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ERMUSR MISC MEMO 02-12-2008~/ Elk River Municipal Utilities 13069 Orono Parkway • P.O. Box 430 Elk River, MN 55330-0430 February 6, 2008 To: Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission Jerry Takle Jerry Gumphrey Jim Tralle From: Bryan Adams Subject: Miscellaneous Issues Phone: 763.441.2020 Fax: 763.441.8099 Enclosed is the packet for the Tuesday, February 12, 2008, commission meeting at 4:00 p.tn. January 2008 water and electric usage is well above last year of 7.68% and 11.92% respectively. There are no graphs in the financials this month because the graphs will only show one point fur 2008 and would be difficult to interpret. Three of the engines at the landfill are due for their five year major overhaul. In January these engines were replaced with rebuilt engines. It took about a day to disconnect, remove, reinstall, and connect each engine. The construction of Well #9 is in the development stages and will hopefully be completed in the next couple of weeks. The construction of the small water treatment building is scheduled to start in late February. Maintenance of Well #, 7 is complete and should be operational next week. We received 59 applications for our part-time accountant position, with 9 very good candidates. We are starting the interviewing process. Enclosed are the following articles for your review: 1) Agreement from the City of Otsego concerning rebuilding our overhead electric line along County Road #39. 2) 2007 population statistics for Sherburne County taken from Sherburne County's building report. Elk River's population is projected to be 23,473. 3) Copy of the Connector from the January 23, 2008, edition of the Elk River Star News. This article discusses our rate increases and CIP programs. 4) The January 4, 2008, issue of the- Kiplinger Letter addressing energy issues. 5) Article titled "Is Ethanol Tapping Too Much Water" from the January 28, 2008, issue of the Star Tribune. 6) Article titled "Environmental Effects of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide" from the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. The scientific community still has differing opinions on climate change and carbon dioxide. CITY OF OTSEGO COUNTY OF WRIGHT STATE OF MINNESOTA AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF OTSEGO AND ELK RIVER MUNICIPAL UTILITIES AS TO UNDERGROUNDING OF ELECTRICAL UTILITIES ACROSS CSAH 39 IN THE CITY OF OTSEGO THIS AGREEMENT entered into this _ day of January, 2008 between the City of Otsego (hereinafter CITY) and Elk River Municipal Utilities (hereinafter UTILITY). WHEREAS, the City of Otsego's Right of Way Ordinance requires underground installation of utilities within the City; and WHEREAS, the Ordinance also provides that the Director may waive or modify requirements of the ordinance upon a showing of good cause; and WHEREAS, the issue of a delay in under grounding electrical utilities was presented to the Otsego City Council at their regularly scheduled meeting on January 14; and WHEREAS, based upon the facts presented the Council determined that a reasonable delay in under grounding was appropriate and motioned that the Director approve the waiver subject to a written Agreement. FINDINGS The Council deemed that the delay in implementation of the ordinance requirements was justified by the following; 1. Under grounding of the electrical utility would be more appropriate upon widening of CSAH 39, if such work is undertaken within a reasonable time period. 2. Under grounding the system as per ordinance requirements would not allow for proper looping of the system at this time. 3. Under grounding would be more appropriately accomplished in the context of a larger overall project. ORDER AND AGREEMENT Based upon the information provided and the Findings as set forth above the Council has motioned that the Director delay implementation of the under grounding requirements of the City Right of Way Ordinance, subject to the UTILITIES agreement to the following conditions: That the UTILITY'S facilities are under grounded in compliance with City Ordinances and any other applicable rules and regulations in place at the time work is actually commenced upon the earliest occurrence of either a substantial upgrade to CSAH 39 or by January ly 2018. CITY OF OTSEGO Ron Wagner, City Engineer Mike Robertson, Director and City Administrator ELK RIVER MUNICIPAL ~JTILITIES Its ~jei'~~r ~ / ~iJ ~ ~,~ a~ C ~ '~.w.,~,,,~ O O ~~O ~ O y0 ~y C C7~ Y a h: b G1 ~ ~~ N' `~ ~ ~~ 00 000 ~'' ~ ~ ~: ~ ~ O~ ~ ~ ~ G7~ 00 00o Cy CZy Z b O rb ~r-3 b ~~ O~ ~~~m ~ r r ~ z '~ o ~ r O O b ~ y r ~ Z `n .~ ~ ;gym m ~ ~,~ ~ ~ ~~ O b~~., ~ ~ "C '~ "~ ti N ~ C~ ~ N N O ~ ~ ~ O ~ O O z0 O arty H A ~~' n U' ~ ci~tCn vii ~ b O ~w~~-. r p7 td C E O M~ N N O `~ N C C ~~Oh ~ ~ Oo°°o0 ~° C-' "'j "-) ~~ y O N v v A O '~ a o 0 a ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ N (7 ~ ~ .-~ ~ ] .-j lsJ (_~ ~-3 b "~ O w w a b ~ w ~ b ~ ~ y ~ ~ ~o b -1 O °O `° p ~„ m m ~v o O:-3 r ~' ° b Z v~ mmm.a~ ~ x '-o b O '-' ~ ~'~Z o0 000 ~ C7 ~o 00o trJ ,~ c~ ~ ~d m y~ ~~lC~b7 ~ °o°o ~ T b y ,~ r m ~ ,, ~ Z N ~-- z~ o° O~ " H ~z y A N A m m ~ ~ ~ m O `' W~ Y ~' m m '~ x ~-- ~-- ~ ~ ~ ~ b ~ ~ O N '17 ~" N N N N N ~ 00 000 x ~~ ~~~ a b ~~ ~~W~ c~ r"' „~ C" N N O O ~~ O ~ O O ~ O O 'TJ ~ ~ 'S.i O O O v J o~~ ~o~n O b~0 ~ ~~o Or `° ~ a z ~ ~ "~ o z z~ ~ ~ ~ w ..r ~ O "0 C1y., r~"" x ~ O ~ p~b~'"r' N O N N O O N N O O N N N 0 0 0 r O O CC ~] ~1 v Fny ~1 ~1 ~1 J J N ~ O O O O O O ~ m '~ ~~ ~ ~ y~~~ Z ~~ tm„~ m ~ C b ~ ~~ 'b y O b~ ~ b O t „ ~ ~ y ro ~ ~ b ~ b~ H b ~ b y ~ N r ~ a O ~ o y ~''> ~ O N ~ _ Cn Vi x' W O Cn Z ~i O~ """ ~i ~l O z O J A (-' ~ y ~ O ~ O [ ~ . c ~ ~ 'O ~ W ~+ ~ y ~ ~ ~ ~ " ~ M+y ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ SHERBURNE COUNTY ESTIMATED "2007" POPULATION FIGURES 88,342 Township only - 3 8,3 84 Cities only - 49,958 (Figures determined at a rate of 3 people per residence or multi family unit) "2007" PERMITS ISSUED IN THE TOWNSHIPS OF SHERBURNE COUNTY TOWNSHIP NEW HOMES & VALUATIONS OTHER BLDG PERMITS EVALUATIONS AG BLDGS SEPTIC REPAIRS/ BALDWIN 18 $ 2,580,000 230 $ 1,792,000 2 20 BECKER 25 $ 4,141,000 118 $ 11,668,000 2 15 BIG LAKE 17 $ 3,190,000 144 $ 6,960,000 3 23 BLUE HILL 15 $ 2,694,000 85 $ 522,000 0 1 CLEAR LAKE 3 $ 691,000 67 $ 1,082,000 1 13 I-i EVEN 0 $ 0 36 $ 882,000 1 14 LIVONIA 15 $ 2,847,000 253 $ 1,920,000 1 11 ORROCK 10 $ 2,281.,000 67 $ 607,000 1 9 PALMER 10 $ 1,836,000 56 $ 1,693,000 2 16 SANTIAGO 1 $ 191,000 26 $ 519,000 0 6 TOTALS 114 $ 20,451,000 1,082 $ 27,645,000 13 128 "2007" NEW HOME PERMITS /MULTI-FAMILY UNITS CITIES OF SHERBURNE COUNTY CITIES NEW SINGLE FAMILY HOMES MULTI-FAMILY UNITS EAST ST. CLOUD 5 0 UNITS PRINCETON 0 0 UNITS ZIMMERMAN 35 0 UNITS L KER 21 2 UNITS CLEAR LAKE 0 0 UNITS BIG LAKE 47 0 UNITS ELK RIVER 104 ]2 UNITS TOTALS 212 New Homes 14 Units The ar ~ s ~ s ~: ~r ~r sr We offer Energy Star rebates Elk River Municipal Utilities .offers its customers Energy Star appliance rebates on central and room air con- ditioners, air-source. `and geothermal heat pumps, '':.dehumidifiers, dishwashers, ~:' refrigerators, clothes wash- ers and water heaters. - Energy Star is a govern- ment/industry.. partnership that makes it easy. for con- ,~ ~° sumers ,, ,;~ ~ to :save ri money a n d protect the environment. Appliances that are Energy Star rated use less energy. That saves on your bill and helps reduce energy. con- sumption. Energy Star appliances. may cost more, because they come with more sophisticat- ed controls, more efficient. motors, etc., but they quickly pay back the additional cost. with energy. savings. For more. on our rebate programs, read on! Energy Star rated appliances save real energy and money How much energy will an Energy Star rated appliance save you? Energy Star rated _refrig- erators and room air condi- tioners, for example, use 10 percent less, air condition- ers, heat pumps and dish- washers 20 percent less, and clothes .washers up to 50 percent less energy than standard models. Look for products with the Energy Star logo. Efk River Municipal Utilities pro- vides the following rebates an Energy Star rated appli- ances •Central Air Conditioners, .varies depending on SEER - contact us for details! •Room Air Conditioners, $30 •Air Source Heat Pumps, $150 per ton •Ground Source Heat Pumps, $200 per ton •Dehumidifiers, $30 •Dishwashers, $50 •Refi•igerators, $50 •Clothes Washers, $75 Additional energy efficiency incentives are available In addition to the Energy Star appliance rebates, we offer. these. incentives: •Compact fluorescent lamp rebate of $4. •Central .Air Conditioner tune-up rebate of $60. •Electric cycled air con- ditioning program participa- tion, $40 per cooling sea- son. Water Heaters are riot Energy Star rated, but we give a $50 rebate toward the purchase of an electric water heater. with an energy factor of .91 or higher when used in our off-peak water heating program. For commercial rebate and grant "programs, call our energy ervice professionals at 441-2020. Home monitoring system grows; sees first rate change in 17 years Elk River Municipal. Utilities already provides you effi- cient, reliable utility. service. We have also been install- ; ing and: servicing security :systems since 1990. Our security system business has grown over the years and we offer you the lowest monitoring charges that you will find anywhere. To make it easier for all our customers to manage billings and services, we will be billing all monitoring and service calls along with utili- ties on one bill. This consoli- dation of bills will take place in February 2008. Also, to keep pace with supply cost increases, we are changing our monitoring charges for the first time in 17 years. Monthly charges for burglar, fire, radio and med-alert monitoring each increase $1.75 per month. Call 441-2020' ahd we will send a qualified security... expert to your home to assist you in designing a security system that's exactly right for you. Call today to sched- ule afree home evaluation. Check processing changes here due to federal 'Check 2t' law Paying by check isn't what it used to be. Many people find it inconvenient. And in part due to the federal `Check 21' law, Elk River Municipal Utilities is tak- ing steps to electronically process paper checks on a daily basis. This will reduce, if not eliminate, check `float.' We also offer other payment options. The most efficient payment option is automatic with- drawal. With your permis- sion, we notify the bank of what you owe us monthly. The bank will withdraw that amouht out of your account automatically on the 15th day of the month. The money is then deposited into our account. You receive your regular bill stamped 'paid,' so you have a payment and usage record. This service is con- venient for you and saves us time and money. Call us at 765-2491 to participate in this popular program. For your convenience, we also have payment drop boxes at the post office and the utility office. Power supplier's growth spurs electric rate increases Our wholesale power sup- plier-Great River Energy- is the fastest growing util- ity in the state, and building facilities to serve that growth is expensive. Because of a 10.7 per- cent increase in the cost of power we buy from GRE, we have to increase our retail rates. We are passing along only 7.2 percent increase to our retail customers. The new rates will show up on February bills. The reason for GRE's wholesale rate increase is the construction of new facil- ities, especially power plants to satisfy ever-increasing electric needs. Recently- built power plants fueled by gas instead of coal are also susceptible to the volatile gas market. Our monthly customer charge, to .help cover our fixed costs; remains at $7.50 for residential customers and $16.00 for commercial- industrial customers. New electric rates .Residential kilowatt-hour charge May-Sept. • Oct.