Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In this episode I’m doing a fact check on the claim that CO2 is plant food. This really is a well known fact. Plants use CO2 in photosynthesis to grow. It is indisputably true. And yet on the Skeptical Science website it is listed as a Climate Myth. How can this be? Some folks think it depends on context. It’s like saying ‘all lives matter’ at a black lives matter protest. Sure, this is obvious and true. But it is being used to undermine the message that minorities face systemic discrimination. I’m not really happy about seeing the CO2 claim on skeptical science because it is a very good scientific reference. I feel that labelling this statement a myth could hurt the credibility of scientists amongst unconvinced people who are seeking answers. I think that particular website should be renamed 'how to rebut denialist tropes'. Messaging is important, and we need to be careful in a polarized issues such as this.
In this episode I’m doing a fact check on the claim that CO2 is plant food. This really is a well known fact. Plants use CO2 in photosynthesis to grow. It is indisputably true. And yet on the Skeptical Science website it is listed as a Climate Myth. How can this be? Some folks think it depends on context. It’s like saying ‘all lives matter’ at a black lives matter protest. Sure, this is obvious and true. But it is being used to undermine the message that minorities face systemic discrimination. I’m not really happy about seeing the CO2 claim on skeptical science because it is a very good scientific reference. I feel that labelling this statement a myth could hurt the credibility of scientists amongst unconvinced people who are seeking answers. I think that particular website should be renamed 'how to rebut denialist tropes'. Messaging is important, and we need to be careful in a polarized issues such as this.
