|
|
|
|
Over 97% of all greenhouse gases are natural and there is nothing we can do about them. For example, India's population of one billion people produces more carbon dioxide just by breathing than is produced by all the coal-burning power plants in the United States. Moreover, termites are said to produce more carbon dioxide each year than all other living organisms combined. Environmentalists would have you believe that the greenhouse effect originated in the 20th century. The greenhouse effect is essential to the survival of life on Earth. If there were no greenhouse gases, the temperature of the air would be about 32°F (18°C) colder than it is. In other words, the world would be frozen most of the time.* The two predominant greenhouse gases are water vapor and carbon dioxide. You produce both of these gases when you exhale. Between 94½ and 96½ percent of atmospheric carbon dioxide comes from natural sources.* Between 94 and 98 percent of the warming effect is due to ordinary water vapor, which comes from the oceans and lakes. Note: A lot of material about carbon offsets and emissions trading can be found on this page. Calling Carbon Dioxide A Pollutant Doesn't Make It A Pollutant. It is becoming increasingly fashionable to maintain that carbon dioxide is a pollutant, one that should be regulated under the Clean Air Act. The Saturated Greenhouse Effect: Considering that we are told "the science is settled", one would think that the strength of the greenhouse effect (GHE) on Earth would be calculated based on atmospheric physics. That is, the computer models of the atmosphere would incorporate the physics of how the greenhouse effect works, so that by inputing some measured physical properties, the atmospheric gases, the models would determine the strength of the greenhouse effect and the surface temperatures. Unfortunately, this is not the case. If greenhouse gases are bad, how come rising CO2 levels increase agricultural productivity? Plenty of evidence from numerous studies indicates that the Earth has far more capacity to absorb greenhouse gases than the IPCC gives it credit for, many times more, and that additional CO2 will actually be beneficial to farming, both in the quantity and the quality of crops that can be raised. Carbon Dioxide Levels Are a Blessing, Not a Problem. For centuries, bloodletting was an accepted medical procedure administered by physicians to treat patients for most illnesses. In today's world, we find it almost inconceivable that such a practice was condoned by entire populations. Similarly, the claim that increased carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is causing "global warming" has been accepted as "fact" in many countries worldwide. This belief has no more scientific foundation than the bloodletting of past generations. Satanic Gas: Carbon is the sixth element in the periodic table. It is unique among the elements in the vast number and variety of compounds it can form. With hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and other elements, it forms a very large number of compounds. There are close to ten million known carbon compounds, many thousands of which are vital to organic and life processes. Carbon is essential for life. [And yet] carbon is now being demonised by the media and by ministers of the Crown. The Climate-Change Reformation. Al Gore — outdone only by L. Ron Hubbard in his ability to weave science fiction into a religion — is reforming the climate change faith, and turning it toward the discussion of energy independence and American financial viability. The truth, alas, has proved too inconvenient to ignore. Among non-partisan researchers, there is now little doubt that human-generated carbon dioxide makes only an insignificant contribution to climate change. EPA Proposes CO2 Regulations, Seeks Comments from Public. The [Supreme] Court ruled the Clean Air Act (CAA) authorizes EPA to regulate automotive greenhouse gas emissions if and only if EPA determines they cause or contribute to air pollution that may reasonably be expected to endanger public health or welfare. While the case specifically addressed automotive greenhouse gas emissions, the Court's reasoning could be extended to stationary sources such as power plants. Greenhouse Gas Reporting: Frequently Asked Questions. The U.S. Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Program was established by Section 1605(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to provide a means for organizations and individuals who have reduced their emissions to record their accomplishments. The Great Global Warming Swindle. CO2 is a very small gas in the atmosphere. It is vital of course — without it we wouldn't be here. But it's small. It's not at all the most important greenhouse gas, and greenhouse gases themselves, and the 'greenhouse effect', form only one small part of the earth's climate system (and not a very well understood part either). There is no correlation between CO2 and temperature on any significant timescale, except where you find, in ice core data, CO2 levels being influenced by temperature levels (there's a time lag between the two phenomena). Even global warmers admit that, for CO2 to make any difference, there would need to be some mechanism to amplify its effect in the atmosphere. No such amplifier has been shown to exist. Carbon Garden: To listen to Gore and the legion of global warming alarmists, carbon dioxide is our greatest enemy. Not extremist Islamic jihadis. Not widespread economic collapse caused by hyperregulation of the world's economic leader, the U.S. Not global protectionism. Not a planet starved of energy. Yet it's carbon dioxide concentrations, not empty gases spewed by self-important busybodies, that are making the Earth bloom. CO2 levels are at their highest since humans began keeping records. The increased CO2 is fertilizing plants with needed carbon, making them grow bigger and faster. In praise of CO2: Planet Earth is on a roll! GPP is way up. NPP is way up. To the surprise of those who have been bearish on the planet, the data shows global production has been steadily climbing to record levels, ones not seen since these measurements began. GPP is Gross Primary Production, a measure of the daily output of the global biosphere -- the amount of new plant matter on land. NPP is Net Primary Production, an annual tally of the globe's production. Biomass is booming. The planet is the greenest it's been in decades, perhaps in centuries. 'Medieval Environmentalists' attack CO2 in their efforts to derail civilization. Why are carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, particularly the relatively small amount emitted by human activity, the sole focus of most climate change debates? In scientific circles, CO2 is referred to as a 'trace gas' that, for hundreds of thousands of years, has remained at or below five ten-thousandths of the atmosphere by volume. Even among the so-called 'greenhouse gases' (GHG), CO2 accounts for less that 4%, with water vapour being by far the most significant GHG. CO2 is clearly a miniscule component of the massive mechanisms that create climate and cause climate change. Truth Stripped Naked. A new study accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed Journal of Geophysical Letters debunks the greenies' climate hysteria and the political pretext for draconian restrictions on our economy that have become so popular with environmentalists and grandstanding politicians. …Climatology pioneer Reid Bryson, founding chairman of the department of meteorology at the University of Wisconsin, said the new study shows "you can go outside and spit and have the same effect as doubling carbon dioxide." This global-warming fraud is designed to reduce our standard of living. I read with interest Sen. John Kerry's and Teresa Heinz Kerry's "Too much hot air on global warming." … But the Kerrys say nothing about reducing emissions from the number-one source in Washington state. Mount St. Helens, by itself, puts out thousands of times more CO2 than all the autos in the nation combined! Alleviate world hunger produce more clean carbon dioxide. Far from being a pollutant, man along with every animal on land, fish in the sea, and bird in the air is totally dependent on atmospheric carbon dioxide for his food supply. Some politicians complain that the United States with only 3% of the world population uses 25% of the energy. But the clean carbon dioxide which we produce is increasing food production everywhere on earth. Global Warming Heresy: Manmade carbon dioxide emissions are roughly 5 percent of the total; the rest are from natural sources such as volcanoes, dying vegetation and animals. Annually, volcanoes alone produce more carbon dioxide than all of mankind's activities. Oceans are responsible for most greenhouse gases. ... The bottom line is, the bulk of scientific evidence shows that what we've been told by environmentalists is pure bunk. In Science, Ignorance is not Bliss. NASA's Aqua satellite is showing that water vapor, the dominant greenhouse gas, works to offset the effect of carbon dioxide (CO2). This information, contrary to the assumption used in all the warming models, is ignored by global warming alarmists. "The Sky is Falling ... Again!" That's right, the radical environmentalists with nothing better to do, august representatives of academia and your cozy little fuzz ball politicians, have ginned up a new crisis. This time it is the ocean. … According to the all-wise pundits, man-made CO2 is rising into the upper atmosphere and is causing global warming. That's somewhat interesting in that CO2 is heavier than air and should sink, not rise. Unbearable Legislation: America's energy infrastructure will be crippled, and for what? China is building two coal-fired power plants a week and plans to build 97 airports in the next 12 years. Even if the United States reduces its carbon emissions to zero, global emissions are still likely to increase. If greenhouse gases are truly causing problems for the polar bear, U.S. legislative action will do nothing to protect it. San Francisco Regulators Seek Greenhouse Fee. San Francisco-area air quality regulators are proposing to charge a fee to most businesses based on