WE Blog

Carbon: the New Chemical Villain

According to the popular press, carbon has now joined toxic heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury, lead and cadmium on Peck’s Bad Boy list. The phrase “carbon footprint” in the lexicon of lazy pseudo science writers and amateur climatologists provokes images of radioactive dirty shoes betraying our every move leaving deadly indelible impressions on the path to oblivion.

Why has the image of carbon been so distorted and demonized? Most of us even having a glancing familiarity with organic chemistry at one time knew that carbon is the building block of life on earth. From simple sugars to amino acids and DNA from industrial polymers to Q-tips, carbon is everywhere on earth, as it necessarily must be as carbon’s structure invites nearly every other element to bond with it.

Astrobiologists searching for life beyond earth know that carbon is plentiful, showing up as carbon monoxide CO, methane CH4 and even carbon dioxide CO2 . Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), hydrogen carbon combos that we would associate with petroleum and mothballs, are the most abundant complex molecules in the universe according to Pascale Ehrenfreund of the University of Leiden. Carbon, found in the proximity of hydrogen, oxygen and water, means life is possible. But carbon must be found in very specific combinations and patterns with oxygen and hydrogen along with the occasional nitrogen, forming uniquely shaped amino acids, proteins and sugars, for life as we know it.

http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/06/carbon_footprint_the_new_chemi.html

Radio telescopes search the universe for even a hint of a tell tale wavelength for these complex biological carbon compounds. But nothing. Silence. The universe seems to be devoid of any biological organic carbon footprint anywhere else. Which means no sign of life. If we are utterly alone, it conjures one of two emotional states: profound loneliness at the realization life on earth may have been a random occurrence or unrestrained joy in appreciating that we are in God’s exclusive province.

Of course the dreaded carbon footprint here on earth is enviro-nihilist shorthand for despising one life form in particular. Humans. While we search the heavens in vain for any sign of intelligent life, the one right here, right now, is under steady assault. The carbon footprint doomsayers would also deny one of the greatest gifts of Western Civilization-continuous discovery and innovation in the science of carbon-from eradicating smallpox and alleviating pain to inventing synthetic nylon pantyhose, fast cars and microbrewed ales.

The zero carbon footprint movement has its roots in the zero population growth agenda of Margaret Sanger’s radical eugenics of the 1920s cloaked in the respectability of Planned Parenthood. In the 1960’s, Paul Ehrlich’s “The Population Bomb” further opened the backdoor entrance for the anti-capitalists and pro-choice lobby. The most recent dramatic example of post-humanism self-loathing is the -sexual-enviro thesis published last month by Robert Engleman in “More–Population, Nature and What Women Want”.

Engleman’s agenda about voluntary means to restrain population growth by giving women absolute control over procreation is just a precursor for forced sterilization, unregulated abortion on demand and acceptance of government run misanthropy.

Moreover as Lawrence Solomon points out in “The Deniers” the misguided priorities of the zero carbon footprint fanatics have produced such perversions as creating a financial market for carbon credits through displacing tens of thousands of people in third world economies from their native forest homes to make room for biomass agriculture or millions dispossessed of their land flooded for hydroelectric dam reservoirs. Of course massive government subsidies to convert foodstuff cropland into ethanol fuel biomass has created a food price spiral and spot shortages, a self-fulfilling prophecy of the ZPG Mathusians.

Rather than a metaphor for plague and scourge, our carbon footprint should be a life-affirming exaltation with primordial hopes of reproduction and immortality. Carbon footprint as villain is temporal, transitory and self-absorbed-a nihilist and narcissist absurdity. Narcissus, you will recall, unable to return the affections of the nymph Echo, was consigned to forever seek the embrace of his own reflection and be captive to an illusion. So what becomes of the illusion of the zero carbon footprint? Where does the line of sight beyond a zero carbon footprint world lead? Well, to steal a reference from philosopher Antony Flew in his essay on death, quoting the apocalyptic words of Ludwig Wittgenstein, “Outside the visual field nothing is seen, not even darkness…the world in death does not change, but ceases.” Indeed, the world without our human carbon footprint does not change, but ceases.