-April 10 cents 8.48 cents Off-peak kWh rate: 4.3 cents Commercial kilowatt-hour charge May-Sept. Oct.-April 9.73 cents 7,54 cents Industrial demand charge May-Sept. Oct.-April $10.66 >$14.98 Industrial kilowatt-hour charge: 4.542 cents Water rates { "~ Demand for water,' espe- w' cialty heavy lawn .sprinkling in the summer, is driving the average 6.0 percent increase in water rates. The aver- age residential customer uses 5,000 to 6,000 gallons of water per month in the winter. In the summer, the average consumption has increased to over 24,000 ' gallons per month. The rate increase varies " depending on customer usage, with heavier users paying higher percentage increases. The rate structure, charg- ing ahigher rate for higher usage, is part of our water conservation ,.plan and is strongly recommended by the state of Minnesota. Ground water„ `particularly from the sole aquifer under- lying EIk River, is a valuable natural resource. This water is neither free nor inexhaust- ible. It is our most precious natural resource and must be protected and conserved. New residential water rates Monthly charge: $6.50 Monthly price pei- 1,000 gallons, up to 9,000 gallons: $1.50 per 1, 000 gallons Monthly price per: gallon if over 9,000 gallons used:. $3.50 per 1,000 gallons. Monthly price per gallon if over 15,000 gallons used: $4.00 per 1, 000 gallons We are reliable! Elk River Municipal Utilities has provided very reliable service over the years, but in 2007 our reliability numbers improved even more. Minnesota taw requires utilities to track reliability in regards to three measures. To make a long .story short, an ERMU customer, accord- ing to our most recent reli- ability measurements, can expect a 63 minute outage every nine years. If you have any .service questions, call us at 441- 2020. ® Who are the big winners in the recently adopted energy law? :Suppliers of components for fuel-efficient cars. Automakers will scramble to meet a 40% increase in average fuel efficiency by 2020. They'll snap up diesel engines from BorgWarner, Denso and Delphi. Turbochargers from BorgWarner, IHI Corp. and Honeywell's Garrett. Batteries for hybrids from Johnson Controls and Panasonic. Hitachi, TRW and others will see more orders for electronic and mechanical components. Lighting manufacturers. New efficiency regulations for lighting will effectively KO incandescent bulbs by the middle of the next decade. Lighting firms such as Osram Sylvania and Philips can expect huge demand for light emitting diodes, compact fluorescents and pinpoint halogens. Among smaller firms likely to benefit: Element Labs, an LED expert. Orion Energy Systems, a cutting-edge player in efficient fluorescents. And in the longer term...R&D leaders in cellulosic ethanol and other cutting-edge biofuels. The new federal alt-fuel mandate, which will require blending some 21 billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol in auto fuel by 2022, will be a boon to the likes of Abengoa Bioenergy of St. Louis and Poet of Sioux Falls, S.D. Plus Novozymes and DuPont will be busy selling the enzymes to break down cellulosic materials. Ethanol industry suppliers will hurt in the short term, however. Corn-based ethanol production is outstripping the pace at which blenders can mix ethanol into fuel. Meanwhile, ethanol makers are being squeezed by the sharp rise in corn prices. So times will be tough for a few years. An expanded FMLA, Family and Medical Leave Act, is coming soon. ~ After the new rules are signed into law early this year, employers will be required to provide up to 12 weeks' unpaid leave to immediate family members of reservists or National Guard members who are called to active duty. Workers caring for family members wounded during military duty are entitled to 26 weeks' unpaid leave. Workers' personal protective Qear will cost you as of Mav 15. Occupational Safety and Health Admin. regs will force firms to pay for it in manufacturing facilities, shipyards, marine terminals, longshoring and construction. OSHA sees 21,000 fewer injuries per year as a result. ® Keep your eve on the independents in the New Hampshire primary. They make up 44% of the state's eligible voters, and on Jan. 8, they can participate in either the Republican or the Democratic contest. They will help determine who wins the party nominations, boosting either Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain. Independents will also provide clues to the Nov. elections. If most of them vote in the. Democratic contest, as happened in Iowa, it suggests they would also desert the GOP in the general election. And that would mean an across-the-board Democratic win later this year. Your very t ly, Jan. 4, 2008 THE INGER AS GTON' ITORS P.S. Learn how to manage employees with difficult personalities. We'll offer tips in a 90-minute interactive audio conference on Feb. 26. Register for it at www.krm.com/kiplinger or call 800-775-7654. Copyright 2008. The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. Quotation for political or commercial use is not permitted. Duplicating an entire issue for sharing with others, by any means, is illegal. Photocopying of individual items for internal use is permitted for registrants with the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923. For details, call 978-750-8400 or visit www.copyright.com. Is ethanol tapping too much water? ~ As the industry expands, Minnesota's groundwater supply is under greater pressure. By TOM MEER5MAN • meersman~a startribune.com With a flood of ethanol plants headed toward Minnesota, there's growing concern about wheth- er there will be enough groundwater to satisfy the booming industry's thirst. The issue was brought into focus last year in Granite Falls, where an ethanol plant in its first year of operations deplet- (( WE'RE ed the groundwater so much that it had to be- DEALING WITH gin pumping water from the Minnesota River. GROUNDWATER It takes between four and five gallons of wa- THAT'S ter to produce a gallon of ethanol at a biofuel PROBABLY 5,000 plant, and with 17 etha- nol plants now operat- YEARSOLD, AND ing in the state, six under construction and 10 more WE DON'T GET IT proposed or in the plan- Wing stages, the threat of BACK ... )> more drains on under- ground water are rising. Jeff Broberg, licensed This week, the Min- geologistand president nesota Environmen- ofthe Minnesota Trout tal Quality Board .will Association convene an interagen- cy group as the first step toward looking more closely at ethanol and groundwater availability. The board accepted a re- questtwo weeks ago from the Minnesota Pollution. Control Agency, which regulates ethanol plants. The MPCA Citizens' Board wants more informa- tion about total groundwater supplies in the state, as well as whether current and future ethanol plants could consume it faster than it can be replenished. ':The industry is consuming about 2 billion gal- lons of groundwater per year, according to state estimates. Ethanol continues: Even when ethanol plant devel opens test aquifers, results can be misleading. A6 - Ethanol's growth spurs water worries ~ ETHANOL FROM Al 1 That amount could quadru- ple by 20ll if the state's ethanol production more than doubles, as expected. "I would characterize it as a concern about where we're going to allocate groundwa- ter over the next 10 years rel- ative to what are the needs go- ing to be in 20 or 30 years, and whether we're doing a good job in thinking ahead; 'said MPCA Commissioner Brad Moore. In many cases, there's con- siderable uncertainty about how much water is available underground. And even when ethanol plant developers test aqui- fers-the underlying layers of porous rock and sand that store water -the results can be mis- leading. The Granite Falls plant had been given a temporary three-year groundwater per- mit from the Minnesota De- partment of Natural Resourc- es, but had to switch to the riv- er after little over a year. The ethanol industry is de- veloping new technology that will reduce the amount of wa- terneeded to produce ethanol, said Matt Hartwig, spokesman for the Renewable Fuels Asso- ciation, anational trade group. "Industry. is very aware of its use of natural resources like water and we're taking steps to improve that;' he said. Feaa for future resources The exponential growth of ethanol plants and burgeon- ingneed for groundwater wor- ry Jeff Broberg, a licensed geol- ogist and president of the Min- nesota TYout Association Bro- berg said that groundwater is an "unseen environment" and that .ethanol plants wily de- plete what's used for drinking and for sustaining the headWa- ters of many trout streams, es- pecially in southeastern Min- nesota. "There's public interest in protecting these resources not only now, but also in the future;' Broberg said. "We're dealing with groundwater that's probably 5,000 years old, ETHANOL IN MINNESOTA • Gallons of ethanol produced yearly in Minnesota since 2000, with projections. 2011: '• 2008: 1.8 billion gaL ~, ; 734 mullion gal. zoo6: I zoo9: 2000: S50 million gal. ~1 1.3 b ~on gal. 220 rrilion gal. 11 11 ... Millions of gallons 500 1,000 1,500 !t "' Source: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Muinesota Department of Agnculture Star'IYibune ;~,i;_. , ETHANOL II1T OTA: PRESENT AND FUTURE because there's a potential for; ~- - -, _ _ ~ a problem in the future;' Sit" terholm said. "It makes sense°' _ _ ,' _ As of January2008, Minnesota's 17 operating to give a tentative go-ahead'to` ~ ethanol facilities can produce 734 million companies and monitor the'e~ __ gallons per year. New plants are expected to fects of it: ' ~' ` __ i increase that amount to 1.8 billiongallons ~ The only way to truly knbvi~~' 'i ~ - _ annually by 2011. ___ how much water can be tap)3ed' `, 7D~ ~ i ~; on a long-term basis, said $et-' - - -- 1 I ~/' terholm, is know the locati~n~ ~-- -~"~ ~`7 ;~ size and number of aquifersi~' - _ - --~- y ~ an area, how they are relate'' ''~ ~ ~ i ~ ~ ~' ~ to surface lakes and rivers, and ~_ __ _ _`- ; ~ r- I ~ -- .; how they are recharged. A lot'" i ; ~ ~' of that work has not ever bee`ch` ^ ~re7:~ t ,~6s f r__~ ® done;'hesaid. ~ _ ~ _ _ , g The Environmental Qu~h ~ ~ ~ ~z2 ~ ~ ity Board (EQB), cons> tS' ~0° ~ ~ za ~ _~_-~1ia-'~ ~ y ~ ~~, ~ of citizens and commisstort-`' ~~ ,~ ~ 3 ~ ~- ~ Under construction ers from various agencies thatr' - , QT._' _ ~~ -~ ~~~ ~ deal with the environm~tit ~,~ 110 ~45'~ !~ ~~ will take u that uestion 50 ~~ _- _, Q55 r ` ~~ Proposed/tentative P q ~ p ~ the coming weeks. Its staff With millions ~- ~4r,~. ~~ -~ ~ ~~ i ~'~ ;' of gallons published a report last y~a~~ S ,_ 20 ~ ,-' ~~ ~! that indicated some'Itvin CJt ' '~~` '- ~ ~ ~ ~1l CapaClty ~~ ~ _ ~ __ } y -j ~ ~-- ies metro counties are facttS~' ~ I 55 ~~''~,`~ { ~10~ _ limits on how much ground ~`~ ~ ~'~,-- ~~ ~ ~~-~~- 6~-~-L~ ~~' water will be available for ftf ~~~ I °. 08 1 ss ~ ~ Oss ~-~ tore use. Ramsey County is"~~, 31 :~ } 2~1 -- " ~ ~ ~ a4 ~` i ! ~? read usin more oundwate;l•~ Y g ~ ~_ ~ __._ iss ~ ~0 ! g0 ~pb~ '~Q42 _-_~ than is considered renewable,.. according to the report, artd" Source: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency; Minnesota Department of Agriculture W ~ t H ~rlt~'~ and we don't get it back, and our state agencies have no idea of what's sustainable in terms of water use." Individual ethanol plants must receive water appropri- ation permits from the Min- nesota Department of Natu- ral Resources, which requires owners of proposed plants to drill-wells and conduct tests to determine how. high-volume pumping will affect ground- water supplies. Jinn Sehl, the DNR's ground- water specialist in southern Minnesota, said that once giv- en permits, companies are al- so required to monitor. vari- ous wells constantly and to re- port their findings. "If we see groundwater starting to drop, it's a warning shot across the bow," Sehl said. Companies can be told to cut back production, shut down temporarily, or shin to a different source of water if there is trouble, he said. Is there erwugh for us allT Dale Setterholm, associate director of the Minnesota Geo- logical Survey said the DNR's as g on, ennepm Dakota counties could reat'}l` their limits by 2030. ; i°`"~ John Wells, EQB strate'g` i~''` planning director, said that'lt's time for the state to look mbt~`' comprehensively a[ how city' rent and future demands frolfi~' ethanol, population grov~t}1~ and other needs will ma~~~` up with available groundv~'-'' ter supplies. zs~: "It's not a crisis, but it's a~ldt different than saying we've all the water we need and never need to worry about approach is reasonable, given Wells said. "We're not there; the general lack of knowledge anymore." 11 .llj,;; about groundwater supplies ~. `: in the state. "I don't think you rom Meersman • r;lz-6r3a3ss . ~ t4 i; k 4 can deny somebody water just j; '`~. G; « IT'S NOT A CRISIS, BUT IT'S A LOT DIFFERENT THAN SAYING WE'VE GOT ALL THE WATER WE' ;: , ~; Environmental Effects of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide ARTHUR B. ROBINSON, NOAH E. ROBINSON, AND WILLIE SOON Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, 2251 Dick George Road, Cave Junction, Oregon 97523 [arty@oism.org] ABSTRACT A review of the research literature concerning the environmental consequences of increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide leads to the conclusion that increases during the 20th and early 21st centuries have produced no deleterious ef- fects upon Earth's weather and climate. Increased carbon diox- ide has, however, markedly increased plant growth. Predictions of harmful climatic effects due to future increases in hydrocar- bon use and minor greenhouse gases like C02 do not conform to current experimental knowledge. The environmental effects of rapid expansion of the nuclear and hydrocarbon energy indus- tries are discussed. SUMMARY Political leaders gathered in Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997 to consider a world treaty restricting human production of "greenhouse gases," chiefly carbon dioxide (COZ). They feared that COZ would result in "human-caused global warming" -hypothetical severe in- creases in Earth's temperatures, with disastrous environmental con- sequences. During the past 10 years, many political efforts have been made to force worldwide agreement to the Kyoto treaty. When we reviewed this subject in 1998 (1,2), existing satellite re- cords were short and were centered on a period of changing interme- diate temperature trends. Additional experimental data have now been obtained, so better answers to the questions raised by the hy- pothesis of "human-caused global warming" are now available. ;~ 25 0 y -0°. E F U t 0 Little Ice Age 24 23 22 3,000-Year Average 21 -1000 -500 0 300 1000 1500 2000 Year Figure 1: Surface temperatures in the Sargasso Sea, a 2 million square mile region of the Atlantic Ocean, with time resolution of 50 to 100 years and ending in 1975, as determined by isotope ratios of marine organism remains in sediment at the bottom of the sea (3). The horizontal line is the average temperature for this 3,000-yeaz period. The Little Ice Age and Medieval Cli- mate Optimum were naturally occurring, extended intervals of climate de- partures from the mean. A value of 0.25 °C, which is the change in Sazgasso Sea temperature between 1975 and 2006, has been added to the 1975 data in order to provide a 2006 temperature value. The average temperature of the Earth has varied within a range of about 3°C during the past 3,000 years. It is currently increasing as the Earth recovers from a period that is known as the Little Ice Age, as shown in Figure 1. George Washington and his army were at Valley Forge during the coldest era in 1,500 years, but even then the temper- ature was only about 1 ° Centigrade below the 3,000-year average. The most recent part of this warnvng period is reflected by short- Medieval Climate Optimum 2006 0 aR E ao 0 a V '~ a E L z _2e Betore Hydrocarbon ~ Daring Use Increase Increase -16 E- ~ --~ Glacier Shortening ; ~ a -l2 Occurs Before ~ tio ~ o o ~~ and Is Unaffected by ~ Go Hydrocarbon Use , ~40 oa ~.~' ~ , o~~~oa ~ ~~eq`c~o ~ r ' g -a `~~y~qc ~ Gas i 6 4 G~ ~~ ~ Oil 4 0 Coal 2 4 1 rw 1 ~7e IaW 1a39 IYW 19311 2UOB Year a cn 0 a U 0 F Figure 2: Average length of 169 glaciers from 1700 to 2000 (4). The princi- pal source of melt energy is solaz radiation. Variations in glacier mass and length are primarily due to temperature and precipitation (5,6). This melting trend lags the temperature increase by about 20 years, so it predates the 6-fold increase in hydrocarbon use (7) even more than shown in the figure. Hydrocazbon use could not have caused this shortening trend. ening of world glaciers, as shown in Figure 2. Glaciers regularly lengthen and shorten in delayed correlation with cooling and warm- ing trends. Shortening lags temperature by about 20 years, so the cur- rent warming trend began in about 1800. Atmospheric temperature is regulated by the sun, which fluctuates in activity as shown in Figure 3; by the greenhouse effect, largely caused by atmospheric water vapor (H20); and by other phenomena that are more poorly understood. While major greenhouse gas HZO substantially warms the Earth, minor greenhouse gases such as COZ U 2 C ~° a i .~ O 'o d a E F -t Q -2 d I Solar Activity 1 1 ~ Arctic Air 1 Temperature Temperature Correlates with 8 Sun, Not Hydrocarbon Use Gas 6 Oil q World Hydrocarbon Use \~ Coal 2 ---- --- 0 1at•Y IYYO 1Y[e IYgU 1YOU IYaU 2011® Year 374 E 3 372 ~ u c w 'v 370 as 368 c o e~ F '~ ~~ ~~ w U Figure 3: Arctic surface air temperature compared with total solaz irradiance as measured by sunspot cycle amplitude, sunspot cycle length, solar equato- rial rotation rate, fiaction of penumbral spots, and decay rate of the 11-yeaz sunspot cycle (8,9). Solaz irradiance correlates well with Arctic temperature, while hydrocazbon use (7) does not correlate. .journal ofAmerican Physicians and Surgeons (2007) 12, 79-90. U d L R L u F d 0 D U.S. Temperature increase per Centrry Atlantic Ocean Surface 50-Year Average Temperature Range in Sargasso Sea During Past 3,®00 Years Oregon Dsy-Night and Seasonal Temperatare Range Earth Day-Night & Seasonal 20 40 60 FO lae 120 140 Temperature Range'C Figure 4: Annual mean surface temperatures in the contiguous United States between 1880 and 2006 (10). The slope of the least-squares trend line for this 127-year record is 0.5 °C per century. have little effect, as shown in Figures 2 and 3. The 6-fold increase in hydrocarbon use since 1940 has had no noticeable effect on atmo- spheric temperature or on the trend in glacier length. While Figure 1 is illustrative of most geographical locations, there is great variability of temperature records with location and regional climate. Comprehensive surveys of published temperature records confirm the principal features of Figure 1, including the fact that the current Earth temperature is approximately 1 °C lower than that dur- ing the Medieval Climate Optimum 1,000 years ago (11,12). Surface temperatures in the United States during the past century reflect this natural warming trend and its correlation with solar activ- ity, asshown in Figures 4 and 5. Compiled U.S. surface temperatures have increased about 0.5 °C per century, which is consistent with other historical values of 0.4 to 0.5 °C per century during the recov- ery from the Little Ice Age (13-17). This temperature change is slight as compared with other natural variations, as shown in Figure 6. Three intermediate trends are evident, including the decreasing trend used to justify fears of "global cooling" in the 1970s. Between 1900 and 2000, on absolute scales of solar irradiance and degrees Kelvin, solar activity increased 0.19%, while a 0.5 °C temperature change is 0.21 %. This is in good agreement with esti- mates that Earth's temperature would be reduced by 0.6 °C through particulate blocking of the sun by 0.2% (18). Solar activity and U.S. surface temperature are closely correlated, as shown in Figure 5, but U.S. surface temperature and world hydro- carbon use are not correlated, as shown in Figure 13. The U.S. temperature trend is so slight that, were the temperature U d -. F v Figure 5: U.S. surface temperature from Figure 4 as compared with total so- laz imadiance (19) from Figure 3. 1374 e 372 G Y u 370 -. 3fi Figure 6: Comparison between the current U.S. temperature change per cen- tury, the 3,000-year temperature range in Figure 1, seasonal and diurnal range in Oregon, and seasonal and diurnal range throughout the Earth. change which has t<~tken place during the 20th and 21st centuries to occur in an ordinary room, most of the people in the room would be unaware of it. During the current period of recovery from the Little Ice Age, the U.S. climate has improved somewhat, with more rainfall, fewer tor- nados, and no increase in hurricane activity, as illustrated in Figures 7 to 10. Sea level has trended upward for the past 150 years at a rate of 7 inches per century, with 3 intermediate uptrends and 2 periods of no increase as shown in Figure 11. These features are confirmed by the glacier record as shown in Figure 12. If this trend continues as ffi a 0 ~.: as .y a a a e C d rte. U.S. RaMfaH to Increasing at 1.8 Inehes per Century 19110 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 Year Figure 7: Annual precipitation in the contiguous 48 United States between 1895 and 2006. U.S. National Climatic Data Center, U.S. Department of Commerce 2006 Climate Review (20). The trend shows an increase in rain- fall of 1.8 inches per century -approximately 6% per century. F L d 0 d a 8 0 z ~w Number of Severe Tornados ls• M U.S. Is DecreasMg 100 • ~ ~• • ~ ~ M ~ • ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ • 1930 1960 197A 1980 1990 2000 Year Figure 8: Annual number of strong-to-violent category F3 to FS tornados during the March-to-August tornado season in the U.S. between 1950 and 2006. U.S. National Climatic Data Center, U.S. Department of Commerce 2006 Climate Review (20). During this period, world hydrocarbon use in- creased 6-fold, while violent tornado frequency decreased by 43%. -2- raau r9w 192 1940 1910 1900 2000 Year IOaO 1900 1920 1940 1960 19M 2000 Year W a w F a There Has Been No Increase in ~ Number of Atbntie Harricawes That Make Laedfall ~ • ~ • ~ .. , .. .. • 19N 1920 1940 1960 19010 2000 Year Figure 9: Annual number of Atlantic hurricanes that made landfall between 1900 and 2006 (21). Line is drawn at mean value. did that prior to the Medieval Climate Optimum, sea level would be expected to rise about 1 foot during the next 200 years. As shown in Figures 2, 11, and 12, the trends in glacier shorten- ing and sea level rise began a century before the 60-year 6-fold in- crease in hydrocarbon use, and have not changed during that increase. Hydrocarbon use could not have caused these trends. During the past 50 years, atmospheric C02 has increased by 22%. Much of that C02 increase is attributable to the 6-fold increase in human use of hydrocarbon energy. Figures 2, 3, 11, 12, and 13 show, however, that human use of hydrocarbons