Re: Martin Capages' "Common Sense: Man not cause," June 18:

Capages writes, "There is no such thing as "consensus" in science."

I beg to differ.

Consensus means general agreement, not unanimous acceptance.

It is certainly true that not 100 percent of scientists agree on anything, but there are certainly many scientific opinions, theories and notions that have overwhelming acknowledgment, thus, general agreement, thus, consensus.

One of those is that man's industrial and domestic use of fossil fuels contributes to climate change.

There is a great deal of difference as to exactly how much of an impact in that community, but there is overwhelming agreement that fossil fuels and industrialization are at least contributing to the trend.

Capages admits that his own theories are not scientific, just common sense.

However, he fails to understand that common sense is not universal, nor is it necessarily correct.

Common sense is merely what someone has learned from experience or shared wisdom.

It's fine for knowing what kind of shoes to buy before a long hiking trip or which tool to use to loosen a bolt; these things can be personally experienced.

Whether our carbon footprint is causing damage to the global atmosphere — well, that takes a bit more than a hunch.

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