Oil Industry Muddles Carbon Dioxide Issue

James Flanigan’s “Technology Strikes Deep Oil Supplies” (July 27), on the profit potential of the oil companies, was correct from a purely business perspective but missed badly when he attempted to deal with the environmental consequences of increased oil consumption.

He correctly stated that the oil industry is “fighting the proposal” to limit energy consumption, but then blithely intimated that the industry “will adapt to the new environment.”

If he meant that somehow a technological solution can be found, then the outlook is grim. Carbon dioxide, the “greenhouse gas,” is not some unwanted byproduct of combustion, as is the case with nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide, which can be eliminated or reduced with appropriate technology. Carbon dioxide is at the heart of the process of producing energy, and the only practical way to eliminate the net addition of this gas in the atmosphere is to stop burning nonrenewable products such as oil and gasoline.

The oil companies’ only strategy is to obfuscate this central fact, much as the tobacco companies did with the health effects of smoking. This article played into their hands by breezily suggesting that it is only a matter of time before a solution is found.

PAUL W. ROSENBERGER

Manhattan Beach