has not caused the observed increases in temperature. The increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide has, however, had a substantial environmental effect. Atmospheric COZ fertilizes plants. Higher C02 enables plants to grow faster and larger and to live in drier climates. Plants provide food for animals, which are thereby also enhanced. The extent and diversity of plant and animal life have both increased substantially during the past half-century. Increased temperature has also mildly stimulated plant growth. Does a catastrophic amplification of these trends with damaging climatological consequences lie ahead? There are no experimental data that suggest this. There is also no experimentally validated theo- retical evidence of such an amplification. Predictions of catastrophic global warnvng are based on computer climate modeling, a branch of science still in its infancy. The empiri- cal evidence -actual measurements of Earth's temperature and cli- mate -shows no man-made warnung trend. Indeed, during four of the seven decades since 1940 when average COz levels steadily increased, U.S. average temperatures were actually decreasing. •• 00 a e 60 3 s s ,~ a d a There Hu Been No I~rease in Maximum Hurrkane Wind Speed or li Number of Vbknt Atlantic Hurrkanes • ~ ~ ~ 0 1950 1960 1970 19~ 1990 2000 Year m 0 to 8 0 z .C u ~_ a ~- a 0 oa O .S v 0 0 F u g Before Hydrocarbon ~ During Use Increase Increase ~ ~~-~ 4 Ctap~,i`~ ' P~ 2 ~ ~~.td-~~G~i @a ~ aGo¢c~~ F ® ~Qc~~ ~ 1 ,`~ 4 S~ ~ ,~ a 2 cas ~ ~ 4 ~ Oil i q 6 ~ Coal 2 e I>f00 1a50 1900 1950 2090 Year Figure 11: Global sea level measured by surface gauges between 1807 and 2002 (24) and by satellite between 1993 and 2006 (25). Satellite measure- ments are shown in gray and agree with tide gauge measurements. The over- all trend is an increase of 7 inches per century. Intermediate trends aze 9, 0, 12, 0, and 12 inches per century, respectively. This trend lags the tempera- ture increase, so it predates the increase in hydrocarbon use even more than is shown. It is unaffected by the very large increase in hydrocarbon use. While C02 levels have increased substantially and are expected to continue doing so and humans have been responsible for part of this increase, the effect on the environment has been benign. There is, however, one very dangerous possibility. Our industrial and technological civilization depends upon abun- dant, low-cost energy. This civilization has already brought unprece- dented prosperity to the people of the more developed nations. Billions of people in the less developed nations are now lifting them- selves from poverty by adopting this technology. Hydrocazbons are essential sources of energy to sustain and ex- tend prosperity. This is especially true of the developing nations, where available capital and technology are insufficient to meet rap- idly increasing energy needs without extensive use of hydrocarbon fuels. If, through misunderstanding of the underlying science and through misguided public fear and hysteria, mankind significantly ra- tions and restricts the use of hydrocarbons, the worldwide increase in prosperity will stop. The result would be vast human suffering and the loss of hundreds of millions of human lives. Moreover, the pros- perity of those in the developed countries would be greatly reduced. Mild ordinary natural increases in the Earth's temperature have occurred during the past two to three centuries. These have resulted in some improvements in overall climate and also some changes in 0 E y ao a s 'V .~ E 0 z 20 Before Hydrocarbon ~ During Use Increase Increa ~ ~~~ 16 ~ 12 Sea Level Increase ~~ ~~„~ Glaeier ~ ' l ; .Gas Shortening ' Oil Coal 1700 1730 18UU 185U MINI 1950 2UIN1 Year ffi a i 0 0 r as U F 0 Figure 10: Annual number of violent hurricanes and maximum attained wind speed during those hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean between 1944 and 2006 (22,23). There is no upwazd trend in either of these records. During this period, world hydrocarbon use increased 6-fold. Lines are mean values. Figure 12: Glacier shortening (4) and sea level rise (24,25). Gray area desig- nates estimated range of error in the sea level record. These measurements lag air temperature increases by about 20 years. So, the trends began more than a century before increases in hydrocarbon use. -3- the landscape, such as a reduction in glacier lengths and increased vegetation in colder areas. Far greater changes have occurred during the time that all current species of animals and plants have been on the Earth. The relative population sizes of the species and their geo- graphical distributions vary as they adapt to changing conditions. The temperature of the Earth is continuing its process of fluctuation in correlation with variations in natural phenomena. Man- kind, meanwhile, is moving some of the carbon in coal, oil, and natu- ral gas from below ground to the atmosphere and surface, where it is available for conversion into living things. We are living in an in- creasingly lush environment of plants and animals as a result. This is an unexpected and wonderful gift from the Industrial Revolution. ATMOSPHERIC AND SURFACE TEMPERATURES Atmospheric and surface temperatures have been recovering from an unusually cold period. During the time between 200 and 500 years ago, the Earth was experiencing the "Little Ice Age." It had de- scended into this relatively cool period from a wane interval about 1,000 years ago known as the "Medieval Climate Optimum." This is shown in Figure 1 for the Sazgasso Sea. During the Medieval Climate Optimum, temperatures were warn enough to allow the colonization of Greenland. These colonies were abandoned after the onset of colder temperatures. For the past 200 to 300 years, Earth temperatures have been gradually recovering (26). Sargasso Sea temperatures are now approximately equal to the aver- age for the previous 3,000 years. The historical record does not contain any report of "global warming" catastrophes, even though temperatures have been higher than they are now during much of the last three millennia. The 3,000-year range of temperatures in the Sargasso Sea is typi- cal of most places. Temperature records vary widely with geograph- ical location as a result of climatological characteristics unique to those specific regions, so an "average" Earth temperature is less meaningful than individual records (27). So called "global" or "hemispheric" averages contain errors created by averaging system- atically different aspects of unique geographical regions and by in- clusion of regions where temperature records are unreliable. Three key features of the temperature record -the Medieval Cli- mate Optimum, the Little Ice Age, and the Not-Unusual-Tempera- ture of the 20th century -have been verified by a review of local temperature and temperature-correlated records throughout the world (11), as summarized in Table 1. Each record was scored with respect to those queries to which it applied. The experimental and historical literature definitively confirms the primary features of Figure 1. Most geographical locations experienced both the Medieval Cli- mate Optimum and the Little Ice Age -and most locations did not Table 1: Query Yea No Yes/No Twe-Taikd ProbabiBty Wane Climatic Anomaly $$ 2 7 > 99.99 800-1300 A.D.? Cold Climatic ~~ly lOS 2 2 > 99.99 1300-1900 A.D.? 20th Century Warmest in 7 64 14 < O.000I Individual Record? Table 1: Comprehensive review of all instances in which temperature or temperature~omelated records from localities throughout the world pemrit answers to queries concerning the existence of the Medieval Climate Opti- mum, the Little Ice Age, and an unusually warm anomaly in the 20th cen- tury (11). The compiled and tabulated answers confirm the three principal features of the Sargasso Sea record shown in Figure 1. The probability that the answer to the query in column 1 is "yes" is given in column 5. N E 3 1372 Solar ~, Activity b 137® ~ 2 U 1 0 `w 13ta 0 0 _ ~ ~ ~ Northern Hemhtiphere ~ I Temperature s ,~ 0 U Arctic ~~ yy~ -1 L Temperature ~,a~ Cool -J ~ la I,M,.t.~M' ~ Ghrbai ~ ~ 13 Temperature ~ U.S. Temperature Rising w 12 0.5 °C per Ce=r' ~ L y Vi 11 C• d Sea Level minus 20 Years 6 ~^ Rising 7 Inches per Century Z x ~ 0 8 ~g Glacier Shortening ~ 'Pa1i1 ,$ a -4 minus 20 Years ~Foia '~ s w ~ ~ Ircryre 6 U ~ 4 a a Coal, Oil, and Gas Ire 2 F ~ 1730 1800 1850 1900 1950 28011® ~_ Year ao Figure 13: Seven independent records - solaz activity (9); Northern Hemi- sphere, (13), Arctic (28), global (10), and U.S. (10) annual surface air tem- peratures; sea level (24,25); and glacier length (4) -all qualitatively confine each other by exhibiting three intermediate trends -warmer, cooler, and warner. Sea level and glacier length are shown minus 20 years, correcting for their 20-yeaz lag of atmospheric temperature. Solaz activity, Northern Hemisphere temperature, and glacier lengths show a Low in about 1800. Hydrocarbon use (7) is uncorrelated with temperature. Temperature rose for a century before significant hydrocazbon use. Temperature rose between 1910 and 1940, while hydrocarbon use was almost unchanged. Temperature then fell between 1940 and 1972, while hydrocazbon use rose by 330%. Also, the 150 to 200-yeaz slopes of the sea level and glacier trends were un- changed by the very lazge increase in hydrocarbon use after 1940. experience temperatures that were unusually warm during the 20th century. A review of 23 quantitative records has demonstrated that mean and median world temperatures in 2006 were, on average, ap- proximately 1 °C or 2 °F cooler than in the Medieval Period (12). World glacier length (4) and world sea level (24,25) measure- ments provide records of the recent cycle of recovery. Warmer tem- peratures diminish glaciers and cause sea level to rise because of decreased ocean water density and other factors. These measurements show that the trend of 7 inches per century increase in sea level and the shortening trend in average glacier length both began a century before 1940, yet 84% of total human an- nual hydrocarbon use occurred only after 1940. Moreover, neither of these trends has accelerated during the period between 1940 and 2007, while hydrocarbon use increased 6-fold. Sea level and glacier records are offset by about 20 years because of the delay between temperature rise and glacier and sea level change. If the natural trend in sea level increase continues for another two centuries as did the temperature rise in the Sargasso Sea as the Earth entered the Medieval Warm Period, sea level would be expected to rise about 1 foot between the years 2000 and 2200. Both the sea level and glacier trends -and the temperature trend that they reflect -are -4- Global ~.S r - - ~ 1997-1998 Northers Hemisphere El Niio U ~.S c $~ w ~-a.s A Soothers Hemisphere Tropics SateNite ifa9 ifa5 199a 1995 200 2a65 Year Figure 14: Satellite microwave sounding unit (blue) measurements of tropo- spheric temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere between 0 and 82.5 N, Southern Hemisphere between 0 and 82.5 S, tropics between 20S and 20N, and the globe between 82.SN and 82.SS between 1979 and 2007 (29), and radiosonde balloon (red) measurements in the tropics (29). The balloon mea- surements confirm the satellite technique (29-31). The wamvng anomaly in 1997-1998 (gray) was caused by El Nino, which, like the overall trends, is unrelated to COZ (32). unrelated to hydrocazbon use. A fiuther doubling of world hydrocar- bon use would not change these trends. Figure 12 shows the close correlation between the sea level and glacier records, which further validates both records and the