I refer to Chris Nadolny’s letter ‘Ross Garnault is correct’ in The Independent of 30 March. Chris’ interpretations of Wallace Broecker’s article in Nature and the ice core data are incorrect. It is not carbon dioxide that causes global warming, but global warming, predominately the result of variations in the sun and other phenomena, that cause an increase in biological activity that results in the higher levels of carbon dioxide that are observed. With higher temperatures, biological activity rises and consequently so does carbon dioxide.
Moreover, it is carbon dioxide and ALL the other gasses of the atmosphere, including moisture vapour, that moderate the earth’s temperature and make our planet habitable, so increasing carbon dioxide levels should be lauded rather than blamed. Diurnal temperatures fluctuate by a mere 10 or so degrees C on earth compared to say mercury, with very little atmosphere, that fluctuates hundreds of degrees C. Even so, carbon dioxide, present at only around 0.03 per cent, is a very small player in this moderating effect, and over the the period of the observed increases so often referred to, the change in the carbon dioxide levels have been less than 0.01 per cent of the earth’s atmosphere.
The carbon footprint talk is nothing more than a hoax.
Norman Williams
Port Macquarie
