Misleading coverage

Dear Editor: Re; “Canada in middle of clash over coal power,” by The Canadian Press (Courier, Nov. 13).

The Daily Courier, parroting either lazy reporting or a blatantly false and misleading Canadian Press wire story, states that coal “is responsible for more than 40 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions.”

I repeat, this is a deliberately misleading statement meant to influence public opinion.

The fact is that naturally sourced CO2 comprises more than 99 per cent of all CO2 on earth and in earth’s atmosphere. Of every one-million parts of earth’s atmosphere only a miniscule 13.6 ppm are human caused — through every activity including by breathing! And of those 13.6 ppm, less than 1 ppm is what scientists “think” humans “might” be able to adjust.

Another fact: Ants and termites produce 10 times more CO2 each year than all human-caused CO2 and more than all creatures combined.

A further fact: Water vapour comprises more than 95 per cent of all greenhouse gases or 20,000 ppm far outpacing CO2 in influencing the earth’s climate. However, most climate models fail to adequately take this into account, if they even acknowledge its effects.

And, as a side note, the article in question points a finger at the United States. However, the U.S. has by far and away undergone the most significant reduction in coal use than any nation on earth (and that is primarily because natural gas currently is a cheaper source of energy.) Meanwhile China is behind the construction of the vast majority of 1,700 coalfired plants currently being or considering being built in the world. Jim Church Kelowna