Carbon dioxide is indeed used by plants, which need it to grow. But large amounts of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere by the combustion of fossil fuels. That’s why it’s known as one of the primary “greenhouse gasses” responsible for global warming.

Around the 4 minute, 25 second mark, Cravens says, “We have to get real about energy policy. Right now there are groups in Santa Fe that are meeting to discuss a cap, or a tax on businesses for CO2 emissions.

“There’s groups out there that want to finish killing off the oil and gas industry,” he adds.

Cravens comments will be familiar to those who paid attention to the ad campaign from CO2 is Green.

That group writes on its Web site, “CO2 is necessary to plant and animal life on Earth. Unfortunately, the positive effects of CO2 in our atmosphere have not been given proper consideration within the legislative, judicial, and regulatory proceedings.”

While it looked like the CO2 is Green ads initially backfired, this may show that they succeeded a little bit.

According to Jude McCartin, Sen. Bingaman’s spokeswoman, the senator’s office has received four telephone calls in response to the ad who agreed with its message. That was outnumbered, Jude said, by the calls by people who saw the ad and called Bingaman’s office to say they favor legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

That probably isn’t the result the group is looking for.

Fleck writes that he is working on a story about the claims put forth by CO2 is Green, (“suffice to say the organization’s claims are in conflict with what the experts say,”) which we can expect to see in the Albuquerque Journal soon.

Bingaman is the chairman of Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that C02 is a pollutant; and according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climatic Data Center, ”there is no scientific debate” on the question of whether human activity is contributing to the increase in greenhouses gasses—such as CO2—in the atmosphere.

One of the founders of the group CO2 is Green, Corbin J. Robertson Jr., has been spending liberally, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Already this year Robertson has contributed money to the campaigns of Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), James Webb (D-Va.), Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Reps. Charles Melancon (D-La), Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas). Over the years, Steward has contributed to the Republican National Committee, Landrieu, former Sen. John Breaux (D-La.), Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and both former President George W Bush and George HW Bush.

So who is Robertson? According to the Washington Post, he is the “chief executive of and leading shareholder in Natural Resource Partners, a Houston-based owner of coal resources that lets other companies mine in return for royalties.”

Media Matters said of the CO2 is Green campaign, “Oil and coal interests funding a pro-pollution ‘education campaign’ is akin to the insulation industry funding infomercials to promote the virtues of asbestos.”

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is an important committee when it comes to any environmental legislation. Earlier this month, The Washington Independent wrote about Bingaman’s ongoing efforts to influence cap and trade legislation.

CO2 Is Green group has also targeted Bingaman with television ads in New Mexico.

And just for background, here is some information from the Energy Information Administration (part of the U.S. Department of Energy):

Many chemical compounds found in the Earth’s atmosphere act as “greenhouse gases.” These gases allow sunlight to enter the atmosphere freely. When sunlight strikes the Earth’s surface, some of it is re-radiated back towards space as infrared radiation (heat). Greenhouse gases absorb this infrared radiation and trap the heat in the atmosphere. Many gases exhibit these “greenhouse” properties. Some of them occur in nature (water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide), while others are exclusively human made (certain industrial gases). Over time, if atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases remain relatively stable, the amount of energy sent from the sun to the Earth’s surface should be about the same as the amount of energy radiated back into space, leaving the temperature of the Earth’s surface roughly constant.

In the United States, greenhouse gas emissions come primarily from the combustion of fossil fuels in energy use. Energy use is largely driven by economic growth with short-term fluctuations in its growth rate created by weather patterns affecting heating and cooling needs, as well as changes in the fuel used in electricity generation. Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, resulting from the combustion of petroleum, coal, and natural gas, represented 82 percent of total U.S. anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions in 2006. The connection between energy use and carbon dioxide emissions is explored in the box on the reverse side.