Sunday, October 10, 2010

Carbon Is Not Pollution Unless You Are!

I suppose the case could be argued that certain hippies and commies are pollutants per se, but that would be a stretch in this case. Have you ever noticed the wide spread tendency of talking heads to say bad things about "carbon" emissions as a short-hand way of referring to "gaseous carbon dioxide" emissions? Yeah, well 1/5 of you, by weight, is carbon. Remember that as you exhale hundreds of times more carbon dioxide than you inhale, you filthy pollution generation station you!

Okay, that was the side note. I really wanted you to go here and read up on why we don't need to legislate economy-killing carbon dioxide restrictions into US law. Significant highlight:
It’s true that incomplete combustion emits carbon particles that can cause smoke and smog. But this particulate carbon pollution is well controlled by the Clean Air Act of 1970 and many other federal and state statutes.

According to Environmental Protection Agency data, U.S. air quality today is significantly better than it was in 1980. Since 1980, airborne concentration of carbon monoxide is down 79%, lead is down 92%, nitrogen dioxide is down 46%, ozone is down 25%, and sulfur dioxide is down 71%. Carbon particulates have been tracked for fewer years, but PM10 particulates are down 31% since 1990 and PM2.5 particulates are down 19% since 2000. Over the same period, electricity consumption from coal-fired power plants rose 72% and vehicle miles driven are up 91%. We do not need Cap & Trade, Renewable Portfolio Standards, or the California Global Warming Solutions Act (AB32), to reduce carbon particulates.

Cap & Trade and the other "carbon" reduction measures are yet another symptom of the recent political disease in the U.S.A.: electing ignoramuses liberals to high office.

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