Hot enough for ya?
Not long ago I wrote an entry about global warming and energy in the wake of rapidly rising oil prices.
According to NASA, last year was the warmest recorded on Earth's surface, and all five of the hottest years since modern record-keeping began in the 1890s occurred within the last decade. A spokesman indicated that it was "fair to say that it's the warmest in the last several thousand years."
Over the past 30 years, Earth has warmed by 1.08 degrees F, NASA said. Over the past 100 years, it has warmed by 1.44 degrees F. Most scientists attribute the rise to emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and ozone, with the burning of fossil fuels being the primary source.
The 21st century could see global temperature increases of 6 to 10 degrees F, which will bring us up to the warmest temperatures the world has experienced probably in the last million years.
Yet, we continue to consume ever-increasing amounts of oil and coal, the byproducts of which continue to pour into the atmosphere. Hey, folks! This is the only atmosphere we have got! What the fyook are we doing? You worry about terrorists driving planes into big buildings? Don't worry about them--crap, we're committing suicide all by ourselves!
Here's a hopeful link though - the top 25 purchasers of renewable energy.
Meanwhile, the NYT reports that a NASA Climate physicist says he's being censored by the government.
In the meantime, we have the capability to run every car and truck in America on ethanol from corn, husks, whatever - produced riight here in the good old USA. CNN.com has an excellent article about what's happening with ethanol right now. Because cellulosic ethanol comes from cornstalks, grasses, tree bark--fibrous stuff that humans can't digest--it doesn't threaten the food supply at all. Genencor says its enzymes have brought cost of making a gallon of cellulosic ethanol down to 20 cents today. Hell, they could mark up the stuff 500% to $1.00 a gallon and I"d be happy to tell those yahoos over that-a-way to take a long walk off a short oasis.
<Segue>A study by the University of London's Institute of Psychiatry, commissioned by Hewlett-Packard, finds that "an average worker's functioning IQ falls 10 points when distracted by ringing telephones and incoming e-mails ... more than double the four-point drop seen following studies on the impact of smoking marijuana."</Segue>
Go figure.
According to NASA, last year was the warmest recorded on Earth's surface, and all five of the hottest years since modern record-keeping began in the 1890s occurred within the last decade. A spokesman indicated that it was "fair to say that it's the warmest in the last several thousand years."
Over the past 30 years, Earth has warmed by 1.08 degrees F, NASA said. Over the past 100 years, it has warmed by 1.44 degrees F. Most scientists attribute the rise to emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and ozone, with the burning of fossil fuels being the primary source.
The 21st century could see global temperature increases of 6 to 10 degrees F, which will bring us up to the warmest temperatures the world has experienced probably in the last million years.
Yet, we continue to consume ever-increasing amounts of oil and coal, the byproducts of which continue to pour into the atmosphere. Hey, folks! This is the only atmosphere we have got! What the fyook are we doing? You worry about terrorists driving planes into big buildings? Don't worry about them--crap, we're committing suicide all by ourselves!
Here's a hopeful link though - the top 25 purchasers of renewable energy.
Meanwhile, the NYT reports that a NASA Climate physicist says he's being censored by the government.
In the meantime, we have the capability to run every car and truck in America on ethanol from corn, husks, whatever - produced riight here in the good old USA. CNN.com has an excellent article about what's happening with ethanol right now. Because cellulosic ethanol comes from cornstalks, grasses, tree bark--fibrous stuff that humans can't digest--it doesn't threaten the food supply at all. Genencor says its enzymes have brought cost of making a gallon of cellulosic ethanol down to 20 cents today. Hell, they could mark up the stuff 500% to $1.00 a gallon and I"d be happy to tell those yahoos over that-a-way to take a long walk off a short oasis.
<Segue>A study by the University of London's Institute of Psychiatry, commissioned by Hewlett-Packard, finds that "an average worker's functioning IQ falls 10 points when distracted by ringing telephones and incoming e-mails ... more than double the four-point drop seen following studies on the impact of smoking marijuana."</Segue>
Go figure.
Could you post the amount of geenhouse gas emitted naturally by the earth in comparison to that emitted via human activity?
ReplyDeleteWhat's your point? I really have better things to do!
ReplyDeleteI have read several scientific articles in the recent past that mentioned nature emits far more greenhouse gases than human activity does. They claim that volcano eruptions and various other disasters do far more to damage the ozone layer than humans. They also claim that activity on the sun plays a big part.
ReplyDeleteThe authors consistantly agreed that we should do more reduce air pollution. However, they claim that focusing on the ozone layer being affected by humans was largely overblown.
You seem to have a strong opinion on the subject and was interested in your thoughts on nature's own
involvement in climate changes.
Don't forget about all the environmentally-friendly agendas that the Bush administration did away with.
ReplyDeleteI do see where you are coming from though. Bio-diesel is huge in this part of the country (Washington State).
Man, you guys gotta grow up and stop this "Bash Bush" crap.
ReplyDeleteWhatever "Bush" did isn't a drop in the bucket compared to the size of this problem. We are talking about a total refactoring of global energy consumption. It will take years, but the awareness is growing. Few more major storms probably will help drive the message home too.
And how much fuel does it take to produce the green ethenol from those cornhusks?
ReplyDeleteNot much. It's done with Bacteria in huge vats, and it costs about 20 cents a gallon to make. Takes about 30% more ethanol than gas to go the same distance in your car.
ReplyDelete