25 September 2009

Won't Someone Please Think of the, er, Plants?

I've tweeted this, but it's so good, I just have to blog it too:

CO2 is not a pollutant. CO2 makes Earth green because it supports all plant life. It is Earth's greatest airborne fertilizer. Even man-made CO2 contributes to plant growth that in turn sustains humanity and ecosystems.

CO2 Is Green is working to insure that all federal laws or regulations are founded upon science and not politics or scientific myths. No one wants the plant and animal kingdoms, including humanity, to be harmed if atmospheric CO2 is reduced. The current dialog in Washington needs to reflect these inalterable facts of nature. We cannot afford to make mistakes that would actually harm both the plant and animal kingdoms.

Oh lordy, those poor little plants and animals - deprived of the life-giving CO2. How could mankind be so cruel and insensate? How could we have overlooked such an obvious thing until now?

Update: Don't miss Adam Pope's super-sleuthing in the comments that suggests this site just might have something to do with the gas and oil industries...

Follow me @glynmoody on Twitter or identi.ca.

13 comments:

hydrarulz said...

I'm afraid not a lot of people will see the truth in you post with the Green Movement and all..

Glyn Moody said...

do you mean people might fall for it, or something else?

Adam Pope said...

Wohis states the plantsneedco2.org site admin as be one Leighton Steward. Here's what Forbes has to say about him:

Director
EOG Resources, Incorporated
Houston , TX
Independent Oil & Gas

74 Years Old
Mr. Steward is author-partner of Sugar Busters, LLC, a provider of seminars, books and products related to helping people follow a healthy and nutritious lifestyle. He retired from Burlington Resources, Inc., an oil and gas exploration, production and development company, in 2000, where he had served as Vice Chairman since 1997. Mr. Steward is former Chairman of the U.S. Oil and Gas Association and the Natural Gas Supply Association, and is currently an honorary director of the American Petroleum Institute.

Vested interest?

Glyn Moody said...

@Adam: great work - many thanks. I'm shocked, shocked...

maninalift said...

@Adam I had commented (on identica) that I wished I had the resources to see who was really behind this. I didn't think it would be so easy.

Stupid? Cocksure?

I mean I know he is just trying to muddy the waters with enough bullshit for fence-sitters to think there is some sort of contraversy and fanatics to be able to have a fresh vat to spout but... he could have taken some precautions.

I mean if this gets reported in the press he's not doing himself any favours.

Glyn Moody said...

@maninalift: I think they seriously underestimate the power of what the Chinese call the "human flesh search engine" - the power of people to find out stuff in the age of the Net if they're motivated to do so.

Keith Edmunds said...

I know it's both pedantic and somewhat off-topic, but why can't people who want to communicate online learn how to write?! Does he really mean "insure", or might he mean "ensure"?

Glyn Moody said...

@Keith: given the scientific context, linguistic accuracy was probably not high on the writers' list of priorities when they, er, concocted this...

Unknown said...

Glyn, this happens to be an area I know a bit about, so I wrote it up. If you'd like to pass the link around, feel free.
Astroturf in Climate Change Discussion

Glyn Moody said...

@madhatter: great stuff - thanks. Now tweeted:

http://twitter.com/glynmoody/status/4729259619

Adam Pope said...

The website is part of an ad campaign on US TV. See Leo Hickman's analysis here:

CO2 is green: the TV advert making viewers choke

Glyn Moody said...

thanks for the link

Optymystic said...

"if atmospheric CO2 is reduced,"

something we can only dream about. Most of us would settle for cutting the rate of increase.