As a real scientist, I understand that there is much we do not know.  However, it is very well understood that the global climate has changed continueously over the last 4.6 billion years of the Earth’s existence.  I also know that there is no simple solution.  Biofuels deplete food supplies to third world countries, electric cars send electronic impulses similar to those of cell phones times 1000, etc.  Solutions need to be wholistic and studied wholistically. 

Does global warmin ocurr?  Yes.  Is it a product of human nature?  Not entirely.  The world is a much bigger place than mankind and will go on the way it has for the last 4 and 1/2 billion years with or without us interferring. 

Utsu,
Don’t worry about saving the planet.  It will save itself.  If you want to take care of it and the people who inhabit it, then do so.  Quit arguing about what needs to be done and do everything you can do.  Recycle, drive less, use the public library instead of buying books, purchase non-printed checks, plant some trees, offer to carpool with neigbors or pick up groceries for them, teach other people in a kind and nonjudgmental way how to help the environment by setting an example.  And go spend some time with your local teenagers or homeless people so you can see first hand where the real problems of the world are.  Life is very short.  Use your energy and frustrations to make it better.  Don’t waste time trying to convince other people you are right.  It is what people do when they feel insecure about themselves or have hidden agendas.  Like our buddy Al Gore.

Also depends on the resources and manufacturing methods involved. But yeah, I see your point. So we consume less, then. Problem is it’s not that easy to see which product has produced the least CO2.

"Are you suggesting that we give up cars in the next year and as such put about 35,000,000 people out of work?"

The problem is that while I am sure that people are already dying because of me and previous Swedish generations (to limit the scope) I don’t know how much above my quota I have thrown away, and how much I have to pay back, and how to do that effectively. Or, for that matter, how many I have murdered. My life produces CO2, and I am often too comfortable to change that.

I mean, should Volvo workers have to pay for the Americans that use up more than their share? No, which is why we need to go large, and insist on a global system where the richer countries pay the poor ones (provided the poor countries don’t embezzle the money) for polluting our collective world and causing collective ills. Isn’t money and the profitibality of things a great motivator of change? We can’t have under- or overacheivers here. Sweden is making great progress, but it is a small contribution. Even Sweden is seeing new species of slugs and ticks, palmtrees are moving upwards and the boars are multiplying as if they had oysters and viagra in their diet. We are actually afflicted ourselves, so I hate to think about what is happening to Bangladesh.

"The point of that exercise was to remind you of how extensively our entire world is tied into fossil fuels. "

We need to research how to move away from fossil fuels, how to decrease the usage of fossil fuels, how to decrease the polluting byproducts of fossil fuels and create a global system that forces some initivative and enthusiasm for such research and investigation.

"Yet until you can show me a means by which we can replace nearly our entire western civilization’s infrastructure then Im afraid we are stuck with Oil for awhile longer."

Nuclear power, only electric motors for trips of a certain distance. Trains. Except slow progress, and begin now. That’s a start. If we can’t do enough within a certain time-frame we’d better be prepared to spend a lot on climate refugees, climate wars and disaster relief. It’s our responsibility.

"resulted not so much in the world producing carbon as to the nations clearing forests that are essentially the lungs of the world."

We pay the forest-clearing nations to not clear forests. I’d rather pay from the nose than let Africa become drier or see poor countries turn to chaos. I mean, if we pass a certain limit then the rainforests will start dying on their own, which will let them die faster which will… Yeah, see what I mean? But can we jsut stop the debate on whether there is GW? I can accept that it isn’t only Anthropogenic GW if I see the science but I think we need to move on to meld the different approaches of state intervention, global systems of offsets, economic compensation, personal changes, consumer awareness and just figure out what works where.

Free Power Forever

http://nlspropulsion.net/Documents/Free%20Power%20Forever.pdf

Former Vice President Al Gore made a surprise appearance Saturday at the Netroots Nation conference, a gathering of nearly 2,000 left-leaning bloggers and political organizers.

Guess there’s no shortage of the kool-aid.

only buying products that haven’t entailed long transports.

Really utsu?  Lets examine.

What saves more gas?  Shipping 10 product items 10 miles that consumes 1 gallon of gas, or shipping 1 million product items 10,000 miles and that consumes 10,000 gallons of gas?

Gas stations, autoparts stores, car washes, Car dealership, auto mechanics, Truck drivers, RV dealers, Boat makers and sales, snowmobiles, motorcycles etc…etc…etc.  Cruise lines, Airlines. Airports.

The point of that exercise was to remind you of how extensively our entire world is tied into fossil fuels.  However I am totally open to replacing all electricity with alternatives which will reduce our foot print below the kyoto accords.  Yet until you can show me a means by which we can replace nearly our entire western civilization’s infrastructure then Im afraid we are stuck with Oil for awhile longer.

I agree that the matter is urgent but the fact of the matter is that most of the greenhouse problem has resulted not so much in the world producing carbon as to the nations clearing forests that are essentially the lungs of the world.  That is why I urge everyone to plant a tree.  Grow some plants in your house.

Any ideas on what we can do to replace it?  There is an old axiom in the awl business.  Nothing is free if you think it is then Ill buy it and sell it to the highest bidder.

I have no problems even as an ex oil man for generating all of our electricity from alternatives.  Lets get after it and get it done.  The only real losers will be the coal and gas industry and the big loser will be coal because their plants will be the first to go away as they are pretty dirty.

Yet in America there is nothing to replace oil at this time.  Electric cars……no.  Alternative fuels?  No…..unless you want to use 71 percent of all our farmland to make fuel, then we could import food instead.  Celluostic biofuels……no and mabey not ever.   Hydrocarbon farting microbes……….sure, mabey if we want to have a pool about the size of Maine hanging out somewhere and hoping that as with all microbes they dont mutate and destroy their creators.

And if you look at the numbers on electric cars there is just not any reason to suspect that they will make a difference anytime soon and Fuel cell cars are a long and expensive step way away.