To: The Editor
The Exponent
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
Subject:
Where is Purdue’s Climate Action Plan?
Dear Editor,
I read the Purdue Climate Change Plan article with interest. It is based solely on the findings of the IPCC where climate change is assumed to be caused by trace greenhouse gases, especially CO2.
There is an increasing number of respected climate scientists whose findings differ from those of the IPCC. One example is the work of Robert Ian Holmes of Australia whose work is summarized in this link. He points to the work of Nikolov and Zeller [who] provided a robust mathematical model of the earth’s climate based on measurable physical phenomena: the albedo of the earth, the atmospheric pressure, and the Total Solar Irradiance (TSI). These parameters drive the temperature of the earth, not fossil fuel generated CO2 in the atmosphere.
See this link for his original and other scientific papers related to this topic, most of which disagree that CO2 causes climate change.
If the above-described work is credible, then efforts to become carbon neutral will be of little use. Carbon capture and sequestration will be wasted effort. That money would be better spent on education, healthcare, helping the poor, and infrastructure. It may be premature for Purdue to have a Climate Change Plan.
An Indiana organization, the Citizens Action Coalition gives more about this in Indiana which in a recent newsletter suggests: As you may know, Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) is exploding across
Indiana and the Midwest under the guise of reducing carbon dioxide emissions to mitigate climate change. However, CCS is a false climate solution that will increase emissions (both CO2 and other harmful air pollution) while creating significant risks for communities and our environment.
It is interesting that Climate Change was a top-level issue in the 2020 Presidential Elections and is barely mentioned in the present Presidential Election Platforms. I wonder why?
The bottom line is that we must be very careful of endorsing presented theories and suggested solutions to address climate issues. We do not yet have definitive models that have been validated.
I am not a climate scientist, but a citizen concerned about actions of our government that appear to be based on unsettled science.
Vincent P. Drnevich
Dr. Vincent P. Drnevich, P.E., Dist.M.ASCE, D.GE, F.ASTM, F.NSPE Emeritus Professor of Civil Engineering
Purdue University