Global Warming (time to stir the pot)

Originally posted by gaunty: "hello"!! most environment people have a big split problem. yes let us just dump all the gas and oil engiens, and switch to a all electricity economy( which meens your either burning natural gas/methaine or you will go to a completely nukular dependant). I do not see all of usa going completely nukular, yah that'il be the day. so we will waist all of our methaine supplies and then have to go back the gasoline in about 3 to 5 years.

Actually Gaunty, our future will probably be in the Fuel Cell, Fusion, Solar realms. The oil supplies are limited and finite, so some day we will actually have to switch (which is why all the research on Fuel Cells, Fusion and Solar power is being done). Cleaner more efficient petroleum based energy sources will continue to be developed but fossil fuels do not pose any serious long term (geologicly) polution problem for the earth.

[Sir Goulum]

I actually read an article in my newspaper that so called 'Global Warming' and 'Global Cooling'(Ice Ages) are caused by the suns slight amount of cooling and warming. It is just a coincidence that it started right after the Industrial Revolution started.

[Downunda]

Originally posted by MagiK: quote: Originally posted by Downunda: Tell you the truth, I don't know whether global warming is a myth or not. What I do know is that the smog in Christchurch some nites is so bad that you can't see 10ft in front of you, to me this is more enough reason to cut down on greenhouse emissions and harmfull toxins etc...

Greenhouse emmissions are carbon dioxide, a colorless odorless gas. Any smog you see is something else. What is making this thig smog blanket in Christchurch? You all burning pitch or somehting?[/QUOTE]I stand corrected It's prolly just wood burners and fires etc... But how about Hong Kong? That place looks smoggy as.

[flibulzbuth]

Greenhouse emmissions are carbon dioxide, a colorless odorless gas. Any smog you see is something else.

Where i live, car exhaust is not odorless and colorless. It would be if the hydrogen motors were out there.
In Mexico city it wasn't either, and sometime it was even recommended not to go out. Same thing happened when i was in Paris. The cool thing about pollution is that you don't have to go to school when it's too high.

I do not see all of usa going completely nukular, yah that'il be the day. so we will waist all of our methaine supplies and then have to go back the gasoline in about 3 to 5 years.

What about wind, hydraulic and solar energy? This can be used to make hydrogen fuel cells. The most advanced Country in this field of research is Island (sp?), where they have a lot thermal energy at hand.

Also, this is a long process. You start by reducing the use of oil by making cars more efficients, boosting the taxes at the pump to finance public transport (no i'm not communist) etc...

[Azred]

Hydroelectric power is not feasible for all areas, just like wind-driven turbine generators are not feasible for all areas. Fuel cells for vehicles (cars, trucks, buses, etc) and maglev for trains is probably the future of transportation; for ocean-bound transportation it will probably still be internal combustion. Fusion power would be the most ideal, but that is still one of the "Holy Grails" of physics; after almost 20 years no one has maintained a self-sufficient fusion reaction, either by tokomak (circluar-magnet-contained plasma) or laser-induced. Solar power is the most practical and most realistic, because the technology for that is here now.

Core samples from various parts of the world show that global temperature has a regular cycle; we are actually on the downhill side of a cycle, heading towards another Ice Age. In the long run, it will get colder before it gets warmer....

[Scholarcs]

Despite what everyone says, the climate has risen significatly. All those that believe the sea level has not been rising due to temperature increase tell that to the hundreds of islanders whose islands are sinking into the sea, due to sea level rise.

Originally posted by Scholarcs: Despite what everyone says, the climate has risen significatly. All those that believe the sea level has not been rising due to temperature increase tell that to the hundreds of islanders whose islands are sinking into the sea, due to sea level rise.

If you do a little reasearch Scholarcs you will find that the sea levels have not risen everywhere and that it has receeded in some places. Contrary to popular belief the ocean levels are not the same everywhere. Florida has pretty much the same seafront it had 40 years ago. the only places where its lost ground was not due to higher sea levels but to erosion (a natural process that man does not always cause) the same in Maine. Ummm looking on the web, I wasnt able to find any info about Islands that have been flooded due to rising sea levels...what islands are you talking about?

Originally posted by Azred: Hydroelectric power is not feasible for all areas, just like wind-driven turbine generators are not feasible for all areas. Fuel cells for vehicles (cars, trucks, buses, etc) and maglev for trains is probably the future of transportation; for ocean-bound transportation it will probably still be internal combustion. Fusion power would be the most ideal, but that is still one of the "Holy Grails" of physics; after almost 20 years no one has maintained a self-sufficient fusion reaction, either by tokomak (circluar-magnet-contained plasma) or laser-induced. Solar power is the most practical and most realistic, because the technology for that is here now. Core samples from various parts of the world show that global temperature has a regular cycle; we are actually on the downhill side of a cycle, heading towards another Ice Age. In the long run, it will get colder before it gets warmer....

Az, I pretty much agree but one thing about Solar power...it isn't really here yet. At least not as a commercially viable solution, it is still far too expensive. (approxamately twice the cost per KWH as conventional energy sources) And Solar is not necesarily viable in places such as say...Seatle Washington where there is a high degree of cloud cover and rain.

I also wanted to point out to the "green house gasses" concious people. Ice Core sample from the Arctic and Ant-Arctic show that global temperatures are not linked to carbon dioxide levels on a geologic time scale. June issue of Popular Science has an article about this finding. Apparently the SUN of all things is thought to be the major player in global temperatures (go figure) as well as interplanatary dust clouds.

[Redblueflare]

Originally posted by Scholarcs: Despite what everyone says, the climate has risen significatly. All those that believe the sea level has not been rising due to temperature increase tell that to the hundreds of islanders whose islands are sinking into the sea, due to sea level rise.

Alright I understand your point, put you can't really prove that humans are causing it. Such things have happened before in the past naturally and long before humans existed. Solar power is expensive, but i'd feel much safer with it than nuclear power.