A hoax is taking place in Canada. The recently (Dec. 2002) ratified Kyoto Accord/Protocol is the hoax. Top Federal government officials are the perpetrators. The citizens of Canada will be the victims. Their already high taxes will increase to buy ''carbon, green credits'' from poor, perhaps corrupt, regimes... and all oh so needlessly because the much lambasted scapegoat, carbon dioxide, CO2, is actually a good, clean, natural, and ecologically essential gas for life in the seas and on land.

Thursday, January 16, 2003  
by: Paavo Siitam *

A United Nations conference was held in Kyoto, Japan in 1997. The participants agreed upon a pact. This pact is now known as the Kyoto Accord or Kyoto Protocol (kyoto). The aim of the agreement was to reduce the amount of the so-called greenhouse gases emitted into air from developed countries by 5.2% of 1990 levels, during the period, 2008 - 2012. This pact was agreed on to stop, and even reverse global warming / global climate change. Although gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, HFCs, PFCs, among others, were identified as greenhouse gases, CARBON DIOXIDE gas, CO2, more than any of the other gases, was targeted for curtailment. Whatever for? CARBON DIOXIDE, CO2, is a good, clean, ecologically essential gas. The intentions of the attendees were, no doubt, laudable, but we must ask, "Is there global warming?" Ans. Probably not. "If global warming is real, is it out of control?" Ans. Probably not. "If global warming is a fact, is it really caused by a buildup of atmospheric CO2?" A most emphatic NO! If CO2 is not at fault, but is scapegoated, then we have a hoax.

I am a plant scientist. I have also been a teacher of biology and chemistry for close to thirty years in Ontario, Canada. Canada was a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol. I feel betrayed by my government, and by certain factions of the current environmental movement. I feel betrayed because my government decided to abandon logic and reason in order to scapegoate and lambaste CARBON DIOXIDE gas, CO2, this good, clean, natural, scarce, and ecologically essential gas in the biosphere.... just to get the Kyoto Protocol/Accord (kyoto) ratified and implemented in Canada, or so it seems. The Kyoto Protocol is based on flawed science, and is without moral or scientific merit. .....But all is not lost, yet. There is still time for the Government of Canada, et al, to distance themselves from kyoto. Most importantly, the Government of Canada does not have to implement the seriously flawed Kyoto Protocol.

If you can complete the following sentences, you will probably sense that something is wrong with kyoto. Try filling in the blanks: "Plants take in _ _ gas, and release _ gas. Animals inhale _ gas, and exhale _ _ gas". Sounds familiar? Sure. Most of us learned these simple truisms as kids, perhaps even before high school. The green parts of plants do absorb good, clean CARBON DIOXIDE gas, CO2, from air and release oxygen gas to the air, while the cells of animals (and plants) take in oxygen gas, and release good, clean CARBON DIOXIDE gas, CO2, back to the air. Students learn early on that the lives of plants and animals are entwined. Likewise, students learn early on that CO2 is essential for the growth and development of plants and for all life on Earth.

Oddly enough, though, the kyoto gurus, and certain politicians in Ottawa, might not be able to fill in the above blanks correctly. By their actions, far too many of them seem to deny that CARBON DIOXIDE gas, CO2, is good and essential for life on Earth. In fact, many have taken to lambasting CO2. Why? Whatever for? Perhaps it's because people simply do not retain everything they learn as youngsters. Judging by the outcome of the kyoto debate, which raged across our land during most of 2002, forgetfulness of things once learned -- or was it selective amnesia -- struck certain Canadian federal politicians, including the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister Jean Chretien, and his Minister of the Environment, David Anderson, and most Liberal Members of Parliament, and the NDP MPs, particularly hard. It seems that they never did learn, or conveniently forgot, what they had once been taught about the carbon cycle, ecology, photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and how important CO2 is for the well-being of life on Earth. Had they remembered, they could not, in good conscience, have ratified the Kyoto Protocol. Consequently, and sadly for Canada, kyoto was adopted by Parliament on Tuesday, December 10, 2002, when a majority of the MPs, our Members of Parliament, voted for it, clearing the way for the Prime Minister to sign the document to complete the ratification process on Monday, December 16, 2002. Shame on the P.M., and shame on everyone who promoted the Kyoto Protocol; a document without moral or scientific merit.