duration and character of the temperature change that gave rise to them. Figure 4 shows the annual temperature in the United States during the past 127 years. This record has an upward trend of 0.5 °C per century. Global and Northern Hemisphere surface temperature re- cords shown in Figure 13 trend upward at 0.6 °C per century. These records are, however, biased toward higher temperatures in several ways. For example, they preferentially use data near populated azeas (33), where heat island effects are prevalent, as illustrated in Figure 15. A trend of 0.5 °C per century is more representative (13-17). The U.S. temperature record has two intermediate uptrends of comparable magnitude, one occurring before the 6-fold increase in hydrocarbon use and one during it. Between these two is an interme- diate temperature downtrend, which led in the 1970s to fears of an impending new ice age. This decrease in temperature occurred dur- ing aperiod in which hydrocarbon use increased 3-fold. Seven independent records -solar irradiance; Arctic, Northern Hemisphere, global, and U.S. annual average surface air tempera- tures; sea level; and glacier length -all exhibit these three intermedi- ate trends, as shown in Figure 13. These trends confirm one another. Solar irradiance correlates with them. Hydrocarbon use does not. The intermediate uptrend in temperature between 1980 and 2006 shown in Figure 13 is similaz to that shown in Figure 14 for balloon and satellite tropospheric measurements. This trend is more pro- nounced in the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern. Contrary to the COZ warnung climate models, however, tropospheric tempera- tures aze not rising faster than surface temperatures. Figure 6 illustrates the magnitudes of these temperature changes by comparing the 0.5 °C per century temperature change as the Earth recovers from the Little Ice Age, the range of 50-year averaged At- lantic ocean surface temperatures in the Sargasso Sea over the past 3,000 years, the range ofday-night and seasonal variation on average in Oregon, and the range of day-night and seasonal variation over the whole Earth. The two-century-long temperature change is small. Tropospheric temperatures measured by satellite give comprehen- sive geographic coverage. Even the satellite measurements, however, contain short and medium-teen fluctuations greater than the slight warming trends calculated from them. The calculated trends vary sig- nificantly as a function of the most recent fluctuations and the lengths of the data sets, which are short. Figure 3 shows the latter part of the period of warming from the Little Ice Age in greater detail by means of Arctic air temperature as compazed with solar irradiance, as does Figure 5 for U.S. surface temperature. There is a close correlation between solar activity and temperature and none between hydrocarbon use and temperature. Several other studies over a wide variety of time intervals have found similar correlations between climate and solar activity (15, 34-39). Figure 3 also illustrates the uncertainties introduced by limited time records. If the Arctic air temperature data before 1920 were not available, essentially no uptrend would be observed. This observed variation in solar activity is typical of stars close in size and age to the sun (40). The current warming trends on Mars (41), Jupiter (42), Neptune (43,44), Neptune's moon Triton (45), and Pluto (46-48) may result, in part, from similar relations to the sun and its activity -like those that are warming the Earth. Hydrocarbon use and atmospheric COZ do not correlate with the observed temperatures. Solar activity correlates quite well. Correla- tion does not prove causality, but non-correlation proves non-causal- ity. Human hydrocarbon use is not measurably warming the earth. Moreover, there is a robust theoretical and empirical model for solar warming and cooling of the Earth (8,19,49,50). The experimental data do not prove that solar activity is the only phenomenon respon- sible for substantial Earth temperature fluctuations, but they do show that human hydrocarbon use is not among those phenomena. The overall experimental record is self-consistent. The Earth has been warning as it recovers from the Little Ice Age at an average rate of about 0.5 °C per century. Fluctuations within this temperature trend include periods of more rapid increase and also periods of tem- perature decrease. These fluctuations correlate well with concomitant fluctuations in the activity of the sun. Neither the trends nor the fluc- tuations within the trends correlate with hydrocarbon use. Sea level and glacier length reveal three intermediate uptrends and two down- trends since 1800, as does solar activity. These trends are climatically benign and result from natural processes. as U a L V e ~` a aL a 8 F 11,900 IilO,ON 1,00~.~00 1tii>00.0~0 PopulaNoa oiCorsty Figure 15: Surface temperature trends for 1940 to 1996 from 107 measuring stations in 49 California counties (51,52). The trends were combined for counties of similaz population and plotted with the standard errors of their means. The six measuring stations in Los Angeles County were used to cal- culate the standard error of that county, which is plotted at a population of 8.9 million. The "urban heat island effect" on surface measurements is evi- dent. The shaight line is aleast-squares fit to the closed circles. The points marked "X" are the six unadjusted station records selected by NASA GISS (53-55) for use in their estimate of global surface temperatures. Such selec- tions make NASA GISS temperatures too high. -5- ATMOSPHERIC CARBON DIOXIDE The concentration of C02 in Earth's atmosphere has increased during the past century, as shown in Figure 17. The magnitude of this atmospheric increase is currently about 4 gigatons (Gt C) of car- bon per year. Total human industrial COz production, primarily from use of coal, oil, and natural gas and the production of cement, is cur- rently about 8 Gt C per year (7,56,57). Humans also exhale about 0.6 Gt C per year, which has been sequestered by plants from atmo- spheric C02.Office air concentrations often exceed 1,000 ppm C02. To put these figures in perspective, it is estimated that the atmo- sphere contains 780 Gt C; the surface ocean contains 1,000 Gt C; vegetation, soils, and detritus contain 2,000 Gt C; and the intermedi- ate and deep oceans contain 38,000 Gt C, as C02 or C02 hydration products. Each year, the surface ocean and atmosphere exchange an estimated 90 Gt C; vegetation and the atmosphere, 100 Gt C; marine biota and the surface ocean, 50 Gt C; and the surface ocean and the intermediate and deep oceans, 40 Gt C (56,57). So great are the magnitudes of these reservoirs, the rates of ex- change between them, and the uncertainties of these estimated num- bers that the sources of the recent rise in atmospheric C02 have not been determined with certainty (58,59). Atmospheric concentrations of C02 are reported to have varied widely over geological time, with peaks, according to some estimates, some 20-fold higher than at present and lows at approximately 200 ppm (60-62). Ice-core records are reported to show seven extended periods dur- ing 650,000 years in which COz, methane (CHq), and temperature increased and then decreased (63-65). Ice-core records contain sub- stantial uncertainties (58), so these correlations are imprecise. In all seven glacial and interglacial cycles, the reported changes in C02 and CHq lagged the temperature changes and could not, there- fore, have caused them (66). These fluctuations probably involved temperature-caused changes in oceanic and terrestrial COZ and CH4 content. More recent C02 fluctuations also lag temperature (67,68). In 1957, Revelle and Seuss (69) estimated that tempera- ture-caused out-gassing of ocean C02 would increase atmospheric 4U a 0~ ~ ' ~s a ~ ~ O U 0 M ~. .. U a a6 ~ 4 2 8 F ® Measured Estlmahd Meswred Aataretk Global la by ReveNe in Ice Cores In 1957 Sea Water Figure 16: Temperature rise versus COZ rise from seven ice-core measured interglacial periods (63-65); from calculations (69) and measurements (70) of sea water out-gassing; and as measured during the 20th and 21st centuries (10,72). The interglacial temperature increases caused the COz rises through release of ocean CO2. The COZ rises did not cause the temperature rises. In addition to the agreement between the out-gassing estimates and mea- surements, this conclusion is also verified by the small temperature rise dur- ing the 20th and 21st centuries. If the COZ versus temperature correlation during the seven interglacials had been caused by COz greenhouse wamvn then the temperature rise per COZ rise would have been as high during the 20th and 21st centuries as it was during the seven interglacial periods. Antarctk Ice Core Temperature meow 3oaese Ia,80! Reported Ice Core Abe (Years Before Present) C02 Rise During Seven Interglacials Was Ocean Out-gassing Caused by Tempernture Rise During Seven Ocean Interglacials Out-gassing During 20tb and 2 1s t Centuries . / i a a C >~ u u 0 U O U u a a 0 s leo 3b'/. Increase 22•/. tncresse 1 Atmospherk Carbon Dioxide r~ Gas World Hydrocarbon Used ~ 14 Coal 1~ 19SY 199® 1959 2998 Year a a U 0 F as Figure 17: Atmospheric COZ wncenhations in parts per million by volume, ppm, measured spectrophotometrically at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, between 1958 and 2007. These measurements agree well with those at other locations (71). Data before 1958 are from ice cores and chemical analyses, which have substantial experimental uncertainties. We have used 295 ppm for the period 1880 to 1890, which is an average of the available estimates. About 0.6 Gt C of COZ is produced annually by human respiration and often leads to con- centrations exceeding 1,000 ppm in public buildings. Atmospheric COZ has increased 22% since 1958 and about 30% since 1880. C02 by about 7% per °C temperature rise. The reported change dur- ing the seven interglacials of the 650,000-year ice core record is about 5% per °C (63), which agrees with the out-gassing calculation. Between 1900 and 2006, Antarctic COz increased 30% per 0.1 °C temperature change (72), and world COz increased 30% per 0.5 °C. In addition to ocean out-gassing, C02 from human use of hydrocar- bons is a new source. Neither this new source nor the older natural C02 sources are causing atmospheric temperature to change. The hypothesis that the C02 rise during the interglacials caused the temperature to rise requires an increase of about 6 °C per 30% rise in COz as seen in the ice core record. If this hypothesis were cor- rect, Earth temperatures would have risen about 6 °C between 1900 and 2006, rather than the rise of between 0.1 °C and 0.5 °C, which actually occurred. This difference is illustrated in Figure 16. The 650,000-year ice-core record does not, therefore, agree with the hypothesis of "human-caused global warming," and, in fact, pro- vides empirical evidence that invalidates this hypothesis. Carbon dioxide has a very short residence time in the atmosphere. Beginning with the 7 to 10-year half-time of C02 in the atmosphere estimated by Revelle and Seuss (69), there were 36 estimates of the atmospheric COZ half-time based upon experimental measurements published between 1957 and 1992 (59). These range between 2 and 25 years, with a mean of 7.5, a median of 7.6, and an upper range average of about 10. Of the 36 values, 33 are 10 years or less. Many of these estimates are from the decrease in atmospheric carbon 14 after cessation of atmospheric nuclear weapons testing, which provides a reliable half-time. There is no experimental evi- dence to support