Springfield High School chemistry teacher Don Goff has been following the global warming debate for several years, and says “it really comes down to the fact that there’s no conclusive evidence.”
University of Illinois Springfield professor Jim Bonacum disagrees, pointing to phenomena at home and abroad.
Bonacum, an associate professor of genetics at UIS, says Earth’s climate is “definitely changing,” and he’s been trained to present Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” program.
Bonacum, who holds a doctorate in biology from Yale University, offers evidence from around the world, and right here at home.
“As the oceans warm up, they hold more moisture. More moisture leads to more violent storms. The flooding in Australia, increased typhoons in the Pacific, and even the snow we (in central Illinois) recently encountered are all products of those storms.” Bonacum describes the situation as a car rolling down a hill toward a brick wall.
“We have three choices. We can step on the gas, do nothing, or step on the brakes.”
Bonacum's comments were featured in a February 15, 2011, article in The State Journal-Register. UIS alumna Laurie O’Brien, now a teacher at Glenwood High School is also quoted.
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