Letter: Earth has always flourished with higher CO2, temps

It will be beneficial to have additional amounts of carbon dioxide green the planet.

Re: “Letter: We must urgently slow carbon emissions now” (Letters to the editor, Opinion section, Mercury News, Aug. 25)

Letter writer Ed Taub notes that Alaska was covered by thousands of feet of ice 800 years ago but is now covered with forest.

This is consistent with NASA’s observation that the earth is much greener now than 70 years ago. And yet Taub wants to stop the increase in carbon dioxide that has caused this greening effect.

It is an historical and scientific fact that life on our planet always flourished more at much higher levels of carbon dioxide and temperatures than exist today. Do we really want to go back to the low levels of carbon dioxide that existed during the Little Ice Age that caused crop failures and staved millions to death in Europe during the 16th to 19th century?

It will be beneficial to have additional amounts of carbon dioxide green the planet until better batteries are developed to make solar and wind practical.

Ed Kahl
Woodside

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