WTF? TV Ad Claims CO2 is Good For the Earth

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WTF? TV Ad Claims CO2 is Good For the Earth

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It is common knowledge that carbon dioxide (CO2) is a pollutant largely responsible for climate change. In fact, a new report by the United Nations (UN) Environment Programme finds that climate change is racing towards irreversibility faster than previously imagined, and the culprit is CO2. That’s why a new television advertisement by the oil industry lobby touting “more CO2 results in a greener earth” is shocking Americans.

Photo by olof s

WTF? CO2 is good for the Earth.

Claiming CO2 is good for the Earth in light of the news the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will most likely classify this greenhouse gas as a “dangerous pollutant” leaves many wondering just how far the oil industry will go to lie to the American public. A formal EPA declaration would require CO2 to be regulated under the Clean Air Act, regardless of the Senate’s decision on Waxman-Markey. Such a declaration would follow upon the 2007 Supreme Court decision “that greenhouse gases qualified as pollutants and could be regulated if the government determined they threatened the public”.

The UN concurs with the EPA that CO2 is a dangerous greenhouse gas. The Environment News Service describes the UN report titled “Climate Change Science Compendium 2009″:

The growth in carbon dioxide emissions from energy and industry has exceeded even the most fossil-fuel intensive scenario developed by the IPCC at the end of the 1990s. Global emissions were growing by 1.1 percent each year from 1990-1999 and this accelerated to 3.5 percent per year from 2000-2007.

Yet the scientists documented in the Compendium suggest that it may still be possible to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change, but only if there is immediate, cohesive and decisive action to both cut emissions and assist vulnerable countries to adapt.

Given all of the evidence, why would the following advertisement be running in some US states claiming, “There is no scientific evidence that CO2 is a pollutant. In fact, higher CO2 levels than we have today would help the earth’s ecosystems and would support more plant and animal life.”

Undermining global and national efforts to stop climate change is the goal of this group calling itself “CO2 is Green”, which is even trying to establish itself as a charity. The Guardian explains:

So who’s behind “CO2 is green” and this advert? One of its founders is H Leighton Steward who, until his retirement in 2000, was the vice chairman of Burlington Resources, a Houston-based oil and gas company bought by ConocoPhillips in 2006. Steward received the American Petroleum Institute’s Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement in 2001 and remains an honorary director of the oil industry lobby group. In other words, we can conclude that this man boasts a particular pedigree within the oil industry.

Unfortunately this is not a joke or a Saturday Night Live spoof. It is real reminder of the power of lies promoted by lobbyists in the United States.

Posted on Sep 29, 2009

Tags:

carbon dioxide, climate change, CO2, epa, global warming, greenhouse gases, lobby, oil industry, UN

About the Author

Jennifer Lance

Jennifer lives on 160 acres off-the-grid in a home built with her own two hands (and several more skilled pairs of hands) from forest fire salvaged timber. Her home is powered by a micro-hydro turbine, and she has been a vegetarian for 21 years. She graduated from Humboldt State University with a degree in art education and has been teaching art to children for over 16 years. Jennifer is the founder and editor of Eco Child's Play.

9 Responses to “WTF? TV Ad Claims CO2 is Good For the Earth”

dawn

Oct 06, 2009

that ad is frightening! how can they be so blatantly wrong and misleading
fatcat44

Oct 13, 2009

Many scientist and experts agree with them. We do not know that it bad as the UN and EPA, It may do a change, good or bad? If it effects it at all.

First it was global warming. Well that isn’t happening, so now it is climate change. Al Gore is an idiot and has several things wrong. He pushed global warming to make himself rich!
GLI Editors

Oct 13, 2009

On what scientific grounds are you basing your assertion that “global warming isn’t happening”? If it’s because the past few years’ temperatures haven’t been above average, it’s important to realize that these trends are measured over decades and centuries, not months and years. And who are these accredited “scientists and experts” who agree that CO2 is good for the Earth? The large majority of the credible scientific community across the global universally agree that climate change is occurring and that it is caused by man. I think you need to re-research your facts rather than making ad hominem attacks on a single politician. This issue is far beyond any single man, and I’m fairly sure Al Gore’s wealth pre-dated his championing of global warming causes.

