Letter to the Editor – Mel Coonrod

Let’s Cap That Damn Volcano
As I watched the national news the last several days and heard of the ongoing devastation of the Kileaua Volcano in Hawaii, they’ve talked about the tons of CO2 and Sulphur dioxide and hydrochloric acid which is pouring into the atmosphere by this natural phenomenon, not to mention the particulates associated with the ash traveling several miles into the atmosphere, yet I have not heard a word on how this is affecting “Climate Change” or as some call “Global Warming”.
If you access your computer you can see exactly how much of this material is being emitted by every coal fired power plant in the world. I wonder if the so called environmentalists believe that the toxins coming from a natural source, a volcano, have no effect on climate change. I have often wondered why we never hear about the amount of CO2 from wildfires or natural decay that is going into the atmosphere.
You can Google how much methane is coming from the oil and gas industry due to flaring or poor handling of their oil products, yet when methane is coming from fissures associated with a volcano, or the natural decomposition from decaying vegetation in a swamp which produces swamp gas, methane, it is apparently no big deal.
I’m a little upset that no one ever talks about natural sources of the same products that give the energy industry such a bad reputation. I realize that the environmental community will say, “But yes we can’t control nature but we can control coal and gas emissions from industry”.
To this I would respond, “That’s true, but I want to know how much of “climate change” is a result of man-made pollution and what percent can we attempt to control? Is it 90% or is it more in the area of 1/10 of 1%? My guess is its closer to the 1/10 of 1%.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe we need to do everything possible to limit pollution short of bankrupting our country. We all want to breath clean air, drink clean water and live in an area that allows us to do so. But I do feel it is important to be honest with all people and lay all our cards on the table. Let’s strive to clean up our air and water but do it for the right reasons not some myth that we will appreciably alter climate change.
—Mel Coonrod,
Helper, Utah