Dear Minister

Thank you for taking the trouble to come and speak about the ETS in Gisborne. I apologise for not identifying myself to you when talking with you after the meeting.

I made a point during question time about the amount of warming that livestock methane could produce. You expressed doubt about my figures. I did not get the chance to fully explain myself later, so here is the explanation. The maths is very simple. I am amazed someone has not done it sooner. The basics were done by Dr. Wilson Flood, a Scottish chemistry teacher. He starts with the assumption that doubling CO₂ raises the temperature by two degrees. CO₂ makes up 390 parts per million (ppm) in the atmosphere. Methane is 1.8 ppm. We multiply by 21 because of its Global Warming Potential (GWP). But we adjust it down because the molecular weight of methane is only 16 as opposed to CO₂ at 44, meaning it takes more molecules of methane to make up a kg. This makes methane’s relative effect to CO₂ 13.75 ppm. So if doubling CO₂ raises the temperature two degrees, doubling methane will raise the temperature by 0.07°Livestock make up about 15 % of the methane emissions, so that means if they double their emissions the temperature rise is an insignificant 0.01°globally.

To: jonathan.coleman@national.org.nz
Subject: ETS SCHEME

Unfortunately National decided to push ahead with its ill conceived adoption of an ETS regime.

If it is still in place by the next election my vote, both party and individual, will be going to ACT. I will also do my best to encourage as many voters away from National as possible.

I had hopes that National would have proved to be a party of thinkers capable of making the types of decisions that would see New Zealand move forward economically.

Sadly they have done nothing since taking office to confirm my hopes. One tax reduction taken away by

ETS,
ACC levies
GST increases

Hopefully John Key can be persuaded that he does not need to sell us down the drain over the Foreshore and Seabed to gain Maori Party support. I very much fear I am about to be disappointed yet again.

Roll on election year.

These letters are available in a scanned form- click here to read.

To read the letter from John S to Prime Minister John Key click here.

To read Nick Smith's response click here.

Dear Sir,

 We understand that ruminants emit methane,which causes global warming 
and so must pay , but what about all the  CO2 sequestering grass we 
pastoral farmers grow to feed our stock? Why don't we get Carbon credits 
paid or compensated for like foresters?

To read Nick Smith's letter click here