate is having dramatic effects on weather, agriculture, oceans, polar regions, wildlife, forests, human health. Certainly, to stop the increasing damage there will need to be changes, some of which will challenge us. You noted that our resources must be developed to maintain our economy. Other Canadian resources significant to our economy, such as agriculture and forestry, are clearly affected by climate change and are showing signs of that stress. We cannot choose between the climate and our economy; they are intertwined and solutions must deal with both. As you said, it is complex. 

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All of us are aware of how easy it is to fall victim to misinformation and disinformation, but we each should do our research. Why does that person hold that opinion? What is their background? Where do they receive their motivation? What do I believe after reading from a variety of sources? What can I do about it? What is my municipality doing? We need to take care in quoting sources that support the easy way out, that allow us to avoid due diligence, that encourage us to avoid taking responsibility for good stewardship of our Earth. Holding strong to climate skepticism is like burying our heads in the sand which only further supports the end goal of the fossil fuel industry: downplaying the impact of extracting and burning fossil fuels for its own economic benefit.  

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Climate change is a real part of our lives now. We need to learn and talk about it. Municipalities and countries are already doing climate risk assessments. Intelligent solutions for reducing greenhouse gases and adapting to worsening climate are abundant. Pembroke will be developing its own climate action plan in the near future. You and I can take action now by adjusting some of the little things in our lives. The municipal level of government is quickest at implementing climate actions, so how do we support them in that? There is no need to wait longer before we take action. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Ann McKay, chair 

Pembroke’s Beautification and Climate Action Committee

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