Giles Parkinson, Montecollum
Oliver Dunne (Letters, 2 December) writes a lengthy letter attacking local environmental expert Dailan Pugh and claiming, ‘The Clarkes Beach dune blowout was most definitely not caused by climate change or long-term sea level rise’.
Dunne cites an article that appeared in The Conversation to support his statement. But The Conversation article doesn’t argue this at all. In fact, it says the opposite, making several references to ‘climate drivers’ and other potential climate impacts on the scale of the Headline Effect.
Either Dunne did not read The Conversation article, or did not understand it. Or perhaps his letter to the editor was a deliberate attempt to mislead.
As editor of RenewEconomy for the past nine years, I witness the actions of climate deniers on a daily basis. This is one of their favourite ruses – cite an article, claim it says something different, and hope that everyone is too lazy or too busy to check.
The matters before us at Byron, and elsewhere in the world, are too important for such reckless claims. This is no time to deny the science, we must respect the experts.
So Mr Dunne, please enjoy your privileged views, but try and open your eyes next time.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
