Interesting.
One of the curious aspects of greenhouse gases is that there are a lot of
self-regulating mechanisms. CO2 increases can theoretically lead to higher
conversion efficiencies in photosynthesis which means that smaller forests
can convert more CO2 to O2. It also might increase the algae in oceans,
which could be as important as the south American rainforest. Water vapor
from exhaust is probably trivial compared to winds whipping over the
2/3rds of the earth covered with water. But even if it were not it would
probably reach equilibrium with condensation at a very small increase.
Bottom line, if the processes were not self-regulating with a bias toward
stability Earth would be an ice ball. I don't remember where, why, or when
I got interested in climate models but I was for awhile (I have a very
FIFO memory). All of them are fairly simple compared to the real earth.
There used to be some pretty cool ones available on the web for
downloading. It's amazing what you can do with Excel. When you make small
changes to any of them the model slips quickly to an extreme. An ice ball.
Continuous 500 MPH equatorial winds. Or a rock ball with no atmosphere.
Good thing that reality is far more complex or we wouldn't be here to
worry about it.
If there is a simple answer to environmental issues and geopolitical
resources it is: Behave yourself.
My daughter was lecturing me about deforestation and clear-cutting in
Oregon and I asked her "have you ever gotten off your ass and planted any
trees?" knowing full well that she hasn't--it's a lot easier to talk than
to do. A good friend of mine is an avid duck hunter (as am I). I sat at a
banquet one time and listened to a lady call him a murderer. I know, and
she doesn't (because he'd never bother explaining himself to a
self-satisfied moron), that he spent more than $1.5 million buying 1,000
acres of wetlands that a paper company was growing cottonwoods on for
pulp. He's spent hundreds of thousands more working with Ducks Unlimited
to rehabilitate it as breeding grounds for wetland birds. Will he (and I
hunt) on it? You bet, and it will be great. But it's also a refuge, and a
valuable piece of property that will now always be wetlands.
If you want more trees plant some--they grow. If you want less dependence
on foreign oil, use less and help come up with alternatives. Sure, there's
more power in numbers, but environmental groups are like any other
political or charitable organization--they become their own reason for
existence. Have you seen any charities that ever said "Our work here is
done, let's close up shop". The Jimmy fund (Polio) is soldiering on, the
American Lung Association (tuberculosis) is actively chasing new issues
that no one asked them to. All reduce the necessity for real, personal
change (I give to Greenpeace so it's OK that I live in a 5000 square foot
house and drive an SUV). They lie, because it's for the greater good. Says
who.
Do it yourself.
>>the tomatoes fly, the chanting starts "Kill the heretic, kill the
heretic". Battered and smelling like Catsup, our hero leaves the
soapbox...<<
-----Original Message-----
From: riverside [mailto:riverside@Cedar-Rapids.net]
Sent: Wednesday, January 29, 2003 1:25 PM
To: fot
Subject: state of the onion
Hydrogen fuel has some complications that can be solved
but there is always more than one way. The most common
source currently is from natural gas. This is a good idea only if there
is a large enough supply of natural gas to meet an additional demand
source without creating price hiking shortages. Have any of you looked at
your home heating
natural gas bills this season? So much for a surplus of
natural gas. The Jan. '03 issue of Motor magazine, a trade journal for
repair shops, has an article describing how sodium borohydride (laundry
detergent base) releases hydrogen when mixed with water Daimler Chrysler
is testing this system now according to the article. I wonder how much
hydrogen we generate doing a load of laundry?? Anyway________, the
article doesn't say how deep borax supplies are. Also, none of the stuff
I have read address possible enviro problems in the making of the
hydrogen. Further, water vapor is not only one of the 3 primary
greenhouse gasses, it is the most plentiful one. So, the additional
amounts of water vapor generated world wide by widespread adoption of
hydrogen burning will eventually need to be considered.
art de armond
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