Coal Terminal "Myths"

(I submitted the following to the Seattle Times some time ago as “My Take” concerning stopping Longview coal terminal.  They declined to print it so I decided to post it because my county executive candidacy has resulted in questions about my opinion about "Climate Change".)

Coal Terminal Myths,

The Oct 10^th opinion letter “Good Riddance” praising Oct 6^th Seattle Times editorial  “Environmental victory but challenges remain,” derides the Trump attempts to revive the coal industry as a “cruel myth”.   It’s doubtful those getting the jobs despite the claim “coal comes in dead last among energy production industries” consider them a “cruel myth”.    It’s not clear what “energy production industries” coal lags in terms of jobs since millions spent on oil pipelines create very few “permanent jobs”. 

It’s also no myth the Longview area would have “benefitted” from the $680 million spent to create the terminal and the 135 permanent jobs, despite the fact ”That’s just one job per $5 million invested.”    By that criteria the billions spent creating freeways, but very few “permanent jobs,” are a total waste.    

The myth is the claim the Longview area and other like it would benefit from a company offering to provide “information and technology intensive jobs”.   It’s also a myth to claim the EPA decision to stop the Longview terminal as an “Environmental victory” since it will have absolutely no effect on climate change or global warming.   

The biggest myth of all is the claim CO2 is an environmental pollutant.  CO2 is a colorless, odorless gas that currently makes up about .04% of the atmosphere.  Man made CO2 emissions currently account for about 5% of the total.  Increasing CO2 enhances plant growth.  For years growers have benefitted by increasing CO2 to 1000 parts per million in green houses. 

Meanwhile years of attempts to use computer models to predict the effects of increased CO2 on global warming have failed to match measured temperatures.  The latest results show far less sensitivity to CO2 increases than earlier.    A report in the CERN (Centre for European Nuclear Research) Currier recently indicated all the climate models must be re-done led to the following:

                   Their CLOUD experiment had used its huge particle accelerator and a giant cloud chamber to demonstrate that the sun and cosmic rays are the real ‘mystery factors’ in earth’s climate. The research supports the contention that CO2 is only a bit player.”

The real “challenge” for environmentalists is to recognize that reality.