Editor:
Two letters to the editor last week demonstrate the huge impact the oil industry has had in casting doubt about the threat of climate change. Not only has the oil industry made huge profits over the last century exploiting the bodies of animals laid down millions of years ago, that eventually turned into oil, but they have paid (a minority) of scientists to cast doubt on the work of legitimate scientists who warn us of the immense threats caused by the buildup of CO2 in earth’s atmosphere from burning fossil fuels.
For every litre of gasoline you burn, 2.3 kilograms of CO2 is released. Is it any wonder that humanity is responsible for 37 billion tons of CO2 pouring into the global airshed annually? Given how long that CO2 stays in the atmosphere (decades) you don’t have to be a scientist to realize that humans are changing earth’s climate. The buildup of greenhouse gases (GHGs) is leading to global warming and increasingly frequent and intense weather events.
Yet there are still people, like the two letter-writers last week, lulled into complacency by the denier industry funded by oil companies. Easier to ignore the problem of toxins spewing from tailpipes the world over that pose a risk to human health and the billions of tons of associated GHGs threatening planetary health. These companies have a lot to answer for.
As the amazing teenager Greta Thunberg asks, where is the international panel of peer-reviewed scientists who say that there is not a climate crisis (referring to the IPCC which has warned of the threat for decades). Don’t let yourself be fooled – believe the scientists, not the oil companies. And the scientists say the threat is real and it’s staring us in the face.
Gayle Neilson, Gibsons
