It's all over but for the sweating?

[radioranger]

Well if it's warming every one should do the free things first, how about everyone having a white roof when replaced , quite a bit of energy gain there, at 1000w per square meter facing the sun, and go from there, white cars another freebie, seems every body wants other people to change , not themselves, I'll go along with all the free , unrestricted ideas first, if people don't promote that , they're just after power or maybe even psychologically using this issue for the real problems nobody wants to mention,

[NeilBlanchard]

Sixteen years ago there was a lot more Arctic ice and almost all of the glaciers around the world were larger than they are now. 2012 was the warmest year on record. The ocean level has risen significantly in the last 16 years.

Carbon dioxide still follows the laws of physics. It is the most important heat insulator in our atmosphere and no matter how many times you say it, you cannot change the laws of physics.

[TheEnemy]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

2012 was the warmest year on record.

Where did you get that information, or are you cherry picking data again? NOAA hasn't released their Global analysis yet, typically it takes them about a month to do so.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

So wood burning - it is causing a problem:

Smog hits Athens as cash-strapped residents choose fire over fuel | euronews, world news

Again, it's not the wood burning per se, it's the fact of several million people crammed into a small area doing it. No different than this:

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

It [CO2] is the most important heat insulator in our atmosphere and no matter how many times you say it, you cannot change the laws of physics.

Maybe, but CO2 has risen for 16 years, temps have not. There are more powerful GHGs - Methane is 16x more powerful.

Question - Is the focus on CO2 misplaced ? Is there something else which is more worrying ?

Originally Posted by jamesqf

Again, it's not the wood burning per se, it's the fact of several million people crammed into a small area doing it. No different than this:

Agreed - but this is potentially a worked example of a city descending into the old ways of burning wood for fuel and heat, which is a potential solution to heating homes if / when someone decides we can no longer rely on the electric grid or the gas supply.

Imagine New York dwellers burning wood for heat, that might be an issue.



I want to post a quick note here.

These debates exist on several blogs, websites, news places and so on. Often they descend or even encourage the use of name calling - from the idea of "Watermellon", "Alarmist" or even "Fear Monger" on the "anti" side to "Denier", "Flat Earther" or worse on the "pro" side.

None of these help, they just make people fall out and we get nowhere.

I'm avoiding this with my postings and I would appreciate it if others would refrain too.

For example I don't appreciate the idea of "retarded" or "ignorant" being applied - I read stuff, you read stuff - we bring it to the table and talk it out. The former is especially insulting as it is usually applied carelessly to those with learning difficulties along with "spaz", it reflects more on the person using the word that the one it is aimed at.

I hope I have achieved this but if not and someone feels genuinely like I've insulted them personally I'm happy to apologise - reading a posting on a website is very different from talking to someone in person, just like an email is different from a phone call.

I value (and maybe disagree) with the opinions of the people here. Maybe we get something of value or not - I hope we do. We might not agree, we might not pursuade but it is a useful debate in any case.

So please lets exchange facts - science etc. and leave the other words at home.

Thanks.

[Xist]

I wonder if hippies could make a successful solar bakery. I would expect it to take a fair amount of room, though.

Heh. Don't bakers go to work at 3am?

Has anyone looked into floating translucent sun shades? I imagine that there would be some intelligent way of doing it. Float them over Phoenix whenever it reaches 100° and we would use the air conditioner less. Then, I guess, float them down to South America!

[freebeard]

The solutions to these problems were put on the shelf by Anticipatory Design Science; and are just waiting for us to take them down. Nanoscale technology has only improved our ability to not need an astronomical energy budget.

"Watermellon"

I'm coming up dry on that one. Is it a localism?

Edit: They're pretty good at solar-heated communal showers.

[freebeard]

Has anyone looked into floating translucent sun shades? I imagine that there would be some intelligent way of doing it. Float them over Phoenix whenever it reaches 100° and we would use the air conditioner less. Then, I guess, float them down to South America!

Well, there's the Old Man River project from 1971


And the U.S. Marine Corps experimented with air deliverability.

[Xist]

Well, I never thought that Phoenix should be domed. I figured that we would asphyxiate, but I imagine that there are better candidates.

[niky]

Originally Posted by radioranger

Well if it's warming every one should do the free things first, how about everyone having a white roof when replaced , quite a bit of energy gain there, at 1000w per square meter facing the sun, and go from there, white cars another freebie, seems every body wants other people to change , not themselves, I'll go along with all the free , unrestricted ideas first, if people don't promote that , they're just after power or maybe even psychologically using this issue for the real problems nobody wants to mention,

It would be impossible to repaint all existing structures, but I've always thought a mandate for white cars and roofs was an excellent idea... From a practical standpoint. Especially since a white car stays several degrees cooler in the sun, which means less AC use, which means less fuel use.

Oh... And mandate concrete roads. They're more reflective, and the harder surface improves fuel economy.