THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XIII, Issue # 104, April 30, 2011
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
CARBON & CARBON DIOXIDE -- CLEARING UP THE CONFUSION:
Let's Restore Common Sense to Our Public Policy
Debates on Energy & Climate
By Paul K. Driessen
THE PERENNIAL PROBLEM OF CONFUSING TERMS & CLAIMS IN THE DEBATE ON GLOBAL WARMING: PROPER
MEANINGS & USES OF THE TERMS "CARBON," "CARBON DIOXIDE," & "CARBON MONOXIDE" -- NO "CONSENSUS" SCIENCE
REGARDING THE ROLE OF CARBON DIOXIDE IN CLIMATE CHANGE -- THE NEED TO PAY FAR MORE ATTENTION TO THE
VITAL ROLES CARBON DIOXIDE PLAYS IN PROTECTING & ENHANCING LIFE AS WE KNOW IT ON PLANET EARTH
FULL STORY:
We are constantly bombarded with information – much of it inaccurate, misleading, even deliberately so.
We are frequently told we must reduce carbon emissions, support “carbon disclosure,” and invest in “carbon trusts”
– in order to prevent catastrophic global warming, global climate change, or global climate “disruption.” News stories,
advocacy and lobbying activities, and corporate “ethics” promotions frequently use “carbon” and “carbon dioxide”
almost interchangeably; some occasionally talk about “dangerous carbon monoxide emissions.”
Torn by misplaced hydrocarbon guilt, wanting to do right ecologically, and often scientifically challenged, people are
naturally confused. Because so much is at stake – for our energy supplies and prices, jobs, economies, living standards,
budget deficits and environment – clearing up that confusion is a high priority.
“Carbon” (chemical symbol C) is what we burn to get energy to power modern society. Carbon is the molecular building
block for wood, charcoal and coal, and hydrocarbons (HC) like oil and natural gas. Cars and power plants do not emit
carbon, except in the form of soot. Thus, talk of “carbon disclosure” or “reducing our carbon emissions” is misleading,
unless one is confessing how much charcoal was used at a picnic, or apologizing for not having pollution controls on a
wood-burning stove.
“Carbon monoxide” (CO) is an odorless, deadly gas. A natural product of combustion, it increases when ventilation is
poor, oxygen levels are low, and burning is inefficient. It’s why we shouldn’t use charcoal grills indoors or operate cars
in garages, unless we’re suicidal.
“Carbon dioxide” (CO2) is another natural byproduct of combustion, from power plants, factories, vehicles, homes,
hospitals, and other users of wood, coal, petroleum, and biofuels. This is what many environmental activists, politicians,
and scientists blame for recent and future climate change.
(The other major byproduct is water vapor or steam – plus pollutants that reflect impurities in the fuel and are removed
via scrubbers and other technologies, or reduced by controlling the temperature, airflow, and efficiency of combustion
processes: sulfur and nitrogen oxides, particulates, mercury, and so on.)
Literally thousands of scientists vigorously disagree with the hypothesis that CO2 is responsible for climate change. It
plays only a minor role, they argue, in a complex, chaotic climate system that is driven by numerous natural forces,
cycles, and positive and negative feedback loops. They also note that CO2 increases have followed, not preceded,
temperature rises, throughout Earth’s history.
CO2 constitutes a mere 0.0380% of our atmosphere. That’s 380 parts per million (380 ppm), which sounds much more
threatening, especially when used in juxtaposition with the pre-Industrial Revolution figure of 280 ppm. But even that
100 ppm increase represents only 0.0100% of Earth’s atmosphere – equivalent to one penny out of $100.
380 is far below historical CO2 levels. During the Jurassic and Early Carboniferous periods, geologists calculate, our
atmosphere contained 1,500-2,500 ppm carbon dioxide. However, even at today’s comparatively CO2-impoverished
levels, this trace gas is vital to the health of our planet.
As every grade schooler learns, CO2 enables photosynthesis and plant growth: carbon dioxide and water in, oxygen
and plant growth out, through complex chemical reactions. Without CO2, there would be no plants and no oxygen; life
as we know it would cease. Carbon dioxide is truly the “gas of life” – and no attempt by Al Gore, James Hansen, or
EPA to brand it as a dangerous pollutant can change that.
