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From: markb@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Mark Biggar)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: Reagon's mistakes - list wanted
Message-ID: <1342@sdcrdcf.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 25-Sep-84 18:28:30 EDT
Article-I.D.: sdcrdcf.1342
Posted: Tue Sep 25 18:28:30 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 4-Oct-84 03:32:20 EDT
References: <5218@nlm-mcs.ARPA>
Reply-To: markb@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Mark Biggar)
Distribution: net.flame
Organization: System Development Corp. R+D, Santa Monica
Lines: 22
Summary: 

In article <5218@nlm-mcs.ARPA> rene@nlm-mcs.ARPA (Rene Steiner) writes:
>I know Reagon's said a lot of dumb things in his time, such as his
>infamous comment about trees causing pollution.
>			- rene

But trees (and other plants, sage brush being worst) do contribute to
pollution levels.  A recent study done in LA (sorry no reference) showed
that only about 20% of the hydro-carbons in LA smog come from the
burning and use of fossil fuels.  80% of the hydro-carbons are produced by
trees and other plants.  This was determined by looking at the carbon-14
levels in the sampled hydro-carbons.  Because oil and coal were produced
so long ago the level of carbon-14 in them is too small to be messured.
Hydro-carbons produced by plants via the normal process of combining
CO2 and water have the same level of carbon-14 as the CO2 in the atmosphere.
These levels of carbon-14 are maintained fairly constant by reactions in the
upper atmosphere.

Trees may not cause all pollution (Reagon didn't say that) but they do
contribute.

Mark Biggar
{allegra,burdvax,cbosgd,hplabs,ihnp4,akgua,sdcsvax}!sdcrdcf!markb