{"id":277807,"date":"2023-09-08T12:30:09","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T10:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=277807"},"modified":"2023-09-08T12:30:22","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T10:30:22","slug":"carbon-language-is-misleading-error-on-a-global-scale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=277807","title":{"rendered":"Carbon language is misleading error on a global scale"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From CFACT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0Steve Goreham<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Political and business leaders, educators, and the news media endlessly talk about \u201ccarbon.\u201d Newscasters repeatedly warn about \u201ccarbon emissions\u201d and \u201ccarbon pollution.\u201d States and provinces announce \u201czero carbon\u201d goals. The United Nations and environmental groups push for a \u201clow-carbon\u201d and a \u201ccarbon-neutral\u201d society. But instead, they should all be talking about \u201ccarbon dioxide,\u201d not carbon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Labeling carbon dioxide \u201ccarbon\u201d is as foolish as calling salt \u201cchlorine.\u201d Carbon and carbon dioxide (CO2) are completely different substances. The term \u201ccarbon\u201d conveys an image of black pencil lead or soot, but CO2 is an invisible gas. It appears that CO2 is deliberately being misnamed to convey a negative image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emissions of carbon dioxide by industry are blamed for enhancing Earth\u2019s greenhouse effect and causing dangerous global warming. As a result, leaders across the world talk about \u201ccarbon pollution.\u201d Former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said<\/a>,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI view climate as a pollution problem. It is, in my words, carbon pollution. It\u2019s just like every other pollutant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms. McCarthy and others should be using the term \u201ccarbon dioxide.\u201d But in addition, the idea that carbon dioxide is pollution is one of the greatest misconceptions of our time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. It\u2019s an odorless, harmless, invisible gas. It doesn\u2019t cause smoke or smog. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The white cloud rising from the cooling tower of a power plant isn\u2019t carbon dioxide; it\u2019s condensing water vapor. You can\u2019t see carbon dioxide. We inhale only a trace of CO2, but as we burn sugars in our bodies, we continuously produce carbon dioxide. Every time each one of us exhales, we exhaust air with 100 times the carbon dioxide concentration that is in the atmosphere. The average person\u00a0exhales<\/a>\u00a0about two pounds (0.9 kilograms) of CO2 per day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate scientists agree that Earth\u2019s dominant greenhouse gas is not carbon dioxide or methane, but water vapor. Water vapor and clouds are responsible for between 70 and 90 percent of Earth\u2019s greenhouse effect<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High school chemistry teaches that the equation for combustion is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fuel + O2<\/sub> + Heat \u2192 CO2<\/sub> + H2<\/sub>O<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, when natural gas is burned, two water vapor molecules are exhausted for each molecule of carbon dioxide produced. Suppose we label carbon dioxide a pollutant because it is emitted by industry and enhances Earth\u2019s greenhouse effect. In that case, sensible logic requires us also to call water a pollutant, a bizarre result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As a matter of fact, CO2 is green! Carbon dioxide is plant food. Hundreds of peer-reviewed studies show that CO2 makes plants grow bigger and faster. Plants grow larger fruits, larger vegetables, thicker stems, and bigger root systems, and they are more resistant to drought with higher levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Studies show that all 45 crops that provide<\/a> 95 percent of the world\u2019s total food production grow significantly larger with increased levels of CO2. Carbon dioxide joins water and oxygen as one of the three essential substances for life on Earth. Yet many companies and most universities now foolishly measure their \u201ccarbon footprint\u201d and strive to reduce CO2 emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Carbon<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The term \u201ccarbon footprint\u201d is meant to describe the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by persons or groups due to the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels. But everything we do in modern society emits carbon dioxide. The manufacture, transportation, and construction of wind turbines, solar cells, heat pumps, and electric vehicles all produce CO2 emissions, just like most other activities in modern society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is another mislabeled remedy proposed to halt global warming. But no carbon is captured, only carbon dioxide gas. In addition, 72 percent of the gas captured is oxygen by molecular weight. It would be more accurate to call CCS \u201coxygen capture and storage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suppose we start calling \u201ccarbon\u201d CO2 or \u201ccarbon dioxide\u201d and quit referring to it as a pollutant?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article originally appeared at Master Resource<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


Steve Goreham<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steve Goreham is a speaker, author, and independent columnist on energy, sustainability, climate change, and public policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 100,000 copies of his books are now in print, including his latest, Outside the Green Box: Rethinking Sustainable Development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. It\u2019s an odorless, harmless, invisible gas. It doesn\u2019t cause smoke or smog. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":277817,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818076,691822408,691818154,691822406,691822407,691821868],"class_list":{"0":"post-277807","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-co2","9":"tag-harmless","10":"tag-net-zero","11":"tag-no-pollutant","12":"tag-odorless","13":"tag-plant-food","15":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0diagram-showing-process-of-photosynthesis-in-plant-free-vector.jpg?fit=1920%2C1839&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1agL","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":334159,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=334159","url_meta":{"origin":277807,"position":0},"title":"Climate Activists Are Wrong About Which Energy Source Reduces Air Pollution","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"22\/06\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Today\u2019s media are filled with concerns about air pollution. But few people know which energy source has produced the greatest modern reduction in air pollution. The answer isn\u2019t wind or solar energy.","rel":"","context":"In \"Air Pollution\"","block_context":{"text":"Air Pollution","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=air-pollution"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0renewable22.