The 100 ppm rise in CO2 levels came courtesy of two things. As oceans warmed after the Little Ice Age ended 160
years ago, they released some of their carbon dioxide storehouses. (As with beer and soda water, seawater is able to
retain less CO2 as it warms.) The rest came from hydrocarbon fuels burned during the Industrial Revolution and
modern era, and from billions more impoverished people still burning wood and animal dung in open fires.
Though vilified by radical Greens and climate alarmists, hydrocarbon energy and the Industrial Revolution have
hugely benefitted mankind. They doubled average life expectancies in industrialized nations and increased prosperity,
overall health and living standards, in proportion to the ability of poor communities to acquire electricity and modern
technologies. Thus, telling poor countries to limit hydrocarbon use, and focus instead on wind and solar power,
sharply limits their ability to modernize, create jobs, and improve health, living conditions, and life spans.
And all that extra CO2 from electrical generation and other economic activities? As Drs. Craig and Sherwood Idso
explain on their CO2science.org website and in their fascinating book, The Many Benefits of Atmospheric
CO2 Enrichment, the extra carbon dioxide has blessed people and planet in at least 55 ways.
For example, increased atmospheric carbon dioxide increases the photosynthesis rates for plants. It enables plants to
extract more moisture from the air and soil, thereby expanding root systems that stabilize soil, reduce erosion, and help
plants survive better during droughts.
Higher CO2 levels also reduce the need for plants to keep their stomata (pores in leaves) open to absorb carbon
dioxide – and in the process release moisture from the plant – further increasing drought resistance. Because stomata
don’t need to be open as much, plants also reduce their absorption of harmful pollutants that can damage their tissue.
As with the air in greenhouses, rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations improves nitrogen fixation by soil bacteria,
increasing the availability of this important chemical.
CO2-enriched air also increases plants’ ability to manufacture Vitamin C, antioxidants, and health-promoting
substances in medicinal plants – while likewise improving plants’ immune systems and ability to withstand a wide
variety of common plant diseases.
Many climatologists and astrophysicists believe recent sun spot, Pacific Ocean, and global temperature trends
suggest that our planet may have entered a cool phase that could last for 25 years. If that is the case, the additional
carbon dioxide being emitted by China, India, and other developing countries could bring a major additional benefit:
helping to protect wildlife habitats, enhance oceanic biota, and preserve crop yields under sub-optimal climatic
conditions.
Attempts to coerce expanded wind and solar installations will require that we devote still more land, raw materials, and
taxpayer subsidies to these expensive, unreliable energy supplies. And trying to capture and store carbon dioxide from
power plants and factories will require trillions of dollars and vast supplies of energy, to take this plant-fertilizing gas
out of the atmosphere and inject it under high pressure deep into the earth – and keep it from escaping, to kill animals
and people.
To get 1000 megawatts of net electricity from a power plant designed for CO2-capture-and-storage 9CCS) would
require building (at minimum) a 1300-MW plant, burning at least one-third more fuel than a conventional plant does,
using over one-third of the 1300 MW to power the CCS equipment – and paying much higher electricity prices. The
impact on factories, shops, jobs, household budgets, and fuel supplies would be significant.
Legislators and regulators need to focus on controlling unhealthy amounts of real pollutants (based on valid medical
and environmental science) – and keep their pesky hands off our CO2!
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Political Environmentalism Versus Human Progress & Prosperity:
Policy Issues Relating to Energy, Environment,
& Natural Resources
The Earth's Natural History, Global Climate Changes,
& the Future of Human Life & Civilization on the Planet:
Science, Ideology, & Public Policy
Science, Ethics, & Human Health:
Human Health & Public Policy
Political Economy -- Philosophies, Systems, & Public Policies:
Government, the Economy, & Economic Prosperity
Paul Driessen is Senior Policy Advisor for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow and Congress of Racial Equality,
and author of Eco-Imperialism: Green Power - Black Death (2004).
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity