[Ken in Denver]

First, carbon dioxide can hardly be a pollutant. Does no one these days remember being taught about the carbon dioxide/oxygen cycle- animals take in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide and plants take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen via photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is also produced by all forms of combustion of organic material, whether it be power production or wildfires, internal combustion engines or decomposing vegetation. Using "clean fuels" won't reduce carbon dioxide at all, although other emissions such as sulfur dioxides may be reduced. In fact, synthetically produced clean fuels such as "clean coal" or hydrogen require energy to produce them. Most advocates of various solutions to the cabon dioxide "problem" fail to look at the entire energy prodution cyle involved, for example, the power production needed to recharge battery powered automobiles. If atmospheric warming is in fact occurring, and is caused by man's activities (not proven) the most straight-forward solution is nuclear power, a clean, safe, proven, currently available technology.

[Ole Okie]

Using "clean fuels" won't reduce carbon dioxide at all, although other emissions such as sulfur dioxides may be reduced.

Somehow in all the furor, I think this simple fact has been lost; that combining carbon and oxygen results in CO (incomplete combustion) and/or CO2 (complete combustion).

The environmentalists have so confused the landscape by not discriminating between sulfur, oxides of sulfur, oxides of nitrogen, the freons, water vapor, and CO2 that I honestly doubt that more than a figurative handful of Americans understand the simple fact you've stated.

Methane, CH4, is the predominant constituent of natural gas. Complete combustion yields carbon dioxide and water (plus the nitrogen in the combustion air).