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Kevin Copeland: Response to earlier letter

As I read Thursday’s Steamboat Today’s letter to the editor, “Statement needs proof,” written by Dave Peregoy in response to Jim Erickson’s previous letter, I had to reflect back on the original letter of Aug. 13.

The article in question was well-written and factual.

To sum it up, the radical environmental lobby has been able to nurture and advance their agenda under this present administration, to try to rid the United States of its fossil fuels. In order to achieve this goal, this administration has appointed puppet directors to the EPA and employed strong-armed tactics to manipulate their version of the “scientific data” that suits their interests.



In turn, they have convinced a portion of the media to convey to the populous, that the world as we know it will cease to exist, unless we come to our senses and adopt their utopian ideas of total reliance on presently unachievable renewable energy and abandon economical abundant, reliable coal. Thereby naively, or intentionally, putting our country at a dangerous economic disadvantage to other world powers who are not swayed.

Patronizing us, we are told they know what’s best for us, and that we are either with them or against them. Heard any of that before?



Absurdly, the EPA has defined carbon dioxide as a poison. Mr. Erickson called them out on this, and rightly so.

The world as we know it, thrives on this poison. Without it, plant life would cease to exist, and therefore everything up the food chain would also join the exodus. He also alluded to the historical facts of past warming and cooling cycles our planet has gone through, all without dire consequences.

What was not mentioned is all the scientific evidence that shows the earth has endured and thrived with climate change throughout the millennium of evolution.

Mr. Peregoy states Mr. Erickson’s statements lack any proof, and that they should not be excepted. He then stated, “an overwhelming percentage of scientists studying our climate agree manmade CO2 is responsible for climate change.”

Overwhelming percentage of whose scientists? The environmental left’s? President Obama’s EPA? The media’s? This hypocrisy is bemusing.

On the other side of the coin, we don’t deny climate change happens. Of course it does. It continues to change, as it has since earth developed an atmosphere.

To play God and assume we can change it is a kin to arrogantly trying to change the weather to our liking. If you want to enhance the atmosphere for the better, one should jettison the SUV and move to an urban area where like-minded individuals can walk to their destinations.

An acute problem that does affect our atmosphere is the millions of internal combustion engines in existence, all spewing carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. Look them up and then dare to compare them to poisonous carbon dioxide.

Each trip we make to town, to work, to dinner, skiing, hiking, snow machining, boating and so on, all accumulatively contribute more to the atmosphere negatively, than a modern state-of-the-art, clean-burning thermal electric power plant, burning local low sulfur, low ash, bituminous coal. Providing low-cost energy, and indirectly, hundreds of good-paying jobs for families, neighbors and friends, taxes, royalties and charity for the less fortunate in our communities. They are an asset, not a liability.

You should support them, for without them you might not be able to afford living here. Look in your own backyard for two examples.

Kevin Copeland

Hayden


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