This got flagged for some reason. Going to break it up and see if it goes thru.

Global warming. The earth has supposedly increased in temperature by one degree over 100 years. Let’s stop and think about that. One degree –eww, break out the SPF 4,000,000. Exactly how accurate was the instrumentation 100 years ago? Say +- 1 degree? 5? But the alarmist point, scream and flail their arms.

Part 4

Now they want to talk about money. Big oil somehow perpetrating a fraud on the people by revealing these massively flawed findings from the alarmists. Gee, exactly how much money has been wasted by the alarmists? Don’t want to talk about that do you? How about Gore’s ponzi carbon credit scheme? The cap and trade BS bouncing around the house and senate? The largest attempt to transfer money ever attempted.

Alarmists, your agenda is showing.

I never thought I would see it. But mine eyes have seen the vainglory.

I never thought I would live to see the day – when a would-be messiah (and now Catholic convert) grants an interview to Hugh Hefner’s ode to hedonism. But it’s all there – in the July issue.

http://www.ahumbleplea.com/Docs/julyplayboyinterview.pdf

Yes, the scrotal skruncher himself – the demigod/alpha female of the anti-abortion crowd – Randall Terry himself – is nestled amidst the centerfolds and assorted juvenilia – and he’s as resulsive as ever.

Since I have provided the URL, there really is no need to elaborate here. Yet……

I invite everyone – anyone – who’s ever lost a loved one to botched (illegal) or self-induced abortion – to read Terry’s belchings herein. And succeed in keeping your breakfast down. ‘Cause I’m bringing up a lil’ Eggo right about now.

Here’s a hint to all anti-choice individuals: Heartfelt convictions – not transparent egotism – will move hearts. Dedication, commitment and COMPASSION (that’s the big one) will make a difference.

I can’t squelch the compassion, seeing as how my grandfather’s first wife died of sepsis after a self-induced cervical mutilation (i.e., self-induced abortion) in 1923. I am highly offended at those who would accuse me of “using her life” as a “scare tactic.”

She was not a “tactic.” She was a newly-married, 22-year-old woman in the prime of life. I cannot purport to know the horror and desperation which must have consumed her so long ago.

For obvious reasons, I find Terry’s meanderings quite, quite repugnant.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Isn’t that admonition contained in the Bible? Blessed are the merciful, for they are one with Christ. Okay, so the Filmfan created that one. But so what.

If you wanna hock something up, read Terry’s masturba-festo if you dare. (Hey, Randy! You’re a Catholic now! That’s a sin!)

Relegating my grandfather’s first wife to a mere “statistic” or “tactic’ is repulsive, too. And there were obviously many more like her whose names are also lost to history. Shame on you, Randy-Pandy.

You just sort of make me sick to me stomach. More than morning sickness ever did……

money.cnn.com — Oil prices could fall to half their current levels if Congress puts strict limits on financial investment in energy commodity futures, a panel of experts testified on Capitol Hill. Derivatives exchange executives meanwhile warned that mandating far higher collateral from energy futures traders could make oil trading a wilder and less transparent market. Lawmakers in both the House and Senate are aggressively exploring ways to rein in what they believe is excessive speculation driving skyrocketing oil prices. The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing is the latest in a series of committee meetings focused on probing the role of speculators.

Face Sol. Desperate people do desperate things. Always have, always will.

Any comments on the Hawker Beechcraft item in the news? How generous that they want to send more work to Mexico! NOT.

Some expert opinions hold inauguration of the bourse cold significantly devalue the greenback.

Maybe THAT is why Bush and his cronies are so hot to go to war with Iran!

Ben- What do you suppose was discussed at Cheney’s “Energy Meeting” right after the first election? I’ve always wondered why the secrecy.

Naw, that makes too much sense…

The warming is not uniform over the Earth — see map.

Still around 1 degree though right?

If humans have a large-scale nuclear war

Those damn dinosaurs used NUKES ????

natural climate changes

That is the only damn thing you said that made sense.

