LETTER TO THE EDITOR - TRAIL TIMES, August 5, 2021 British Columbia, Canada This letter was written in response to an article by Richard Cannings, a Canadian Member of Parliament for the South Okanagan-West Kootenay, which is a political riding in the Province of British Columbia. Cannings is also a biologist and a member of Canada's socialist party, the New Democratic Party ("NDP"). The NDP is dedicated to a campaign of climate fear-mongering and is a supporter of the childish, delusional dogma that we can suppress the planet's natural climate cycles by restricting or banning the use of fossil fuels. I hope you will pardon me for indulging in some alarmist-type hyperbole when I state that we are doomed to living in a CO2-starved atmosphere and that the atmospheric CO2 will eventually reach the threshold level. Actually, the CO2 level may not be optimal but it is more than adequate to green the planet. Furthermore, the threshold level will not be reached for another 26 million years at the depletion rate observed since the dinosaur era. Our carbon emissions will extend the planet's green period to 36 million years if they are allowed to enrich the atmosphere. Please be assured that we are not experiencing a climate crisis/emergency, nor will the world end in 10 years because of CO2-induced, climate change. Now the merchants of climate fear are pedaling the false narrative that climate change will be responsible for new viruses, necessitating lockdowns to curtail our carbon emissions. The letter to the editor provides facts that clearly expose these charlatans.
'CO2, a molecule essential in greening the planet' Thorpe Watson August 5, 2021 Richard Cannings' article in the 'Opinion' section of the Trail Times deserves a reality check ("Hoping the heat wave sparks a new sense of urgency", July 15, 2021). He states that we have a global climate crisis and provides a litany of anecdotal evidence allegedly to support his claim. The premature onset of winter in the southern hemisphere is ignored. To "fight" what are in fact natural cycles of climate change, Cannings implores everyone to "finally stop" the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Nowhere in the article does he reveal that the falsely-accused, greenhouse-gas villain is carbon dioxide (aka "CO2". "carbon emission"), which is generated by the consumption of fossil fuels. 1
As a biologist, I suspect that Cannings is reluctant to demonize CO2, a molecule that is essential in greening the planet. The important role of CO2 is described in a recent letter by Warren Watson entitled "Photosynthesis is good" (Trail Times, July 8, 2021). Unfortunately, Cannings reveals a lack of knowledge of phase-equilibrium principles when he states that our emissions to the atmosphere will "stay there for centuries". Actually, this "residence time" is about 5 years but, more importantly, it is not a measure of the time to reach equilibrium conditions, which is less than a year. The oceans are our primary store of CO2 with 2% allowed to circulate through the atmosphere at about 10 times the rate of our emissions. Consequently, when 100 tonnes of CO2 is emitted to the atmosphere, the increased partial pressure of CO2 suppresses the outflow from, and increases the absorption rate by, the oceans. This redistribution process achieves equilibrium conditions within a few months with and without the participation of the manmade CO2 molecules. The result is an increase of atmospheric CO2 of only 2 tonnes, not 100 tonnes. Cannings states that the "pandemic has shown us what we can accomplish quickly when faced with a clear crisis". The COVID lockdown has also shown us that the current increase of atmospheric CO2 is primarily attributable to natural ocean outgassing, thereby confirming the foregoing equilibrium analysis. The CO2 content of the atmosphere has steadily decreased from over 2,000 parts-permillion ("ppm") during the dinosaur era to today's CO2-starved atmosphere of 416 ppm. Using the most optimistic estimate of the planet's carbon reserves, fossil-fuel emissions will increase the CO2 level by 100 ppm over roughly 1,000 years at current consumption rates. The atmosphere is doomed to remain starved of CO2 and to eventually reach the threshold level for plant growth of 150 ppm. Clearly, we must cherish Canada's insignificant 1.6% share of global carbon emissions and allow them to replenish the atmosphere! It is obvious that China doesn't subscribe to the destructive, anti-CO2, climate-crisis myth. China is increasing the size of its massive coal-fired power system at a rate of one (1) coal-fired power plant per week. India and other countries are following China's lead. I'm sure everyone will agree that these countries are not stupid nor suicidal. Can we say the same for our western leaders? Thorpe Watson, PhD Warfield, British Columbia, Canada 2
Note: examples of life enabled by carbon dioxide:
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An increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide from all causes from 300 ppm to 400, 600 or 800 ppm is good for everyone and all life, except global warming alarmists. Don’t let alarmists dominate energy making policies at the UN or in any country.
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