As bad as the "science" of kyoto is, and it is very badly flawed, indeed, the ratification of Kyoto Accord set in motion what could become the most massive, devious, systematic "shafting" of the already beleaguered taxpayers of Canada, IF kyoto is implemented. Actually, this should not surprise anyone since the Party running the show in Ottawa has been prone to scandals from the getgo, as documented by the media.......
....... A billion dollars missing from HRDC, another billion gone with the gun registry, $7.7 billion in unaccountable charitable foundations, "Shawinigate", cronyism, Quebec advertising sponsorship scandals, lax immigration rules, hundreds of millions wasted on a faulty computer program to keep track of people moving into and out of Canada across our porous borders, $1 billion siphoned off through GST refund scandals, overcharging of hard working Canadians for EI (employment insurance), the P.M.'s multitude of patronage appointments (One particularly galling example came to light recently, because a particularly greedy appointee, a certain Privacy Commissioner, "G. R." got caught for excessive "feeding at the public trough"), $90+ millions spent on another museum in Ottawa - this one to glorify politicians, past and present. Wonderful, eh? As if the country has no more urgent needs! .... and on and on it goes. Apparently, it is OK and business as usual that theft of public monies takes place on a regular basis by elected and appointed government officials, yet rarely, if ever, is anyone called to account. Why not? Why aren't the responsible individuals indicted, and behind bars by now?

We should be outraged. Does any honest work for the Canadian public get done any more on Parliament Hill? Very questionable indeed, but, sad to say, "YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHIN' YET". It bears repeating, just wait til the newly ratified Kyoto Protocol is IMPLEMENTED, step-by-step, over the coming years. All past scandals, corruption schemes and mismanagement will pale. Some of us, in fact quite a few of us, in Canada, do care about corruption, and we don't like it. Also, some of us, unlike our politicians, do understand much of the biology and chemistry which has been misrepresented to bring Canadians on side of kyoto, by hook and by crook, and we don't like that one bit either.

What's wrong with the Kyoto Protocol? To the uninitiated, nothing. It seems to be the solution to dirty air and global warming. But to many plant scientists, climate scientists, chemists, and others, the science of kyoto is all wrong. The Kyoto Protocol is particularly problematic because it is based on falsehoods, some of which are as follows: (1) that CARBON DIOXIDE gas, CO2, is a pollutant; (2) that anthropogenic (human generated) CO2 content of air is too high and out of control; (3) that the concentrations of CO2 found in air, LOW though these are, still manage to cause global climate change / global warming; (4) that human beings / governments can affect, that is reduce, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere of planet Earth, at sea level. Lies, all lies.

In reality, CO2 IS A GOOD, ECOLOGICALLY ESSENTIAL GAS. Why doesn't kyoto go after water vapour, or sun spots -- two considerably more likely causes of global warming? Water molecules in air constitute a much more significant greenhouse gas than does CO2. In fact, there is no clear, convincing evidence to suggest that the already LOW amount of CO2 present in air could possibly cause global warming / climate change. But no, certain environmentalists, and The Federal Ministry of the Environment / Government of Canada, have a need to target carbon, in this case carbon in the form of CO2. Why? -- So that monies can be extracted from the petroleum and automobile industries, and from the citizens of Canada who need energy and cars. In a moment, another, possibly more sinister and damning ulterior motive for implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, one involving the redistribution of the the wealth of Canadians to third world potentates, and implicating our highest public officials, will become apparent, but I must warn you, this is speculative, and hopefully not true. But now, getting back to carbon dioxide, CO2.

