Fact Checking: Ian Plimer Misinformation is Circulating Again

My mother is a staunch republican and often passes on ‘Fake News’. Several times, I have done the investigative work and returned to her with the Research to either back up or refute the ‘Facts’.  She just send yet again the Ian Plimer rant about Climate Change. This Fake News that started in 2009 and has been passed around many times over the years. This was the Email

You should never confuse facts with the liberals idea of wealth change.  Canada’s carbon tax is a great example.  The government spends your money much better than you can! 

Volcanoes are caused by “the weight of too many humans putting pressure on the mantel of the earth’s crust,” just ask your liberal Congressperson.  It’s going to be a wonderful world with Beto and AOC running the place.

Ian Rutherford Plimer is an Australian geologist, professor emeritus of earth sciences at the University of Melbourne, professor of mining geology at the University of Adelaide, and the director of multiple mineral exploration and mining companies.

He has published 130 scientific papers, six books and edited the Encyclopedia of Geology.  Sounds pretty learned/credible, don’t you think?

Where Does the Carbon Dioxide Really Come From?

Professor Ian Plimer’s book in a brief summary:

PLIMER: “Okay, here’s the bombshell. The volcanic eruption in Iceland.  Since its first spewing of volcanic ash, it has, in just FOUR DAYS, NEGATED EVERY SINGLE EFFORT you have made in the past five years to control CO2 emissions on our planet – all of you.

Of course, you know about this evil carbon dioxide that we are trying to suppress – it’s that vital chemical compound that every plant requires to live and grow and to synthesize into oxygen for us humans and all animal life.

I know….it’s very disheartening to realize that all of the carbon emission savings you have accomplished while suffering the inconvenience and expense of driving Prius hybrids, buying fabric grocery bags, sitting up till midnight to finish your kids “The Green Revolution” science project, throwing out all of your non-green cleaning supplies, using only two squares of toilet paper, putting a brick in your toilet tank reservoir, selling your SUV and speedboat, vacationing at home instead of abroad,nearly getting hit every day on your bicycle, replacing all of your 50 cent light bulbs with $10.00 light bulbs…..well, all of those things you have done have all gone down the tubes in just four days!

The volcanic ash emitted into the Earth’s atmosphere in just four days – yes, FOUR DAYS – by that volcano in Iceland has totally erased every single effort you have made to reduce the evil beast, carbon. And there are around 200 active volcanoes on the planet spewing out this crud at any one time – EVERY DAY.

I don’t really want to rain on your parade too much,

but I should mention that when the volcano Mt Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines in 1991, it spewed out more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than the entire human race had emitted in all its years on earth.

Yes, folks, Mt Pinatubo was active for over One year – think about it.

Of course, I shouldn’t spoil this ‘touchy-feely tree-hugging’ moment and mention the effect of natural solar and cosmic activity, and the well-recognized 800-year global heating and cooling cycle, which keeps happening despite our completely insignificant efforts to affect climate change.

And I do wish I had a silver lining to this volcanic ash cloud, but the fact of the matter is that the wildfire season across the western USA and Australia this year alone will negate your efforts to reduce carbon in our world for the next two to three years. And it happens every year.

Just remember that your government just tried to impose a whopping carbon tax on you, on the basis of the BOGUS ‘human-caused’ climate-change scenario.

Hey, isn’t it interesting how they don’t mention ‘Global Warming’ anymore, but just ‘Climate Change.

It’s because the planet has COOLED by 0.7 degrees in the past century and these global warming advocates got caught with their pants down.

And, just keep in mind that you might yet have an Emissions Trading Scheme – that whopping new tax – imposed on you by your government, that will achieve absolutely nothing except make you poorer.

It won’t stop any volcanoes from erupting, that’s for sure.

But, hey, …..go give the world a hug and have a nice day…………………………….

Here Was My Response Back : His comments are in RED 

1.) Global Warming is a natural thing. The purpose of all the ‘global warming’ hype is to try to slow it down, which can done, because due to human influence it is rapidly warming up at a faster rate. 

2.) Volcanos have been erupting for hundreds of years, with or without people. So the first statement is false, I did a search on who said this and cannot find it anywhere. Automatically, this statement is false:  “Volcanoes are caused by “the weight of too many humans putting pressure on the mantel of the earth’s crust,” just ask your liberal Congressperson.  

3.) “The volcanic ash emitted into the Earth’s atmosphere in just four days – yes, FOUR DAYS – by that volcano in Iceland has totally erased every single effort you have made to reduce the evil beast, carbon. And there are around 200 active volcanoes on the planet spewing out this crud at any one time – EVERY DAY.”