computer model estimates (73) of a COz atmo- spheric "lifetime" of 300 years or more. Human production of 8 Gt C per year of COZ is negligible as compared with the 40,000 Gt C residing in the oceans and biosphere. At ultimate equilibrium, human-produced C02 will have an insignificant effect on the amounts in the various reservoirs. The rates of approach to equilibrium are, however, slow enough that hu- man use creates a transient atmospheric increase. In any case, the sources and amounts of C02 in the atmosphere are of secondary importance to the hypothesis of "human-caused global warming." It is human burning of coal, oil, and natural gas that is at issue. COZ is merely an intermediate in a hypothetical mechanism by which this "human-caused global warming" is said to take place. The amount of atmospheric C02 does have profound en- vironmental effects on plant and animal populations (74) and diver- sity, as is discussed below. -6- CLIMATE CHANGE While the average temperature change taking place as the Earth recovers from the Little Ice Age is so slight that it is difficult to dis- cern, its environmental effects are measurable. Glacier shortening and the 7 inches per century rise in sea level are examples. There are additional climate changes that are correlated with this rise in temper- ature and may be caused by it. Greenland, for example, is beginning to turn green again, as it was 1,000 years ago during the Medieval Climate Optimum (11). Arctic sea ice is decreasing somewhat (75), but Antarctic ice is not decreasing and may be increasing, due to increased snow (76-79). In the United States, rainfall is increasing at about 1.8 inches per century, and the number of severe tornados is decreasing, as shown in Figures 7 and 8. If world temperatures continue to rise at the cur- rent rate, they will reach those of the Medieval Climate Optimum about 2 centuries from now. Historical reports of that period record the growing of wane weather crops in localities too cold for that pur- pose today, so it is to be expected that the area of more temperate cli- mate will expand as it did then. This is aheady being observed, as studies at higher altitudes have reported increases in amount and di- versity of plant and animal life by more than 50% (12,80). Atmospheric temperature is increasing more in the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern, with intermediate periods of in- crease and decrease in the overall trends. There has been no increase in frequency or severity of Atlantic hurricanes during the period of 6-fold increase in hydrocarbon use, as is illustrated in Figures 9 and 10. Numbers of violent hurricanes vary greatly from year to year and are no greater now than they were 50 years ago. Similarly, maximum wind speeds have not increased. All of the observed climate changes are gradual, moderate, and entirely within the bounds of ordinary natural changes that have oc- curred during the benign period of the past few thousand years. There is no indication whatever in the experimental data that an abrupt or remarkable change in any of the ordinary natural climate variables is beginning or will begin to take place. GLOBAL WARMING HYPOTHESIS The greenhouse effect amplifies solar warming of the earth. Greenhouse gases such as H2O, CO2, and CHq in the Earth's atmo- sphere, through combined convective readjustments and the radiative blanketing effect, essentially decrease the net escape of terrestrial thermal infrared radiation. Increasing CO2, therefore, effectively in- creases radiative energy input to the Earth's atmosphere. The path of this radiative input is complex. It is redistributed, both vertically and horizontally, by various physical processes, including advection, convection, and diffusion in the atmosphere and ocean. When an increase in COZ increases the radiative input to the at- mosphere, how and in which direction does the atmosphere respond? Hypotheses about this response differ and are schematically shown in Figure 18. Without the water-vapor greenhouse effect, the Earth would be about 14 °C cooler (81). The radiative contribution of dou- bling atmospheric COZ is minor, but this radiative greenhouse effect is treated quite differently by different climate hypotheses. The hy- potheses that the IPCC (82,83) has chosen to adopt predict that the effect of C02 is amplified by the atmosphere, especially by water va- por, to produce a large temperature increase. Other hypotheses, shown as hypothesis 2, predict the opposite -that the atmospheric re- sponse will counteract the COZ increase and result in insignificant changes in global temperature (81,84,85,91,92). The experimental evidence, as described above, favors hypothesis 2. While COZ has increased substantially, its effect on temperature has been so slight that it has not been experimentally detected. The computer climate models upon which "human-caused global warming" is based have substantial uncertainties and are markedly unreliable. This is not surprising, since the climate is a coupled, >~ w 0 0 r C5 v ~' 3 0 a Pretest GHE Hypothetkal Effects of Increased COZ Hypothesis 1 IPCC Radhtlve Effect of CO= Hypothesis 2 Figure 18: Qualitative illustration of greenhouse warming. "Present GHE" is the current greenhouse effect from all atmospheric phenomena. "Radiative effect of COZ" is the added greenhouse radiative effect from doubling COZ without consideration of other atmospheric components. "Hypothesis 1 IPCC" is the hypothetical amplification effect assumed by II'CC. "Hypothe- sis 2" is the hypothetical moderation effect. non-linear dynamical system. It is very complex. Figure 19 illustrates the difficulties by comparing the radiative COZ greenhouse effect with correction factors and uncertainties in some of the parameters in the computer climate calculations. Other factors, too, such as the chemical and climatic influence of volcanoes, cannot now be reliably computer modeled. In effect, an experiment has been performed on the Earth during the past half-century - an experiment that includes all of the complex factors and feedback effects that determine the Earth's temperature and climate. Since 1940, hydrocarbon use has risen 6-fold. Yet, this rise has had no effect on the temperature trends, which have contin- ued their cycle of recovery from the Little Ice Age in close correla- tion with increasing solar activity. Not only has the global warming hypothesis failed experimental tests, it is theoretically flawed as well. It can reasonably be argued that cooling from negative physical and biological feedbacks to greenhouse gases nullifies the slight initial temperature rise (84,86). The reasons for this failure of the computer climate models are subjects of scientific debate (87). For example, water vapor is the largest contributor to the overall greenhouse effect (88). It has been suggested that the climate models treat feedbacks from clouds, water vapor, and related hydrology incorrectly (85,89-92). The global warming hypothesis with respect to COZ is not based upon the radiative properties of COZ itself, which is a very weak greenhouse gas. It is based upon a small initial increase in tempera- ture caused by COZ and a large theoretical amplification of that tem- perature increase, primarily through increased evaporation of H2O, a Oceaa Surface Flux L V E d .. a e o~ L a a 3 Computer Model Uncertainties ~ Are Higher Than COZ Effects bo North-South ~ Heat Flux by Motions Clouds Humbtity 20 Greceahouse ^ . (Doubled COZ) Figure 19: The radiative greenhouse effect of doubling the concentration of atmospheric COZ (right baz) as compazed with four of the uncertainties in the computer climate models (87,93). -7- ., a 5 a a !3 °o U V a a to I.5 Ata~a~Merie Metkaoe Is Leveling lflf8 1N3 I~fO il~S 2N0 Year Figure 20: Global atmospheric methane concentration in parts per million between 1982 and 2004 (94). strong greenhouse gas. Any comparable temperature increase from another cause would produce the same calculated outcome. Thus, the 3,000-year temperature record illustrated in Figure 1 also provides a test of the computer models. The historical tempera- ture record shows that the Earth has previously warmed far more than could be caused by CO2 itself. Since these past warming cycles have not initiated water-vapor-mediated atmospheric warming catas- trophes, it is evident that weaker effects from CO2 cannot do so. Methane is also a minor greenhouse gas. World CH4 levels are, as shown in Figure 20, leveling off. In the U.S. in 2005, 42% of hu- man-produced methane was from hydrocarbon energy production, 28% from waste management, and 30% from agriculture (95). The total amount of CH4 produced from these U.S. sources decreased 7% between 1980 and 2005. Moreover, the record shows that, even while methane was increasing, temperature trends were benign. The "human-caused global warnming" -often called the "global warnvng" -hypothesis depends entirely upon computer model-gen- erated scenazios of the future. There are no empirical records that verify either these models or their flawed predictions (96). Claims (97) of an epidemic of insect-home diseases, extensive species extinction, catastrophic flooding of Pacific islands, ocean acidification, increased numbers and severities of hurricanes and tor- nados, and increased human heat deaths from the 0.5 °C per century temperature rise are not consistent with actual observations. The "hu- man-caused global wamming" hypothesis and the computer calcula- tions that support it are in error. They have no empirical support and aze invalidated by numerous observations. WORLD TEMPERATURE CONTROL World temperature is controlled by natural phenomena. What steps could mankind take if solar activity or other effects began to shift the Earth toward temperatures too cold or too warn for opti- mum human life? Fitst, it would be necessary to detemune what temperature hu- mans feel is optimum. It is unlikely that the chosen temperature would be exactly that which we have today. Second, we would be fortunate if natural forces were to make the Earth too warm rather than too cold because we can cool the Earth with relative ease. We have no means by which to warm it. Attempting to warm the Earth with addition of C02 or to cool the Earth by restrictions of CO2 and hydrocarbon use would, however, be futile. Neither would work. Inexpensively blocking the sun by means of particles in the upper atmosphere would be effective. S.S. Penner, A.M. Schneider, and E. M. Kennedy have proposed (98) that the exhaust systems of com- mercial airliners could be tuned in such a way as to eject particulate sun-blocking material into the upper atmosphere. Later, Edward Teller similarly suggested (18) that particles could be injected into the atmosphere in order to reduce solar heating and cool the Earth. Teller estimated a cost of between $500 million and $1 billion per year for between 1 °C and 3 °C of cooling. Both methods use parti- cles so small that they would be invisible from the Earth. These methods would be effective and economical in blocking solar radiation and reducing atmospheric and surface temperatures. There are other similar proposals (99). World energy rationing, on the other hand, would not work. The climate of the Earth is now benign. If temperatures become too warm, this can easily be corrected. If they become too cold, we have no means of response -except to maximize nucleaz and hydro- carbon energy production and technological advance. This would help humanity adapt and might lead to new mitigation technology. FERTILIZATION OF PLANTS BY COZ How high will the CO2 concentration of the atmosphere ulti- mately rise if mankind continues to increase the