... All of that Carbon Originates with CO2 of Air
CO2 cannot possibly be bad because every ecosystem on Earth relies on green plants, and plants need CO2, like our public school teachers taught. Plants produce food and oxygen for all living things. Plants are the "primary producers", the "autotrophs", of every food chain, web and food pyramid. But in order to live and fulfill their ecological role, plants must have light, mineralized water, and they must have access to CO2 gas of air (or dissolved bicarbonate ions for phytoplankton, algae and other aquatic plants). Yes, during photosynthesis, all green plants "eat" light and INORGANIC, atmospheric CO2 gas with their leaves, and their other green parts. This is how they make living, ORGANIC glucose sugar which they then use to satisfy their own energy needs, and from which they make molecules of more complex substances such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, nucleic acids (DNA), etc. Take any plant. On a dry weight basis, most of the mass of that plant is due to its carbon atoms; the very same carbon atoms which were assimilated from CO2 gas of air. When plants and plant products such as firewood, cardboard, or coal (ancient plants) are burned, combustion releases the CO2 gas that that plant, or plants, borrowed from air for the duration of its / their lifetime(s). Once plants have consumed CO2 to create their living biomass, then heterotrophs, (the saprophytes, carnivores, and omnivores -- like us) also get to eat. We all eat plants directly or indirectly. LIFE ON EARTH IS CARBON BASED. The carbon atoms we get from food become a major part of our essential organic molecules. We must never forget that most of the carbon atoms, which every person has assimilated into his / her being, were part of the good, clean CO2 gas of air just a little while before.

Mister Minister of the Environment, and Honourable Prime Minister of Canada, do not lambaste CO2. CO2 is not a pollutant. The concentration of atmospheric CO2 is NOT out of control. It is exactly where it should be. The CO2 concentration of the air is already at a correct, LOW level, in a state of dynamic equilibrium with its biotic and abiotic environmental components. This CO2 concentration is dictated by the physical and chemical laws of nature; not by man and his laws, protocols and accords.

Globally, it is the consumption of CO2 by plants, AND the worldwide dynamic chemical equilibrium reactions, that keep the atmospheric content of CO2 low. Here on Earth, close to sea level, the normal concentration of CO2 in air has held steady for hundreds if not for thousands of years at about 0.033%. This low percentage is only 3.3 litres of CO2 in 10,000 litres of air, or 330 ppm (parts per million). [Contrast this with the normal amounts of nitrogen gas at 78% or 7800 L per 10,000 L of air, or 780,000 ppm of N2; and oxygen gas at 21% or 2100 L per 10,000 L of air, or 210,000 ppm of O2.] Of course, there are seasonal variations, and local variations (e.g. greater CO2 concentrations in marshy spots and low lying areas in the summer), but that is neither abnormal nor bad for life on Earth.

The amount of carbon atoms on Earth is finite. The large repositories of carbon on Earth are called carbon "sinks". A carbon content balance, or chemical equilibrium, exists among the different kinds of carbon compounds and ions in the different "sinks":
Sink #1. The atmosphere with its low CO2 gas content (only 0.033% at sea level)
Sink #2. Bodies of water like the oceans, lakes, rivers, and ponds containing vast, dissolved stores of bicarbonate, HCO3- ions, (dissolved CO2)
Sink #3. Organic carbon compounds in living things, and all dead organic matter, too. This category includes all of those atoms of carbon that were first absorbed from air as CO2 gas, and then assimilated, by green plants. The dead organic matter includes thousands of years' worth of dead peat moss deposits, coal seams, natural gas and petroleum wells, not to mention all corpses, fallen autumn leaves, and decaying logs, etc. Decay and oxidation (combustion reactions) will liberate the carbon that is stored in organic substances back to air as inorganic carbon dioxide -- and that is normal and good... even if it is the internal combustion and diesel engines of mankind that do the liberating from gasoline and diesel fuel.
Sink #4. Calcium carbonate, CaCO3(s); limestone in its many forms. In a sense, CaCO3 is a "petrified", solid form of CO2 gas. In nature, CaCO3 forms when CO2 gas reacts with a saturated solution of calcium hyrdoxide ("limewater"), or when bicarbonate ions, HCO3-(aq), combine with calcium ions, Ca2+(aq), in ocean water. Being a solid, the resulting CaCO3 precipitates, and settles out. After millions upon millions of years of such settling, the ooze of CaCO3 hardens to make limestone layers on the sea floor.
CaCO3 is usually the principal chemical ingredient in things such as: egg shells, skeletons of certain animals, TUMS antacid tablets, marble, dolomite, the coral reefs created by coral animals, shells of certain mollusks, sedimentary limestone bedrock everywhere including south of the Canadian Shield in much of southern and eastern Ontario, and wherever there are limestone caves all over the world, and CaCO3 does make up at least parts of certain mountains of Planet Earth like the impressive Himalayan Range. In these examples, the carbon atoms now trapped in the molecules of mineralized CaCO3, started out as carbon in CO2 of air. Such carbon may stay trapped as CaCO3 in the solid form for perhaps millions of years, for geologic time, before being released into air again as CO2..... for use by plants. Make no mistake, though. Such "rock" is reserve CO2 gas. In time it will return to the atmosphere to serve as "food" for phytoplankton and higher plants, or will precipitate again, perhaps millions of years hence.

