Articles written by Simon Smith


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  • Compensate farmers for turbine funds

    Simon Smith, Cheney Free Press|Updated Jul 3, 2024

    I’ve read many letters about windmills recently, but I’ve missed hearing the views of some of the key players. I’d like to hear more from the farmers considering installing windmills. We need to hear more from farmers because they play a vital role in the Palouse economy but face escalating challenges. The unpredictable weather exacerbated by climate change means farmers must explore all options to sustain themselves financially. Wind power income would help. My nightmare scenario is not windmills but bankrupt farmers, no fo...

  • Greenhouse gases raise Earth temp

    Simon Smith|Updated Mar 16, 2023

    We all need to understand climate science. Climate fundamentals are simple: Sunshine warms the Earth, and the Earth radiates heat back into space as infrared. Earth’s temperature results from how much radiant heat gets trapped by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. GHGs are trace gases but have a disproportionate influence on temperatures. Nitrogen, oxygen and argon represent 78%, 21%, and 0.9% of our atmosphere and are not greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases only make up a fraction of the remaining 0.1%; gases such as c...

  • Greenhouse gases (GHG)

    Simon Smith|Updated Feb 9, 2023

    We all need to understand climate science. Not just to make sense of the climate crisis but to avoid being misled by climate deniers. Knowledge is power. The climate fundamentals are simple: Sunshine warms the Earth, and the Earth radiates this heat back into space as infrared. Earth’s temperature results from how much radiant heat gets trapped by greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. GHGs are trace gases but have a disproportionate influence on temperatures. More than 99.9% of the gases in our air are not GHGs: n...