the amount of greenhouse gases they emit. The fee — 4.2 cents per metric ton of carbon dioxide — would affect everything from oil refineries to power plants and would include landfills, factories, and small businesses such as restaurants and bakeries. The Myth of Vanishing CO2 Emissions: Environmental activists and some politicians are now promoting the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent or more by mid-century. CEO William O'Keefe and President Jeff Kueter, both of the George C. Marshall Institute, investigate whether this proposition is achievable and what this would cost Americans. Zealotry over global warming could damage our Earth far more than climate change. Carbon dioxide, like water vapour and oxygen, is not only completely harmless but is an essential element in our life support system. Not only do we exhale carbon dioxide every time we breathe, but plants need to absorb carbon dioxide in order to survive. Without carbon dioxide, there would be no plant life on the planet. And without plant life, there would be no human life either. When Your Only Tool is Coercion, Every Problem Looks Like Too Much Freedom. The entire purpose of [North Carolina's Climate Action Plan Advisory Group] was to find ways in which the citizens of the state could be forced to modify their behavior in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. … The interesting — and undisputed — fact is that these restrictions will not result in an overall reduction in global temperatures, even if the whole world adopts them. Yet CAPAG refused to take this into consideration during its deliberations. Earth Day Is a Holiday For Liars. I have followed the apocalyptic claims and the legislated mandates of the environmental movement since the 1970s and their single unifying factor has been the lies told to achieve various elements the Green agenda. … There is no scientific justification for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon dioxide represents a miniscule 0.038% of the Earth's atmosphere and increases in CO2 always follow climate change. It does not initiate it. The Greens are lying. Environmentalists Oppose New CO2 Scrubber Idea. Scientists at Columbia University are developing a carbon dioxide (CO2) scrubber device that removes one ton of CO2 from the air every day. While some see the scrubber as an efficient and economical way to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide, many environmentalists are opposing the technology because it allows people to use fossil fuels and emit carbon in the first place. The Editor says... One could easily conclude that the environmentalists don't care about reducing CO2 in the atmosphere as much as they care about suppressing and inhibiting industrial activity. Water Vapor Rules the Greenhouse System. Water vapor constitutes Earth's most significant greenhouse gas, accounting for about 95% of Earth's greenhouse effect. Interestingly, many "facts and figures' regarding global warming completely ignore the powerful effects of water vapor in the greenhouse system, carelessly (perhaps, deliberately) overstating human impacts as much as 20-fold. EPA Seeks To Have Water Vapor Classified As A Pollutant. If successful, the push to classify water vapor as a dangerous pollutant would impact virtually everyone. For instance, homeowners could see a wide variety of common activities that cause evaporation being regulated: watering the lawn, or using a hot tub or swimming pool. "Right now, we are not so concerned about the water vapor exhaled by people. That is low on our list of priorities", said Mr. Donaldson. "We'll tackle that manmade source at a later time." The Editor says... Evidently he's not kidding. This is just another way the EPA, having outlived its usefulness, is desperately looking for something to fix. How do you suppose Mr. Donaldson is going to keep the lakes and oceans from producing water vapor? Let the rest of the world make climate errors. Kevin Rudd has an unfortunate proclivity for proclaiming Australia should lead the world in its response to global warming. For a country so richly endowed with carbon-based energy resources, this does not immediately commend itself as the most obvious policy course for us to follow. And the latest discussion paper on emissions trading from the Garnaut review, released last Thursday, should have set political alarm bells ringing on the potential costs of action to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Are Carbon Cuts Just a Fantasy? What if there's no way to cut greenhouse emissions enough to make a real difference? That's the question raised by a commentary in Nature arguing that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been too optimistic in its projections for the technological possibilities of reducing greenhouse emissions. Their calculations are called "a bombshell" in a separate news article in Nature about the paper. Dangerous assumptions. The United Nations Climate Conference in Bali in 2007 set the world on a two-year path to negotiate a successor to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Yet not even the