Letters to the Editor: Bomb Trucks Revisited

Last weeks educational editorial on Bomb Trucks was probably accurate as far as it went. In my opinion, it didn’t go far enough. Contrary to modern culture and our socio-economic system, money is not almighty. The laws of physics are almighty. At its core, the Bomb truck proposal invokes a discussion about how endorsing it impacts physics.

The spacing between the atoms in methane, the product delivered by Bomb trucks, and carbon dioxide, a by-product of its intended use, are defined by physics and just so happen to be the spacing to prevent infrared energy waves from passing through. Hence the term greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide in our thin atmosphere has more than doubled over the past century and is climbing every year. Local scientists have demonstrated that fracked natural gas wells leak monstrous amounts of methane into the atmosphere. To be clear, Bomb trucks deliver greenhouse gas.

Our earth is warming. Every year is warmer than the year before. Warmth radiates to us and the atmosphere in the form of infrared energy waves. When our atmosphere was not loaded with greenhouse gases much more infrared could escape to space. Now our greenhouse has feedback loops engaged like melting icecaps. The north pole with more open sea absorbs more heat from the sun rather than reflecting it back to space and melting more ice. Also warming the frozen tundra releasing thawed methane fortifying our greenhouse shield.

Supporting anything but the complete halt of extraction and combustion of fossil fuels destines a future of decreased land mass from ocean rise, unfathomable flooding like Houston 2017, expanded desserts, vast forest fires, and wild temperature swings. Which creates misery for our species through reduction of habitat and species numbers as we follow other creatures toward extinction.

Let’s focus our discussion to what really matters: a livable planet.

 

Don Barber