NoaIzumiMore Mis-information on Global Warming
February 22nd 2009 00:54
Another editorial on climate change from Investor’s Business Daily, a supplement to the Fred Singer piece (recently reviewed here) of the day before.
Our Self-Created Energy Problem
“Barring tar sand imports would be all cost and no benefit. Taking an abundant reservoir of oil off the market will force prices higher”
Yes, but not by much. Projections say that by 2015, the Athabasca oil sands in Alberta may yield 3 million barrels of oil a day, which amounts to 5% of world production. That’s approximately ten or twenty cents per gallon of gas, assuming OPEC makes no changes in production to control the price. You’d save more than enough money to offset the increase by getting regular tune-ups.
“CO2 is still a mere 0.038% of the gaseous layer that surrounds the Earth”
Here we go again. I guess I’ll have to keep rebutting this as long as they keep claiming it. Considering CO2 as a fraction of the entire atmosphere makes little sense (and is frankly dishonest) when less than 1% of the atmosphere is responsible for the greenhouse effect.
“only 3% of that thin slice is released by man”
This line of argument ignores natural sinks that absorb CO2. It’s like saying a small raise in my pay won’t make much difference to my savings rate without considering what I spend. Our little contribution makes a big difference, because the additional CO2 saturates the sinks, and anything beyond what can be absorbed goes into the atmosphere to stay. The effect can be seen in any chart of CO2 concentration over time.
If industrial CO2 is so unimportant, where exactly did that big increase on the right come from?
“Despite its media-driven reputation as a killer, it is a weak and ineffective greenhouse gas”
Of course, that depends on what you mean by “weak and ineffective”. It’s been shown by repeated experiments that CO2 is responsible for between 10 and 30 percent of the greenhouse effect.
Really Long Link
Really Long Link (PDF file)
Really Long Link (from Realclimate.org)
“During a campaign stop last year, Joe Biden promised an activist there'd be "no coal plants in America."
Hmm, one comment vs. the actual energy plan of the ticket.
Really Long Link
Our Self-Created Energy Problem
“Barring tar sand imports would be all cost and no benefit. Taking an abundant reservoir of oil off the market will force prices higher”
Yes, but not by much. Projections say that by 2015, the Athabasca oil sands in Alberta may yield 3 million barrels of oil a day, which amounts to 5% of world production. That’s approximately ten or twenty cents per gallon of gas, assuming OPEC makes no changes in production to control the price. You’d save more than enough money to offset the increase by getting regular tune-ups.
“CO2 is still a mere 0.038% of the gaseous layer that surrounds the Earth”
Here we go again. I guess I’ll have to keep rebutting this as long as they keep claiming it. Considering CO2 as a fraction of the entire atmosphere makes little sense (and is frankly dishonest) when less than 1% of the atmosphere is responsible for the greenhouse effect.
“only 3% of that thin slice is released by man”
This line of argument ignores natural sinks that absorb CO2. It’s like saying a small raise in my pay won’t make much difference to my savings rate without considering what I spend. Our little contribution makes a big difference, because the additional CO2 saturates the sinks, and anything beyond what can be absorbed goes into the atmosphere to stay. The effect can be seen in any chart of CO2 concentration over time.
CO2, atmospheric content and emissions
If industrial CO2 is so unimportant, where exactly did that big increase on the right come from?
“Despite its media-driven reputation as a killer, it is a weak and ineffective greenhouse gas”
Of course, that depends on what you mean by “weak and ineffective”. It’s been shown by repeated experiments that CO2 is responsible for between 10 and 30 percent of the greenhouse effect.
Really Long Link
Really Long Link (PDF file)
Really Long Link (from Realclimate.org)
“During a campaign stop last year, Joe Biden promised an activist there'd be "no coal plants in America."
Hmm, one comment vs. the actual energy plan of the ticket.
Really Long Link
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