There is no reason to believe that our CO2 production makes any difference at all---and I’m referring not only to climate but to the actual quantity of CO2 in the atmosphere. Consider this: You are sitting around on New Year’s Eve while bitter cold reigns outdoors. You decide to read a book, so you get comfortable and turn on a couple of 100-W lamps for plenty of light. Does the house warm up a bit? The obvious answer is Yes (ask practically anybody), but the realistic answer is No. The thermostat calls for less heat from the furnace, thereby to keep the house at a determined temperature. (People forget about these modern conveniences.)
So when we burn fuels and add CO2 to the atmosphere, does the concentration of that gas increase? No. The oceans regulate the atmospheric CO2 concentration.
Next: What about those wind turbines? They produce the lowest-quality electricity on the planet. The fluctuations make it very hard to keep the grid stable, so hard that not a single power station in the world has yet been dismantled because the slack could be taken up by wind. In fact, when the wind power becomes a significant fraction of the power on the grid, it becomes necessary to provide backup from some pretty shabby old units that are effective, but not efficient.
Here’s a number you can take to the bank. On a year-round average basis, wind “farms” produce power at 5 kilowatts per acre in good wind sites. That’s 300 square miles to handle a city of 700,000, IF the power were available when you want it, not just when the wind blows.
Here’s another. If a wind turbine says it produces 1.5 MW, it will produce 0.5 MW on an average basis.
Dr. Howard Hayden