I read with disgust the recent letter from Russ Donnelly. He found it exhilarating that a gathering of like-minded citizens voiced no differences of opinion (scary) regarding whether climate change exists. I think he needs to get out more often where he would discover a vast difference in valid opinions. This chorus has for decades warned us of global warming. Now that no warming has taken place for the last 15 years, they have changed their chant to warn us of “climate change.”

In the ’70s, they forecast an upcoming ice age. I recall many severe climatic events that have occurred since I was young in Iowa 60 years ago. We had horrific tornadoes, extremely hot summers (110 degrees and above) and extremely cold winters (10 to 15 degrees below zero). From year to year, the weather “varied.” Apparently, we were not enlightened enough to label it “climate change.”

The real intentions of groups like the Bend Citizens Climate Lobby rarely get exposed. They accuse others of being “deniers” while labeling those who bring up legitimate questions as being “flat Earthers” and blind to reality as they see it. Truth be known, their goal is to achieve a level of control over the U.S. economy, using crippling regulations to redistribute wealth from top to bottom. In the end, the bottom may shrink to a new low.

Donnelly is naive to state that his solutions would be revenue neutral to the end users of electric power. Any of his planned escalating costs incurred by power companies “will” be passed on to us, the consumers, as coal, oil and natural gas slowly become banned. Remember candidate Obama stating that electric bills should necessarily increase? Well, as power companies are encouraged (forced) to move to cleaner energy sources, be prepared to see your electric bills increase exponentially.

Also, these cleaner sources are a total joke. Just take a drive up U.S. Highway 97 and note the worthless wind farm just south of the Columbia Gorge. Most of my many trips past that wasteland have revealed 50 percent of the turbines stopped from lack of wind or due to maintenance shutdowns. Doesn’t Donnelly know that a backup power supply must be at the ready when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine? This absolute fact is completely ignored. But it won’t be ignored when your power bill shows up in the mail.

The most pathetic point that he fails to note is that, as we choke our economy with strangling regulations that will have absolutely no positive end results, much of the rest of the world, including China, India and Russia, is ignoring his plea that the sky is falling.

Here in the U.S., coal, oil and natural gas continue to show consistent progress in getting cleaner. However, the current administration in Washington and the unrealistic demands of the environmental wackos appear determined to drive these reliable sources of power out of business. We all want cleaner air and water, and they both continue to show great improvement here in the states. L.A. and Denver air quality is far better than 20 years ago. The Willamette River is much cleaner than when I moved here in the ’70s. We can continue to work toward a cleaner environment without crippling our economy and our future.

— Perry Pattison lives in Bend.