Vast Majority of Dedicated Scientists Should Not Suffer Because of a Few Grandstanders

Models have always played a role in the development of public policies that deal with “reality.” A case in point is the atomic model of matter, which convinced a number of scientists (and Roosevelt) that an atomic bomb was possible. Thus, it is hardly surprising that people making public policies that could affect the earth’s atmosphere are interested in the work of scientists who are modeling it.

Models can be wrong. But they are not wrong because they are models. Meteorological models are new and complex. But, like Newton’s model of the universe, a fairly accurate model can be quite useful until a better one comes along.

RICHARD S. MARKEN

Los Angeles