Land and Water USA

Dear Mr. Learn,

The propaganda never ceases. Your front page story in today's Oregonian:
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2010/09/global_mining_companies_are_fo.html
rings the usual Global Warming alarm bells without ever acknowledging that there are many, many of us in the scientific community with first rate credentials who say this is FRAUD. Instead you excuse your lack of balance by saying that you could not reach one of the industrial participants. Surely you understand that this issue goes beyond the direct participants in this battle: the coal industry and the Sierra Club. There is good solid science that you and your readers need to consider.
When you say: "To keep temperature increases in the relatively safe zone of 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, climate scientists say, fossil fuel use needs to peak in 2020 and energy-related carbon dioxide emissions need to drop 8 percent by 2030 compared with 2007," you completely fail to acknowledge that many of us think that is absolute rubbish. At the very least you need to say "some climate scientists," and follow your statement with a balancing comment from those of us who strongly disagree.
I know you feel that everyone opposes coal because of its dirty image. But coal is a vital national resource that can (and is) being used responsibly. If real pollutants like sulfur and mercury are properly controlled, coal does far less damage to the environment for useful energy produced than wind, solar, ethanol, and bio-diesel. Coal has a very bright future not only as a source of electricity but as a source for all sorts of hydrocarbons from synthetic fuels to plastics.
And of course, carbon dioxide from burning coal is rapidly recycled into everything from food crops to NW forests. The Carbon Cycle is a vital part of life on this planet. Alarmists will NEVER tell you that an average CO2 molecule has only a five year lifetime in the atmosphere. We know that from isotope studies. Current atmospheric concentrations are near the minimum (not the maximum) to sustain life on this planet.
Isn't it time to move beyond the propaganda and acknowledge some of the science? The future of this country depends on honest science.
Gordon J. Fulks, PhD (Physics)
Corbett, Oregon USA