• According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the world’s volcanoes, both on land and undersea, generate about 200 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually, while our automotive and industrial activities cause some 24 billion tons of CO2 emissions every year worldwide. 
• See above links for more information. 

4.) Volcanoes, Tornados, Hurricanes etc are a part of nature. That is a Humans do not cause them, but severe storms have increased due to global warming, which is increasing due to human influence 80% of our climate is due to the ocean. The Ocean is the largest economy in the world. Your medicine comes from the ocean, your food comes from the ocean, your income comes from the ocean… the list goes on and on.Those are facts, which is why trying to slow down the warming is important. The Ocean is dying due to man. 

5.) “Just ask your liberal Congressperson.“ Just because you want cleaner air and a cleaner environment and polluters should pay does not mean you are a liberal. (My opinion) 

• An email from Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, points out that support for revenue-neutral carbon pricing is strong throughout all parts of the country:  “Majorities in all 50 states and all 435 Congressional Districts support requiring fossil fuel companies to pay a carbon tax and using the money to reduce other taxes (such as income tax) by an equal amount.”
  

6.) A carbon tax has nothing to do with Wealth Transfer: Carbon Tax is a fee  ‘imposed on the burning of carbon-based fuels (coal, oil, gas). More to the point: a carbon tax is the core policy for reducing and eventually eliminating the use of fossil fuels.

• Basically it taxes all the billion dollar oil companies who help to pollute the air and land. it gives them an incentive to clean up their act and fund the polluted air and water. 
• It has only to do with one thing: Cleaner Air, Cleaner Environment, Cleaner Earth, which will also result in healthier people, healthier living. It will also slow down global warming. 
• The Economic Consequences of Air Pollution finds the consequent reduction in global economic output by 2060 will equate to around USD 330 per person, as annual healthcare costs related to air pollution rise to USD 176 billion from USD 21 billion in 2015 and the number of work days lost to air pollution-related illness ..
  
• In 2015, diseases caused by air, water and soil pollution were responsible for 9 million premature deaths, that is 16% of all global death. Exposures to contaminated air, water and soil kill more people than smoking, hunger, natural disasters, war, AIDS, or malaria.”
  
• The study reported that in the United States, air pollution control pays off at a rate of 30-1. Every dollar invested in air pollution control generates thirty dollars of benefits. Since 1970 the U.S. has invested about $65 billion in air pollution control and received about $1.5 trillion in benefits.
• Wikipedia Carbon Tax 

7.) Renewal Energy Growth 

• The world added more solar power capacity than fossil fuels in 2017, a sign of the sector’s strength.
• Renewable Energy sector attracted $160.8 billion in investment in 2017.
•  renewable energy has been booming in the region as prices have fallen and wind power has become cheaper than both coal and natural gas in many areas. 
  
• In 2016, there were over three million jobs in non-fossil energy and energy efficiency, compared to only about one million in fossil energy
  
• Department of Energy 2017 U.S. Energy and Employment Report shows that clean electricity jobs are no doubt the engine that drives America’s electric energy economy, outstripping the number of paychecks provided by the fossil fuel industry by at least five to one
• At least 700,000 jobs in the motor vehicle sector are focused on increasing fuel economy or transitioning to alternative fuels. There are also more than 250,000 employees spending the majority of their time working with alternative fuels vehicles, including natural gas, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, all electric, and fuel cell/hydrogen vehicles.

8.) Wealth Transfer : Definition: Wealth Transfer is the transfer of wealth or assets to beneficiaries upon the death of the owner through financial planning strategies that often include wills, estate planning, life insurance, or trusts in a tax efficient manner. This has nothing to do with a Carbon Tax by the definition, but 

But is you look at it another way… how the wealthy make out under the 2017 tax cuts: 

• $21 billion saved by the nation’s largest banks last year due to Trump’s tax cuts
• Wall Street’s bonus pool was $31.4 billion due to tax cuts. 
• Nearly $6 trillion in cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, education, and other public services which effect the poor and middle class. 
• Cutting Corporate Taxes: The Wall Street Journal has conducted a review of the public filings of “108 publicly traded companies accounting for the vast majority of an estimated $2.7 trillion in profits parked abroad,” and asked each company what it was doing with the funds. The total amount of repatriation so far? $143 billion. In other words, it did not effect the needy and the middle class. 
• Netflix: 10-K report shows Netflix had a taxable income [profit] of $845,402,000 in 2018 with rebates of $22,176,000 at the federal level and $10,234,000 at the state level. (The numbers in parentheses are negative). It also shows a foreign tax provision of $133,146,000 — which tracks pretty closely to the $131 million amount given by Netflix.
  
