Re: more gw stuff

On Dec 14, 4:34 pm, John Larkin
<jjlar...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On 14 Dec 2007 08:39:21 GMT, Robert Latest <boblat...@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

John Larkin wrote:

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.Blogs&Cont...

There are some good points in that. Personally I don't think we can do
anything significant against climate change (man-made or not), but I think
it's good that the "climate panic" is fuelling efforts to move away from
wasteful technologies and habits. Even if there were no ill side effects to
burning coal, oil or uranium--if we keep depleting natural resources at the
(increasing) rate as we're doing today, we'll painfully hit a brick wall
sooner or later anyway. Climate-neutral technologies are resource-neutral
as well, so nations and societies that invest in such technologies today
will be the winners tomorrow.

robert

Not a brick wall. Resources will taper off in avaibility and increase
in price, but not suddenly. All the things the UN wants to force will
pretty much happen on their own, at their natural pace, without the UN
getting their corrupt hands on trillions in energy taxes.

The trouble is that the first brick wall we will hit is not due to a
shortage of fossil fuel - it will be floods from rising sea levels and
other unpleasant consequences of climate change like droughts
(paradoxically). There is about 5-10x the current atmospheric
equivalent CO2 level worth of fossil fuel carbon recoverable at a
price (and that will increase somewhat as the price increases and
presently uneconomic, difficult and dirtier resources get exploited).

Note that I am not advocating zero growth stop everything and live in
a cave. But I am advocating the proposition that grossly inefficient
cars doing 20mpg or less have had their day and need to be phased out.
The simplest way to do this is to gradually increase fuel and energy
taxes to encourage less waste. A lot more effort was made to "Save It"
in the west during the OPEC induced 1970's oil crisis than has
occurred to date for AGW.

And the stakes are much higher now, nature is not amenable to
negotiation - you reap what you sow...

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.Blogs&Cont...

By inventing new energy technologies today, one ensures that the
patents will have run out before they are needed or economically
feasible. That's good.

If we can get better energy efficiency now then it will buy us a bit
more time. I live a good height above sea level so I should not really
be bothered, but it is the next generation who will suffer for our
mismanagement. I can see the day when expensive Florida coastal real
estate is all surrendered to the rising sea. I doubt if the Neocons
will ever admit that AGW is real, but perhaps by then most of the US
population will start to realise that nature takes no prisoners. And
that scientists are not lying just to get more grants.

Regards,
Martin Brown
.

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