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NeedToUseYou -> RE: latest global warming report (2/2/2007 1:50:57 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Termyn8or
While I didn't read the entire thing, I did read a good piece of it. I tend to agree. Everything we do makes heat. Even when we air condition a room by pumping the heat out by refridgeration, we are creating heat. One might argue that once the AC is off an equilibrium is reached, which is true. But the refrigeration unit running made heat as well.
I agree that we cannot fix this. First of all we require heat to live in places where it gets cold. Winter or summer it still contributes to the overall heat in the biosphere. Ergo, WE are the problem inherently. It is not necessarily our technology or our SUVs, it is us. Us ourselves.
The things we need require us to make heat using today's technology.You can't expect a person to heat their home without making heat. Evan a heat pump can't, because just by it's running will produce heat.
You know it would be nice if it did not. If every BTU Man emitted was retrieved, and when it gets cold outside we literally pump heat, and actually cool the outside to heat our houses, we would be negating our effect on the ecosystem. Of course there is the other school of thought that says we are in a finite existence, that is as a species we have a life cycle. If this is so, we are probably about ready.
It is an interesting thought to mix that theory with one I have accepted as possible.
The one about the Earth's crust shifting, explaining many things. Now take this into consideration, global warming will at the very least delay that. Perhaps it was every 15,000 years before, but not any more. It would be alot longer.
To what degree there is blame to place, or on what technology is beyond me right now. We are an integral part of this environment, and as such have changed it as much as the grass (potecting the soil) the redwoods (same thing).
This is RIGHT NOW, so don't get nuts about it. Are we meant to do this ? We caused global warming, but we never had any choice. It's not just the superhighways, people have been building fires for a long time.
But are we part of the plan, that the polar ice does not get to sufficient mass to shift the crust again ?
So for the cost of a few countries worth of land (Holland comes to mind) we get a stable crust and our compasses still work. Is that an equitable trade, and do we want to make that trade. And if we don't, what do we do ? Freeze to death ?
Yes, we make heat, but what else can we do ?
T
Ummm, global warming isn't primarily caused by release of man made heat. It's caused by a increase of the suns energy getting trapped by gases. If the increased emissions weren't there the heat dissipation would be irrelevant to the climate as it is miniscule compared to the heating of the sun. This is not caused directly by burning wood or trees, or any carbon based surface material for that matter, it is caused by introducing new carbon into the atmosphere that was previously isolated from the system like coal/oil that was isolated away from the atmosphere/surface. All the emissions from coal or oil won't be reabsorbed as readily because it adds a disproportionate amount of carbon versus carbon consumers(vegetation). They simply can't absorb it enough. And even when they absorb it, they rot/burn on the surface primarily. Thus not isolating the carbon from the surface/air but merely hold it in a burnable consumable state for awhile. You can't really fix the problem easily without removing the carbon introduced into the system from outside(buried coal/oil).
It's like dumping a bucket of water(carbon) down a small drain(vegetation). It will cycle it back down to some degree eventually, but it can't suck the water(emissions) fast enough if you just keep dumping more buckets of water on it from an outside source. But if you just dump the water(Carbon) back in that has passed down the drain(vegetation) back down again it remains balanced.
It has little to do with the direct heat we produce though. It's the gases trapping heat that are the problem, not vice versa. And one of the reasons for that is the vegetation just can't deal with it fast enough and rebury it fast enough so it remains in the same system for a long time. Growing, rotting or burning. Growing, rotting or burning. Each time a small amount gets trapped underground and eventually becomes isolated from the surface.
There is enough energy everywhere on the planet to completely stop all fossil fuels, so this is solvable, however it would cost money, so I doubt it will happen until New Orleans floods again, and it starts causing problems for other major areas. Wind, solar, and wave energy can provide more power than anyone could use. But it costs more so people don't do it. Also, people don't buy efficient property, and generally want a nice looking piece of crap versus a highly functional efficient appliance, house, car. If you live in a standard house you are easily wasting well over half of all energy for heating, cooling, lighting, etc... It's solvable, but one solar panel, led light, piece of insulation, properly designed house, at a time. People won't do it though, when has the populace every done anything they weren't directly forced to by threat to life, or luxury.
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