Scientist and children’s book author Gregory Wrightstone of the CO2 Coalition tells VDC Social Media Director about the life-giving benefits of climate change. Not a fan of geoengineering theories, though
by Paul Bean
Join me for an interview with Gregory Wrightstone, author of Inconvenient Facts: The Science that Al Gore doesn’t Want You to Know. Wrightstone is known for challenging the scientific consensus that increased CO2 is the cause of climate change and even making the case that the Earth and humanity are, in fact, benefiting from modest warming and increased CO2 levels. Inconvenient Facts is a best seller on Amazon in several categories.
As a former student in Vermont public schools and the University of Vermont, hearing Wrightstone say “We love CO2 and so should you” was admittedly different. In college particularly, I was taught climate change was an existential threat to life on Earth.
Wrightstone and his organization, the CO2 Coalition, are breaking apart the narrative that our relationship with the earth is one-sided and that we do not have enough food or resources to sustain the population.
“In my new book A Very Convenient Warming I have a chart where I look at the top eight crops worldwide and it goes back about I think 40 or 50 years. And just year after year after year…these crops are breaking production records. We see that everything we look at, corn production in the United States in the Corn Belt– breaking records year after year,” explained Wrightstone in a response to a question on food production meeting the demands of population growth.
Wrightstone explained three major drivers for the increase in crop yields:
- “Efficient use of nitrogen fertilizer which is made from fossil fuels…nitrogen fertilizer, the process was developed in the early 20th century and it wasn’t until World War II ended that the ingredients that are in the first fertilizer had been going into bomb making and military uses and after World War II now all this became available… “
- “The coldest nighttime temperatures are being elevated. Instead of it being 28 Dees maybe it’s 32 degrees what’s that mean that means we have lengthened and growing seasons. “ [In my book] I show a chart of growing seasons in the continental United States. Growing seasons have lengthened by more than two weeks that’s a good thing.”
- “Finally it’s CO2. It’s called the CO2 fertilization effect whereby increasing CO2 is driving plant growth…We need for photosynthesis water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide, and the more carbon dioxide the better. Some people say ‘oh my plants grow so much better because I talk to them.’ Well, that might be true, but it’s not because you’re talking to them but you’re exhaling, probably 40,000 parts per million, is what you’re is what you’re breathing out.”
Wrightstone is the Executive Director of the CO2 Coalition, which was established in 2015 “as a 501(c)(3) for the purpose of educating thought leaders, policymakers, and the public about the important contribution made by carbon dioxide to our lives and the economy,” says their website.“The Coalition seeks to engage in an informed and dispassionate discussion of climate change, humans’ role in the climate system, the limitations of climate models, and the consequences of mandated reductions in CO2 emissions.”
Wrightstone acknowledged in our interview that his views might be seen by others as a little different and even controversial, (around 14:22):
“Here at the CO2 coalition, one of our unofficial mottos is ‘We love CO2 and so should you’…that’s our pullup banner when we go and plant the flag at these teachers’ conferences. In Fact, Last spring we got kicked out of…. we had a double booth exhibit at the National Science Teaching Association. And I just published a pretty detailed report slamming the NSTA and we took a look at their climate change policies what they’re recommending and it was just full of misinformation disinformation…they leaned on a consensus they like consensus science so and the NSTA and the Scientific Education establishment are really pushing ‘they’re not trying they are indoctrinating our children into this climate cult,’ and they lean on consensus science. ‘Well there’s a consensus of science’… Well there’s not a consensus of a belief in catastrophic warming that’s driven by us.”
Wrightstone challenged my preconceived notions about climate change. He tackles the “consensus” climate narrative head on. Saying “carbon is actually good” is about as contrarian as it gets in the mainstream environmental community. Even for me, someone who has longed questioned the climate narrative, hearing his takes had me even a little taken back.