Earth's heat budget

[Arjan Hulsebos]

On Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:48:39 +0100, M Holmes wrote
> Arjan Hulsebos writes:
> 
> > On Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:28:27 +0100, M Holmes wrote
> > > Arjan Hulsebos writes:
> > > > > Some waste product is an inevitable part of living. If you don't believe
> > > > > that, try quitting producing your own carbon dioxide and get back to 
> > > > > us on how long that lasted. I already agree that we should reduce
pollution
> > > > > as far as possible, but I don't agree with the cargo-cult thinking of
> > > > > the deep Greens that we should eliminate it entirely.
> > > 
> > > > Again, if you can, why not?
> > > 
> > > We can't.
> > 
> > No, you won't.
> 
> NO. We *cannot*.

You consistantly fail to read "if you can". That's why I said: you won't.

> > > A useful feature, as is the fact that nuclear fission will still give
> > > you power on a still day. The most sound plan is to have a variety of
> > > sources.
> 
> > Fission won't be here for quite some time, all sorts of solar power are here
> > today.
> 
> You mean fusion, and sadly I agree. I'm optimistic we'll get there
> though and in the meantime some appropriate use of solar would be a good
> idea.

Sorry, you're right. But if you use windmills to pump up water, you can
produce electricity on a still day.

> We can't though power the globe at it's current level (never mind 
> when the rest of the world gets as rich as we are) with solar 
> without effectively covering every desert with panels. Doing that 
> would create a hell of a lot of pollution both in producing the 
> panels and in getting them to the deserts. Then there's the ongoing 
> maintenance.

Yup. But mining uranium ain't eco-friendly either... And as energy consumption
goes, we need to cut back on that, too.


> > Industry is interested in making money. If they can make a profit by reducing
> > pollution, they'll go for that.
> 
> Exactly so, and the idea of settng up global trading in pollution 
> lets is to enable them to profit by reducing pollution. Economics is 
> about getting the incentives set up properly.

I'm the sceptic here: so far, global trading in CO2 is only an excuse for the
West to keep on pumping out the stuff. The same will happen with pollution. It
ain't gonna fly.

Gr,

Arjan H

--------------------------------
Rock in the 70ies:
   substance inhalation, hotel devastation, and amplifier obliteration