Warming Fact or Fiction

CO2 Truth-Alerts

© 2009, Warming Fact or Fiction. All rights reserved.

Clean-energy bill poses dilemma for Ohio Democrats; Rep. Kaptur fears consumer impact

Posted by Sabrina Eaton/Plain Dealer Bureau

WASHINGTON — The White House and many congressional Democrats hope that by the end of 2009, they’ll have passed a bill to promote clean energy and finally curtail global warming. But if objections by industrial-state lawmakers like Rep. Marcy Kaptur, a northern Ohio Democrat, are any gauge, they face a rough road to passage. Read more »

© 2009, Warming Fact or Fiction. All rights reserved.

Report Shows Air Quality Improved During Bush Administration

A recent report from a Washington think tank shows that levels of numerous gases linked with air pollution, like carbon monoxide, have fallen off since 2001 and air quality in the U.S. has improved significantly over the last decade.
FOXNews By James Osborne
Wednesday, May 20, 2009

As the Obama administration considers further steps to fight air pollution, a recent report from a Washington think tank shows that air quality in the United States has improved significantly over the last decade.

The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research analyzed data collected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and concluded that levels of numerous gases linked with air pollution have fallen off since 2001.

Among the findings: Carbon monoxide decreased by 39 percent, ozone by 6 percent, and sulfur dioxide by 32 percent. Read more »

© 2009, Warming Fact or Fiction. All rights reserved.

Greenhouse Production of Cucumbers

CO2 Science Reviewed 13 May 2009:

What was done
The authors grew plants from seed to maturity in standard perlite bags within climate-controlled greenhouses at Almeria, Spain, during which time the plants were “fertigated” (fertilized and irrigated) via a nutrient-solution drip system that was regulated to maintain the same electrical conductivity in the leached solution draining from the perlite bags of each greenhouse, one of which greenhouses was also supplied with extra CO2 during daylight hours (through outlets below each plant) when the greenhouse side vents were closed or when the roof vent was less than 20% of full opening, resulting in a mean daytime concentration of about 450 ppm around the plants, which was approximately 100 ppm more than the ambient CO2 concentration around the plants in the other greenhouse. Read more »

© 2009, Warming Fact or Fiction. All rights reserved.

Old Trees Growing in a CO2-Accreting Atmosphere

CO2 Science:

In an enlightening analysis recently published in the Journal of Integrative Plant Biology, Phillips et al. (2008) note there is “a long held view,” as they describe it, that “old trees exhibit little potential for growth.” Hence, they say “it may seem reasonable to conclude that old trees are not responsive to increased CO2,” as many climate alarmists do indeed claim. They go on, however, to demonstrate that this view is likely far from the truth.

The three researchers begin their analysis of the subject by stating that “hydraulic constraints in tall trees,” such as those of great age, “constitute a fundamental form of water limitation; indeed, one that is indistinguishable from soil water limitations,” citing the work of Koch et al. (2004) and Woodruff et al. (2004). They also report that “recent research indicates that tree size and its hydraulic correlates, rather than age per se, controls carbon gain in old trees,” as indicated by the study of Mencuccini et al. (2005). These findings imply, in their words, that “factors that alleviate internal or external resource constraints on old trees could improve physiological function and ultimately growth,” which is something elevated CO2 does quite well by increasing plant water use efficiency. In fact, they list several phenomena that suggest “a fundamental potential for old growth trees to show greater photosynthesis and growth under industrial age increases in CO2 than they would under constant, pre-industrial CO2 levels.” Read more »

© 2009, Warming Fact or Fiction. All rights reserved.

Solar Influence on Climate

CO2 Science:

The study of extraterrestrial climatic forcing factors is primarily a study of phenomena related to the sun. Historically, this field of inquiry began with the work of Milankovitch (1920, 1941), who linked the cyclical glaciations of the past million years to the receipt of solar radiation at the surface of the earth as modulated by variations in earth’s orbit and rotational characteristics. Subsequent investigations implicated a number of other solar phenomena that operate on both shorter and longer timescales; and in this summary we review the findings of the subset of those studies that involve galactic cosmic rays.

We begin with the very personal review paper of Svensmark (2007), Director of the Center for Sun-Climate Research of the Danish National Space Center, who starts by describing how he and his colleagues experimentally determined that electrons released to the atmosphere by galactic cosmic rays act as catalysts that significantly accelerate the formation of ultra-small clusters of sulfuric acid and water molecules that constitute the building blocks of cloud condensation nuclei, and who then discusses how during periods of greater solar magnetic activity, greater shielding of the earth occurs, resulting in less cosmic rays penetrating to the lower atmosphere, resulting in less cloud condensation nuclei being produced, resulting in fewer and less reflective low-level clouds occurring, which leads to more solar radiation being absorbed by the surface of the earth, resulting in increasing near-surface air temperatures and global warming. Read more »

© 2009, Warming Fact or Fiction. All rights reserved.

Ads Target Key Votes on Climate-Change Bill

By STEPHEN POWER and BRODY MULLINS

WASHINGTON — Business groups and environmentalists are flooding the airwaves with ads targeting a dozen or so Democrats whose votes are seen as crucial on a controversial climate bill.

The outreach is intensifying as House Democratic leaders are gaining confidence they have the votes needed to move the bill through the House Energy and Commerce Committee as early as next week. On Thursday, a key swing vote on the panel, Rep. Rick Boucher (D., Va.), announced he would support the measure, though he said he continues to harbor concerns about some of its provisions and intends to seek changes when it comes before the full House later this year. Read more »

© 2009, Warming Fact or Fiction. All rights reserved.

Alternative Energy’s Fortunes Shift With the Winds

One Man’s Effort to Build a Turbine Company Reflects the Ups and Downs of Oil, the Economy and Commitment.

By JEFFREY BALL

Cedar Rapids, Iowa — James Dehlsen has spent decades trying to build a bigger and better machine to convert a breeze into electricity.

As much as anyone, he helped create the modern wind-power business, riding waves of interest in alternative energy and weathering downturns when that enthusiasm died down. At this point in the cycle, he doesn’t exactly have the wind at his back.

“The industry has been impacted pretty heavily,” says Mr. Dehlsen, chairman of Clipper Windpower, one of a few U.S. wind-turbine makers. Asked about the demand for turbines, he says: “It’s not up.”

Just a few months ago, Clipper Windpower’s turbines were in high demand. The company recently laid off workers. Read more »

© 2009, Warming Fact or Fiction. All rights reserved.

Parts of Obama’s Green Energy Plan Fuel Discontent Among Environmentalists

Many local activists say the rush to renewables, backed by Obama, risks trading one power problem for another.

By Dan Springer   FOXNews

A key part of President Obama’s energy plan — replacing fossil fuels with green alternatives — is facing increasing opposition from an unlikely source: environmentalists.

Some environmentalists, who have successfully fought a wind farm on the border of Oregon and Washington, are trying to block a massive solar plant in the Mojave desert. And now an Oregon county is considering a ban on wind power in the foothills of the blue mountains. Read more »

© 2009, Warming Fact or Fiction. All rights reserved.