" I'm glad that Mr. Gire is a FORMER science teacher; I'd hate to think what he would be teaching his students. First, Mr. Gire is missing the whole point of regulating carbon dioxide emissions in his satiric letter. Yes, animals have always breathed out carbon dioxide. That isn't the point. The point it that humans have created power plants, furnaces, vehicles, lawn mowers, etc. that produce vast amounts of carbon dioxide in the process of burning fossil fuels and that this is relatively recent in earth's history. The levels of carbon dioxide in earth's atmosphere have been rising steadily since the industrial revolution and earth's average temperature has also increased during this time period. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases act as a blanket and hold more heat in earth's atmosphere than would be there otherwise. It is called the "greenhouse effect". Mr. Gire claims that "Your early science classes should have taught you that plants require carbon dioxide to produce chlorophyll and in the process give off oxygen." That is incorrect! Yes, plants take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen, but not in an effort to make chlorophyll. The green pigment chlorophyll is required to capture the light energy of the sun in order to supply the energy to make sugars that the plant can use as food. The sugars are constructed from carbon dioxide and water molecules. Oxygen is a waste product that is released into the atmosphere. Plants and other photosynthetic organisms (e.g. algae and cyanobacteria) haven't been able to absorb the excess carbon dioxide that humans have been spewing into the atmosphere to run our machines, lights, etc. Otherwise, carbon dioxide levels would not have been rising since the industrial revelation. Finally, Mr. Gire goes to the extreme to say that breathing, farting, and urinating could land one in the "pokey". While carbon dioxide produced by breathing is clearly not the point of regulation, I would ask Mr. Gire if he is aware that the sewage humans produce is most certainly regulated in this country! Otherwise, we would be drinking water containing fecal matter and dying from cholera, hepatitis, and so forth. "

" Ouch! "

" Can also add that the last ice age ended only 10,000 years ago and typically each ice age is 40,000 years apart. 10,000 years ago, Chicago was under a mile of ice and New York under 100 feet. Earlier data suggest that we are only half way before the next cycle of cooling starts. "

" We should deregulate hydrogen sulfide and suffer the consequences of increased acid rain so that we can all resume farting? What if we kept the regulations in place but didn't arrest people for flatus? We could do the same thing with carbon dioxide. Also, increased carbon dioxide has been linked to man. The debate about carbon dioxide and its link to the increase in earths average temperature goes on, though it seems to be in its death throws. However, you will never hear a scientist who is worth his salt say that since the beginning of the industrial revolution the ocean hasn't had a noticeable increase in acidity due to vastly increased carbonic acid caused by increased absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. We (by that I mean man)are producing carbon dioxide and simultaneously destroying the plant life that absorbs it at an extreme rate, there are inevitable effects. "

" I propose to open a carbon set-off store in the new S. Route 45 TIF district! Anyone want a piece of the action? "

" avast ye! Methinks the carrrrbon dioxide increase is due to the reduced number of pirates, not mans' prolonged release of carbon which was stored over the past many millions of yearrrrs! Look at the data.......LOOK AT IT, the increase in ocean acidity corresponds precicely with the decline in privateers. It follows that the solution to this problem is to resume piracy on the high seas. "