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Re: [Phys-l] Climate Change - Is it Controversial?

I'm not sure where you are going with this, Robert, so I'll try a gambit and see where you take it. The issue is that we are turning concentrated carbon into CO2 and releasing it into the atmosphere where it blankets the surface and warms the planet. Fortunately, sources of concentrated carbon are limited; although not to the point which can prevent us from profoundly changing our climate in incompletely predictable ways. Most of this carbon, whether in the form of petroleum or coal, was concentrated by organisms millions of years ago, which died in such conditions that the carbon concentrations were piled up and preserved until we got the idea to dig them up and recombine them with oxygen. Some of the carbon (part of the methane we burn) may be primordial, but most of it seems to be associated with petroleum deposits.
What now?
Skip

-----Original Message-----
From: phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu [mailto:phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu] On Behalf Of Robert Carlson
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 7:36 PM
To: phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu; appell@nasw.org
Subject: Re: [Phys-l] Climate Change - Is it Controversial?


So please indulge me with an answer whether you think it is irrelevant or not. Are they from previous lifeforms or simply elemental carbon?


--- On Tue, 3/10/09, David Appell <appell@nasw.org> wrote:

From: David Appell <appell@nasw.org>
Subject: Re: [Phys-l] Climate Change - Is it Controversial?
To: phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
Cc: rcarlson@physicstoolkit.com
Date: Tuesday, March 10, 2009, 7:30 PM
Robert Carlson wrote:
Are fossil fuels called fossil fuels because they were
once lifeforms?

Irrelevant -- (although I can tell you like being a pissy
little smart-aleck about it, as you are well aware). We are
talking about carbon-based fuels that have been stored
underground for millions of years. Their origin is
irrelevant.

David
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