I posted a Truck to Train to Truck plan before.

We spend billions on Interstate highways used mainly by trucks. Let’s divert some highway money to rails. Truck routes beyond 500 miles should not be necessary. Need high-speed rail, with rapid onload/offload regional hubs. Rail costs less to build and operate then highways, and uses less land space.

Saves: Fuel, Wear/tear on Roads, 7,500 lives killed today in accidents involving trucks, less pollution. Costs less then 1/4 to ship by rail, then by truck. Imagine reducing truck diesel fuel consumption by 75%! Translates to roughly 20% reduction in overall oil consumption in US. Reduces CO2 emissions and thus would help save the world.

The Libs don’t want this though. The Teamsters won’t allow it. Sacrifices of Liberal interests to save the planet from Global Warming are never the right thing to do.

For more info on railroad solutions see: http://www.railsolution.org/ and http://www.aar.org/

(Ya, the latest “Peace Plan” lasted a whopping 5 DAYS!)

Dinosaurs and nukes. Now it is the damn soil. I sure hope I’m not around in 2300-2400.

Once started, irreversible thawing could release 4.4-6.2 trillion pounds of carbon per year into the atmosphere between the years 2300 and 2400

Mobile phones ‘more dangerous than smoking’
Brain expert warns of huge rise in tumours and calls on industry to take immediate steps to reduce radiation
By Geoffrey Lean
Sunday, 30 March 2008
Mobile phones could kill far more people than smoking or asbestos, a study by an award-winning cancer expert has concluded. He says people should avoid using them wherever possible and that governments and the mobile phone industry must take “immediate steps” to reduce exposure to their radiation.
The study, by Dr Vini Khurana, is the most devastating indictment yet published of the health risks.
It draws on growing evidence – exclusively reported in the IoS in October – that using handsets for 10 years or more can double the risk of brain cancer. Cancers take at least a decade to develop, invalidating official safety assurances based on earlier studies which included few, if any, people who had used the phones for that long.
Earlier this year, the French government warned against the use of mobile phones, especially by children. Germany also advises its people to minimise handset use, and the European Environment Agency has called for exposures to be reduced.
Professor Khurana – a top neurosurgeon who has received 14 awards over the past 16 years, has published more than three dozen scientific papers – reviewed more than 100 studies on the effects of mobile phones. He has put the results on a brain surgery website, and a paper based on the research is currently being peer-reviewed for publication in a scientific journal.
He admits that mobiles can save lives in emergencies, but concludes that “there is a significant and increasing body of evidence for a link between mobile phone usage and certain brain tumours”. He believes this will be “definitively proven” in the next decade.
Noting that malignant brain tumours represent “a life-ending diagnosis”, he adds: “We are currently experiencing a reactively unchecked and dangerous situation.” He fears that “unless the industry and governments take immediate and decisive steps”, the incidence of malignant brain tumours and associated death rate will be observed to rise globally within a decade from now, by which time it may be far too late to intervene medically.
“It is anticipated that this danger has far broader public health ramifications than asbestos and smoking,” says Professor Khurana, who told the IoS his assessment is partly based on the fact that three billion people now use the phones worldwide, three times as many as smoke. Smoking kills some five million worldwide each year, and exposure to asbestos is responsible for as many deaths in Britain as road accidents.
Late last week, the Mobile Operators Association dismissed Khurana’s study as “a selective discussion of scientific literature by one individual”. It believes he “does not present a balanced analysis” of the published science, and “reaches opposite conclusions to the WHO and more than 30 other independent expert scientific reviews”.

http://www.epa.gov/methane/scientific.html
“Methane is about 21 times more powerful at warming the atmosphere than carbon dioxide (CO2) by weight”

Sol, Saddam was only “hinting” at doing that (trading in Euro’s). But Bernanke told some high-ups at a UAE oil meeting (I’ll dig up the article) that these Arab oil folks ought to start dumping the dollar. Chavez down South, also is “threatening” to trade in Euro’s as well. Makes you wonder why he is an enemy. As you know, we overthrew Mossadeq in ‘53 because he wanted to keep a little more than 4% of his oil revenue. And he was Westernizing Iran and he was elected! Soon we’ll be back over there (Iran) and that won’t be anything like fighting (a sanctioned for 10 year’s) Iraq.