When it comes to carbon sinks, it might help to think of each sink as a "bulge", like the ears and nose bulging out of an immense, world encompassing, Mickey Mouse balloon. One bulge represents the CO2 gas of air "sink". Another bulge is the organic carbon "sink". Another the limestone "sink", and another bulge for the HCO3-(aq) ions "sink". Squeeze one bulge and "carbon" moves into one, or more, of the other bulges. In the real world, the "squeezing" might be achieved by perfectly normal and natural ways, or by artificial, human imposed ways as proposed by kyoto. An important, normal and natural way occurs every moment of every day, worldwide, when plants remove CO2 from air for use during photosynthesis as they convert inorganic carbon of CO2 gas to organic carbon compounds for themselves. Of course, the carbon, removed from air when plants use up the CO2 supply in air, has to be replaced, and it is. Some of the carbon in other "sinks" is converted to CO2 gas which then diffuses into the air. This happens because of a principle of chemistry (LeChatelier) which says in effect that, in a system at equilibrium, like the atmosphere and biosphere of the entire globe -- a very dynamic chemical equilibrium system, THAT chemical reaction will take place, inevitably, which will alleviate a "stress" imposed on the system. In our situation with carbon, the imposed "stresses" would be due to increases or decreases in the concentrations of gaseous and ionic forms of carbon (not solid). So, if plants remove CO2 from air, that's a "stress" imposed on the chemical equilibrium system of the planet. If not enough CO2 is returned to the atmosphere by cellular respiration or forest fires, or decay of organic matter, etc., then the oceans of the world will automatically convert some of the dissolved bicarbonate, HCO3-(aq) ions, back to gaseous CO2 of air. (By the same token, if the atmosphere gets too much CO2, from whatever source -- man-made or natural, the excess will dissolve in the oceans to make more HCO3- ions .) Exactly the same would happen no matter how much belt-tightening Canadians will be forced to undergo to cut down on so-called "greenhouse gases" -- i.e. CO2 gas. Kyoto Accord implementation would be the silliest, most futile thing, biologically and chemically speaking!

Where does human activity fit into this equilibrium? Of course, anthropogenic CO2 happens, but in the greater scheme of things, it is insignificant. Imagine, compared to natural processes, CO2 generated by all human activities combined, including from the exhaled breath of the 6 billion people on planet Earth, and all of their livestock, plus ALL CO2 released into air by industrial and vehicular activities of human beings, all of that hardly amounts to anything on a percentage basis, worldwide. And please do not forget that whatever CO2 gets into the air, and from whatever source, that CO2 does not accumulate in the atmosphere. It is constantly recycled by the plant life in all bodies of water of Earth, and on terra firma.

