According to THIS NY Times story and other articles, the Obama EPA is moving towards regulating carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas and thus a pollutant harmful to the health and welfare of the people.
Hmmm. Okay.
Of course, the regulatory emphasis is said to be aimed toward coal-fired power generation plants. But my thought is, why stop there? There are lots of other sources of CO2, many of which produce far more tons of the nasty stuff that do power plants.
What? You want examples? Well, one story I read indicated that termites produce more tons of CO2 than all human activity combined. Why not regulate termites?
Oh, and not long ago I posted a sorta-tribute to Dave Barry in which I reported on the belching and flatulence of farm animals. Yes, they produce many tons of both methane AND CO2!
But gee, don’t we humans produce CO2 every time we exhale? That’s what they taught me back in Biology class, I think. So it occurred to me that maybe the EPA ought to regulate our breathing while they’re at it.
THAT thought, in turn, caused me to glow with pride. Why? Well, because according to Carol I am one of those folks who experiences sleep apnea. (I won’t say “suffers from,” because I’m not aware of any suffering – at least not on MY part; SHE says it causes HER some mental anguish.)
What is sleep apnea? That’s a cessation of breathing while I’m asleep! Sometimes (she reports) I go for up to a minute without taking a breath. In fact, occasionally she wakes me to get me to turn over and breathe again. (Yeah, okay, THAT does cause me some suffering – being shaken awake in the middle of a nice dream in which I’m stuck under water and can’t breathe . . . hey, wait a minute . . .)
ANYway, if I’m breathing less that means I’m reducing my CO2 output. I’m fighting Global Warming in my sleep!
I think that qualifies me for some carbon credits I can spend when I buy gas for my car; you know, a kind of gasoline discount. I also ought to get discounted airline tickets, and a discount on my electric bill since I’m reducing my carbon “footprint” through other measures. And since I’ve been doing this for several years; I ought to be way ahead of the game here.
So please let me know if the EPA starts offering any awards or medals for those who help cut down on the production of that nasty carbon dioxide. I’ll have Carol nominate me.
8 comments:
It's cow flatulence that the animal rights people are using as one excuse to make us all vegans. So if you enjoy a hamburger you are contributing to global warming, according to them.
Well, I DO enjoy a hamburger. In fact, I had one for lunch today. Maybe my personal reduction in the production of CO2 (from less breathing at night) will make up for the flatulence from the cow that produced my hamburger. Ya think?
I like Jan's comment. I understand that there are a lot of other animals that contribute to the problem.
We also could do more by planting more trees, and using fewer paper products. Oh yes, we could consider using other materials for building than wood.
Just some thoughts.
Now, shall we all meet at the drive in for a hamburger with the works?
Jack,
kidding aside (for once), I DO drive a hybrid car. This is more because I hate making the Arabs rich by buying so much of their oil (especially when America has so much that it won't go and get because of the same tree-huggers who want to regulate CO2) than because I believe that MANKIND has anything to do with the globe's climate. Maybe I'll change my mind when someone explains why many of the OTHER planets in this soalr system are also experiencing shrinking polar ice (or frozen methane) caps. Fact! Reported in National Geographic! Gee, maybe our CO2 is migrating there, ya think?
Sorry for the sarcasm. Thanks for the read and the comment.
I wonder if there is such a thing as a CO2 vacuum that are installed on other planets?
As for the sarcasm, it is welcome. It is a natural stress reliever.
I have been known to use sarcasm from time to time.
Make it a great one.
I think the tree huggers want to save us whether we want to be saved or not. I'm with you, though. This isn't the first time in the history of the Earth that global warming (or an ice age) has taken place. It's just the first time in the history of mankind that we are being inconvienced by it.
A good hamburger sounds great right now!
I also suffer from sleep apnea. Have not had a decent night's sleep in years.
BTW - any mechanical, technical goings on on your end? My brakes failed, my fridge packed up and the winder on my car window broke - all within days of each other.
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