Paul Driessen - Miracle Molecule: Carbon Dioxide, Gas of Life

This book is very timely, and even long overdue.

We live in a time when what was once accepted science is now being rejected often to be replaced by facts that simply are not factual. Prevailing fallacies about carbon dioxide are a good example.

As Paul Driessen observes in his introduction, many people today hear the words carbon dioxide and immediately react by thinking, Oh, yes, thats the heat-trapping greenhouse gas that causes man-made global warming. But theyre only partly correct and, as philosopher-poet Alexander Pope said three centuries ago, a little learning is a dangerous thing.

It is true that carbon dioxide or CO2 is one of the greenhouse gases that help Earths atmosphere keep some of the suns heat from escaping back into outer space, thereby maintaining our planets temperature within ranges that support life.

In fact, if it werent for carbon dioxide, nearly all life on Earth would end. Thats because plants of every description trees, grasses, algae, ocean phytoplankton and food crops require CO2 for photosynthesis. It is photosynthesis that produces fiber for wildlife habitats and peoples homes and clothing, food for animals and humans, and oxygen for people and animals to breathe. Without this miracle molecule we call carbon dioxide, Earth would be very different, inhabited by species that require methane or some other gas to sustain them.

Paul Driessens brief book about this gas of life is certainly engaging. It revisits these important lessons and provides fascinating details about the many ways carbon dioxide enriches Earths atmosphere, enhances our lives, and safeguards life itself. However, his book will likely be enraging for some readers, because it also challenges much of what people are being taught these days about carbon dioxide.

Having studied the atmosphere, climate change and climate politics for several decades, and having written about these topics in books, articles and scientific research papers, I know that CO2 became a villain because of energy and environmental politics. This molecule might be the gas of life. Atmospheric CO2 might be over 99 percent natural in origin. But it is also a byproduct of burning fossil fuels hydrocarbons like oil, gas and coal.

For reasons that I dont fully understand, some people and organizations decided that these fuels are bad or harmful, even though they still account for more than 80 percent of the energy that makes modern technologies, civilizations, health and living standards possible, in the United States and around the world.

Ironically, carbon dioxide is equally a byproduct of burning wood, grass and animal dung. These are the fuels that billions of people around the world must still rely on to heat their homes and cook their food. These people do not have access to fossil fuels, or to electricity generated by coal and natural gas, as well as by nuclear and hydroelectric power, and to a much lesser extent wind, solar and geothermal power. These energy-poor families live very precarious lives, immersed in poverty, misery, disease, childhood death and early demise even for those lucky enough to make it to their adult years.

Helping these people improve their lives is a moral imperative yet one that is hampered greatly by current views about fossil fuels and carbon dioxide.

It is also interesting to note that atmospheric CO2 levels are now about one and one-half times higher than they were when the modern industrial era began. In fact, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions have increased about 11 percent just since 1995. However, despite that significant increase over the last two decades, there has been no statistically significant increase in planetary warming in 18 years. This is completely contrary to what computerized climate models and scientists concerned about a rapidly warming planet had predicted.

Many scientists, me included, now believe the warming influence of carbon dioxide has been greatly overstated. We believe it is likely to be much closer to 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) for a doubling of CO2 to around 500 parts per million since the dawn of the industrial age.

It is highly unlikely that this level of warming would be harmful. Indeed, most plants and animals would respond very positively to moderately warmer planetary temperatures of this magnitude, especially on a planet with more carbon dioxide in the air.

By contrast, if Earth were to cool by this amount, the impacts on forest, grassland and crop growth, and on wildlife and humans, would likely be very detrimental, especially if they occurred in a world where atmospheric carbon dioxide levels decline from their current state.

In this book, Driessen pays little attention to these energy and political issues. He simply offers information and perspectives on carbon dioxide that differ from what are being taught in our schools, news media and political arenas. His little book is fast-paced, informative, and more enjoyable and easy to understand than any scientific publication you are likely to encounter.

So take an hour or two from your busy schedule, and enjoy this short course in biology.

Roy W. Spencer, PhD

Principal Research Scientist, University of Alabama, Huntsville, bestselling author of Climate Confusion: How global warming hysteria leads to bad science, pandering politicians and misguided policies that hurt the poor, and recipient of NASAs Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal