Climategate Review

[AndyE9503]

Why are we (the little people) always the ones who have to change our lives for global warming. Get a hybrid car, change the light bulbs, ect. It seems to me like a huge marketing scam to get certain items selling. Why don't the people pushing global warming lead by example and put their money into finding a cleaner fuel source instead of hoping around the globe giving speeches about how burning coal and oil is going to kill us all. If a reliable, clean, safe energy source is found that person/company will be the richest person alive in no time. But instead politicians want to tax carbon. If that passes you will never see a new power source cause they will not give up the money that they will make.

 

[Jiro]

It's a part of what the fuss on global warming is about.. if all cities across the world are doing the same thing. Say if every single city became a bustling metropolitan zone and produced noxious fumes on a daily basis just like our big cities.. Is that enough to be considered global?

no.

It is hard to keep track of many forms of pollution (or human activity that alters the atmosphere in this case) mostly because it is a tedious task, just like telling a scientist in the lab to trap all and box all your personal CO2 exhaling in a room, when there's other people in there breathing at the same time.

not tedious but kinda impossible. We're just a speck in the sandbox.

What we can tell though, are specialized particles that can get traced to their production facilities. See page 24 of this book for the China reference I mentioned.

If we can trace 25% of Los Angeles' air has byproducts from China, who knows how it would be if other countries could detect the smog that blew over from LA?

yup. that's how we traced it. and also we used the rubber duck/ping pong experiment. harmless visible-version aerosol and balloons (biodegradable of course) too.

 

[naisho]

Why are we (the little people) always the ones who have to change our lives for global warming. Get a hybrid car, change the light bulbs, ect. It seems to me like a huge marketing scam to get certain items selling. Why don't the people pushing global warming lead by example and put their money into finding a cleaner fuel source instead of hoping around the globe giving speeches about how burning coal and oil is going to kill us all. If a reliable, clean, safe energy source is found that person/company will be the richest person alive in no time. But instead politicians want to tax carbon. If that passes you will never see a new power source cause they will not give up the money that they will make.

I don't really look into the whole twisty light bulb deal, previously having taken some physics classes where the prof showed us the whole deal behind the mechanics with those bulbs.
Their purpose is for use over time, rather than the amount of light you need at the specific moment. I never turn my lamps on all day nor longer than necessary, I'll use any bulb I need, since I know I need a light that can illuminate a certain area for reading/writing/taking something apart or whatever I am doing.

As for a hybrid car, I have the same thoughts. From a financial perspective, it will take quite a few years until you get the money back you paid for it in comparision to buying a 4cyl for cheap and gassing it up. The difference with some of the hybrids in comparison to standard cars, like the prius vs a corolla big deal, is that the prius to me is more of a conceptual idea. Like the NiMH battery recharged by driving concept, or the A/C compressor that runs fully on electricity. Of course the obvious is that it outputs less CO2 but that's subject to personal preference.

I tend to look at that whole hybrid car deal like buying a $20 reusable grocery tote, vs using the free cheapie polymer bags. To each their own I guess.

 

[Jiro]

oh forgot to mention one thing - it's usually a classic example to demonstrate the "global warming."

turn on a light bulb and wait for a while. The room will get warmer and warmer.... hence "global warming" in a simplest sense but it's flawed. very flawed. Would adjacent room get warmer too? would one room with hot light bulb on would affect the temperature of the whole house?

this statement is true and factual - the more people in a given space, the warmer it gets.

 

[naisho]

There is also more than just that to more people.
The real concept is that the more people you have = the more needs are required.. Not just heat itself alone.

It also means another few cars produced, purchased, used for each person assuming first world model nations. More fuels, chemicals consumed. It also means another few extra goods being manufactured (think something simple like iPhone, a wallet/purse, glasses) with the detriments of the production.

 

[naisho]

Have you ever seen the term human / carbon footprint?
National Geographic covers it from time to time.
I personally don't know if they are pro/con on global warming cause they never say it themselves (probably for political reasons) but I do know they also realize the fact that humans are changing the earth.

 

[Steinhauer]

Have you ever seen the term human / carbon footprint?
National Geographic covers it from time to time.
I personally don't know if they are pro/con on global warming cause they never say it themselves (probably for political reasons) but I do know they also realize the fact that humans are changing the earth.

We are terraforming the earth ...... terrarihsts!

 

[Jiro]

There is also more than just that to more people.
The real concept is that the more people you have = the more needs are required.. Not just heat itself alone.

It also means another few cars produced, purchased, used for each person assuming first world model nations. More fuels, chemicals consumed. It also means another few extra goods being manufactured (think something simple like iPhone, a wallet/purse, glasses) with the detriments of the production.

hence - carbon footprint.