Harry Reid is now talking about splitting the immunity provision of the FISA bill off into a separate bill.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/23/politics/politico/thecrypt/main4204332.shtml

I’m not sure if this is good or bad. His state intention is cravenly poltical: to allow Senators to vote against immunity without killing the bill. But perhaps with some political cover, we’d actually see the immunity provision defeated, which would (thankfully) defeat the full bill, as Bush wouldn’t sign it.

But I’m not holding my breath. Stay tuned.

Tina Davis, former employee of Wichita abortionist quack George Tiller, has given recorded eye-witness testimony of the brutal stabbing murder of a moving, viable baby of 35 weeks gestation, born alive in Tiller’s abortion mill, some time during the last 2 years. The accused murderess is Shelley Sella, an abortionist quack from California employed part-time by Tiller to kill late-term babies and occasionally swill taxpayer-funded steak and lobster at Cedar Crest. Sella is the abortionist quack accused before a legislative committee of multiple violations of state laws and medical regulations in the coerced abortion inflicted on then high-school girl Michelle Armesto some years ago.
The murder has been reported to the Wichita Police Department and the Kansas Board of Healing Arts, and they have reportedly put on extra blinders and gone about other business, as has Kansas AG SixSixSix.
This murder, and other abortion mill crimes, will be discussed on Bott Radio Network’s “The Complete Story” at 2 pm Wednesday.
Fruitcake candidate Obamanation remains adamantly opposed to the Born Alive Infants Protections Act now signed into federal law to help prevent this kind of ruthless brutality.
(Psalms 106:37-40; Proverbs 6:16-19; Isaiah 59:4-8)

Good follow up, Ben… Spot On!!

lmao fleettie. :)))

If Jeff Longwell is so big on stopping smoking in public why does he do it himself?

Jeff Longwell was seen at the Setter Foundation Cigar dinner at the Airport Hilton smoking a cigar. He was subjecting the staff to second hand smoke (supposedly one of the reasons to ban smoking in public).

What a hypocrit!

On top of that two of the city council members (Jeff Longwell and Paul Gray) were guests paid for by Bill Warren.

These guys are supporting giving Bill Warren $6million of our tax dollars. Something really smells here and should be investigated.

Anybody hear anything about a Memorial Service/Remembrance for George Carlin??

anthropegenic warming

What have the climate, weather, warming, cooling (what ever the current alarmist title is this week) trends over the last, oh, say, 1000 years? You are looking at data from an extremely short period and making very sweeping statements.

“Anybody hear anything about a Memorial Service/Remembrance for George Carlin??”

It’s at your place.

Chas, We as a people do not live in a garage. We do live on a large and very complicated planet. Thank you for your time.

ANTI

“anthropegenic warming

“What have the climate, weather, warming, cooling (what ever the current alarmist title is this week) trends over the last, oh, say, 1000 years? You are looking at data from an extremely short period and making very sweeping statements.”

One of the saddest things in this country has been the tendancy of some libertarians to insist on protecting their orthodoxy rather than deal with the science.

Ahthropogenic global warming is a hypothesis well supported by evidence. This evidence has been gathered by a broad group of international researchers from a variety of political climates, cultures, and traditions. Hardly the stuff of “sweeping generalizations” and alarmist, reckless claims. Those who use the terminology “alarmist” tend to reveal more about themselves, whether it is alarm about supposed onerous regulation with catastrophic results for economies or just knee jerk reaction to environmentalism and global warming activism being perceived as a “liberal” cause.

http://www.ipcc.ch/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez

Libertarians are better suited for coming up with ways to address the issue that are consistent with their values rather than pretend that something doesn’t exist because they see it as a route to excessive government regulation of economic activity.

