Predictions are part of scientific process

In my letter (Aug. 6, 2023), I referenced several reports describing recent “unprecedented” and "record-breaking" weather events and their adverse consequences.

Monte Heil (Aug. 17, 2023) claimed those reports are based on “junk science” and/or inaccurate reporting by the “liberal” media. Can he verify his claim that those accounts are not factual? Can he disprove the report that some tens of thousands of people died in Europe last year from heat waves? (“Extreme heat is killing more people – and the worst is yet to come.”) Or doesn't he consider those deaths from heat waves exacerbated by climate change to be of serious concern? What about the hundreds that died in the heat wave in the Pacific Northwest in 2021? (“Historic heat wave killed hundreds 2 years ago as it baked the Northwest in rare 110-plus degree heat”)

Will Mr. Heil substantiate his claim that the reports I cited aren't based on reliable evidence? Or will he just continue to ignore the increasing human and economic costs associated with these extreme weather events and pretend everything is hunky-dory? (“2023 Energy Trend: The Economic Cost of Climate Change”)

Mr. Heil (Aug. 27, 2023) asserts science doesn't deal with predictions. As anyone with a basic familiarity with the subject knows, predictions are an essential element of the scientific process.

JACK DeBAUN

Dover