Brad McCormick reported: > There was an article in last week's NYT Science Times about > large underground coal fires, some naturally caused, many > caused by human action, which burn for decades or even > for centuries. The article said that the fires in > one area of China contribute as much CO2 to the atmosphere > as all the automobiles and small trucks in the USA.
It wouldn't be the first case of CO2 revisionism from the NYT. "Naturally caused underground coal fires" ? Where is all that oxygen supposed to come from, to nourish *underground* fires ? It can be fires in coal mines, but then the fires are man-made. > The article said that the fires in > one area of China contribute as much CO2 to the atmosphere > as all the automobiles and small trucks in the USA. All the automobiles and small trucks in the USA contribute about 200 million tons of CO2 per year. Burning one ton of coal contributes about 3 tons of CO2, so if the NYT claim is true, some __70 million tons__ of coal must be burning *underground* "in one area of China" -- very doubtful! (And even if it would be true, it isn't an excuse for adding even more CO2.) Btw, this NYT claim reminds me of the popular myth that volcanos emit more CO2 than cars etc. -- actually, (even according to US/NASA sources) the CO2 emissions from all volcanoes worldwide are about __1/150__ (0.67%) of the anthropogenic CO2 emissions per year (taking regular eruptions and "background emissions" into account). > I once saw on TV a man driving a Mercedes Benz > go off an Autobahn at 150 miles per hour, and the > car rolled over before finally coming to a stop in the > road-side ditch. > The man walked away from the accident because he > was using his seat belt and the car had a roll bar. > Thinking the way George W Bush and Co. act > about the environment and other important issues, > the message of the TV show is: Let's drive 150 miles > per hour on the Autobahn and not take precautions to > avoid losing control of our car, because we can > walk away from any accdident that ensues. The big difference is that it won't be Bush who must bear the resulting damages, but mostly innocent bystanders. Chris