most rosy-eyed delegate could fail to recognize that stabilizing atmospheric carbon-dioxide concentrations is an enormous undertaking. Here we address the magnitude of the technological changes required to meet that challenge. We argue that the size of this technology challenge has been seriously underestimated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), diverting attention from policies that could directly stimulate technological innovation. [Also available in PDF] Report: Temperature Changes Precede CO2 Changes. Temperature changes precede changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Scientists have found carbon dioxide levels typically rise roughly 200 to 1,000 years after temperatures rise. That is, temperature change is the cause, not the result, of changing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. CO2 Regulation Could Crush Building Construction. [Scroll down] If the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ever decides to regulate greenhouse gases, it would trigger the very same stationary source controls. As a result, construction on any new or existing source with the potential to emit more than 250 tons of CO2 per year — which includes most large buildings — could come to a screeching halt. 'Green Hanukkia' campaign sparks ire. In a campaign that has spread like wildfire across the Internet, a group of Israeli environmentalists is encouraging Jews around the world to light at least one less candle this Hanukka to help the environment. The founders of the Green Hanukkia campaign found that every candle that burns completely produces 15 grams of carbon dioxide. If an estimated one million Israeli households light for eight days, they said, it would do significant damage to the atmosphere. The Editor says... Have the tree-huggers never heard of trees? The world's vegetation depends on this "significant damage to the atmosphere." The "carbon sink" and global warming: According to this week's Science magazine, the ocean's ability to absorb carbon may be far greater than previously estimated. That means that atmospheric CO2 gets eliminated perhaps twice as much as global warming alarmists thought, before this news came out. Why? Well, it turns out that there is a whole variety of tiny phytoplanktons --- single-celled plants --- that are called picoplanktons because they are so small. The Virtues of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide: The annual increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide attributable to human activities — primarily the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas — is about 1 part in 10,000 of that contained in the oceans and biosphere — a contribution of ultimately negligible consequence. Since, however, this human-released carbon must travel through the atmosphere to reach the ocean and biotic reservoirs, human use, while it continues, has caused a transient rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide from about 0.03% to about 0.04% of atmospheric molecules. The primary environmental result of this rise is plant fertilization. We are moving carbon from below ground into the atmosphere, where it is available to produce more plants and animals — a wonderful and unexpected gift from the industrial revolution. $800 Billion Annual Cost to Capture Carbon. There will be a little more required to stop global warming than making "small changes to your daily routine," as Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" Web site has suggested. One of the authors of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Carbon Capture and Storage estimated the worldwide cost could run an astonishing $800 billion annually. California suit on car greenhouse gases dismissed. A U.S. federal judge tossed out a lawsuit by California's attorney general on Monday [9/17/2007] seeking hundreds of millions of dollars from six automakers for damaging the state with climate-changing greenhouse gases. Martin Jenkins, a federal judge in the Northern District of California, said the issue of global warming should be decided in the political rather than legal arena. Organic beer is CO2 sinner. Organic beer production emits substantially more greenhouse gases than ordinary beer, according to a Copenhagen University thesis. Jakob Majcher, author of the thesis, studied the total carbon dioxide emissions in connection with the brewing of organic and conventional lagers. The Climate is Less Sensitive to Greenhouse Gases Than Predicted, Study Says. How sensitive is Earth's climate? Sufficient to warm by at least several degrees in response to greenhouse gas pollution but perhaps not as sensitive as some scientists have feared, according to a new study. [Is it possible that the climate is self-adjusting? Is it possible that God is still in control of the things he created? Is it possible that environmentalists don't know everything?] The Greenhouse Myth: The notion that our atmosphere acts like a greenhouse — that is, so-called atmospheric "greenhouse gases," like water vapor and CO2, "trap" incoming solar radiation to warm the atmosphere — is wrong. Not only doesn't