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New Coal and Gas Powered Plants Emission Standards for Carbon Dioxide Emissions Control

  • Web Diva
    Leader
    August 24, 2023 9:27 AM CDT
    New Coal and Gas Powered Plants Emission Standards in a proposal by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) will require coal and gas powered plants to capture almost 90% of their carbon dioxide. Below are quotes from the article stating that millions of people will starve without the natural carbon dioxide emissions. *This is an article of opposing views of the latest trends in discussion on carbon dioxide and meant to be useful for your research as you determine valid points and concerns in this ever evolving discussion on earth stewardship. https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/08/will_new_epa_regulations_starve_millions_of_people.html Two distinguished climate scientists have filed with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a 45-page comment on the proposed regulation the EPA announced on May 11, 2023, setting emission standards that would require nearly all of coal- and gas-powered plants in the U.S.to capture almost all—90 percent—of their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2038 or shut down. The scientist opposing this regulation that wrote a 45 page report sight the following reasons why the EPA science is wrong and could cause millions to starve. *See last bulleted quote on the data of how much we need natural "inorganic" fertilizers to produce food. To support their claim, Happer and Lindzen argued that the EPA had failed to consider the following “important aspects of climate change and relevant data.”
      • Carbon dioxide is essential to life, creating via the process of photosynthesis the food we eat and the oxygen we breathe. Without carbon dioxide, there would be no human life or other life on earth.
      • Increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere create more food for people worldwide, including more food for people in drought-stricken areas. To illustrate, increases in carbon dioxide over the past two centuries since the Industrial Revolution, from about 280 parts per million (ppm) to about 420 ppm, caused an approximate 20% increase in the food available to people worldwide, as well as increased greening of the planet and a benign warming in temperature.
      • Fossil fuels are indispensable in creating nitrogen fertilizer and pesticides that feed nearly half the world; their combustion releases carbon dioxide and thus increases plant growth via increased CO2 fertilization effect, creating more food worldwide; and they provide the most reliable, efficient and low-cost energy for many uses, including the production of 61% of the nation’s electricity.
      • The number of people worldwide who are moderately or severely food insecure is 2.3 billion, including over 900 million who face severe food insecurity. Each ton of carbon dioxide emissions eliminated reduces the amount of food available worldwide. “Net zero” would reduce carbon emissions by over 40 gigatons (Gt) every year, and consequently would proportionally reduce the amount of food produced. Without the “use of inorganic [nitrogen] fertilizers” derived from fossil fuels, the world simply “will not achieve the food supply needed to support 8.5 to 10 billion people,” resulting in widespread starvation.