While Gorean global warming alarmists are demanding that the amount of carbon dioxide particles in the atmosphere be kept below 350 parts per million, climate scientists have found that the more carbon dioxide the better when it comes to growing crops and saving water, which is in short supply around the world, according to Steven D. Levitt, a University of Chicago economist. Levitt co-authored Super Freakonomics with Stephen J. Dubner.

In short, politicians like Governor Bill Ritter, President Barack Obama, Senators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall and Reps. Diana DeGette, John Salazar and Jared Polis are barking up the wrong trees with their advocacy of alternative energy, carbon cap and tax legislation and government-subsidized green jobs that aren’t so green.

In chapter five of his new book, Levitt quotes some of the most famous scientists and experts on the world’s climate. They point out that not only is carbon dioxide highly beneficial to agriculture, but also that it accounts for only 2% of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Water vapor accounts for more than 50% of greenhouse gases, but scientists won’t be able to accurately measure it’s impact on global warming for another 10 or more years. 

Points made:

“The climate models are crude in space and they’re crude in time. So there’s an enormous amount of natural phenomena they can’t model. They can’t even do giant storms like hurricanes.”

“So most of the warming seen over the past few decades might actually be due to good environmental stewardship.” 

“So not only is carbon dioxide plainly not poisonous, but changes in carbon-dioxide levels don’t necessarily warm the earth: ice-cap evidence shows that over the past several hundred thousand years, carbon dioxide levels have risen after a rise in temperature, not the other way around.”

Super Freakonomics is a very well researched book that offers authoritative citations and sources for every point it makes. And it’s a quick, fun and even humorous read—for  global warming skeptics, anyway. Most important, it joins the chorus of critics of Al Gore and his academic friends who have spent the last 15 years trying to fool the public and keep skeptics quiet.

Every Coloradan concerned about global warming, energy conservation and academic integrity should read this book. Voters will be asking about it during next year’s election campaign.