Excerpt: The increase of atmospheric CO2 following the Industrial Revolution also has facilitated the expansion of natural vegetation into what had been barren areas, such as the edges of the Sahara and the Arctic. According to the U.N., the world will add 2.5 billion people over the next 30 years, most of them in developing countries. Feeding these people and assuring them a comfortable living standard should be among our highest moral priorities. With more CO2 in the atmosphere, the challenge can and will be met.
National policies must make economic and environmental sense. When someone says, “climate science is settled,” remind them to check the facts. And recall the great physicistRichard Feynman’s remark: “No government has the right to decide on the truth of scientific principles.”
Mr. Nichols, a physicist, and Mr. Schmitt, a geologist and former Apollo 17 astronaut, are co-founders of the CO2 Coalition.
