Re: [asa] Global Warming is Not a Crisis

At 12:44 AM 6/18/2007, PvM wrote:
>On 6/17/07, Janice Matchett <janmatch@earthlink.net> wrote:
>>
>> At 01:06 PM 6/14/2007, Christine Smith wrote:
>>I once read a Heartland Institute publication...apparently, they
>>don't think acid rain was really ever a problem either...
>>
>> @ "They" aren't alone. Not only is it not a problem - but
>> beneficial -according to the guys at NASA's Goddard Space Flight
>> Center Acid rain limits global warming
NewScientist.com news service ^ | 03 Aug 04 | Will
Knight http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1184221/posts and
Live Science.com Study: Less Acid Rain Not Always So Great
By
<http://www.livescience.com/environment//php/contactus/author.php?r=sg>Sara
Goudarzi, LiveScience Staff Writer posted: 21 December 2006 03:00 pm
ET http://www.livescience.com/environment/061221_acidrain_reduction.html
. ~ Janice :)

>Of course, when actually reading the article one realizes that it
>still is a problem with some minor beneficial effects. Why is it so
>hard to understand what these papers do and do not say? Sigh ~ Pim

@ Of course "duh" people must first "see" the papers that are
deliberately suppressed (DUH) before they can understand anything.

Acid Rain, Nitrogen Scares Debunked
Written By: Samuel Aldrich and Jay Lehr
Published In: Environment News
Publication Date: February 1, 2007

This article is the eighth in a continuing series excerpted from the
book Smoke or Steam: A Guide to Environmental, Regulatory and Food
Safety Concerns, by Samuel Aldrich, excerpted and abridged by Jay Lehr.

Perhaps the best example of the contributions of scientists to a
large, complex issue is the National Acid Precipitation Assessment
Project (NAPAP). This project entailed hundreds of scientists working
in small groups over a period of 10 years at a cost of $550 million.

Scare Debunked

The NAPAP findings were submitted to Congress in 1990. Because the
study's findings minimized the impact of acid rain caused by humans,
Congress and the media completely ignored them.

The NAPAP study found that among thousands of U.S. lakes, only 4
percent were somewhat acidic. One-quarter of those were acidic due to
natural causes, leaving only 3 percent somewhat influenced by human activities.

The study found many of the Adirondack lakes were acidic when
explorers first entered the region, and likely contained few fish at
the time. Logging the virgin forests prior to 1900 reduced the
regional lake acidity. Acidity then rebounded with the decline of logging.

Simple Solution Available

Perhaps the best news in the NAPAP report was that whatever the
cause, overly acidic lakes can be easily and inexpensively corrected
by the addition of lime.

Attempting to reduce regional water acidity by targeting smokestack
emissions through the Clean Air Act costs at least 1,000 times more
than applying lime to the small proportion of lakes where the problem exists.

Furthermore, the report minimized the effect of acid rain on the
erosion of buildings and statues, and found no basis for alleged
widespread health effects.

All of this was completely ignored by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), environmental activist groups, and the news media.

Ignoring the findings of the $550 million, 10-year NAPAP study is
among the most egregious and costly errors ever made by Congress and EPA.

Nitrogen Fears Unfounded

At the 1968 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science, environmental activist Barry Commoner said the
concentration of nitrates was rising dramatically in Midwestern
rivers, that the cause was nitrogen fertilizer, and that the result
was a threat to human health and the integrity of natural ecosystems.

To address Commoner's claims, the Illinois Pollution Control Board
held 10 hearings in 1970 and 1971 to determine whether constraints
should be imposed on farm application of nitrogen fertilizers and
animal manure in order to limit the content of nutrients in surface waters.

It is important to remember that nitrogen fertilizer had been
responsible for much of the phenomenal increases in yields of corn,
sorghum, and small grains used directly in human food and as
livestock feed to produce beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and turkey.
Constraints on the use of nitrogen fertilizer would have reduced the
supply and raised the price of many food products.

Claims Proved False

Commoner's claim that the nitrate content had tripled in the Illinois
River proved to be false--the sample used for his first test was
taken at a different location than the sample used for his later test.

Though many cases of an infant health problem (methemoglobinemia)
from high nitrate levels can be found worldwide, the last infant
death reported from excess nitrate in drinking water in the United
States was in 1949, long before nitrogen fertilizer was a factor.

~ Janice .... who thinks it's funny to see the PC crowd (who try and
silence "duh" people) being accurately psychoanalyzed:
http://tinyurl.com/25ddf2

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Received on Mon Jun 18 01:35:35 2007