the atmosphere work that way, greenhouses don't either. The Right to Breathe: The United States Supreme Court this month heard arguments on the issue of whether carbon dioxide should be identified as a pollutant and be brought into the Environmental Protection Agency enforcement policies of the Clean Air Act. Webster describes a pollutant as a harmful chemical or waste material discharged into water or the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, as it exists in the earth's atmosphere, has never been proven harmful. It is not a waste material. Carbon dioxide just happens to be the single most important part of the Earth's atmosphere as it relates to life on this planet. Greenhouse crusade rests on flawed logic. Shut down our coal industry — our children's wellbeing is at stake! This is the message from Greens' leader Bob Brown, who argues that because burning coal emits large amounts of greenhouse gases, the coal industry should be shut down within a matter of years. Australian of the Year Tim Flannery has echoed Brown's position, while Labor's environment spokesman, Peter Garrett, has also singled out coal, effectively calling for the growth of the industry to be frozen. The Real "Inconvenient Truth": Does the Earth's atmosphere primarily behave like an actual greenhouse? No. … An actual greenhouse works as a physical barrier to convection (the transfer of heat by currents in a fluid) while the atmosphere facilitates convection. So-called "greenhouse gases" in the Earth's atmosphere do not act as a barrier to convection so the impression of actual greenhouse-like activity in the Earth's atmosphere is wrong. Editor's Note: The article below is loaded with environmental bias and rash presuppositions, as the author describes CO2 as a dangerous gas, and assumes that sequestering CO2 underground will alleviate the greenhouse "problem". Scientists say buried gases may escape. Carbon dioxide buried underground has dissolved the minerals that help keep the dangerous greenhouse gas from escaping, US scientists have revealed. Researchers testing the viability of injecting CO2 into saline sedimentary aquifers, in a US Government experiment in Texas, found it caused carbonates and other minerals to dissolve rapidly, which could allow CO2 and brine to leak into the water table. Carbon's Kindergarten Cop: The Governor's pledge to lower greenhouse gas emissions in California to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050 will bring Californians little or no environmental benefit, while costing the citizenry a substantial amount of money. The Governor has long pandered to California's environmental interest groups, but as an earlier (and wiser) Republican Governor named Reagan observed, "Facts are stubborn things." The Earth's atmosphere is composed of 78% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038% carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of other gases, including water vapor. We call this "air" and humans depend on the oxygen content for life. At the same time all six billion of us individually exhale about two pounds of carbon dioxide every day. By contrast, Nature emits about 30 times more CO2 than humans. The oceans of the world absorb and release CO2 all the time. This is Nature's balance that maintains all life, animal and vegetable, on earth.* Taking a Molecule to Court: The Supreme Court, by agreeing to hear a case on whether the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must take steps to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, will finally judge on the alleged threat of global warming. The stakes are huge. Should the Court find in favor of the plaintiffs, it would put the EPA in control of the U.S. economy for the foreseeable future. States Set to Sue the U.S. Over Greenhouse Gases. New York is one of more than a dozen states, led by California, preparing to sue the Bush administration for holding up efforts to regulate emissions from cars and trucks, several people involved in the lawsuit said on Tuesday [10/23/2007]. The move comes as New York and other Northeastern states are stepping up their push for tougher regulation of greenhouse gases as part of their continuing opposition to President Bush's policies. The Editor says... Nothing wastes your money faster than the states filing a lawsuit against the federal government. The lawyers are the only ones who benefit, and no matter which side wins, the verdict will usually result in more regulations and intrusive restrictions on property owners and businesses. Inhofe Warns of Global Warming Laws. At a hearing on human health effects of global warming, Inhofe implied that [Barbara Boxer] was distracting members with studies of what might happen from global warming rather than focusing on "what will happen if we legislate global warming." Inhofe believes that any mandatory cap on greenhouse gas emissions will bear too great a cost for the economy for too little benefit. China overtakes US as world's biggest CO2 emitter. China has overtaken the United States as the world's biggest producer of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, figures