Is this a misquote or is this climate change denier setting a new record for stupidity? The emphsis in the article I’m quoting from is mine:
Professor writes book challenging man-made global warming beliefs
By R. Nicole Blanton
Published on: Tuesday, August 30, 2011 Modified on: Tuesday, August 30, 2011
A UH professor aims to refute claims that the Earth is in a permanent warming period in his new book.
Larry Bell, an endowed professor of space architecture, said he blames misrepresented statistics and misleading politicians for the widespread belief in global warming in his book, “Climate of Corruption: Politics and Power Behind The Global Warming Hoax.”
“The notion of carbon dioxide being a pollutant is silly because carbon dioxide is what makes plants grow; it’s what whales breathe,” Bell said.
“There’s a lot of shenanigans with words.”
via Professor writes book challenging man-made global warming beliefs // thedailycougar.com.
Right off the bat the “Carbon Dioxide is Plant Food” argument isn’t at all creditable and has been thoroughly debunked (see Skeptical Science: CO2 is Plant Food for starters and here debunking / Good for Plant Growth Myth for even more debunking links) but what really blew me away was the second part,…”it’s what whales breathe.” I am thinking that has to be a misquote because no college professor, in any subject, worth his salt could think that a mammal (whales are mammals you know) much less a fish breathes CO2. Animals breathe oxygen and exhale CO2. Plants take in CO2 (they don’t really breathe per se) and give off (exhale) Oxygen in a process we all know (except for Larry Bell that is) as photosynthesis).
There is more denial stupidity and ignorance in the article about his jokers book but I’ll have to get back to it some other time. Thanks to Tropical Storm Irene I’m working from a lap top as I sit on a sidewalk downtown where they have power and a few wifi hotspots.
But I have to ask did that guy really say CO2 is what whales breathe? How did he ever et beyond 10th grade biology?
“Right off the bat the “Carbon Dioxide is Plant Food” argument isn’t at all creditable and has been thoroughly debunked”
Hmm, according to Wikipedia “Plants require carbon dioxide to conduct photosynthesis. Greenhouses may (if of large size, must) enrich their atmospheres with additional CO2 to sustain and increase plant growth.”
I think you had better alert Wikipedia that ‘CO2 as plant food’ has been thoroughly debunked, and mention it to Greenhouse operators as well, I’m sure they would like to know. Lol!
Yours may be the dumbest quote from a climate change alarmist.
Cheers
I think you need to learn a bit more about CO2 & how it affects plant growth Klem.
Here’s a hint: You, as a human being, absolutely need salt and chlorine to survive…Now, go eat a few pounds of salt and drink a gallon or two of chlorine & then get back to me about how wonderful, strong & healthy you feel… Or better yet, drink a couple hundred gallons of water & tell us how wonderful, strong & healthy (i.e. DEAD) you feel.
Klem you are sure showing off your partisan ignorance. I even wrote in my article:
The point is the argument that CO2 is plant food and that more CO2 in the atmosphere is going to be good for plants and therefore good for us too is absolutely fallacious, its a red herring argument.
The element Potassium (K) is an essential for life. The Potassium ion is necessary for the function of all living cells. To much Potassium will kill you (it will lead to renal failure). NaCl, Sodium chloride, or more commonly table salt is also essential to life. To much and it will kill you. I could play this parlor game with you ad nauseum
You very obviously did not check any of the links to the CO2 is Plant Food myth or you wouldn’t have made such an ignorant comment (ignorant: 1. Lacking knowledge or awareness in general; uneducated or unsophisticated. 2. Lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about something in particular: "ignorant of astronomy")
Lets look at some of them now:
If you took the time to check the citations for the wikipedia passage you cited you would have read that they don’t at all say more and more CO2 is a good thing. The truth is certain species do respond positively to increased levels of CO2 in controlled greenhouse environments and even then only up to a certain point after which more CO2 ether does nothing at all or is detrimental. Outdoors and in natural circumstances and natural ecosystems increased CO2 has a wide range of effects on plant life in that it has detrimental effects on biodiversity which can lead to one plant species overwhelming another or a plant species then becomes exposed to increased threat from an insect pest.
And the fact that CO2 is radiative forcing factor that will increase temperature over time also effects plants in that many species of plants are very specific as to what temperature ranges they will grow in.
But I also wonder when you looked up Carbon Dioxide in wikipedia for your little quote did you also have to check and see if whales breathe CO2 or Oxygen too?
Larry Bell, "Carbon Dioxide,… it’s what whales breathe,” is an idiot.
I’m glad he’s on your side of the argument.