So this is how Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize,huh? Scare tactics can make any passionate Human scream bloody murder.

"...we need to produce and consume ever increasing amounts of energy and so we can't stop using fossil fuels, including coal, without a lot of economic pain because there currently are no alternatives in place to pick up the slack."

With just a 0.14 second Google search, I found alternative energy resources that could definitely pick up the slack if we decided to abandon the use of coal.

I can understand & appreciate your article but maybe you should present both sides of the equation,as best as you can, before you make such statements.

Yes there are plenty of alternative ways to produce electricity. But. How may of them are as cheap, efficient or easy to operate as what we have now? If consumers WANTED alternative energy business would supply the demand. The story was about what is, not what might be.

"If consumers WANTED alternative energy business would supply the demand."

Is that why there is a waiting list to purchase a Toyota Prius or the fact that Toyota has developed a whole line of their popular vehicles as "Hybrids". Bio-fuels are influencing the way some American manufacturers are building cars & the electric car has already been proven an economic & reliable alternative.


Is that why Solar technology is now used in many homes to cut down on utility bills & state governments actually give people money towards the purchase & installation of solar panels.
Solar technology is even used in my Casio watch so I don't have to replace the battery for 40+ years.


If you haven't noticed, it takes consumers who want it to purchase it then the price goes down for everyone & that translates to what kind of decisions will be made by these large corporations but it is harder for that to happen when people are reporting inaccurately.


Again, I think you need to do alittle more research and include all sides of the story instead of this "Chicken Little" approach...

Is that why there is a waiting list to purchase a Toyota Prius or the fact that Toyota has developed a whole line of their popular vehicles as "Hybrids". Bio-fuels are influencing the way some American manufacturers are building cars & the electric car has already been proven an economic & reliable alternative.

Those are great to the extent of the impact they can have. How many cars are manufactured and sold worldwide each year? How many older cars are on the road? And compare that to how many hybrid or prius vehicles are sold each year. Then factor in all of the jet aircraft, diesel locomotives, ships and tractor trailers worldwide and you see what I mean about the impact of alternatives being very small.


Is that why Solar technology is now used in many homes to cut down on utility bills & state governments actually give people money towards the purchase & installation of solar panels.

Would the majority of homeowners buy solar panels without government funding? No. Are the majority of homeowners buying them WITH government funding? No. China is putting a new coal fired power plant on lie every 2 weeks right now.

Solar technology is even used in my Casio watch so I don't have to replace the battery for 40+ years.

I have one to charge my laptop. Most people don't.


If you haven't noticed, it takes consumers who want it to purchase it then the price goes down for everyone & that translates to what kind of decisions will be made by these large corporations but it is harder for that to happen when people are reporting inaccurately.

I was not inaccurate.


Again, I think you need to do alittle more research and include all sides of the story instead of this "Chicken Little" approach...

I have done a lot of research on alternative energy, climate change and this story in particular. I stand by what I said.

How many cars are manufactured and sold worldwide each year?

Well, if you "did" your research you wouldn't have to ask these types of questions because the amount of hybrids versus standards isn't as far apart as you might think. For example, the month of April(sold): 27,000 Hybrids vs. 33,000 Standard (ofcourse, this is a rough estimate due to geographic location & internet information)

Then factor in all of the jet aircraft, diesel locomotives, ships and tractor trailers worldwide and you see what I mean about the impact of alternatives being very small.

Sure, when people (like you) don't want to report on the huge breakthroughs that countries all over are bringing to the table and have been trying to do since the 70's. Locomotives can run on MagLev(at high speeds),hell,we've figured out how to power a train using cow manure. And so on & so forth...

If being partial is your primary trait when writing than stick by it:
we need to produce and consume ever increasing amounts of energy and so we can't stop using fossil fuels, including coal, without a lot of economic pain because there currently are no alternatives in place to pick up the slack.

Again, this is not accurate!!

First off, the focus of the story was atmospheric oxygen depletion; 1) that it is happening and 2) that it is very likely human induced. It wasn't intended to analyze every point you make except in very general terms.

Well, if you "did" your research you wouldn't have to ask these types of questions because the amount of hybrids versus standards isn't as far apart as you might think. For example, the month of April(sold): 27,000 Hybrids vs. 33,000 Standard (ofcourse, this is a rough estimate due to geographic location & internet information)

And there are how many million vehicles on the road worldwide? 27,000 vehicles is a very small percentage and even hybrid vehicles burn gasoline, just not as much.

Sure, when people (like you) don't want to report on the huge breakthroughs that countries all over are bringing to the table and have been trying to do since the 70's.

Yes and the European countries are way ahead of the United States in this respect.

Locomotives can run on MagLev(at high speeds),hell,we've figured out how to power a train using cow manure. And so on & so forth...

Sure they can but how many trains do? Any yes, methane from poop can run trains or cars or heat your home or even run a full size power plant. Problem is there just isn't enough poop out there to replace fossil fuels(except perhaps on farms and in Washington...). And besides that methane is just another hydrocarbon fuel and the only way that biologically derived hydrocarbons are any better than petroleum is if you don't burn more of them than the environment can take in and recycle.

If being partial is your primary trait when writing than stick by it:
we need to produce and consume ever increasing amounts of energy and so we can't stop using fossil fuels, including coal, without a lot of economic pain because there currently are no alternatives in place to pick up the slack.

Again, this is not accurate!

Yes it is totally accurate. We currently pump 29 trillion gallons of petroleum a year out of the ground(about 67% of which is turned into fuel). What alternative fuel source is in place now to take over that quantity of fuel? None.

Some years ago..i read a report that maintained that our global oxygen content has dropped from a norm of 32% to a stunning 15 to 17 %, my numbers..perhaps less, 13 to 14 % of what was 32 %..
there was mention of an imaginary alien visitor to earth.. discovering fossilised remains of mankind piled one upon the other at sea level.. where they perished fighting for a last gasp of air..while all the debate and insults fly.. our planet.. closed system.. is being polluted beyond repair by greedy corporate neo nazis..corporate rule will kill us all.. then what ?
I would like to know what the current oxygen levels are today and see if we can arrive at a common denominating fact..
like smokers in denial of cancer we seem to be in denial of asphyxsiation due to our refusal to suffer any economic withdrawal symptoms...
rather suffer a cancerous painful death from smoking and a high liner life style until we pass out from oxygen depletion..? 50% of people who die in Canada die from pollution related diseases..anyone awake out there ?? Feeling a little sleepy ?
I'm old and senile, so dont attack me on form or facts.. i admit it has been some time since i read this research article and am not offering a dissertation to the many genius's out there who seem more interested in bloviating against those who do the work to bring about change and suffer their moronic sit upon their belly acher nit picking assed attacks for it. Put up or shut up Guppusminumus..Cerebrium absentius..more like it.!
I dont return to read the flame outs..have fun.. park your planet killing cars..stay home..shoot your self..;-)
Nice work Mike.

I am amazed at the staight line thinking in this article. Never was increasing the plant side of the equation mentioned. Using algae to use up the co2 and then using it to make biofuels.
Andy Zoglman

So much effort is put into frightening the people with accounts of the dangers of minuscule changes in atmospheric composition, it scarcely seems possible that the decrease in atmospheric oxygen would have been overlooked as a cause of fright, if a case could at all be made. The circumstance that this issue has been left for you and me to discover, suggests that there's not much to it.