Human meddling -- forcing industries and citizens by laws, edicts and regulations to curtail CO2 release into the atmosphere --, such as will be attempted in Canada upon implementation of kyoto, will not make any difference, one way or another, to the concentration of CO2 gas in air. If too much CO2 builds up in air, it will be consumed by plants, or dissolved into the seas. If CO2 levels drop, as by Kyoto efforts, the other sinks ("bulges") will liberate more CO2 to the air. There is not a damn thing people and governments can do to affect these natural processes. Quite frankly, it would be an easier task for human beings to prevent earthquakes, tornados and hurricanes, or to part the Red Sea once again, than to affect changes in the atmospheric CO2 concentrations, appreciably. No, Canadians will get NOTHING but much aggravation and costs with the implementation of kyoto; not further reduction of CO2, which concentrations are already low as it is -- in fact perpetually low, because of the equilibrium which exists among the carbon in the various "sinks".

Given the opportunity, I would like to ask the outgoing Prime Minister and his Minister of the Environment, "If the climate of the world would be faced with global COOLING, instead of the currently (wrongly) perceived situation of global warming (not hard to imagine during the particularly cold winter of 2002 - 2003), would they, and their Liberal MPs, institute laws/regulations/edicts which would force the citizens of Canada, and Canadian industries, to manufacture extra CO2, perhaps by providing grant monies for buying SUVs and other gas guzzlers, and would they insist that citizens with fireplaces in their homes burn lots of coal to release as much of this greenhouse gas as possible into the air to warm up the atmosphere of Planet Earth?" For the sake of consistency, they should! But they would probably not do so... and I hope that they would not do so. That would be a ludicrous, stupid and futile thing to do. Yet that would be no more ludicrous, stupid and futile than what they are hell bent on doing now via implementation of the Kyoto Accord; to curtail CO2 emissions in order to stop and then reverse global warming. Either way, lots of money would / will be spent, but all for naught. Human meddling would not, and will not, work in either case!

From all the government sponsored hype, it may be difficult for you to believe that in reality CO2 is a pure, clear, colourless, and odourless gas, but it really is thus. CO2 is most definitely NOT a foul smelling, blue-black smoke escaping from the tail pipes of gasoline guzzlers or from the smoke stacks of coal-fired electricity generating facilities. Those kinds of "clouds" are indeed smoke. Smoke contains particulate matter, which is pollution and should be cleaned up. Don't confuse smoke with good, clean, CO2 gas which you cannot see or smell.

Don't Feel Guilty
It is fortunate for life on Earth that although CO2 is removed from the air by plant life at a phenomenal rate, the atmospheric content of CO2 is restored equally rapidly, and by diverse pathways, most of which are quite "green" and proper, as a matter of fact. Here are a few examples to remind us of how Mother Nature, and how human beings, too, replenish the CO2 gas content of air......
.....The living, breathing lungs of the 6 billion people on Earth, and all respiring animals and most other forms of life on Earth, release good, clean CO2 into the air -- for recycling by living plants; not for global warming.
.....Decay of every kind, including the rotting of logs in old growth forests, produces good, clean CO2 -- for recycling by living plants.
.....Cremation of corpses produces good, clean CO2 gas -- for recycling by future generations of living plants.
.....Breweries, bakeries, and fermentation vats at biotechnological and pharmaceutical companies release lots of good, clean CO2 for recycling by living plants.
.....The fizz of escaping gas from newly opened bottles of champagne, beer and cans of pop is due to good, clean CO2 -- for recycling by living plants. (You wouldn't want kyoto to outlaw such refreshments, would you?)
.....Bonfires, flickering candles on dinner tables and in cathedrals, forest fires, dung fires in parts of Asia and Africa, and wood burning in fireplaces in homes of the humble and hauty, alike, all release good, clean CO2 -- for recycling by living plants.
.....Furnaces which burn heating-oil, or natural gas (methane), to warm homes during our long winter months, all release good, clean CO2 -- for recycling by green plants in southern climes, and during the following growing season in Canada. (Yes, when methane burns, it too, most assuredly, releases CO2.)
.....Using gasoline, or ethanol (grain alcohol) in internal combustion engines of cars, lawn mowers, trucks, motorcycles, snowmobiles, tractors, motorboats, or using diesel fuel in diesel engines of trains, vehicles and modern cargo and cruise ships, all produce good, clean CO2 -- for recycling by green plants.
.....Combustion of aviation fuel - kerosene power - which drives hot gases through turbine engines of jet planes, produces lots and lots of good, clean CO2, but this CO2 just might stay up high where the contrails form, because plants can not reach that CO2 so high up. This, out of reach CO2, is the only CO2 which might contribute to the greenhouse effect. But will Kyoto outlaw jet planes? Not on your life. Politicians and certain environmental activists, like to fly too much.
.....Swallowing calcium carbonate types of antacid tablets (like TUMS), or certain kinds of calcium supplements, might make you burp. Guess what? The gas released by that burp is also good, clean CO2 -- which plants will recycle before long.
.....When autumn leaves decay on forest floors across Canada, and when compost piles perk away to create rich humus for our gardens, immense quantities of good, clean CO2 is released -- for recycling by green plants.
.....Using coal fires, or natural gas to boil water to create pressurized steam to spin electricity generators, also releases lots of good, clean CO2 -- for recycling by green plants. That CO2 is NOT pollution. If such facilities produce smoke, then the soot must be filtered and "scrubbed" out. Kyoto is NOT needed to achieve this.
.....Finally, it must be stated that certain categories of volcanos spew out more CO2 gas in a few hours than is produced in a year by all human activities, worldwide. These volcanic eruptions go on every day, year in and year out, and have been going on for most of the 5 billion years that Earth has existed. But plants don't mind. This too is good, clean CO2 -- for recycling by plants everywhere. (The Kyoto Accord doesn't propose to plug up such volcanos, does it?)

If you still have a hard time believing that CO2 is not out of control, and that CO2 content is LOW because of plant-life of Earth, let me challenge you to think about the OXYGEN, O2 gas content of the air at sea level. Since all of the six billion human beings on Earth, and all other animals, and most other living things, including plants, consume O2 gas every moment of every day around the clock, and have been doing so for about 4 billion years, AND since countless non-biological oxidation reactions like rusting, and corrosion of metals, and many combustion reations, also consume O2, do you not think that the oxygen supply of the atmosphere should be running out by now? Sure. Oddly enough, it is NOT! The O2 content of air at sea level is still at close to where it has been for long eons of time; at close to 21%. Amazing, yes, but no more amazing than why CO2 content remains LOW at 0.033%. Explanations: As is the case with CO2, it is also the PLANT-LIFE of planet Earth that regenerates and replenishes the O2 content of air, and maintains it at close to 21% by the sea. Plants regenerate O2 gas by the so-called "photolysis reactions" (or the photophosphorylation: "light reactions") of photosynthesis as they "break up" water molecules, H2O, to get energized hydrogen ions, and release oxygen gas, O2. This molecular O2 gas, a by-product of potosynthesis, just happens to be one of the essential materials needed by almost all living things to obtain energy from glucose molecules during cellular respiration. On the other hand, the energized hydrogen ions remain in the leaves and are used by all green plants during the so-called "Calvin Cycle" (also known as the "dark reactions" or "synthesis reactions") of photosynthesis... to consume the CO2 supply of air, and in this way, make biomass. It is the "dark reactions" of photosynthesis which keep the CO2 content of air LOW. Yes, 0.033% is SUCH A LOW AMOUNT OF CO2 THAT THE KYOTO PROTOCOL IS NOT NEEDED!!!

CO2 is CO2, no matter the source, and plants love it all. Horticulturists have been known to "spike" the air in their greenhouses with extra CO2 to promote more rapid, and lush plant growth just as they control the temperature of the air in the greenhouse, soil moisture, soil mixtures, soil nutrients (fertilizer), soil pH (acidity/alkalinity), light quality (proper wavelengths) and light quantity (hours of exposure and intensity of light). No, CO2 is not a pollutant. In a sense, carbon dioxide is a plant fertilizer absorbed through the leaves and other green parts.

