Re-examine climate change premises
I write in response to the viewpoint “Wake-up call for climate change” by Lesley Thorsell, in the Peak on January 18. Noting current record-breaking low temperatures in Alberta and elsewhere, maybe it’s time to re-examine conventional premises about climate change.
Charles Walters in Julius Hensel’s 1893 book Bread From Stones writes, “There is no such thing as a warming. Those who predicted a warming did so in spite of the fact that the record shows glaciation has in the past been initiated by a rise in CO2 (caused by a depletion of soils). The CO2 is a part of the glacial process.” Further, writes Walters, “There is no evidence that those involved in the publicized climate study have any knowledge of the life system’s role in maintaining the cycling of the gases and minerals or how the tectonic system works.” In other words, rising CO2 is a symptom, not a cause of global weather change. The tectonic system is self-regulating.
Thorsell writes, “We are now known as the seventh largest CO2 polluter in the world.” How, one wonders, do we square a demonization of carbon dioxide as an environmental polluter with the demands of life? Even more so, when one realizes carbon dioxide is plant food and most biological forms of planetary life, including mushrooms, fish and microbes, absorb oxygen and exhale or emit carbon dioxide.
In Tomato Favorites by Lois Hole one reads the following, “Good ventilation not only controls greenhouse temperatures, but also helps to improve air quality. Inside a poorly ventilated greenhouse, carbon dioxide levels often fall so low that plants actually stop growing. Carbon dioxide is so important for plants that some commercial operators use carbon dioxide generators to increase levels inside their greenhouses. They report that this results in tomatoes maturing earlier and growing larger, with overall yields increasing, on average, from 15 to 55 per cent. Because it is so valuable,” writes Hole, “carbon dioxide has been called the abandoned gold mine.”
So, the question is, how does the polluting CO2 or carbon dioxide differ from the gold mine of carbon dioxide exhaled by animals, human beings and even mushrooms?
Kevin E. Abrams
Harvie Avenue
Library more of a cultural hub
Discourse regarding the new library needs reframing [“Council maintains support for library process,” December 21, 2011]. What is being proposed is more than just a book repository but rather a cultural hub and aesthetic anchor for the entire community. Powell River currently has neither.
These civic opportunities are rare and if not taken will likely lose their political will for another decade. There was a public building held dear at that location and now is an opportune time to resurrect that legacy. A beautiful design capable of evolving and adapting as needs change, as well as reflect the region’s heritage and diversity, will enhance this setting, revitalize the area and attract visitors and investment.
David Riggan
Keech Street
Alternative location for library
Good news, Powell River. I have the solution to the new library debate [“Council maintains support for library process,” December 21, 2011]. It is so obvious, yet no one has suggested it yet.
It is the perfect location with a panoramic waterfront view and the building already exists. It is on municipal property, has plenty of square footage and with a few renovations is the ideal solution.
Where is this ideally located waterfront palace? Why, it’s the present Westview wastewater treatment plant. When the new sewage treatment plans are completed, the old plant will provide an excellent library with a harbour view in a revitalized waterfront location, perfect for townsfolk and travellers alike. What a concept.
Doug Clark
Cranberry Street
