A coal-fired power plant in Juliette, Ga.
Credit: John Amis/Associated Press
For years, the fossil-fuel industries have been telling us that global warming is a hoax based on junk science.
But now these industries are floating an intriguing new argument: They’re admitting that human use of coal, oil and gas is causing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to rise — but they’re saying this is a good thing. We need more CO2 in our lives, not less.
“CO2 is basically plant food, and the more CO2 in the environment the better plants do,” proclaimed Roger Bezdek, a consultant to energy companies, at an event hosted Monday by the United States Energy Association, an industry trade group.
The session, at the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown Washington, was devoted to demonstrating that “CO2 benefits clearly outweigh any hypothesized costs.” And though Bezdek is an economist, not a scientist, he played one on Monday — showing a PowerPoint presentation that documented a tree growing faster […]
Too bad he ignored the scientific fact that the oceans soak up a lot of the excess CO2 and that is part of the scientific reason the oceans are becoming more acidic and our fish and other wildlife are suffering because of it. He also failed to realize that we continue cutting down more and more of the trees needed to produce O2 which we need to breath. Like the article says, “hold your breath Bezdek” , we need the O2.
Perhaps this picture of the power plant in this article itself is a hoax. What is seen coming from the stacks and cooling towers of this plant is largely water vapor. To some that is disturbing enough as it shows where a lot of water from rivers or underground is going. Right up into the sky to be dispersed somewhere else on the globe. Chances are it is putting out carbon dioxide at a high rate. But the technology is upon us that could take care of that. This complex probably has scrubbers to remove the sulfur dioxide and it may even have a mercury abatement system. It also would have to dispose of the ash left from the coal used. That’s another problem. That ash will have mercury and other heavy metals in it that came from the mined coal. The mercury abatement system only keeps the mercury from going into the air. So if a carbon dioxide abatement system is installed in this plant, what of the other issues? The jury is still out on the effects to nature of windfarms. And what of discarded old solar equipment that will be obsolete and be replaced by hopefully greener solar equipment? What about old wind turbines? We haven’t seen that yet. I’m throwing these thoughts out there as there is more to think about here than just CO2. Even our current greenest of power sources will some day be greener than they are now.What about the widespread use of fluorescent lighting which uses mercury? How is it disposed? Mostly right in the waste basket. Is LED lighting a better way? Europe uses LED much more widely than the US. Any system that interfaces with nature, and they all do, has its negative points. There may come a time that CO2 emissions is not a problem anymore because of technology and the focus on it. But there are still other ecological problems with electrical production that needs additional focus. That includes even the newer, greener technologies. And lets not forget the importance of energy conservation. It’s as important as water conservation.