Editor, Gazette-Journal:

In the Dec. 8 Gazette-Journal, Steven B. Christo responded to letters written in a previous edition by Dr. Charles Battig and Kenneth Haapala on the subject of sea level rise. Mr. Christo attempted to discredit members of the Scientists and Engineers for Energy and Environment by saying that Dr. Battig and Mr. Haapala are neither scientists nor engineers.

If Mr. Christo had been less hasty to criticize and more willing to check his facts, he could have easily learned that Dr. Battig has degrees in both medicine and electrical engineering. Mr. Haapala holds a master’s degree from Catholic University and is the past president of the prestigious Philosophical Society of Washington, D.C., the oldest scientific society in that city, having been founded in 1871. Mr. Haapala has reviewed hundreds of reports based on quantitative techniques and co-authored the report, "Nature, Not Human Activity, Rules the Climate."

Attempts by Mr. Christo to di...