Carbon credits no longer make sense

The carbon credits required by the EPA might have made sense before smokestack scrubbers were installed in coal-fired electrical generating plants because carbon dioxide was released along with smoke and particulate matter. Then, scrubbers were installed, which remove the pollution but not the carbon dioxide and water vapor. Carbon dioxide emissions were a measure of pollutants emitted, but now are thought to cause global warming, thus the EPA’s requirement for carbon credits.

NPR reported that scientists were surprised that the South American desert plants absorbed the carbon after the desert bloomed after a large rainfall. The scientists warned this is a short-term carbon storage compared to the long-term carbon storage of rain forests.

Under the new EPA regulations, clean-burning coal plants will be required to invest in alternative energy, or shut down.

This is similar to the 39 of 40 ranchers who gave up their land rights in Nevada because EPA regulations made raising beef cattle unprofitable. This is called environmental mitigation, which was required to save the desert tortoise so a solar energy farm could be built elsewhere in Nevada.

Windmills kill birds, including the bald eagle, which is the symbol of our nation.

Forrest Snavely
Loves Park, Ill.

From the June 18-24, 2014, issue