Random People on Facebook Offer “Facts” on the Environment; Believe Them At Your Peril

I’m always amused when people on Facebook throw out “facts” that have no basis in reality.  Where do they get the idea that they can make things up and people will believe them unquestioningly?  I mean, it’s not like one of our candidates for U.S. President does this, right?  🙂

Seriously, here’s a conversation that I just copied out of FB to make this precise point.  As you read, you may be wondering: What are Leonard Manion’s (pictured) qualifications to make statements about pollution, cancer, volcanoes, etc., given that he has no academic training or professional experience in the subject, and he runs a small ad agency in rural Pennsylvania?  I have no answer to that excellent question.

Gianni Alexander Spata Nobody talks about pollution and increased cancer deaths from oil anymore.

Leonard Manion This is because pollution from oil doesn’t cause cancer. The air is always polluted. This is why we have rain and thunderstorms, to clean the air. The ocean produces massive amounts of methane gas, the volcanoes when they erupt throw up massive amounts of pollution into the air, etc.. Nature herself pollutes more than humans could ever pollute.

Craig Shields This is completely untrue. Please see: http://www.ucsusa.org/…/cars-trucks-air-pollution….  Your statement about volcanoes is also totally incorrect. Volcanoes produce less than 1% of the CO2 that humans do.  Please see: Which produces more CO2, volcanic or human activity?