released today show. … China's emissions had not been expected to overtake those from the US, formerly the world's biggest polluter, for several years, although some reports predicted it could happen as early as next year. High Court Hears Global Warming Hoax. This week the Supreme Court heard arguments in Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency, a lawsuit brought by a coalition of 12 states, the cities of New York, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C., and environmental groups including the Environmental Defense Fund, Greenpeace and the Sierra Club. The case is an attempt to force the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate carbon dioxide as a dangerous air pollutant under the definition of the Clean Air Act. The Editor says... As usual, leftist troublemakers head to the courts to accomplish what they can't get done at the ballot box. When the Clean Air Act was written, who knew it would someday be used to regulate carbon dioxide? And of course this won't be the end of it. This kind of incrementalism only goes one direction, and it never stops. New Jersey's Nutty CO2 Notions: While an army of snowplows was at work on the roads of the Garden State, the little Green gnomes in the Department of Environmental Protection were working to reclassify carbon dioxide (CO2) as a "contaminant." If this becomes law, the DEP might as well arrest everyone living in the Garden State because humans generate CO2 every time they exhale. Nitrogen pollution drives trees to soak up more CO2. Nitrogen pumped into the environment by human activities such as driving cars and farming is fertilising tree growth and boosting the amount of carbon being stored in forests outside the tropics, say researchers. Their study provides a surprising example of how one type of human pollution is helping to counter another. "Carbon sinks" drain water. The rush to plant forests to soak up carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming, could cause as many problems as it solves, with new research showing they can reduce local water supplies by up to 50 percent. An international study on the use of forest plantations as carbon sinks has found that while intensive plantations can help mitigate the effects of global warming, they can also sap streamflows and cause salinity. Rare Carbon Dioxide "Lake" Found Under the Ocean, Scientists Report. A team of scientists based in Japan and Germany has found an unusual "lake" of liquid carbon dioxide beneath the ocean floor. On Earth's surface carbon dioxide (CO2) is normally a gas, but in the cold, high-pressure ocean depths it cools and becomes a liquid. From Garden State to Greenhouse State. Carbon dioxide is the second most important "greenhouse gas", after water vapor, that helps keep the Earth habitable by retaining infrared (heat) radiation and warming the Earth. This is a natural process that occurs with or without help from humans. Additionally, life on Earth depends on carbon dioxide, which is used by the biosphere for food. Who's Afraid of CO2?. Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. It is tasteless, colorless, nontoxic to humans at concentrations up to 13 times present levels and is essential to life. Plants breathe CO2, and as they grow and reproduce they exhale oxygen, making the earth habitable for humans. Instead of a disaster, the expected doubling of CO2 due to human activities will produce a number of benefits over the next century. Environmental Effects of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide: Predictions of global warming are based on computer climate modeling, a branch of science still in its infancy. The empirical evidence actual measurements of Earth's temperature shows no man-made warming trend. Indeed, over the past two decades, when CO2 levels have been at their highest, global average temperatures have actually cooled slightly. How come greenhouse gases increase agricultural productivity? What about greenhouse gases? Plenty of evidence from numerous studies indicates that the Earth has far more capacity to absorb greenhouse gases than we give it credit for, many times more, and that additional CO2 will actually be beneficial to farming, both in the volume and the quality of crops that can be raised. Enhanced or Impaired? Human health in a CO2-enriched warmer world. Global Warming Policy: Some Economic Implications. The link between greenhouse gas emissions and global temperature increases is uncertain, and some scientists believe the net effect of any global warming could be beneficial. US edges towards cap on greenhouse gases. The US yesterday [11/1/2007] took a first step towards mandatory controls on greenhouse gas emissions, in direct defiance of the Bush administration's policy on climate change. Yesterday's vote in a Senate subcommittee marks the first US move towards European-style policies. Although the caps on emissions approved do not go as far as those in Europe, environmental campaigners said they marked a decisive break with the administration's policies. How to Cripple an Economy: Well-intentioned schemes to