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0renewable22.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0renewable22.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0renewable22.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0renewable22.webp?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":334224,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=334224","url_meta":{"origin":277807,"position":1},"title":"Climate campaigners are wrong as to which energy source reduces air pollution","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"23\/06\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Today\u2019s media are filled with concerns about air pollution. But few people know which energy source has produced the greatest modern reduction in air pollution. The answer isn\u2019t wind or solar energy.","rel":"","context":"In \"Air Pollution\"","block_context":{"text":"Air Pollution","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=air-pollution"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0cooking-with-gas.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0cooking-with-gas.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0cooking-with-gas.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0cooking-with-gas.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0cooking-with-gas.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":338503,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=338503","url_meta":{"origin":277807,"position":2},"title":"Repeal of Washington State\u2019s Climate Commitment Act won\u2019t hurt the climate","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"04\/08\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThe Climate Commitment Act will have a negligible effect on the climate, but if not repealed, it will continue to significantly raise fuel, food, and utility prices in Washington State.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon dioxide (CO2)\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon dioxide (CO2)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-dioxide-co2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Washington-Mount-Rainier.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Washington-Mount-Rainier.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Washington-Mount-Rainier.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Washington-Mount-Rainier.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Washington-Mount-Rainier.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":338193,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=338193","url_meta":{"origin":277807,"position":3},"title":"No Gov. Inslee, Repeal of Washington State\u2019s Climate Law Won\u2019t Hurt the Climate","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"01\/08\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Washington State\u2019s Climate Commitment Act (CCA) faces the possibility of repeal this fall. Governor Jay Inslee and others claim the CCA will reduce pollution and help stop climate change. But the CCA isn\u2019t having the slightest effect on the climate, while boosting the cost of living for Washington residents.","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon dioxide (CO2)\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon dioxide (CO2)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-dioxide-co2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/05162562_030119-cc-ap-jay-inslee-img.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/05162562_030119-cc-ap-jay-inslee-img.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/05162562_030119-cc-ap-jay-inslee-img.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/05162562_030119-cc-ap-jay-inslee-img.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/05162562_030119-cc-ap-jay-inslee-img.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":365658,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=365658","url_meta":{"origin":277807,"position":4},"title":"Erasing the IRA\u2019s \u201cgreenhouse gas pollution\u201d words","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/02\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The infamous Inflation Reduction Act is best known for throwing hundreds of billions of dollars at green causes. Along the way it also says repeatedly and falsely that carbon dioxide and the other greenhouse gases (except water vapor) are pollution.","rel":"","context":"In \"CO2 Endangerment Finding\"","block_context":{"text":"CO2 Endangerment Finding","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=co2-endangerment-finding"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0205048825_m.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0205048825_m.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0205048825_m.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0205048825_m.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0205048825_m.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":195350,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=195350","url_meta":{"origin":277807,"position":5},"title":"Focus on the light, not the darkness","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/04\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"green garden view through the window The recent waste of the public\u2019s time with the Will Smith-Chris Rock fiasco at the boring Oscars (second worst\u00a0audience numbers ever) hit a nerve. It has been bad enough listening on Fox and Breitbart to endless rehashes of CNN and MSNBC tirades, to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/0could-transparent-wood-shatter-use-of-glass-for-windows.jpg?fit=847%2C565&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/0could-transparent-wood-shatter-use-of-glass-for-windows.jpg?fit=847%2C565&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/0could-transparent-wood-shatter-use-of-glass-for-windows.jpg?fit=847%2C565&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/0could-transparent-wood-shatter-use-of-glass-for-windows.jpg?fit=847%2C565&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=277807"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277807\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":277819,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277807\/revisions\/277819"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/277817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=277807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=277807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=277807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}