use of coal, oil, and natural gas`? At ultimate equilibrium with the ocean and other reser- voirs there will probably be very little increase. The current rise is a non-equilibrium result of the rate of approach to equilibrium. One reservoir that would moderate the increase is especially im- portant. Plant life provides a large sink for CO2. Using current knowledge about the increased growth rates of plants and assuming increased CO2 release as compazed to current emissions, it has been estimated that atmospheric CO2 levels may rise to about 600 ppm be- fore leveling off. At that level, CO2 absorption by increased Earth biomass is able to absorb about 10 Gt C per year (100). At present, this absorption is estimated to be about 3 Gt C per year (57). About 30% of this projected rise from 295 to 600 ppm has al- ready taken place, without causing unfavorable climate changes. Moreover, the radiative effects of CO2 are logarithmic (101,102), so more than 40% of any climatic influences have already occurred. As atmospheric CO2 increases, plant growth rates increase. Also, leaves transpire less and lose less water as CO2 increases, so that plants are able to grow under drier conditions. Animal life, which de- pends upon plant life for food, increases proportionally. Figures 21 to 24 show examples of experimentally measured in- creases in the growth of plants. These examples are representative of a very large reseazch literature on this subject (103-109). As Figure 21 shows, long-lived 1,000- to 2,000-year-old pine trees have shown a sharp increase in growth during the past half-century. Figure 22 shows the 40% increase in the forests of the United States that has ffi 8 L W 0 C a~ rn z.a a Long-lived Trees b 1.5 are Growie6 Faster I.t ~.S ~~ -~.S _t_a S00 lON 13N 2N0 ION 13N 20N Year Year Figure 21: Standard deviation from the mean of tree ring widths for (a) bristlecone pine, limber pine, and fox tail pine in the Great Basin of Califor- nia, Nevada, and Arizona and (b) bristlecone pine in Colorado (110). Tree ring widths were averaged in 20-yeaz segments and then normalized so that the means of prior tree growth were zero. The deviations from the means are shown in units of standard deviations of those means. -8- U.S.Foresb Havelncreased 40•/. iA SA Years 1"' >1N rR M .o aU a ,,,, o 3 7~ E AO 19N lf'M 11tN 1~ 2~p0 Year Figure 22: Inventories of standing hardwood and softwood timber in the United States compiled in Forest Resources of the United States, 2002, U.S. Depaztrnent of Agriculture Forest Service (111,112). The linear trend cited in 1998 (1) with an increase of 30% has continued. The increase is now 40%. The amount of U.S. timber is rising almost 1% per yeaz. taken place since 1950. Much of this increase is due to the increase in atmospheric CO2 that has already occurred. In addition, it has been reported that Amazonian rain forests are increasing their vegetation by about 900 pounds of carbon per acre per year (113), or approximately 2 tons of biomass per acre per year. Trees respond to CO2 fertilization more strongly than do most other plants, but all plants respond to some extent. Since plant response to CO2 fertilization is nearly linear with re- spect to CO2 concentration over the range from 300 to 600 ppm, as seen in Figure 23, experimental measurements at different levels of CO2 enrichment can be extrapolated. This has been done in Figure 24 in order to illustrate CO2 growth enhancements calculated for the atmospheric increase of about 88 ppm that has already taken place and those expected from a projected total increase of 305 ppm. Wheat growth is accelerated by increased atmospheric CO2, espe- cially under dry conditions. Figure 24 shows the response of wheat grown under wet conditions versus that of wheat stressed by lack of water. The underlying data is from open-field experiments. Wheat was grown in the usual way, but the atmospheric CO2 concentrations of circular sections of the fields were increased by arrays of com- d 6 d u C as s C W r 3 L V 0 u L d a teo~ O Resource-limited and Stressed • Not Resource-limited or Stressed t40 rpp 48 300 tip0 X00 1200 1 S00 Atmospheric COz Enrichment ppm Figure 23: Summary data from 279 published experiments in which plants of all types were grown under paired stressed (open red circles) and un- stressed (closed blue circles) conditions (114). There were 208, 50, and 21 sets at 300, 600, and an average of about 1350 ppm CO2, respectively. The plant mixture in the 279 studies was slightly biased toward plant types that respond less to COZ fertilization than does the actual global mixture. There- fore, the figure underestimates the expected global response. COZ enrich- ment also allows plants to grow in drier regrons, further increasing the response. puter-controlled equipment that released CO2 into the air to hold the levels as specified (115,116). Orange and young pine tree growth en- hancement (117-119) with two atmospheric CO2 increases -that which has already occurred since 1885 and that projected for the next two centuries - is also shown. The relative growth enhancement of trees by CO2 diminishes with age. Figure 24 shows young trees. Figure 23 summarizes 279 experiments in which plants of various types were raised under CO2-enhanced conditions. Plants under stress from less-than-ideal conditions - a common occurrence in na- ture -respond more to COz fertilization. The selections of species in Figure 23 were biased toward plants that respond less to CO2 fertil- ization than does the mixture actually covering the Earth, so Figure 23 underestimates the effects of global CO2 enhancement. Clearly, the green revolution in agriculture has already benefitted from CO2 fertilization, and benefits in the future will be even greater. Animal life is increasing proportionally, as shown by studies of 51 terrestrial (120) and 22 aquatic ecosystems (121). Moreover, as shown by a study of 94 terrestrial ecosystems on all continents ex- B a a N O 0 z 4a0 asp a ~ 295 ppm CO= t 3>e3 ppm C02 3~ 250 2a0 72`/• lsp 37% 3z'/• 11•/. 4•/. lip so 0 Dry Wheat Wet Wheat Oraa~es taraa~e Trees Yeaae rtae Trees 4~0 a 33p h ~ 29S ppm C02 248Y• a t 60, ppln C02 N 3~ zso 13N/. 111% ~ z~0 Z 1~ ~% o c 15 /• ~ la0 Ow 0 Dry Wbeat Wet Wheat Oraaxes Oraa~e Tress Yom Mae Trees Figure 24: Calculated (1,2) growth rate enhancement of wheat, young or- ange trees, and very young pine h~ees already taking place as a result of at- mospheric enrichment by COZ from 1885 to 2007 (a), and expected as a result of atmospheric enrichment by COZ to a level of 600 ppm (b). cept Antazctica (122), species richness - biodiversity - is more posi- tivelycorrelated with productivity -the total quantity of plant life per acre -than with anything else. Atmospheric C02 is required for life by both plants and animals. It is the sole source of carbon in all of the protein, carbohydrate, fat, and other organic molecules of which living things are constructed. Plants extract carbon from atmospheric CO2 and are thereby fer- tilized. Animals obtain their carbon from plants. Without atmo- spheric COz, none of the life we see on Earth would exist. Water, oxygen, and carbon dioxide aze the three most important substances that make life possible. They are surely not environmental pollutants. -9- ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY The single most important human component in the preservation of the Earth's environment is energy. Industrial conversion of energy into forms that are useful for human activities is the most important aspect of technology. Abundant inexpensive energy is required for the prosperous maintenance of human life and the continued advance of life-enriching technology. People who are prosperous have the wealth required to protect and enhance their natural environment. Currently, the United States is a net importer of energy as shown in Figure 25. Americans spend about $300 billion per year for im- ported oil and gas - and an additional amount for military expenses related to those imports. s.sx I.preH N~ral Gtr / ~ ~ ux x~elar -\ ss% HyanaNetric aN OH~r \ x.37% Wl.i ui 3dar zs.7x I.prta oe ~ ss% D..e.tle ou Isporbd Ee~rp- s3e~ sili~o^ w^^^a1 co.t Figure 25: In 2006, the United States obtained 84.9% of its energy from hy- drocarbons, 8.2% from nuclear fuels, 2.9% from hydroelectric dams, 2.1% from wood, 0.8% from biofuels, 0.4% from waste, 0.3% from geothermal, and 0.3% from wind and solar radiation. The U.S. uses 21 million barrels of oil per day - 27% from OPEC, 17% from Canada and Mexico, 16% from others, and 40% produced in the U.S. (95). The cost of imported oil and gas at $60 per barrel and $7 per 1,000 ft in 2007 is about $300 billion per year. Political calls for a reduction of U.S. hydrocarbon use by 90% (123), thereby eliminating 75% of America's energy supply, are ob- viously impractical. Nor can this 75% of U.S. energy be replaced by alternative "green" sources. Despite enormous tax subsidies over the past 30 years, green sources still provide only 0.3% of U.S. energy. Yet, the U.S. clearly cannot continue to be a large net importer of energy without losing its economic and industrial strength and its po- litical independence. It should, instead, be a net exporter of energy. There are three realistic technological paths to American energy independence -increased use of hydrocarbon energy, nuclear en- ergy, or both. There are no climatological impediments to increased use of hydrocarbons, although local environmental effects can and must be accommodated. Nuclear energy is, in fact, less expensive and more environmentally benign than hydrocarbon energy, but it too has been the victim of the politics of fear and claimed disadvan- tages and dangers that are actually negligible. For example, the "problem" of high-level "nuclear waste" has been given much attention, but this problem has been politically cre- ated by U.S. government barriers to American fuel breeding and re- processing. Spent nuclear fuel can be recycled into new nuclear fuel. It need not be stored in expensive repositories. Reactor accidents are also much publicized, but there has never been even one human death associated with an American nuclear re- actor incident. By contrast, American dependence on automobiles re- sults in more than 40,000 human deaths per year. All forms of energy generation, including "green" methods, entail industrial deaths in the mining, manufacture, and transport of re- sources they require. Nuclear energy requires the smallest amount of such resources (124) and therefore has the lowest risk of deaths. Estimated relative costs of electrical energy production vary with ~ is.sx coi geographical location and underlying assumptions. Figure 26 shows a recent British study, which is typical. At present, 43% of U.S. en- ergy consumption is used for electricity production. To be sure, future inventions in energy technology may alter the relative economics of nucleaz, hydrocarbon, solar, wind, and other methods of energy generation. These inventions cannot, however, be forced by political fiat, nor can they be wished into existence. Alter- natively, "conservation," if practiced so extensively as to be an alter- native to hydrocarbon and nuclear power, is merely a politically correct word for "poverty." The current untenable situation in which the United States is los- ing $300 billion per year to pay for foreign oil and gas is not the re- sult of failures of government energy production efforts. The U.S. govemment does not produce energy. Energy is produced by private industry. Why then has energy production thrived abroad while do- mestic production has stagnated? This stagnation has been caused by United States government tax- ation, regulation, and sponsorship of litigation, which has made the U.S. a very unfavorable place to produce energy. In addition, the U.S. government has spent vast sums of tax money subsidizing infe- rior energy technologies for political purposes. It is not necessary to discern in advance the best course to follow. Legislative repeal of taxation, regulation, incentives to litigation, and repeal of all subsidies of energy generation industries would stimu- late industrial development, wherein competition could then automat- ically detemvne the best paths. Nucleaz power is safer, less expensive, and more environmentally benign than hydrocarbon power, so it is probably the better choice for increased energy production. Solid, liquid and gaseous hydrocaz- bon fuels provide, however, many conveniences, and a national in- frastructure to use them is already in place. Oil from shale or coal liquefaction is less expensive than crude oil at cunent prices, but its ongoing production costs are higher than those for already developed oil fields. There is, therefore, an investment risk that crude oil prices could drop so low that liquefaction plants could not compete. Nuclear energy does not have this disadvantage, since the operating costs of nucleaz power plants are very low. Figure 27 illustrates, as an example, one practical and environ- mentally sound path to U.S. energy independence. At present 19% of U.S. electricity is produced by 104 nuclear power reactors with an average generating output in 2006 of 870 megawatts per reactor, for a total of about 90 GWe (ggawatts) (125). If this were increased by 560 GWe, nuclear power could fill all current U.S. electricity re- quirements and have 230 GWe left over for export as electricity or as hydrocarbon fuels replaced or manufactured. Thus, rather than a $300 billion trade loss, the U.S. would have a $200 billion trade surplus -and installed capacity for future U.S. re- C ~; r/~ a :. 0 U !5 Delivered Coat of Electric>tl Energy !0 rvrelar CoN Gu WIM Mkre Wled Or Selu~ Figure 26: Delivered cost per kilowatt hour of electrical energy in Great Brit- ain in 2006, without COZ controls (126). These estimates include all capital and operational expenses for a period of 50 years. Micro wind or solar are units installed for individual homes. -10- 11.f% DNntle Nat~nl GM Sf% Nor ~.f% H~n~Netrk aN OWr 34% HTinarYw ~J3% ~Yl~i W 3Nv E=ported Eaerp SZ80 Billb>r Aaaoal Leome Figure 27: Construction of one Palo Verde installation with 10 reactors in each of the 50 states. Energy trade deficit is reversed by $500 billion per yeaz, resulting in a $200 billion annual surplus. Currently, this solution is not possible owing to misguided government policies, regulations, and taxation and to legal maneuvers available to anti-nucleaz activists. These impedi- ments should be legislatively repealed. quirements. Moreover, if heat from additional nucleaz reactors were used for coal liquefaction and gasification, the U.S. would not even need to use its oil resources. The U.S. has about 25% of the world's coal reserves. This heat could also liquify biomass, trash, or other sources of hydrocarbons that might eventually prove practical. The Palo Verde nuclear power station near Phoenix, Arizona, was originally intended to have 10 nucleaz reactors with a generating ca- pacity of 1,243 megawatts each. As a result of public hysteria caused by false information -very similar to the human-caused global wamring hysteria being spread today, construction at Palo Verde was stopped with only three operating reactors completed. This installa- tion is sited on 4,000 acres of land and is cooled by waste water from the city of Phoenix, which is a few miles away. An azea of 4,000 acres is 6.25 square miles or 2.5 miles squaze. The power station it- selfoccupies only a small part of this total area. If just one station like Palo Verde were built in each of the 50 states and each installation included 10 reactors as originally planned for Palo Verde, these plants, operating at the current 90% of design capacity, would produce 560 GWe of electricity. Nuclear technology has advanced substantially since Palo Verde was built, so plants con- stmcted today would be even more reliable and efficient. Assuming a construction cost of $2.3 billion per 1,200 MWe re- actor (127) and 15% economies of scale, the total cost of this entire project would be $1 trillion, or 4 months of the current U.S. federal budget. This is 8% of the annual U.S. gross domestic product. Con- struction costs could be repaid in just a few years by the capital now spent by the people of the United States for foreign oil and by the change from U.S. import to export of energy. The 50 nuclear installations might be sited on a population basis. If so, California would have six, while Oregon and Idaho together would have one. In view of the great economic value of these facili- ties, there would be vigorous competition for them. In addition to these power plants, the U.S. should build fuel repro- cessing capability, so that spent nuclear fuel can be reused. This would lower fuel cost and eliminate the storage of high-level nucleaz waste. Fuel for the reactors can be assured for 1,000 years (128) by using both ordinary reactors with high breeding ratios and specific breeder reactors, so that more fuel is produced than consumed. About 33% of the thermal energy in an ordinary nucleaz reactor is converted to electricity. Some new designs are as high as 48%. The heat from a 1,243 MWe reactor can produce 38,000 barrels of coal-derived oil per day (129). With one additional Palo Verde in- stallation in each state for oil production, the yearly output would be at least 7 billion barrels per year with a value, at $60 per barrel, of more than $400 billion per year. This is twice the oil production of Saudi Arabia. Current proven coal reserves of the United States are sufficient to sustain this production for 200 years (128). This liquified coal exceeds the proven oil reserves of the entire world. The reactors could produce gaseous hydrocazbons from coal, too. The remaining heat from nuclear power plants could warm air or water for use in indoor climate control and other purposes. Nuclear reactors can also be used to produce hydrogen, instead of oil and gas (130,131). The current cost of production and infrastruc- ture is, however, much higher for hydrogen than for oil and gas. Technological advance reduces cost, but usually not abruptly. A pre- scient call in 1800 for the world to change from wood to methane would have been impracticably ahead of its time, as may be a call to- day for an abrupt change from oil and gas to hydrogen. In distin- guishing the practical from the futuristic, a free market in energy is absolutely essential. Surely these are better outcomes than are available through inter- national rationing and taxation of energy as has been recently pro- posed (82,83,97,123). This nuclear energy example demonstrates that current technology can produce abundant inexpensive energy if it is not politically suppressed. There need be no vast government program to achieve this goal. It could be reached simply by legislatively removing all taxation, most regulation and litigation, and all subsidies from all forms of en- ergy production in the U.S., thereby allowing the free market to build the most practical mixture of methods of energy generation. With abundant and inexpensive energy, American industry could be revitalized, and the capital and energy required for fiuther indus- trial and technological advance could be assured. Also assured would be the continued and increased prosperity of all Americans. The people of the United States need more low-cost energy, not less. If this energy is produced in the United States, it can not only become a very valuable export, but it can also ensure that American industry remains competitive in world markets and that hoped-for American prosperity continues and grows. In this hope, Americans are not alone. Across the globe, billions of people in poorer nations are struggling to improve their lives. These people need abundant low-cost energy, which is the currency of technological progress. In newly developing countries, that energy must come lazgely from the less technologically complicated hydrocarbon sources. It is a moral imperative that this energy be available. Otherwise, the ef- forts of these peoples will be in vain, and they will slip backwards into lives of poverty, suffering, and eazly death. Energy is the foundation of wealth. Inexpensive energy allows people to do wonderful things. For example, there is concern that it may become difficult to grow sufficient food on the available land. Crops grow more abundantly in a warmer, higher COz environment, so this can mitigate future problems that may arise (12). Energy provides, however, an even better food insurance plan. Energy-intensive hydroponic greenhouses are 2,000 times more productive per unit land area than are modem American farming methods (132). Therefore, if energy is abundant and inexpensive, there is no practical limit to world food production. Fresh water is also believed to be in short supply. With plentiful inexpensive energy, sea water desalination can provide essentially unlimited supplies of fresh water. During the past 200 years, human ingenuity in the use of energy has produced many technological miracles. These advances have markedly increased the quality, quantity, and length of human life. Technologists of the 21st century need abundant, inexpensive energy with which to continue this advance. Were this bright future to be prevented by world energy rationing, the result would be tragic indeed. In addition to human loss, the Earth's environment would be a major victim of such a mistake. In- expensive energy is essential to environmental health. Prosperous people have the wealth to spare for environmental preservation and enhancement. Poor, impoverished people do not. -11- CONCLUSIONS There are no experimental data to support the hypothesis that in- creases in human hydrocarbon use or in atmospheric cazbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are causing or can be expected to cause unfavorable changes in global temperatures, weather, or landscape. There is no reason to limit human production of COz, CH4, and other minor greenhouse gases as has been proposed (82,83,97,123). We also need not worry about environmental calamities even if the current natural warming trend continues. The Earth has been much warmer during the past 3,000 years without catastrophic ef- fects. Warmer weather extends growing seasons and generally im- proves the habitability of colder regions. As coal, oil, and natural gas are used to feed and lift from poverty vast numbers of people across the globe, more C02 will be released into the atmosphere. This will help to maintain and improve the health, longevity, prosperity, and productivity of all people. The United States and other countries need to produce more en- ergy, not less. The most practical, economical, and environmentally sound methods available are hydrocazbon and nuclear technologies. Human use of coal, oil, and natural gas has not harmfully warmed the Earth, and the extrapolation of current trends shows that it will not do so in the foreseeable future. The C02 produced does, how- ever, accelerate the growth rates of plants and also permits plants to grow in drier regions. Animal life, which depends upon plants, also flourishes, and the diversity of plant and animal life is increased. Human activities are producing part of the rise in C02 in the at- mosphere. 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