Here is an animated video produced by FirstEnergy available from Mining Connection (http://www.miningconnection.com/). It shows how we make electricity from coal. It also shows that the cooling towers so loved by TV to illustrate power plant pollution in fact emit only warm air and moisture – not even the demonised but harmless carbon dioxide. The invisible carbon dioxide exits via the less photogenic chimneys. So what TV usually shows to illustrate “carbon pollution” is no more polluting than what comes out of the spout of your kettle. So much for truth on TV.
Adapted slightly from the Introductory Presentation by Viv Forbes of the Carbon Sense Coalition to the Senate Enquiry into Native Vegetation Laws, and Greenhouse Gas and Climate Change Measures, Rockhampton 9 April 2010.
“We oppose pollution, we oppose the waste of resources but we promote the rational and sustainable use of carbon energy and carbon food. We maintain that carbon dioxide is NOT a pollutant and there is no evidence that it controls global climate. Our submission addresses the issue of using legislation to control vegetation, greenhouse gases and climate. We do not believe there are any benefits in such proposals, and considerable costs and undesirable consequences. We oppose the seizure of land rights to satisfy Kyoto carbon credit promises. This is a huge subject and we have no chance of covering it all today, so I will just summarise very briefly the likely effect of legislation in five areas – climate, the environment, food production, property rights and values, and Constitutional matters.”
From The Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, Cancun, Mexico, Dec 9th, 2010
I usually add some gentle humor to these reports. Not today. Read this and weep. Notwithstanding the carefully-orchestrated propaganda to the effect that nothing much will be decided at the UN climate conference here in Cancun, the decisions to be made here this week signal nothing less than the abdication of the West. The governing class in what was once proudly known as the Free World is silently, casually letting go of liberty, prosperity, and even democracy itself. No one in the mainstream media will tell you this, not so much because they do not see as because they do not bl**dy care.
Cuddly carbon keeps koalas & all animals, including us, alive.
CO2 is essential for life. More CO2 will do much good and no harm. If it is allowed to increase at the current rate it will feed the world’s coming peak population with NO more land, seed, cultivation or water.
By John Robertson 2010
Mount Tamborine, Queensland, Australia
John Robertson was born in Scotland. He was an Open Scholar at Cambridge and has a Masters degree in Engineering. He has spent his life in farming, as a fighter pilot and is now an Australian citizen living at Mount Tamborine. He and his wife are active in many community volunteer organisations.
He says “The note on CO2 is an extension of volunteering and my response to the ridiculous attacks on carbon dioxide by those who should know better. Pollutant indeed!
“This is all my own work (except where otherwise acknowledged in the text) with my own funds. I have no connection whatsoever with fossil fuel or other outside interests.” JR
The Carbon Sense Coalition today said that Australia must not renew its Kyoto Agreement. The Chairman of “Carbon Sense”, Mr Viv Forbes, said that the current failing agreement was signed without due diligence by Kevin Rudd and should be referred to as “Rudd’s Folly”.
Forbes continued:
“Appropriately, the death notice for the Kyoto mis-adventure was posted by Japan, the birthplace of Kyoto, when their representative at Cancun Resort announced:
“Japan will not inscribe its target under the Kyoto protocol on any conditions or under any circumstances.”
“Thus the four biggest economies in our region (USA, China, Japan and India) will not sign; nor will Australia’s big competitors in Brazil (iron and beef), Indonesia (coal), Chile (copper) or Canada (wheat).
“If Australia is foolish enough to renew its Kyoto liabilities it will find itself isolated in the Pacific with only gullible Kiwis and faraway Europeans for company.
The Carbon Sense Coalition has called for an end to all subsidies, mandated markets and sweetheart pricing for solar and wind energy.
The Chairman of “Carbon Sense”, Mr Viv Forbes, said that current energy policies were harming the existing power industry and robbing taxpayers and electricity consumers.
Forbes continued: “It’s time to end the mollycoddling of wind and solar energy toys before this stupidity does irreversible damage to Australia’s electricity supply and costs.
“The mindless green dream of producing serious base load power from whimsical breezes and intermittent sunbeams has caused a halt to new low-cost coal power, a boom in expensive gas power, a national debate about nuclear power and has had no effect at all on global climate.”
More:
The Critical Problem for Wind & Solar – Low Energy Density
The Carbon Sense Coalition today called on Global Warming Minister Combet to conserve carbon fuel by not attending the “Last Fling of the Thermophobics at Cancun”.
The Chairman of “Carbon Sense”, Mr Viv Forbes, said that to waste any more tax dollars or tonnes of carbon on this stupidity was an obscene extravagance.
“For 20 years now the thermophobics of the IPCC have been trying to shock us with dire threats of global warming.
“But if they are so scared of warmth why do they go to places like Cancun for their annual
office party?
“Cancun is a lovely tropical beach resort – warm weather, azure seas, white sugary beaches, great reefs and fish, amazing lagoons, a whole strip of massive resorts and cocktails by the pool. Definitely not a hardship location – perhaps they realize their party is coming to an end and want to have some fun before they are pushed off the gravy train?
“If they really want to cure their thermophobia they should have their next conclave in Archangel or Murmansk. And it should be supplied only with wind and solar power. Let them see and feel the deathly grip of darkness and ice.
“Maybe they would learn that life has nothing to fear from warmth or moist air richly laden with the gas of life, carbon dioxide.
“What we all need to fear is a frigid, dry and carbon deficient atmosphere and the remorseless advance of silent, sterile, life-extinguishing ice.”
My car operates on ethanol made from corn. My car produces CO2 but it is
“ethanol CO2” so that’s OK. The ethanol production is subsidised by the
government.
I have a cow. I feed it corn. But now I will have to pay tax on the
CO2/methane the cow produces from the corn.
According to a new study by the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Government support of biofuel production is costly, has a limited impact on reducing greenhouse gases and improving energy security, and has a significant impact on world crop prices… Current biofuel support measures alone are expected to increase the average prices for wheat by about 5 per cent, corn by around 7 per cent, and vegetable oil by about 19 per cent over the next ten years.
In the U.S., last year’s harvest was 10.5 billion bushels, the third-largest crop ever. But instead of going into the maws of pigs or cattle or people, an increasing slice of that supply is being transformed into fuel for cars. The roughly 5 billion gallons of ethanol made in 2006 by 112 U.S. plants consumed nearly one-fifth of the corn crop. If all the scores of factories under construction or planned go into operation, fuel will gobble up no less than half of the entire corn harvest by 2008.
Both petrol and ethanol produce carbon dioxide when burnt. But to produce the same energy requires more ethanol than petrol, and it produces more carbon dioxide.
Moreover producing ethanol from corn by fermentation also produces more carbon dioxide during the fermentation process. And then the dilute ethanol produced by fermentation (about 12%) has to be concentrated using a distillation process which requires more energy and more emissions. Burning ethanol rather than petrol thus probably increases the production of carbon dioxide.
James R. Barrante is an Emeritus Professor in the Chemistry Department at Southern Connecticut State University. He has devoted his last ten years to the study of the physical chemistry of greenhouse gases. He is the author of two textbooks, Physical Chemistry for the Life Sciences (in Japanese) and Applied Mathematics for Physical Chemistry.
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