A western Kansas lawmaker this week repeated an argument making the rounds among Holcomb coal-fired plant supporters: Carbon dioxide is good for crops. Now the warming deniers are actually promoting it as a farm program?
“One of the really good things about CO2 is that plants perform better under stress (drought, etc.) with increased levels of CO2,†said Rep. Larry Powell, R-Garden City, in discounting the impact of this greenhouse gas.
It’s a misleading argument at best. A recent study by the Bush-funded Climate Change Science Program found that the buildup of carbon dioxide in North America is at levels three time beyond what plants can usefully absorb. What’s more, plants need water to survive, too, and global warming-induced drought could dry up water supplies in some areas.
Another recent study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that while carbon dioxide increases may help tree and plant growth in some northern temperate regions, any benefit would be more than offset by ground-level ozone, another greenhouse gas that hurts plants, especially in cropland regions.
Ozone buildup in the atmosphere could cut global crop production by 40 percent and decrease crop values by 12 percent by 2100, according to the study, which concludes that the “overall economic consequences will be considerable.â€
All in all, global warming is a bad bet for saving the farm.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
There has been great progress in treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS — and President Bush deserves praise for his strong support of this cause. But on this 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day, it’s important to realize that more work is needed, particularly on preventing mother-to-child transmission of this disease in other countries. An estimated 33.2 million people worldwide — 1 in every 200 — are living with HIV, and daily 6,800 people are infected with HIV and 5,700 people die of AIDS-related illnesses, according to the World AIDS Campaign. “This is not the time for complacency nor apathy,†South African Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu said. “It is the time for compassionate leadership.â€
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Good for the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission for viewing the dueling coal-plant ad campaigns as lobbying that the public deserves to know more about. The panel, chaired by Wichita attorney Sabrina Standifer, decided Wednesday that the spending on the pro- and anti-plant campaigns should be publicly reported to the state. Standifer pointed to the ongoing legislative review of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s permit denial of new coal plants as reason to count the ads as lobbying. In complying with the commission’s request, though, the campaigners still won’t have to disclose who paid for the ads, just how much was spent.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