restrict emissions of carbon dioxide could cost the economy half a trillion dollars. Photosynthesis in Second-Generation Pine Trees Grown in Air of Elevated CO2 Concentration. The study was conducted at Christchurch, New Zealand in open-top chambers, where the trees were irrigated daily and fertilized every three months. Water use efficiency was 49% higher in the foliage of the elevated CO2 treatment, although there was no change in needle stomatal conductance. The True Agenda? Global Governance! Fully 95% of the carbon dioxide is produced by natural sources such as evaporating seawater, decaying organic matter, and from plant and animal respiration. Each year, 157 billion metric tons is released in the atmosphere. Of this amount, barely 457.2 million tons comes from cars and trucks. According to American Enterprise Institute researcher, James Johnson, "Eliminating all U.S. gasoline powered vehicles would reduce worldwide carbon dioxide emissions by 0.18%." Less than one half of one half of one percent. Despite this minuscule contribution, Albert Gore, Jr., in his book "Earth in the Balance", advocates "eliminating the internal combustion engine" by the year 2018! Living with the greenhouse effect: A great deal of what you read and hear about the so-called "greenhouse effect" is either exaggerated, or misrepresented, or both. The blanket of our atmosphere keeps the surface of the planet a full 33°C warmer than it would otherwise be, and crucially (as far as life forms like us are concerned) raises the temperature above the freezing point of water. A Tale of Two Atmospheres Global warming is a natural geological process. An Ohio State University researcher predicts that the process could begin to reverse itself within 10 to 20 years. The researcher suggests that atmospheric carbon dioxide — often thought of as a key "greenhouse gas" — is not the cause of global warming. The opposite is most likely to be true: It is the rising global temperatures that are naturally increasing the levels of carbon dioxide, not the other way around, he says. Global Warming vs. Prosperity: Green's attempt to cut carbon dioxide emissions lacks supporting scientific evidence and will harm the country's prosperity. Orange Juice Vitamin C Concentration: How Is It Linked to the Air's CO2 Content? On the basis of this study, in the words of the authors, "there is reason to believe that an atmospheric CO2 enrichment of the magnitude expected over the current century may induce a large and sustained increase in the number of fruit produced by orange trees, a small increase in the size of the fruit, and a modest increase in the vitamin C concentration of the juice of the fruit, all of which effects bode well for this key agricultural product that plays a vital role in maintaining good health in human populations around the globe." Carbon Dioxide, the Staff of Life. "I went to the trouble of adding up all the greenhouse gases, as provided in Gregg Easterbrook's excellent book, A Moment on the Earth, and then converted the total volume to a linear scale. That's so you can get a better sense of mankind's total annual contribution. That is, I wondered if there were one mile of greenhouse gas, how much of that would be the result of all of man's doing. I found that out of 5,280 feet, mankind contributes five-eighths of an inch." New findings indicate today's greenhouse gas levels are not unusual. The most accurate way to determine the atmosphere's average CO2 content is to simply conduct a direct chemical analysis at many different places and times. Fortunately, there are more than 90,000 direct measurements by chemical methods between 1857 and 1957. However, in what appears to be a case of 'cherry-picking' data to fit a pre-determined conclusion, only the lower level CO2 data were included when the pre-industrial average was calculated (see below graph where data used in the averaging is highlighted).  Greenhouse Policy Without Regrets: A Free-Market Approach. Because man's effect on his climate is not yet known, global warming policy should, first of all, do no harm. Elimination of wasteful and waste-promoting government policies can still make greenhouse reduction easier in the long term. States Sue Federal Government Over "Global Warming". Seven states announced on Thursday [2/20/2003] their intention to sue the federal government over the issue of "global warming." The states are seeking to force the Bush administration to regulate power plant emissions containing carbon dioxide, which they maintain is contributing to a buildup of greenhouse gases and the warming of the planet. Global Warming Feedback Loop Caused by Methane, Scientists Say. In the ongoing debate over global warming, climatologists usually peg carbon dioxide as the most dangerous of the atmosphere's heat-trapping gases. But methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide, might be even more problematic. Methane levels no longer rising, say scientists. Levels of an important greenhouse gas have stopped growing, say U.S. scientists. Methane levels have stayed nearly flat for the past seven years, following a rise