To the editor:

Lost in the debate about global warming due to CO2 emissions are the forecasts, by scientists who study fossil fuels, that supplies of coal are not limitless. Buried in the late evening congressional session on CSPAN, I recently heard a Republican congressman warning about scientific evidence which points to decreasing supplies of all fossil fuels.

In the 1950s, renowned scientist M. King Hubbert accurately predicted within a few years the dwindling of U.S. and British oil reserves. According to those who carry on his work, all the “easy oil” has been discovered and we are now at “peak oil” (past the halfway mark on available oil).

The rising cost of oil has made coal oil production profitable and, as natural gas supplies diminish and consumption (China and India) increases, fossil fuel shortages may occur much sooner than we expected. Coal reserves once thought to be inexhaustible are now projected by some scientists to peak within 30 to 50 years.

The 5 percent renewable energy usage proposed by the legislature is pitiful in comparison to the 25 percent that is possible. We could use a “renewable energy fund” supported by a carbon tax to invest in “green energy technology” such as PV solar electric, wind turbines, hydrogen, etc. Grants could be made to individuals, schools, etc., making solar and wind power economically feasible to install.

Adding more coal plants while not using the abundance of wind, sun and biofuel we have here in Kansas is both wasteful and not in our best interest.

Stephen Crockett,
Lawrence