A Pax on SUV’s, by Gråulf

I was bundled up against the cold, on my way back to the office after donating blood at the Bonfils bloodsucker mobile, when a young lady carrying a clipboard confronted me. She asked me to help save the earth from global warming by signing a petition to place an additional tax on those who drive SUVs. Her prepared speech informed me that SUV’s put tons of CO2 into the air, which was causing the earths temperature to spin out of control, and raising the world’s sea level. Normally I just shake my head and push past such people, but this young lady exuded an aura of condescension that irritated me, so I stopped to see if she knew what she was talking about. It turned out that she didn’t have a clue, and judging from her response to my lecture, she didn’t care either.

Here are some of the facts, just in case someone out there is interested….

The earths atmosphere consist primarily of 78.084 percent Nitrogen, 20.947 percent Oxygen, 0.934 percent Argon, and 0.035 percent Carbon Dioxide. It is estimated that the portion of CO2 in the atmosphere that is man-made is 3.22 percent of the total, and that man-made CO2 contribute 0.117 percent to the global warming that has happened since the end of the Little Ice Age. 95.0 percent of the “Greenhouse Effect” is caused by water vapor, and we are lucky to have the “Greenhouse Effect, because the earth would be as cold as the surface of the moon without it.

The Kyoto Protocol calls for mandatory carbon dioxide reductions of 30% from developed countries like the U.S. Reducing man-made CO2 emissions this much would have an undetectable effect on climate while having a devastating effect on the U.S. economy. Can you drive your car 30% less, reduce your winter heating by 30%, pay 20-50% more for everything from automobiles to zippers? And that is just a down payment, with more sacrifices to come later. Such drastic measures, even if imposed equally on all countries around the world, would reduce total human greenhouse contributions from CO2 by about 0.035 percent. That is much less than the natural variability of Earth's climate system, and the level of CO2 varies more than that from summer to winter.

I also wanted to tell that young lady about a “Dust to Dust Energy Report” from CNW Marketing Research, Inc. They measured the total energy cost of new vehicles from concept to disposal, and found that a Toyota Prius contributes more CO2 to the atmosphere during its total lifetime than most American SUV’s and pickups. However, I could barely keep up with her by then, so I am sure she was not that interested. I didn’t really want to sign her petition anyway. I was frezing, and I live a mile above sea level so I am not that concerned about raising sea levels.

Gråulf