David le Page’s unscientific attack on fossil fuels contains one genuine fear among many false ones. Fossil fuels, especially coal, do pollute the air with smoke, sulphur and nitrogen oxides. Other than that they are a boon. Fossil fuels delivered the West from poverty to prosperity and will do the same for the poor countries unless green imperialists prevent them from using them. Their release of carbon dioxide (CO²) has little effect on the climate but a marvellous effect on plants, which we can already see. CO² is a weak greenhouse gas. Science and observation shows it has little if any effect on global temperatures. Since the pre-Cambrian, CO² in the air has averaged about 2,000 parts per million. It is now at 400 parts per million, extremely low. It was even lower, dangerously low, in the 19th century, at about 280 parts per million. Humans have pushed up the levels mainly by burning fossil fuels. It is the best thing we have done for the planet. Plants, almost starved of CO² i...
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