The oxygen crisis

The Guardian (UK) ^ | 8/13/08 | Peter Tatchell

[gridlock]

This is the stupidest thing I have read in a long, long time. Click over to the article and breathe deep of the idiocy.

If the oxygen level in a major city was 12%, all the inhabitants would be long since dead.

[Liberal Bob]

Evidence from prehistoric times indicates that the oxygen content of pristine nature was above the 21% of total volume that it is today.

Yeah and they all died!

[Westlander]

[Bogey78O]

The saturation of oxygen plays a pivotal role in combustion. This is nonsense.

[ModelBreaker]

Compared to prehistoric times, the level of oxygen in the earth's atmosphere has declined by over a third and in polluted cities the decline may be more than 50%. These are ridiculous numbers. That would mean the atmosphere in polluted cities would be instantly lethal. Atmospheric pollutants are measured in parts-per-million, not in percentages of the atmosphere for a reason.

[Swordmaker]

Where do they find these idiots? Journalism school?

[gridlock]

The amazing thing is that almost every figure cited in this article is demonstrably wrong, and is easily shown to be so. In order to write this, Tatchell had to just accept every little morsel of moronity at face value, and never bother to verify the story with any independent source, or even any high-school level dumb-dumb Earth Science book.

[DB]

Add to that if oxygen levels go much over 21% it becomes much more difficult to fight fires. There’s a critical threshold where fires would simply become uncontrollable...

[MAexile]

Forget 12%! We have a room at work where the nitrogen dewars are kept that has an oxygen monitor for obvious reasons. It goes off when the Oxygen level reaches 19%, warning people to NOT GO IN!

[gridlock]

The Real Reason Dinosaurs Became Extinct...

[synchron]

Those high O2 levels in the past allowed foot long cockroaches and dragonflies with three foot wingspans. Today’s levels seem just fine.

[gridlock]

If you have done any work in the field at all, you would know that before you reached a major city with 12% atmospheric oxygen, you would be passing cities and towns full of dead people for hundreds of miles.

[Navy Patriot]

Peter Tatchell is operating on 12% O2.

[Waco]

Bullshitski

[gridlock]

Needless to say, IT’S ALL GEORGE BUSH’S FAULT!

[Porterville]

That’s right the Pre Cambrian period had 33-36% oxygen levels... about 250-500million years ago.

The high oxygen levels allowed for giant insects and lush fern forest. However, there were giant flash fires in the atmosphere.

I watch Discovery.

[nesnah]

My goodness, there are some serious idiots breathing and wasting oxygen, that’s for sure.

[KarlInOhio]

12% oxygen at a sea level pressure has the same amount of oxygen (91 mm Hg partial pressue) as being at about 15,000 feet. Unless you're in very good training, you would be gasping for air and barely able to move. Many would just lapse into unconsiousness. In which city is that happening?

[nesnah]

Interesting, yes, journalism school.

And graduating from journalism school means one is well-versed and in complete understanding of all things that one writes about. Priceless....

[StormEye]

"This is the stupidest thing I have read in a long, long time."

I have to agree. And the newspaper publishers complain about declining circulation and the fact that people are not reading like they used to in the past. Good God, look what these idiots are offering the public to read! Lies, more lies, error and stupidity. That's what they offer to the reading public. And these "news" organizations have the gall to turn their noses up at the National Enquirer!

And by the way, oxygen is poisonous in large quantity and very corrosive to many things. What a stupid article. And one more thing. Plants breathe in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. How can carbon dioxide be a "greenhouse gas?"