Comments | peak_oil: Climate crisis Fridays

beepbeep in peak_oil

Climate crisis Fridays

Dec 08, 2006 13:34

It's still been very unseasonably warm and dry most of the past month where I live. I wonder if we are going to end up with something like Mexico's current climate here in CA ( Read more... )

peak oil, global warming

Comments 16

wolfp10 December 8 2006, 21:57:48 UTC

I'd blame your current weather more on El nino than climate change.

beachofdreams December 8 2006, 23:10:10 UTC

The two are not neccessarily different; climate change can affect El Nino.

wolfp10 December 8 2006, 23:12:21 UTC

I'm aware, but el nino has and will occur regardless of climate change.

beachofdreams December 9 2006, 07:36:19 UTC

True.

Thread 5

goodluckfox December 8 2006, 22:56:36 UTC

On the other hand, "Peak Oil" works AGAINST Global Warming. With less oil, that's less pollution.

Unless they switch to something like coal... beepbeep December 8 2006, 22:57:43 UTC

Re: Unless they switch to something like coal... peristaltor December 8 2006, 23:46:23 UTC

Frowny face indeed. Scary thought.

beachofdreams December 8 2006, 23:08:45 UTC

That depends on if less oil keeps unstoppable positive feedbacks from forming.

theheretic December 9 2006, 00:36:26 UTC

Actually, peak oil will increase coal burning, which dumps lots of carbon into the atmosphere. However, CO2 is valuable for liquidizing the tar in oilfields so it will probably be captured for sale. Ironic, isn't it? And thanks to Genetically Modified Crop engineering, its very likely that modified crops will be developed to operate on lower water inputs (you can change their preferred internal fluid density by Selenium concentration), thus making them able to be planted in Dry cropping lands (formerly irrigated and desert lands), which will remove CO2 from the atmosphere. This won't stop the high altitude stuff, but low altitude and ground level CO2 will dramatically drop. Now, if these crops would just get developed by people who care instead of profiteers like Monsanto...

babynutcase December 9 2006, 13:58:07 UTC

How is an electric car carbon neutral when over 50% of the US electricity comes from burning coal?

See also http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/electricity.html

I never said it was... beepbeep December 10 2006, 10:20:01 UTC

but at least there is the hope that it could become less and less carbon generating over time, if alternative methods of producing electricity are developed and proven successful...whereas there isn't too much hope for the gasoline engine in that regard that I know of.

beachofdreams December 10 2006, 17:26:59 UTC

This is why all inroads to this problem must be made by way of the electrical infrastructure.

Somehow the ratio of alternative electricity to coal (and eventually gas) electricity needs to raise dramatically in the next 30 years, so that it becomes at the very least 8:2.

beachofdreams December 9 2006, 17:05:40 UTC

One point to remember, however, is that while coal is relatively abundant, so is tar in the tar sands ( ... )