These days, with the fossil fuel industry on the defensive for its damage to the planet, it’s important to look for connections to that industry whenever we encounter yet another diatribe against renewable energy. Gordon Tomb, author of the Op-Ed that appeared on 3/30/24 claiming that expansion of alternative energy is “senseless,” is a senior adviser to the CO2 Coalition, an advocacy organization, with donations from the Koch Institute and the Mercer Family Foundation, that denies the scientific consensus on climate change. One of the Coalition’s founding principles is their belief that increased production of CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels is – contrary to all accepted scientific findings – actually good for the planet.

Yes, plants need CO2 to survive. But claiming (as the CO2 Coalition does) that increased levels of CO2 in our atmosphere will stimulate plant production and, along the way, help stave off food insecurity is dangerously misleading. In fact, increased CO2 causes plants’ nutritional value to actually decrease, due to diminishing amounts of nutrients like zinc, iron and B-vitamins. Therefore, rising levels of CO2 will promote food insecurity rather than alleviate it.

Climate change is causing agricultural production in general to become more unstable, with increased flooding, drought, wildfires, and pest invasions. According to a recent report from Cornell University, “Global agricultural productivity is 20% lower today than what it could have been without [human-caused] climate change.” Thus, the burning of fossil fuels not only decreases the income of agricultural workers across the world, it also makes more precarious our planet’s food supply.

In the end, it’s the foundational belief of Mr. Tomb’s sponsoring organization that turns out to be senseless. Given the clear connection between rising CO2 levels and our planet’s suffering, the expansion of alternative energy becomes the truly sensible solution.

KAREN ELIAS

Lock Haven

Submitted by Virtual Newsroom