Here are three articles of interest.

• [1] CO2 is a benefactor not a pollutant (2011 02 12)
  By Joseph D’Aleo, CCM, AMS Fellow

Summary

So real data - not models tuned for the desired result - suggests CO2 is not correlated with temperature changes, is not harmful to health, is instead beneficial to plants and thus mankind.

There are plenty of real environmental issues that need addressing and there needs to be major attention given to meeting energy needs for a colder world likely in coming decades. The misplaced focus on CO2 is preventing focus on both real environmental issues and a sane energy policy.

Note, although I agree with everything the article identifies, it does contain one error that requires correction.  The caption for the third illustration in the states: “Crops increased threefold in the last 50 years from only 10% more land, while the world population  has doubled”  A 30-percent increase in agricultural yield is undeniable, but it is only a 30-percent increase, not a threefold increase.  I wrote to ICECAP and asked them to correct that caption.

• [2] Why Wind Won’t Work
  Submission to Australian Senate Enquiry by Viv Forbes, Carbon Sense Coalition

From the Executive Summary of the submission:

The operating characteristics of turbine and generator mean that only a small part of wind energy can be captured.

Wind power is also intermittent, unreliable and hard to predict. Therefore large backup or storage systems are required. This adds to the capital and operating costs and increases the instability of the network.

Wind farms are uniformly hated by neighbours and will not be willingly accepted without heavy compensation payments. Their noise, flicker, fire risk and disturbing effect on domestic and wild animals are well documented.

The wind is free but wind power is far from it. Its cost is far above all conventional methods of generating electricity. Either taxpayers or consumers will pay this bill.

Wind farms are promoted as a way to decarbonise energy generation. This is supposed to reduce global warming. There is no evidence that there is any need or benefit in chasing this rainbow.

Yes, we are entitled to be given that proof, and that proof has as of now not been provided by anyone.  Yet, that does not stop our politicians from handing over billions of dollars of tax revenues for the pursuit of useless and futile efforts such as [3] Shell’s Quest CCS Project or the construction of wind “farms”.

Don’t blame Shell for spending the taxpayers’ money on the [4] Quest CCS Project.  Blame provincial and federal politicians who force Shell into wasting our money at a billion dollars a shot.

Nevertheless, I must make an addition.  To round out the picture, here is the last of the three articles.

• [5] Carbon Dioxide Feeds the World
  By John Robertson, Mount Tamborine, Queensland 4272, Australia

From the cover page:

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.

I know, some who reads all of this will think that the authors of those reports work for Big Oil.  Well, I don’t, except that a good portion of my income goes to higher costs of food, energy, heating our home and for fuel for the car we drive.  Another good portion of my income pays for the increased taxes that the government reaps on all of those increased costs.

Going by that, I work for big government, and I suspect that is true for the authors of the indicated reports, as well as for you; and I am getting very little in value for the government’s take.

So, don’t tell me that anyone is wrong because of who he works for.  Tell me whether he is telling the truth.  There is one thing about which I am sure.  I have found nothing that those three authors identified in this posting are not telling the truth about.  However, I cannot say the same thing about the politicians that keep spending our money on things they know little about and on other things that they know a lot about but that don’t do many of us any good.

One of those politicians (he promised just a little while ago that he will retire in September of this year) told me a few years ago, when I complained to him about the rising costs of utilities due to deregulation, that the Alberta Government has only the best in mind for all of us, and that it is committed to putting money back into the pockets of Albertans.  Did you get any of that money?  I did not.  That must be because, amongst other things, there is not have enough left over for such trivial things because the Alberta Government is giving more than $700 million of the taxpayers money to [3] Shell’s Quest CCS Project.  That is one thing they should not spend our money on.