That being said, as important as global climate change is, there are other environmental issues of at least equal importance (and these overlap with global climate change, but they are seperate) that are not getting sufficient attention in my opinion. One is the pollution and depletion of the oceans and the other is the loss of tropical forests. I must say this, and it is important to note this: The Bush Administration’s record on ocean conservation issues has some remarkable highlights.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90766237

You are looking at data from an extremely short period and making very sweeping statements.

Short by what standard? In geological time, we’re very likely screwed anyway–we’re very much the new kids on the block. But in fact, the argument rather works against you: why should we see such a dramatic change in such a relatively short time? And why shouldn’t we concerned about it, no matter the cause? Don’t you think our short little run on this planet could come to an abrupt–or perhaps a long, painful, drawn-out–end? How long did the Neanderthals stick around?

Curious that you refer to the terms as “alarmist.” Does “anthropegenic forcing” (the term scientists generally use) less “alarmist”? Or are just arguing against science in political terms, as is usually done by the IPCC’s critics?

When Sputnik was launched in orbit in 1957 (and later (cosmo)astronauts did the same) no one knew beyond all doubt that spacecraft could actually orbit the planet. The relativistic corrections made to communications satellites were predicted long before by the work of Albert Einstein. The science was right, even if we couldn’t immediately test it out.

Science can also be wrong, and scientists can be mistaken, but that’s a far cry from dismissing the consensus of serious research as nothing more than alarmism.

I can read graphs. Yours is past goofy, heading towards loony. Do you get paid more for cutting or for pasting? You would be fun at a party.

“We want fewer and better children…and we cannot make the social life and the world-peace we are determined to make, with the ill-bred, ill-trained swarms of inferior citizens that you inflict on us.”
. . . eugenicist H. G. Wells, in his introduction to pro-Nazi eugenicist Margaret Sanger’s 1922 book “The Pivot of Civilization” arguing against allowing the unfit races to produce children
- – -

“Free cheap abortion is a policy of social defense. To save ourselves from being murdered in our beds and raped on the streets, we should do everything possible to encourage pregnant women who don’t want the baby and will not take care of it to get rid of the thing before it turns into a monster… At their demonstration, the anti-abortionists parade around with pictures of dead and dismembered fetuses. The pro-abortionists should meet these displays with some of their own: pictures of the victims of the unaborted — murder victims, rape victims, mutilation victims — pictures to remind us that the fight for abortion is but part of the larger struggle for safe homes and safe streets.”
. . . Nicholas Von Hoffman, 1922, in the “Philadelphia Inquirer”, arguing that cheap, unrestricted abortions would keep black babies from growing up to murder and rape white people
- – -

Today, one third of the babies slaughtered in America’s abortion mills are black, a killing rate 3 times higher. Very often, black mothers face heavy pressure to submit to the exploitation and abuse in abortion mills, from boyfriends, husbands, parents, employers, landlords, school administrators, coaches, and even Judas goats like fruitcake candidate Obamanation.

#
Rage
Posted June 24, 2008 at 3:14 pm | Permalink

Wouldn’t THAT be a NATURAL source of (gasp!) Global Warming?

Every source is “natural.” There is no such thing as unnatural. What’s at issue is the effect homo sapiens are having.

What’s at issue is anthropegenic warming–i.e. man-made results of arguably optional activities. And if it could be shown that bear farts were leading to our possible extinction, I might want to do something about it.
——————————-
Whenever you get nominated as Climate Deity, let everyone know.

We’d be interested Mr. Rainmaker, on how you plan to control the climate.

(chortles)

Remember the nig media flap when Hillary Clinton noted the chaos that ensued after the assassination of RFK? How ot is good to have an additional candidate ‘just in case’? They went on and on and on about her comments being a ‘hope’ that something happens.

Well, note the lack of coverage of McCain hoping for another attack on the US because that would help his campaign:

http://www.kansas.com/wireupdates/story/443247.html

“suggested a terrorist attack on U.S. soil would boost his presidential campaign …

The day Bhutto died in a bombing and shooting attack, McCain told reporters, “My theme has been throughout this campaign that I’m the one with the experience, the knowledge and the judgment. So perhaps it may serve to enhance those credentials to make people understand that I’ve been to Pakistan, I know (President Pervez) Musharraf, I can pick up the phone and call him. I knew Benazir Bhutto.”

