|
Termyn8or -> RE: Your tax dollars at work! "Rubber duckies sent to glaciers to track global warming".. (9/22/2008 8:23:40 AM)
|
I was surprised to read that they estimate the sea level would rise eight meters. That must be if all the ice melts because actually five sixths of it is already underwater, thus displacing the water. Must be a heck of alot of ice up there.
Eight meters is alot, think of where you live, is the elevation 25 feet or better above sea level ? Many places in the world would have a big problem coping with eight centimeters rise, let alone eight meters. Goodbye Holland, and parts of alot of places, even the invincible USA. The proverbial oceanfront property in Arizona may become a reality. In fact that could come even sooner if the San Andreas fault acts up and the big one comes.
Changes are going to happen to our planet, and it seems very few of them will be desirable, if any. However I have my doubts about whether we can do anything about it. Of course some of the meglomaniacs think they're God and can do anything.
They speak of greenhouse gas emissions and such, while I think they are totally ignoring another factor, a more direct factor. We make heat. Your computer, your TV, everything makes heat. Air conditioning does not destroy heat, it just moves it outside, and in doing so dissipates some heat of it's own. I don't think we have to go into cars in any detail, you know almost every car has a radiator, and it radiates heat. Waste heat by the way.
What the global warmies say might well be true, that the CO2 produced is forming a blanket of sorts which will cause the Earth to store, rather than radiate a greater portion of the Sun's energy. I do not dispute this, but I do have questions on the relative impact overall.
I believe the same kind of chicken little crap happened with the ozone layer and freon. If we have significantly increased CO2 levels that means what's done is done. The effects will be cumulative and there is no practical way to remove it. The only thing eating up CO2 on this planet is plant life, from the algae in the ocean to the trees in the forest, which encompasses alot, but it is still the only way.
What I am saying is there is nothing we can do about it, so there is no reason to go looking for reasons to further cripple our economy to try to accomplish the impossible.
Like banning freon R 12. From what I understand about what they say it does to the ozone band, the reaction that causes O3 to change to O2 will not stop. That is because the florine is a catalyst, and emerges from the reaction in fine shape, ready to do it again. That means it is already too late. So they ban R 12 which was one of the most efficient refrgerants on the planet. That means there are energy costs involved. So just what did they accomplish ?
Incidentally there are many who believe there was never an ozone layer, and I agree. It was never a layer like the troposphere, stratosphere etc. It was always a band. Centripital force made it so, and actually in the Arctic and Antarctic regions they dont have much use for an ozone layer. It is thickest around the equator, where it is needed.
As far as the title of this thread, I agree, what good does it do to figure out which way glacial waters are moving ? It is bad enough to know it's going in the water. Doesn't matter where.
Incidentally I have some R 12. It is only for sale to those with classic cars with AC who want to keep it all original. A hundred bucks a pound after I talk to their mechanic and am assured that the system has been pressure tested with nitrogen. If you just want a fillup, double that. I am not a tree hugger by any stretch, but I like to avoid being environmentally unfriendly.
What I mean is to put things in perspective. What does it matter which water goes where ? When there is too much of it, it doesn't really matter. Now my cynical side, if they want real results they should offer a reward for reporting the finding of these rubber ducks. Each one would have a unique number which would yield the finder a fee for reporting it. For maximum effectiveness, offer that reward in euros.
T
|
|
|
|
