P-51 Mustang fighter plane like that flown by Cornwall Alliance supporter and World War II veteran Wilhelm Peterson from Iwo Jima to escort B-29 bombers on raids. Photo courtesy of Robert Sullivan, Flickr creative commons.
Sometimes laymen find better ways to communicate things than experts. Example?
Wilhelm Peterson and I first got acquainted when he wrote me a letter some years ago, enclosing a donation to the Cornwall Alliance, and I noticed under his signature that in World War II he had piloted P-51 fighter planes based on Iwo Jima, escorting B-29 bombers on raids. Nothing prominent there, just a quiet, simple fact.
My heart pounded as I realized I had just read a letter from a hero, a man who had courageously put his life on the line for his country and indeed for liberty around the world. Feeling more than a little sheepish, I began corresponding with him and found him a gracious, humble man who constantly shifted the focus away from himself. He even called me a hero for my courage standing up to the radical Greens—as if there were any comparison between what I do and what he did!
Well, Bill and I have been in touch from time to time since then, and just today I received a letter he wrote in response to our latest letter to donors. What he said made so much sense I thought I had to pass it on through this blog. With his permission, here it is:
Dear Mr. Beisner,
I just finished your 10-page letter, and you wrote a remarkably detailed letter with all the facts and details that needed to be known. There is no question that was overlooked. At the same time, there may be an alternate method for many of your readers who are either very busy or who, because of their age (I will be 96 in just 4 months), may better understand a brief illustration. The Good Lord has blessed me with good health, with no aches or pains. Yet I wonder if we older or busy individuals might better understand a somewhat different approach. To illustrate this, allow me to give you an example.
One of the basic approaches of our opposition is to blame CO2 for the world’s uninhabitable future of ‘Climate Change’. They say that our industrial capitalism has created so much carbon dioxide by burning fuel such as coal and oil, that we will ultimately destroy our environment. So they want us to use the wind and solar power to create electricity & cut out the use of oil and coal both of which create CO2.
They say that humans breathe in oxygen and expel CO2 which will increase the dangers of our survival. Yes, we humans need oxygen for our lungs and we expel CO2. What has been overlooked is that vegetation absorbs CO2 and expels oxygen.
For example, in the earth Spring, when I visited the nurseries of Home Depot or Lowes, I encountered many blossoms on virtually all their plants. When I inquired about what kind of fertilizer they used to cause these early blooms, I was told that fertilizer is not the reason. Rather, they placed their plants in a sealed tent in which they pumped CO2 to produce early blooms which motivated their customers to buy these plants. CO2 has nothing to do with Climate Change.
What is the source of the earth’s seasons of Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter? It is the SUN! No, the sun does not change its rays from cold to hot. Rather, as the earth circles the sun, the earth has an angle of 23.5 degrees which does not change. So, on June 21st, the angle facing the sun is at its maximum while on December 21st, the angel is at its lowest causing winter. On September 21st and March 21st, called the equinox, every place on earth has 12 hours of sun and 12 hours of dark. In fact, the equator always (365 days each year) has 12 hours of sun and 12 hours of dark. The opposite sphere, like Australia, New Zealand, etc. always has the opposite seasons.
Anyhow, Mr. Beisner, I believe we can fight the so-called Climate Change more easily and more frequently by having brief statements like what I have written above. These are indisputable facts that can be hammered down until these Socialists and Atheists cannot survive the truth.
Sure, climatologists and meteorologists and geologists could insert a lot more details, but Bill got to the nub of the matter. CO2’s role in making plants grow is far, far greater than its rather slim influence on global average temperature, and the sun’s influence on global temperature is far, far greater than CO2’s. We all need to keep those basic facts in mind. CO2 isn’t pollution, it’s the elixir of life. It’s time to stop demonizing it.
sergio Garcia says
Mr. Beisner, I want to point out that the fighter plane you have in the picture above might not be a P-51 but rather a P-40 warhawk or a P-47. Keep up the great work, by the way thanks for sending the book from Tim Ball.
respectfully
Sergio
Bob McMillan says
Actually, it’s a P-51A, the first variant with the Allison V12 engine. This is the type first sent to the British. They liked the maneuverability but not the performance, so they installed a Rolls Royce Merlin engine and the performance improvement was substantial. Packard was contracted to produce the Merlin in the US for P51 B, C, and D models. Mr. Peterson probably flew a D model with the bubble canopy.
James Rust says
Great letter from a WWII hero. We need more people to come forth and tell the public the truth about the socialist movement trying to use climate change to ruin our nation.
4TimesAYear says
I have been using this very argument with alarmists.
CO2 does not determine climate. Climate is determined by location on the planet relative to the sun. Things like latitude, altitude, large bodies of water, etc. It’s why Florida doesn’t worry about blizzards and Iowa doesn’t worry about hurricanes. This is basic grade school science, but I don’t believe they’ve been getting it in schools any more. I have posted NASA’s statement (“The Climate is determined by location on the earth, nearby landforms, and close bodies of water.” Aug. 29, 2014 Our Planet Earth – NASA) and it has now disappeared from searches – so I post from other basic climate education courses. I did get a snip of NASA’s info, though, and I circulate it every chance I get.
I also talk about the opposing seasons and how well balanced the planet is to have the northern hemisphere having winter while the southern hemisphere has summer, etc. I get called crazy for that. I also point out that when Russia and China have severe winters, we seem to have mild ones and when they have mild winters, we have severe ones. This year, the UK is having a mild winter while ours is severe.
Of course alarmists won’t have any of it, but if people will believe a lie if you tell it often enough, perhaps they will also believe the truth if it is told often enough.
There are also questions that alarmists refuse to answer: What is the correct amount of ice for the planet? What is the correct amount of CO2 for the planet? What is the correct temperature for the planet? (Never mind there is no single temperature for the planet) What is the correct sea level….etc. And what’s more, who gets to decide these things and why? At least I hope people start thinking about these things – or make an effort to look them up.
David Rutherford says
Agreed that brief statements can be quite useful, but they should be accurate. To state that “CO2 has NOTHING to do with climate change” (emphasis added) is not accurate. Additionally, making accurate statements that are tangential is not helpful, as is the description of seasonal change.