- Eds
Joseph

Oct 15, 2009

There is absolutely no proof that human activity can cause climate change. You are a fool if you fall for the old, “the sky is falling” routine. I would try to explain what this scam is all about. But, if you have already bought into this scam you are too stupid to understand.
GLI Editors

Oct 15, 2009

Joseph, would you care to enlighten us all and share your collected wisdom about the “scam” of climate change?
krystal

Oct 28, 2009

If you look at the history of our planet, it is constantly going through periods of heating and cooling. It is always better to look at everything as an information collection process, not a who’s right who’s wrong piss contest. We are all trying to help each other here. If you look up Tropospheric Aerosol Program, you will see that the United States government was and still is spraying deadly aerosol into our environment in the form of chemtrails. The fluoride in our water is bad for us. Do some research on other country’s motto on why they don’t have fluoride in their water supply. There are a lot of things we all need to open our brains up to realize is not actually the truth but what we have been fed to believe. Did you know the government controls the weather? China just made is snow, look it up on youtube. If they really cared about people and our well being, they wouldn’t be doing half the shit they are. 25% of babies born in Iraq are born deformed due to the use of depleted uranium by the US. Wake up. You say you want change? Research instead of watching the news. All the news is biased because they are all owned by big rich companies who use special interest groups to made deals and gain money, power. What do you think JFK was talking about secret societies for? Why do you think he was assassinated?
Katz

Mar 14, 2010

JFK was assassinated.
Bush’s mentors did it just as sure as the tumbled the towers.
Global warming is caused by man. No doubt.
CO2 is BAD. Why do you think whales use oxygen?
The planet is already LOST. Too much CO2.
Pumping it into the ground and calling it sequestration makes it sound all warm and fuzzy while sealing Plutonium in glass blocks and storing it inside a mountain is evil Fact is, that they want to STORE CO2 and it’s not just CO2. It’s CO2 plus up to 15% hydrogen sulfide. They want to store it by pumping it into the ground. How are they going to collect it and store it?

They increase the power generating capacity by 35%. They use this to store 90% of the CO2 they were making before the increase. They are not counting ANY of the CO2 made by the 35% increase in COAL COMBUSTION in this 90%. So, the NET reduction in CO2 emission is 55% at a cost of a 35% increase in the consumption of LIMITED natural resources. Next, they pump this along with the increased SO and SO2 into the ground. It might stay there, it might not. However, what they are not telling you is that the electricity users who are paying to pump this stuff into the ground are really paying to subsidize oil production because guess what? They are pumping it into sand formations BELOW the oil traps. If big coal knew they were subsidizing big oil…maybe some of this BS would stop.

OK, now you’ve got millions of tons of sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide stored underground. Whoops, here comes an earthquake! Humans can not breath this stuff. It’s heavy too so it hugs the ground. Gonna make Bohpal India look like a fender bender compared to the twin towers of death that will result.

NO!!! This is ALL BS. We should be using NO OIL and NO COAL. Tie harnesses to the whales and have them pull our ships of trinkets from China to NYC. Build a nuclear plant a week for the next 50 years and our planet will be saved.

THANK YOU PRESIDENT OBAMA for seeing this wisdom and providing govt backed loans to the nuclear industry which was nearly murdered by the combined powers of big oil and coal and the dumb a$$ environmentalists who did not look at where their funding was coming from.
JoeAxe

Jul 01, 2010

bad “carbon emissions” are not from CO2!!!!!!!!!!!

you people seriously don’t know the difference between CO2/makes plants grow
and CO=carbon monoxide/poison put out by cars, factories, etc.??? This is why everything is so messed up, because you all get confused really easy.

We breathe oxygen and exhale CO2, plants breathe CO2 and put out oxygen. Didn’t you learn that in school…..I know they don’t teach that now but they used to.

so sad