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CO2 is a pollutant because I say it is.
Oh, really? On the basis that Nordhaus argues from every species on earth has been polluting by its very existence since it first developed lungs.
And the day that the EPA actually becomes an independent objective scientific body will for sure be the day that pigs take to the skies.
And I agree with mac.
Mike Jackson **********************EXCERPT*********************************
Surely question 2 should be quantified - i.e. "How much of an important factor are human influences warming?" with a subsidiary question "Of the human influences, how much is due to CO2?".
Unfortunately Nordhaus quotes the IPCC as saying "“No climate model using natural forcings [i.e., natural warming factors] alone has reproduced the observed global warming trend in the second half of the twentieth century.” which says in other words human influence is >0
AndyL **********************************EXCERPT****************************************
* Is carbon dioxide a pollutant?
As evidence that it is, Nordhaus quotes the US Clean Air Act:
The US Clean Air Act defined an air pollutant as “any air pollution agent or combination of such agents, including any physical, chemical, biological, radioactive…substance or matter which is emitted into or otherwise enters the ambient air.” In a 2007 decision on this question, the Supreme Court ruled clearly on the question: “Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and hydrofluorocarbons are without a doubt ‘physical [and] chemical…substance[s] which [are] emitted into…the ambient air.’
It seems that by the US Clean Air definition of a pollutant, the biggest pollutant of all is oxygen, which most certainly is "a substance which is emitted into the ambient air."
I await Nordhaus's suggestions for ridding the planet of this troublesome pollutant.
Scottie CO2 is a pollutant because US law and economic theories say it is. I think he forgot to ask the scientist for their input. He must get his legal and investment advice from scientist.