If someone should tell you that carbon monoxide, which comes
out of the tailpipe of your vehicle, can kill you, you would probably say that
you already know that. You probably know
that if you are working on your vehicle in your garage with the engine running,
you should leave the door open. You probably
know that when you shut the car in your attached garage at night, you should
not leave the engine running because the whole family could die when the
odorless gas seeps into the house. You
probably know that you should keep the exhaust system of your vehicle in good
repair because if the gas leaks into your car your passengers, or you, the
driver, could die. You probably even
know that some people have committed suicide by running a hose from the exhaust
pipe into the vehicle and then sat in the vehicle with the engine running. It doesn’t take very long. You may also know that home furnaces and
heaters could leak this gas into your house and you would not know it, because
it is odorless. You may even have
invested in a carbon monoxide alarm for your house, similar to a smoke alarm,
to detect any such gas leakage. If you
did not already know this before y our friend told you about it, you would be
shocked but you would believe him and you would be glad of the warning. You might go to your computer and check the
internet for more information about the problem. And find such as this.
And perhaps you already know that some states have
established a Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week, encouraging everyone to install
detectors, and even making laws requiring the installation of detectors. http://www.kidde.com/utcfs/Templates/Pages/Template-66/0,8070,pageId%3D88200%26siteId%3D384,00.html
You would be glad that there were scientists doing the
research on this, and that they make the public aware of the dangers. You might also be glad that there are government
agencies that help collect data on deaths and illnesses from carbon monoxide,
that help develop safeguards and warning systems, and that alert the public to
dangers.
You would be very surprised then, if you heard that a
congressperson called the threat of carbon monoxide poisoning a “hoax,” if he
called hearings at which “scientists” were called in to decry the myth of the
dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning, to accuse the scientists of just wanting
to get more money for their research, and to defund and dismantle any
government agencies that had anything to do with research and prevention of
carbon monoxide poisoning.
And you might be truly astonished to learn that there was a
task force established to prepare curriculum for the public schools debunking
the science of carbon monoxide dangers, and teaching that it was a naturally
occurring gas that was beneficial to the environment, and that those “alarmists”
that said otherwise should be ignored.
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