Parkay the perv says,
“eugenicist H. G. Wells”

Um, dimwit, HG Wells was a science fiction writer, not a practitioner of eugenics. Next time when you lie try to make it a bit more convincing.

Perhaps the poll should have asked if Americans are in favor of increased oil spills and having oil soaked beaches. Really brilliant to have offshore wells in a hurricane zone.

To get an idea of how stupid Republicans are, the U.S. has 2% of the world’s oil reserves but consumes 25% of the world’s available supply. For some reason more wells in America will suddenly produce more oil that everything OPEC produces in Republican dream land. But keep in mind McCain admits he doesn’t even know how to use a computer.

“Our potential reserves are much greater. There are an estimated 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the oil shale in the Green River Formation in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. That’s about as much oil as the proved reserves of the rest of the world combined.”

Suck it, Libs.

In fact MP; I recall HGWells wrote some good books lambasting such ideas – notable Brave New World and Island.

“Well, note the lack of coverage of McCain hoping for another attack on the US because that would help his campaign:”

ben– You used to be better than this. McCain “hopes” for another attack?

The dems know it would help his campaign. We all know it would help his campaign.

Answer why that is true and you will figure out why Obama won’t win in November.

From the Jake Tapper site at ABC news:

“Regardless of McCain distancing himself from Black’s sentiment, Democratic consultants have said similar things to me.”

“Our potential reserves are much greater. There are an estimated 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the oil shale in the Green River Formation in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. That’s about as much oil as the proved reserves of the rest of the world combined.”

“Suck it, Libs.”

When you figure how much energy and water it takes to extract that oil, and the amount of pollution it creates then you might want to rethink that.

“Ask the Norwegians about oil exploration. They don’t appear to have any problems and are ranked very high as an environmentally friendly oil explorer.
The Norwegians can do it, so can we.”

I wasn’t aware Norway was acquiring oil from oil shale. Probably because they aren’t.

MP – I doubt that Regular has any experience in shale extraction. It is a fascinating study but has never made it out of the lab.

Actually Maggot, Norway does shale exploration, just not here in the U.S. They have some of the worlds finest seismic exploration teams.

Estonia has extracted shale from rock for many years now. They are not an environmentally friendly country as it as an cold war mindset that didn’t care about things. But their shale oil production they export to countries like Germany and others.

Multi-nic’d ‘Regular’ posted,

“So, I guess you could say I already am a tree hugger of sorts, but I was more vested in human protection than resource or environmental protection.”
——————-

‘Regular’ hates tree-huggers.

He inaccurately blames them for the NO levee failures, when the real cause was USACE’s design flaws, and improper construction.

Well, it’s been a good day today!!

Good night; Good luck; and God bless —
Whatever you conceive God to be!!

Blessings ALL!!

Blessings on the memory of George Carlin!!
May his memories keep inspiring us!!

Regular – what a choice of names! I have read many of your posts. I just cant help but wonder if your name is trying to tell us about the nature of your bowel movements, or the type of fuel you burn in your vehicle. :roll:

I confess. I am not good at jokes at nearly 5 a.m.

But this one I could not resist!

Say what, idiot? Did you actually try to say something? Or was that just the wind blowing through your brain?

Chas/Das/Sugar aka SquarePeg is on his cholesterol laden heart way.

Atheist speed Chas/Das/Sugar aka SquarePeg!

Heh, read it and weep, Max!

Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose: For example, concealed weapons prohibitions have been upheld under the Amendment or state analogues. The Court’s opinion should not be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms byfelons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms. Miller’s holding that the sorts of weapons protected are those
“in common use at the time” finds support in the historical traditionof prohibiting the carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons.

http://supremecourtus.gov/opinions/07pdf/07-290.pdf

The upshot: as I predicted, not much would change. Absolute bans are history, but reasonable regulation will continue.

And, Rage, why are you on two day’s ago Open?

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