• Amazon.com, despite taking in $5.6 billion in profit in 2017, paid no federal corporate income taxes for that year:
  

9.) “A carbon tax is a way — the only way, really — to have users of carbon fuels pay for the climate damage caused by releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. If set high enough, it becomes a powerful monetary disincentive that motivates switches to clean energy across the economy, simply by making it more economically rewarding to move to non-carbon fuels and energy efficiency.

10.) Just remember that your government just tried to impose a whopping carbon tax on you, on the basis of the BOGUS ‘human-caused’ climate-change scenario.

There are 2 issues here: Human caused climate change and the Carbon Tax:

• I know you don’t believe in Climate Change. (Said to my mother)  Whether you believe that humans have induced this or not is an opinion. But I know you must believe in Science. Science states it is getting warmer. 
• In Canada the carbon tax went into effect: “Higher gas and fuel prices as new carbon tax takes effect. The federal carbon tax kicks in Monday in four provinces that refused to impose their own carbon pricing to discourage greenhouse-gas emissions. … The tax adds 4.4 cents to the price of a litre of gasoline and about four cents to a cubic metre of natural gas” 
• There is NO Carbon Tax in the USA. This does not effect you. (my mother)

11.) “evil carbon dioxide ” 

• We need carbon dioxide to live, but an over-abundance of carbon-dioxide is killing our oceans., called Ocean Acidification and now there are 7 dead zones in the ocean where there is no life. 

12.) It’s very disheartening to realize that all of the carbon emission savings you have accomplished while suffering the inconvenience and expense of driving Prius hybrids, 

• Who says that buying smog reducing, money saving car is an inconvenience and disheartening? 

buying fabric grocery bags: 

• Why would you not want to eliminate plastic pollution? Litter? Stop animals from eating plastic, save oceans, save taxpayer money by eliminating plastic bags? 
• What is wrong with fabric grocery bags?

sitting up till midnight to finish your kids “The Green Revolution” science project, 

• Think about this? This is his interpretation of Green Revolution. Is this yours? Do you really want to teach kids to trash the planet, throwaway everything, pollute your drinking supply. He makes it sound like a “Green Revolution’ is an awful thing. A Green Revolution is a circular economy. 

throwing out all of your non-green cleaning supplies

Many cleaning supplies are toxic and effect health. What is wrong with protecting your health?  Many everyday cleaning supplies: chronic respiratory problems, allergic reactions and headaches. Studies are underway to assess how these chemicals affect people who have asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Toxic cleaning supplies have been linked to Autism (on the rise) and other diseases. 

using only two squares of toilet paper

• Think about this, does he think that all ‘liberal’ only use 2 squares of toilet paper. Reducing the amount of Toilet Paper one uses, is important, as Toilet paper is is a source of deforestation. Which is very important, as trees clean air and are the #2 global economy. 

putting a brick in your toilet tank reservoir

• Water is the #1 thing we need to live. An estimated 790 million people (11% of the world’s population) without access to an improved water supply. An estimated 1.8 billion people (25% of the world’s population) without access to adequate sanitation.
• When you are in a severe drought, why wouldn’t you put a brick in our toilet to save water?

selling your SUV and speedboat, vacationing at home instead of abroad

• Selling your SUV, boat or vacationing where you want? Nobody has asked you to do that. A Carbon tax will not effect that. You sell your boat or car because you want or need to by personal choice. 

nearly getting hit every day on your bicycle, 

• Is he saying don’t ride a bike? What about the health benefits, saving money, less smog and air pollution, less waiting in traffic? less problems with parking? 

replacing all of your 50 cent light bulbs with $10.00 light bulbs.….

• Lightbulbs are not 50 cents. But the cost savings are immense. 
• CFLs use about 70% less energy than incandescent bulbs. They also last years longer than traditional bulbs, and your out of pocket savings are much better. Basically uses less energy and better for the environment, plus you can recycle them. 

well, all of those things you have done have all gone down the tubes in just four days!

This is what I do, break each of these down line by line and research them from multiple sources,  and make my own opinions based upon the facts. Anymore, this is what you have to do, there are so many opinions that are based upon who knows what. Each person has to do their research for various sources, not just liberal or conservative and develop their own beliefs based upon science, facts, personal experience, religion and more. 

If we follow blindly one source… Bad things can happen. Think about the people who have followed blindly, Adolf Hitler, Idi Amin, Mao Tse Tung, Lenin the Taliban, ISIS. Various sects, such as the Klu Klux Klan, Charles Manson, Even religious leaders and cults. It is scary, how many people believe in just one source. It is brainwashing or just laziness?

More information 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/georgemonbiot/2009/dec/16/ian-plimer-versus-george-monbiot

https://skepticalscience.com/skeptic_Ian_Plimer.htmhttps://www.truthorfiction.com/plimer-volcano/