Of "Green Credits", Potentates, Redistribution of Wealth, and Corruption
Now, more about the sinister ulterior motive, mentioned earlier: We, the ordinary citizens of Canada, have not been told the whole truth about kyoto. I may be wrong, but it looks more and more as if the Prime Minister now has a plan in place for ensuring his legacy --- an international legacy. Perhaps the P.M. wants to go down in INTERNATIONAL history as THE leader of an affluent Western nation who initiated systematic redistribution of wealth from the 1st world to the 3rd world; from the affluent, developed world to the poor, "developing" world. How? --by the pretense of buying so-called "carbon credits" from certain "poorer" countries like some in Africa, and of course Russia (....even though Canada already has lots of greenery which WE could "sell"). From where would the billions upon billions of dollars come? Where else, but from the already beleaguered taxpayers of Canada; from fees levied on the petroleum industry -- which of course will be passed on to us, the consumers; from the automobile industry -- which again will be foisted on the consuming, car-buying public. So, now Canadians and our industries are about to be hit with so-called "green fees" or "carbon taxes", EVEN THOUGH CARBON DIOXIDE IS NOT AT FAULT AT ALL. It really seems that the current Government is determined to ram through confiscation of more and more of the wealth of Canadians, and our corporations. What a farcical, stupid, corrupt wheeling and dealing we have at the top. What will Canadians get in return? Nothing! --only lost jobs, extra expense and lots of aggravation. You can be sure that the climate of Canada, let alone the WORLD, will not improve one iota due to implementation of the Kyoto Protocol.

One more time. Since there is no need to lambaste CO2, there is no need for the Kyoto Accord. Since there is no need for the Kyoto Accord in any way shape or form, there is no way in h--l Canadians should be forced to pay "green" fees. Most of us do NOT want to give any more: not for income taxes, not for property taxes, not for GST, not for airport taxes, not for higher gasoline taxes, and most definitely not for greasing the palms of corrupt politicians anywhere in the world by purchasing obscene, unneeded "carbon credits" from them. Sell the world Canada's "carbon credits", if you can. I doubt any other nation on Earth is gullible enough to fall for that Ponzi scheme.

Finally, a plea to Paul Martin, our "Prime Minister - in - Waiting" (as of July, 2003), and to all Government of Canada politicians: As you assume control of the "ship of State", soon, please continue to support conservation programs, and do set aside more lands for national and provincial parks, but please, please insist upon high ethical standards. Sweep the halls of the Parliament of Canada clean of corruption and scandals as you replace the old regime. And for heavens sake, DO NOT IMPLEMENT the Kyoto Accord / Protocol, a scheme without scientific or moral merit!

* The author is a recently retired teacher of biology, chemistry, physics and general science. He is a former research agronomist (soil chemistry, fertility and microbiology), and has worked as a chemist in the sugar industry in the USA and Canada.


Some references:

1. An excellent, Canadian source................... http://www.friendsofscience.org

2. Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine.... http://www.oism.org/oism/#Top & http://www.sitewave.net/news

3. The Science & Environmental Policy Project.. http://sepp.org

4. Readers Digest......... http://www.readersdigest.ca/debate.html?a=v&di=154

Then refer to contributions by the following:

Paavo Siitam (June 2, 2002), Allan MacRae (June 11th), Prof. Tim Patterson (June 12th), Bob Pawley (September 4th), and many others.

5. Read: "Climate Change is Natural", the "Comment" feature article in the Globe and Mail newspaper of Tuesday, November 19, 2002, written by Dr. Sallie Baliunas, Deputy Director at Mount Wilson Observatory and Astrophysicist at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics; Dr. Tim Patterson, Professor of Geology (Paleoclimatology) Department of Earth Sciences, Carlton University, Ottawa; and Allan MacRae, Professional Engineer, Investment Banker, and Environmentalist.