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The Climate Change Denier and the Utility Regulators
The Climate Change Denier and the Utility Regulators
Six fallacies go unanswered at the NARUC summit.
HERMAN K. TRABISH: JULY 25, 2013
"The Myth of Carbon Pollution," a talk from Princeton University physics professor William Happer, went virtually unchallenged by the 200 U.S. utility regulators and others in the session at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioner (NARUC) summer meeting.
A distinguished physicist, Professor Happer has published only one paper on climate science, and it was not peer-reviewed.
Here are six flaws in Professor Happer’s reasoning in the talk:
1. Professor Happer opened by contending that carbon dioxide (CO2) is a benign gas: Humans breathe it out, plants need it to grow, and so on. However, these things are irrelevant to how CO2 acts to enhance the greenhouse effect and drive climate change.
2. “Does the fact that CO2 does not directly affect human health mean the EPA ruling that CO2 is a threat and must be regulated was incorrect?” a commissioner asked. Happer responded that CO2 indeed is not a harmful gas. The EPA’s finding that CO2 is harmful to humans was not made because the substance is harmful to breathe. The ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court because CO2 emissions drive climate change and climate change threatens human health.
3. "The globe is not warming,” Happer said...
Six fallacies go unanswered at the NARUC summit.
HERMAN K. TRABISH: JULY 25, 2013
"The Myth of Carbon Pollution," a talk from Princeton University physics professor William Happer, went virtually unchallenged by the 200 U.S. utility regulators and others in the session at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioner (NARUC) summer meeting.
A distinguished physicist, Professor Happer has published only one paper on climate science, and it was not peer-reviewed.
Here are six flaws in Professor Happer’s reasoning in the talk:
1. Professor Happer opened by contending that carbon dioxide (CO2) is a benign gas: Humans breathe it out, plants need it to grow, and so on. However, these things are irrelevant to how CO2 acts to enhance the greenhouse effect and drive climate change.
2. “Does the fact that CO2 does not directly affect human health mean the EPA ruling that CO2 is a threat and must be regulated was incorrect?” a commissioner asked. Happer responded that CO2 indeed is not a harmful gas. The EPA’s finding that CO2 is harmful to humans was not made because the substance is harmful to breathe. The ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court because CO2 emissions drive climate change and climate change threatens human health.
3. "The globe is not warming,” Happer said...
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/the-climate-change-denier-and-the-utility-regulators
