Sign In Join 



Are automobiles a major cause of global warming?

6790 messages,  Last post on Nov 23, 2009 at 7:44 PM

You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires

What is this discussion about? Automotive News


Messages Page 457 of 680
1
...
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
...
680
Prev
Next
Last
Go To Msg #
Search This Discussion

#4553 of 6790
Re: Another blow to GW today [steve_] by alltorque
Jan 06, 2009 (9:58 am)
Reply

Replying to: steve_ (Jan 06, 2009 9:07 am)

So now you understand why it's Climate Change not just Global Warming. Anything changes - ever - and it's our fault. Neat, but a tad contrived, (it must be if I can see through it; or perhaps thirty four years working for big oil endows one with a certain scepticism ? And also a tremendous respect for that industry, I have to say).
 
Would welcome a little GW right now; it's chilly here and Russia is playing silly beggars with natural gas supplies.
#4554 of 6790
A more dire threat than Climate Change by kernick
Jan 06, 2009 (9:59 am)
Reply
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2009-01-01-mammothimpact_N.htm
 
I really think that whether GW (or Climate Change or whatever the vogue word of the day is) is 1%, 10%, or 25% contribution by man, that we spend our energy and resources on the more important threats to the environment.
 
As theorized in that article, these impacts set fire to the entire continent of North America! We need to have our scientiic resources focused on these planet-killer threats, not running around trying to figure out the small part man has in putting CO2 in the air. Or how to stop a 1C increase! There aren't many resources right now focused on detecting or stopping these sorts of comet/asteroid collisions.
 
To me spending money on GW is like worrying about what is causing a skin-rash, when you really should be focusing on preventing a heart-attack. But since we have some sort of "religious" subconcious-psych-issue going with "man is bad", and "we must repent for sins against nature", we spend time worrying about the less important issues.
#4555 of 6790
Re: A more dire threat than Climate Change [kernick] by steve_ HOST
Jan 06, 2009 (10:41 am)
Reply

Replying to: kernick (Jan 06, 2009 9:59 am)

1C increase is sort of like talking about extending a wheelbase one inch. It can make a lot of difference in how the car rides and handles, even thought it seems like a "small" number.
 
Skin rashes can be fatal too.
#4556 of 6790
Re: A more dire threat than Climate Change [steve_] by kernick
Jan 06, 2009 (11:32 am)
Reply

Replying to: steve_ (Jan 06, 2009 10:41 am)

Since so many species thrive in the warmer tropics, and the density of living organisms is highest in the tropics, I don't see how you could say that these small amounts of warming being discussed would be detrimental to the overall benefit of life.
 
A 1C or few C rise in temperature would allow more organisms to thrive in wider parts of the globe. On the other hand the natural planet-killer events will wipe-out most large species either immediately, or make the climate harsh for years and kill the initial survivors that way.
 
I have 0% chance of dying from GW in the next decades; my chances of dying from a planet-killer are similar to buying a lottery ticket each day. I'd prefer any GW-research-$ be used for scanning the skies, and developing technology to prevent impacts.
#4557 of 6790
Re: A more dire threat than Climate Change [kernick] by steve_ HOST
Jan 06, 2009 (11:45 am)
Reply

Replying to: kernick (Jan 06, 2009 11:32 am)

Things like bark beetles also thrive with milder winters. Lots of spruce trees up in the far north are dying due to stuff like that, and the habitat changes that are resulting aren't necessarily an improvement.
 
Oh, NASA is tracking some 1,000 potentially hazardous asteroids.
#4558 of 6790
Re: A more dire threat than Climate Change [steve_] by grbeck
Jan 06, 2009 (12:40 pm)
Reply

Replying to: steve_ (Jan 06, 2009 11:45 am)

Look at the bright side.
 
If an asteroid hits, we won't have to worry about bark beetles, climate change or even another episode of Rosie O'Donnell's variety show.
#4559 of 6790
Re: A more dire threat than Climate Change [grbeck] by steve_ HOST
Jan 06, 2009 (1:18 pm)
Reply

Replying to: grbeck (Jan 06, 2009 12:40 pm)

I thought her new show folded on opening night (GW killed my TV, luckily).
 
You know NASA is going to solve the asteroid issue by putting a few hyperspace shooters in orbit.
#4560 of 6790
Re: A more dire threat than Climate Change [steve_] by oldfarmer50
Jan 06, 2009 (3:01 pm)
Reply

Replying to: steve_ (Jan 06, 2009 10:41 am)

"...is sort of like talking about extending a wheelbase one inch. It can make a lot of difference in how the car rides and handles..."
 
You miss the OP's point. To use you example, you're worrying how you car handles while it is going off a cliff. He was saying that there may be dangers to mankind that are magnitudes greater than GW (even if it is real).
#4561 of 6790
Re: A more dire threat than Climate Change [steve_] by oldfarmer50
Jan 06, 2009 (3:03 pm)
Reply

Replying to: steve_ (Jan 06, 2009 11:45 am)

"...Oh, NASA is tracking some 1000 potentially hazardous asteroids..."
 
Trouble is, there are 10,000 out there.
#4562 of 6790
Re: A more dire threat than Climate Change [steve_] by kernick
Jan 06, 2009 (5:39 pm)
Reply

Replying to: steve_ (Jan 06, 2009 11:45 am)

Oh, NASA is tracking some 1,000 potentially hazardous asteroids.

 
And the millions of non-periodic comets that can come from the Oort cloud outside of the solar system? Or the comets of the Kuiper Belt by Neptune? Some of these comets are in thousand year orbits of the sun, like the Levy Shoemaker comets that hit Jupiter. If a comet comes from the other side of the sun, travelling at a typical 100,000 mph, you have a few days notice. NASA does not have any accounting of these millions of objects, nor really looks for them. And unless Bruce Willis has been training, we have no ready defense.
 
Jupiter was hit just 20 years ago by comets that would have killed almost everything except cockroaches. Do you like playing a lottery. This issue is many times more important than the UN considering whether mankind can make a small change in what is a normally changing climate.

Messages Page 457 of 680
1
...
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
...
680
Prev
Next
Last
Go To Msg #
Search This Discussion
To POST a message, please Sign In.

New? Join Now!

Forum Tools

Please sign in.
Email Address:

Password:

Forgot Password?

Search Forums

Enter Keyword(s)

Advanced Search

Browse by Vehicle



View All Vehicles
Advertisement
Ask the Community
See What People Are Asking

Browse by Board

Browse by Topic


View All Topics

Today's Chats

Advertisement