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Are automobiles a major cause of global warming?

10918 messages,  Last post on May 21, 2013 at 3:02 PM

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#1 of 10918 Are automobiles a major cause of global warming? by gagrice

Oct 30, 2006 (9:21 am)

Just read a couple news stories on global warming. It seems the scientific community is as split as the population.
 
How important is global warming in Maine? Not important enough for local television.
 
Michael Palmer, the general manager of television stations WVII and WFVX, ABC and Fox affiliates in Bangor, has told his joint staff of nine men and women that when “Bar Harbor is underwater, then we can do global warming stories.”
 
“Until then,” he added. “No more.”
 
GHG in Maine

#2 of 10918 Is global warming political opportunism? by gagrice

Oct 30, 2006 (9:32 am)

Colorado State University's William Gray, one of the nation's preeminent hurricane forecasters, called noted Boulder climate researcher Kevin Trenberth an opportunist and a Svengali who "sold his soul to the devil to get (global warming) research funding."
 
Trenberth countered that Gray is not a credible scientist.
 
"Not any more. He was at one time, but he's not any more," Trenberth said of Gray, one of a handful of prominent U.S. scientists who question whether humans play a significant role in warming the planet by burning fossil fuels that release heat-trapping gases.
 
Hurricanes cause Tempest

#3 of 10918 Re: Is global warming political opportunism? [gagrice] by rockylee

Nov 02, 2006 (8:12 pm)

Replying to: gagrice (Oct 30, 2006 9:32 am)
I heard cattle manure is one of the major causes to global warming due to the methane produced at the feedlots. It does make a lil' sense to me.
 
Rocky

#4 of 10918 Re: Are automobiles a major cause of global warming? [gagrice] by avalon02wh

Nov 04, 2006 (5:59 am)

Replying to: gagrice (Oct 30, 2006 9:21 am)
Global warming is a directly observable fact. We also know that human activity is contributing to the warming of the earth. The scientific community is split, but, the split is like 99 to 1. Unfortunately, it is also a very complex issue when you try to get all the details worked out. The average person has a "meltdown" when you try to talk about the issue.
 
As to your question, are autos a major player, probably not. Human activity contributes to the issue, however, at this point it is hard to say if human activity is causing 10% or 90% of the global warming. The auto contribution is also tough to nail down.
 
Power plants add a fair amount of CO2 to the air. The good news is that CO2 injection in the ground looks promising. So I guess when we all buy electric cars the CO2 from the power plants will not be a problem.
 
Should we do anything on the auto front? Some tax breaks might be OK. As time goes on higher energy prices will likely reduce global warming contributions more than any government sponsored program.
 
I for one am impressed by some of the new cars coming out. The new Altima and Sentra have some pretty good MPG numbers. Honda has also announced a more fuel efficient 2.4L motor. We will be seeing better diesels in the next few years and we now have the low sulfur fuel. Overall, I would say things are headed in the right direction from a global warming/pollution standpoint.
 
The fact that the this general manager wants to screen the news, well, that does not surprise me. The analogy to killer bees was just dumb. Bees are important. They can also cause problems.
http://www.semissourian.com/story/1176056.html
http://www.local10.com/news/10036682/detail.html

#5 of 10918 Re: Are automobiles a major cause of global warming? [gagrice] by cowens1

Nov 04, 2006 (9:50 am)

Replying to: gagrice (Oct 30, 2006 9:21 am)
Last I checked...didn't the Government/Courts rule that there was no such thing as Global Warming?

#6 of 10918 Re: Are automobiles a major cause of global warming? [avalon02wh] by gagrice

Nov 04, 2006 (10:39 am)

Replying to: avalon02wh (Nov 04, 2006 5:59 am)
I think you and I see it about the same. There is no reason to add CO2 if it can be avoided. The fact that we exhale the stuff is a contributing factor. The one scientist I talked to in Alaska, while he was studying ice formations, was of the same opinion. It is just not easy to put the blame on any one activity. There may not be anything we can do to change what is going on.

#7 of 10918 Global Warming by cowens1

Nov 04, 2006 (2:30 pm)

And what ever happened to that story about California trying to sue the automakers over global warming. I read the headline and the story in USA TODAY and then never heard anything else about it. Anyone heard what happened with that?

#8 of 10918 Re: Are automobiles a major cause of global warming? [avalon02wh] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Nov 05, 2006 (9:42 am)

Replying to: avalon02wh (Nov 04, 2006 5:59 am)
Probably the most sober thing we could say about it at this point in the research (because science, if it is good science, is always learning new things) is that global warming is definitely happening, and at an alarming rate, the causes of which are unclear, but to which a percentage must be ascribed man-made activity...and that automobiles, being a subset of man-made activity, are helping to accelerate what is probably a natural + man-made phenomenon in the first place.

#9 of 10918 carbon dioxide and global warming by sls002

Nov 05, 2006 (10:41 am)

Atmospheric carbon dioxide has been increasing for some time. Burning fossil fuels (oil, coal, natural gas....) adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Automobiles by themselves are only a part of the fossil fuel problem.
 
Carbon dioxide is a green house gas, meaning that it traps heat in the atmosphere, which leads to warming of the earths surface. The sunlight adds energy to the earths surface. This energy, which comes in as short wave energy, must be released back into space as long wave energy. Carbon dioxide slows the long wave energy transmission through the atmosphere.
 
One point that should be noted, earth has had ice ages in the recent past. Perhaps, without the increased carbon dioxide, we are due for another? So, things could be worse, or at least an ice age would probably not be better.

#10 of 10918 global temperature changes by oldharry

Nov 05, 2006 (8:44 pm)

The globe warmed about a quarter degree celsius between 1900 and 1950. From the early fifties till the late seventies, it cooled about an eigth degree C. That was when activists were screaming that global cooling would end all life on earth, and we 'must do something immediately'.
 
Thirty years later, global warming is going to end all life on earth, according to the same people.
 
Use of fossil fuels was not curtailed in the period of cooling. We have insufficient data to show human activity is a significant cause of global temperature change. Those who claim we do are invariably seeking money for their research, or have political goals.
 
I support energy conservation for other reasons, but am not in a state of panic over global warming.
 
Harry

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