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• Wednesday, July 18, 2007 10:58 AM

  It is the Carbon!!!!!

  Bad advice Cary. No synecdoche here.

  What the scientists (and environmentalist) are talking about is the manmade oxidation of Carbon atoms to form Carbon dioxide molecules. Pretty simple reaction (usually called "burning" but can be done in other ways), you just add two Oxygen atoms to every Carbon atom in the underlying substance.

  It is this chemical reaction which releases CO2 into the atmosphere. The amount of CO2 released is wholly dependent on the amount of Carbon in the underlying material. IT IS THE CHEMICAL REACTION, NOT THE BEGINNING (carbon containing material) OR END PRODUCTS (C02) WHICH COUNTS.

  Being Carbon or Carbon Dioxide neutral means that you are offseting either the amount of Carbon burned or the amount of Carbon Dioxided produced which are really just the same thing.

  If you really get technical, the better description would be "Greenhouse gas neutral." This is because the release of other volatile organic compounds -- primarily methane but also your propanes, ethanols, fluorocarbons, etcetera -- into the athmosphere have a greenhouse effect. However, in the long term these molecules will all eventually breakdown (have their Carbon oxidized) into C02. Although some, such as methane have a long half-life [7-10 years] and cause a significant greenhouse effect on their own until they are broken down).

  Whether one is Carbon neutral or CO2 neutral, it doesn't matter to me: They are the flip sides of the same coin!

  —Oaktown Man Read Oaktown Man's other letters
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