during the two previous decades, according to researchers at the University of California, Irvine. Tibetan meadows emit methane. A three-year field study on the Tibetan plateau has shown that plant species differ in their ability to emit or consume methane, a potent greenhouse gas. This could shed fresh light on the role of plants in global methane budgets. The saga began in early 2006 when Frank Keppler, of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany, and his colleagues, revealed that plants — thought to be helping combat climate change by taking in carbon-dioxide — may collectively emit millions of tonnes of methane. The Editor says... There seems to be no shortage of news items about new discoveries in the field of atmospheric science. This just goes to show how little is known about how the earth works. Yet the public schools continue to teach students that the earth formed itself. More methane a mystery. Levels of climate-warming methane — a greenhouse gas 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide — rose abruptly in the earth's atmosphere last year, and scientists who reported the change don't know why it occurred. The Editor says... Sometimes unexpected things happen in the atmosphere, and when they do, all the computer models and predictions are then invalid. Figures reveal Europe falling far short of climate targets. The European Union, self-styled global champion in the battle against climate change, is falling woefully short of its targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and will need to take radical measures to achieve them, new projections have shown. Climate Change Lemmings Jump Off The Cliff. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is making his own global warming treaties nowadays. He and Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair have agreed to set up a scheme modeled on the United Nations' Kyoto Protocol to reduce climate warming carbon dioxide emissions. California to cap greenhouse gas emissions. California would become the first state to impose a cap on all greenhouse gas emissions, including those from industrial plants, under a landmark deal reached Wednesday [8/30/2006] by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative Democrats. Bill may stir California business exodus. A measure to limit greenhouse gas emissions in California could foster fresh interest among California companies looking outside the state for a less regulated business environment. The cap, designed to cut greenhouse gas output 25 percent by 2020, evoked stern responses from business advocates such as the California Chamber of Commerce, which said in a statement that the act would drive companies and jobs out of California and jack up power and fuel prices for residents of the Golden State. Calif. sues 6 carmakers over greenhouse gases. California filed suit against Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., Toyota Motor Corp. and three other carmakers on Wednesday, charging that greenhouse gases from their vehicles have cost the state millions of dollars. The Proper Roles of Reason and Religion in Developing Policies Related to Anthropogenic CO2 Emissions: Global climate change may well be (1) no problem at all, (2) a problem not caused by man, (3) a beneficial phenomenon, or (4) something about which nothing can be done, which could well make extreme – but largely ineffective – ameliorative actions counterproductive to the common good. Boulder, Colorado Sues Federal Agencies Over Global Warming: The Boulder, Colo. City Council will join environmental activists in taking legal action against the federal government to try to control greenhouse gas emissions which environmentalists say is the cause of "global warming." Another Global Warming Horror Story Bites the Dust: New evidence from the carbon sequestration front turns an old gloom-and-doom hypothesis on its head. Rather than adding to the atmosphere's burden of carbon dioxide, warming of earth's permafrost regions would likely end up removing carbon from the air, which would tend to stabilize surface air temperatures and not push them higher. California Votes to Join the Third World. In what could prove a disastrous move for consumers and businesses, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is poised to sign legislation imposing statutory limits on greenhouse gas emissions in the state of California. EPA unveils first rules on carbon dioxide storage. In its first regulations on the burial of carbon dioxide underground, the EPA on Tuesday [7/15/2008] unveiled measures to protect drinking water from the gas behind the bubbles in carbonated beverages. The fledgling technology, known as carbon sequestration, is critical to reducing carbon dioxide released into the air from coal-fired power plants, one of the country's largest sources of the greenhouse gas. It's the cows! That section has been moved here. Back to the Environmental Issues Page Back to the The Global Warming Page Back to the Home page |
|
Document location http://www.akdart.com/warming21.html Updated November 13, 2008. Page design by Andrew K. Dart ©2008 |