Gee! What a Surprise!

I wish this article had links to the actual studies. But, according to a study in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, burning ethanol leads to higher ozone levels. Also, another journal has reported that the main production method for making biodeisel (growing rapeseed) produces significant levels of nitrous oxide (a gas that can cause more warming than carbon dioxide). But, this shouldn’t be surprising. Every time we have attempted to improve gasoline, we have caused more problems than we solved. The National Academy of Sciences reported in 1999 that it could not be proven that oxygenates added to gasoline helped in reducing ozone.

The problem with the current environmental movement is that they are constantly pushing quick and easy “answers” to possible environmental problems without doing full in depth and comprehensive scientific studies. A computer model is not a scientific study. It is pretty graphic that shows what someone’s guess is. Is the Earth warming up? Yes. Is it caused by man? Maybe, but probably not. Here is a piece of news, just about every planet in the Solar system is warming up, including Mars, Jupiter and Pluto (yes, I know it is no longer considered a planet). Somehow, I doubt technical civilization is the cause of warming on Pluto. Now, certain aspects of the green movement are to be lauded. More efficient is almost always better. But, efficiency can come at a price. Those compact fluorescent light bulbs contain a tiny amount of mercury. And, most people are just going to throw them in the landfill when they stop working. This could lead to some toxic clean-up problems.