Author: Jerry Hannan, PhD
Article Abstract:
Jerry Hannan now retired from the Naval Research Labs in Washington, DC spends roughly 30 hours a week at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The following article is drawn from one of his many lectures delivered during several speaking tours for the American Chemical Society dealing with the ignorance of the public regarding scientific matters. If discussions of the “greenhouse effect” leave you “up in the air,” this article will help to put this topic in perspective. Hannan calmly walks the “layperson” through an explanation of the “greenhouse effect” and our role in it. After seeking expert opinion on the amount of carbon dioxide released into the air each year he came up with “two measures for consideration: 1) A car and driver produce about 5.5 tons of CO2 per year and, 2) When all fossil fuel is considered, every man, woman and child can be said to be responsible for 18.7 tons of CO2 per year.” He concludes stating, that although the CO2 released into the atmosphere by humans and autos is greater than the CO2 absorption capacity of our forests, and despite the tremendous burning rate of fossil fuel, the oxygen content of the atmosphere has remained stable…”
