Ghosts of old dogs haunt Green Paper ("Old soils" argument dug up again)

“Australia does not have the same sequestration potential as other countries.” (Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Green paper July 2008)

This statement is part of a set of three statements that usually appear together in the speeches and papers of skeptics. The second and third statements in the trilogy are: “Because they are old and degraded.” And: “They cannot sequester significant amounts of carbon.” (See below: How soils became ‘too old and buggered’)

Stating the first of the three is sufficient to bring up the other two because they have been linked so often by important people representing important organizations. In politics it is called ‘dog whistling’. Or ‘using code’.

The trilogy, taken together, have been put to sleep long ago, so it was surprising to see them get a run in the recent Green Paper.