Re: Runaway Global Warming Possible!

From: The Ancient One (onlytheone_at_thetopknows.com)
Date: 01/28/05 

Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2005 11:59:51 -0500

"Thomas Palm" <Thomas.Palm@chello.removethis.se> wrote in message
news:Xns95ECB3830859AThomasPalmchellose@212.83.64.229...
> "ošin" <ošin@ragnarok.com> wrote in
> news:8_Wdnf8LGow4-WfcRVn-rw@whidbeytel.com:
>
>>> Please have a look at Sweden. It is a sparsely populated country in a
>>> cold climate and with a high standard of living. Then check CO2
>>> emissions: http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/trends/emis/swe.htm
>>> and compare these with USA:
>>> http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/trends/emis/usa.htm
>>>
>>> USA has almost four times the per capita CO2 emissions, so they
>>> certainly can be reduced! Even Sweden is wasting a lot. For example
>>> our cars emit ~ 20% more CO2/km than the European average.
>>
>> OK. Is that a valid comparison? According to a quick google search, I
>> found that nuclear power was used for 46.5% of Sweden's net output of
>> electricity in 1999. I also found that hydropower provides nearly half
>> of Sweden's electricity generation. The US has its biggest population
>> too far from hydropower potential. So that leaves coal and nuke power.
>> So the choice is CO2 or nukes.... hmmmmmmm!
>
> Electricity is a small part of a countrys total energy consumption, and
> USA
> did invent nuclear power so don't tell me it is impossible for them to use
> it. The hydro is a bit of a bonus, but not large enough to account for
> more
> than a fraction of the difference. Besides, while Sweden has hydro USA has
> a much larger potential for solar energy.

Solar energy has numerous limitations. Where I live you are lucky to get one
sunny day in two weeks during the winter time, my walkway light are solar
powered and in the winter they won't store enough energy during the day to
last even an hour after dark. So for a good half the year solar will not
work here, and the wind is seldom strong enough here to make it feasible.
Hydroelectric won't work, we don't have anywhere to build damns that can
produce enough to be cost effective, and geothermal is unavailable as well.
So Indiana is forced to use coal to generate electricity. (We tried Nuclear
power, but the eviromentalists shut it down, leaving several plants half
finished.)
IF technology advances enough to provide an alternative that actually works
we would all welcome it, until then simply saying we need to burn less
doesn't help the situation at all.
It takes me 7 minutes to drive to work, I only need to buy gas once a month
for my truck, I've used about 130 gallons of heating oil so far for the
entire winter, and my electric bill is about $40.00 a month. I can't see how
I can conserve much more. I'm all for reducing pollution and cleaning up the
enviroment, but lets do it responsibly, and not throw the baby out with the
bath water. Change is happening, we are polluting much less then we did even
a few years ago, and as technology improves cleaner alternatives will become
cheaper and more popular.
People just need to learn a little patience, and not expect overnight
miracles.

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