Letter: Caloric theory

Published: Friday, February 28, 2014 at 04:46 PM.

If you disagree with the president, you are a racist. If you are not a Hillary fan, you are misogynous. Similarly, if you do not accept man-caused climate change, you are a knuckle-dragging Neanderthal, because the “consensus” is in, or it is “settled science.” There is nothing more intellectually vacuous than those words — words designed to shut off debate. The experts are always right. Bunk.

Allow me to offer up this gem: from the science of thermodynamics there was caloric theory. This theory postulated that heat was a fluid called caloric that was present in all materials and could be observed as heat, such as that released during a machining operation. The roots of this theory go back to the ancient Greek philosophers. For centuries it was accepted as “settled” science.  The developments during the industrial revolution eventually resulted in the debunking of caloric theory, replacing it with the first law of thermodynamics. 

Thermodynamics is a difficult science. But the principles it offers can be and have been demonstrated in many laboratories. Not so with climate science. The climate is a chaotic array of phenomena that cannot easily be isolated and demonstrated in a laboratory.  So opinions are offered, and they are varied. I suspect that the ultimate verdict will only present itself in hindsight, if ever.  Meanwhile, one should consider the cost to our economy and our way of life that will result from policies enacted under the assumption that man-caused climate change is absolutely correct.


Stephen J. Przybylko, New Bern


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