In the latest cap and trade bill known as the Kerry and Boxer bill, Senator Kerry removed the phrase “cap and trade” and replaced it with “Pollution Reduction and Investment.” Let’s examine the pollution that Senator Kerry is claiming to reduce. All of the discussion has been on reducing the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) being released into the atmosphere by the burning of so-called fossil fuels. Greenhouse gases make up no more than 2 percent of the Earth’s atmosphere. Of this amount, 95 percent is water vapor and 3.62 percent is CO2. Of this 3.62 percent, 96.6 percent is produced by nature and only 3.4 percent is produce by humans. The human contribution to the greenhouse effect on the Earth’s warming is only 0.28 percent of the total. Over the past 400,000 years, the earth’s temperature and CO2 levels have varied and the CO2 levels have consistently risen and fallen hundreds of years after the increases and declines of the temperature. It has been proven that the current global temperature “crisis” has been created by manipulation of the data collected and used by some scientist seeking huge government grants for their research. Trillions of dollars would be required to implement the cap and trade legislation and it would not significantly affect the temperature of the earth or the level of CO2 in the atmosphere. Global temperatures cooled in five of the last seven decades even though CO2 levels increased steadily throughout that period.
Global temperatures increased for twenty years from the late 1970s to the late 1990s but have actually been cooling the last twelve years. This warming and subsequent cooling were predictable using hundreds of years of historical trends and observation of the impact of variations in solar activity on the temperature. Solar activity is constantly changing. Sunspots are used to measure solar activity and have been observed and counted for hundreds of years.
Cooling periods on earth have occurred when there were fewer sunspots. Similarly, the earth has warmed (such as the second half of the 20th century) when there were more sunspots. The sunspot average from 1900 to 1949 was 576 annually, and from 1950 to 1999 it was 876, an increase of 52 percent. We are now in a period of reduced sunspot activity.
This administration estimates cap-and-trade would raise $645.7 billion annually. Wall Street companies, including Al Gore’s, will buy and sell these cap and trade allotments and make billions of dollars simply by transferring “paper.” The public, you and me, will pay these additional costs incurred by every company that produces energy, or other products, by burning or using fossil fuels for any purpose whatsoever.
The “global warming crisis” was renamed the “climate change crisis” and is now being renamed the “pollution reduction and investment crisis.” CO2 is not a pollutant anymore than water vapor. Carbon dioxide is essential for internal respiration in the human body and for plant growth. Without greenhouse gases, earth would be a frozen planet. As the United States begins to recover from a recession, is the country going to sacrifice the economy for these sudden amendments to the dictionary? Let’s hope not.
Opinion
STUMPTALK: Cap and trade is based on a hoax!
- Opinion
-
-
GARY'S WORLD: A birthday worthy of celebrating
Sometimes it's good to rejoice over the simple things in life. In fact, I always have been thankful for the simple things in life that bring me so much joy.
-
RANDOM THOUGHTS: Will the bullying ever stop?
Memories of a 1980 visit to Dachau concentration camp are seared in my mind. They all came back as I read a travel story about Boston.
-
LION AND THE LAMB: The conspiracy against women
One can find many major conspiracies against women throughout history. Most of these have come out of a context of male domination and patriarchal mindsets.
-
WE THE PEOPLE: Meet Grover Norquist
Who is Grover Norquist? Norquist is a private citizen. He has never held an elected office. Yet, he has been called the most influential man in America. Grover Norquist helped cause our economic tragedy, putting millions of Americans out of work. Grover Norquist is dictatorial and uncompromising. Grover Norquist must be stopped.
-
TIDBITS: Duct tape fixes everything
There's an old joke about how all you really need in your tool box is a roll of duct tape and a can of WD-40. Use duct tape if it moves and it shouldn't and WD-40 if it won't move and it should. This fabric-backed tape is one versatile product.
-
STUMPTALK: Democrats dishonor their history
Once upon a time, in this very land, and not so long ago, there were Democrats who were able to summon the courage to provide direction for our nation during times when strong leadership was needed.
-
Gary's World: Game? What game? I'm watching the commercials
Anyone who really knows me, knows that I'm not much of a football fan.
-
We the People: Crime and Punishment
Maybe we don’t have enough tools. Maybe we don’t have enough imagination. Whatever the reason, we in the United States seem to be confused about finding and applying effective solutions to major societal problems. We seem to have a one-size-fits-all solution: use more force, increase the punishments. Our approach seems to be based on anger and revenge instead of logical thought.
-
Lion and the Lamb: Football and religion
Football games and religious services have many similarities. Both deal with the human struggle toward various goals in life, the importance of both individual and group effort, liturgical celebrations that include music, singing, pageantry, symbols, bidding calls and responses, and the ingestion of food and drink. Also, those sports and religious figures that are deemed most successful, such as by filling large gathering places with celebrants, are usually given special rewards and higher remuneration.
-
Random Thoughts: Enjoy a ride on a Merry-Go-Round
Our first son sent a picture of a sign which told about the man who hand carved the elegant animals on a carousel in San Diego, CA. A second picture was of that son, of retirement age but still working, and his young son mounted on two of those animals. Both males wore broad smiles.
- More Opinion Headlines
-
GARY'S WORLD: A birthday worthy of celebrating





