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

[Brian Whatcott <betwys1@sbcglobal.net>]

This note of Jack's seems surprizing.  A non-sequitur, on the face of it.
Nobody argues against the fact that the materials we have been burning
in great profusion since the bar sinister scion of the Earl of Dudley 
opened up his estate to open face coal mining and roasting and iron ore 
mining, kicking off the Industrial Revolution, were biogenic. The 
rhetorical question, can non-biogenic (hydro)carbon sources burn, is 
hardly worthy of our time, or is it?

Brian W

Jack Uretsky wrote:
> What makes you think that carbon has to be part of a biosystem in order to 
> combine with oxygen (burn)?  Burning is only a question of whether a 
> substance's combination with oxygen is exothermic or endothermic.
>  			Regards,
>  				Jack
>
> On Wed, 11 Mar 2009, Robert Carlson wrote:
>   
> > My point is that coal and petroleum, being biofuels, were once part of Earth's biosystem.  The carbon in them has been removed from the biosystem and is no longer available to the biosystem as a renewable energy source.  So, perhaps they should be burned and returned to the biosystem.
> >