Utah Rep: More Carbon Dioxide, Please

Retired science teacher and Utah Rep. Jerry Anderson wants to redefine the term “air contaminants” with proposed legislation that limits regulations on greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide. In fact, he argued at a committee hearing this week that, contrary to credible climate research, we could and probably should double the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere. “We are short of carbon dioxide for the needs of the plants,” Anderson said. “Concentrations reached 600 parts per million at the time of the dinosaurs and they did quite well.” Joe Andrade, a retired University of Utah engineering professor countered Anderson’s claims, telling the Salt Lake Tribune that such carbon levels may not be toxic to humans but would be toxic to the atmosphere, acidifying the oceans and warming the planet.