quote:
Originally posted by HereOnThePrimalEdge
[i]Half of human generated global CO2 emissions happened before 1988, the other half since 1988.
If human activity is the major cause of climate change, then the question becomes what is the solution?
The society is highly dependent on cheap energy to sustain itself. There is no magical solution or technology even on the distant horizon that can safely replace the portability and energy per volume that fossil fuel provides. Solar energy; and this includes wind, photovoltaic, hydro based. Can only replace so much of the energy used. Your already seeing saturation in PV here in Hawaii where the electric company cannot handle all of it. Battery banks could be used but, there is the up front and ongoing costs of putting those in both in CO2 expenditure and money.
It is well known that plug in electric cars and the CO2 footprint to build them from mine to dealership exceeds the co2 output of a 40mpg car and the fuel it would burn over their usable lifetime. This is because mining things like Lithium, Aluminum and copper used takes a lot of energy, cheap energy. Ever seen a bulldozer run off an extension cord? Aluminum smelting is incredibly energy intensive. Let alone there isn't enough known lithium deposits to supply all the batteries needed.
Now we could start putting up nuclear plants everywhere. Also quite expensive and not very popular with very many people. Nuclear could provide a solid stop gap between now and whenever if ever fusion power plants could be built and made to operate reliably. How many people are upset about ormat building a geothermal plant? How about reactor number #1 going online down by Pohoiki sometime in the near future?
Ahh, NIMBY...
So many people get on board with climate change as though there was a solution. Or that somehow we have technology that will recapture co2 as cheaply as it was released in energy. Somehow we have a magical butterfly net to capture all that CO2 and pump it back down in some abandoned well in Oklahoma is laughable. The only thing that seems to work with any effective result is the Earth itself, and its natural ability to sequester CO2, but that takes time. How much time do we have? Some say 12 years, Some say its too late, some say we have nothing to worry about.
albeit I have just touched on a few of the hundreds of not thousands of issues dealing with co2 and energy. It brings me to some summary observations and conclusions on the direction where this is heading.
Lets take food production. From the field to the dinner table takes a lot of steps. each step is pretty energy intensive. From plowing, planting, irrigation, harvesting, transportation, etc. A lot of people think that groceries come from the store. They have zero idea what it took to get it there. Cheap portable energy provided by fossil fuels.
You have policies being driven to not only encourage people to live in urban areas, but also policies being made to prevent people from growing their own food. (not that many know how to do that anyway)
A strong movement to remove fossil fuels at any cost, and that cost will result in what has been called as a final solution. A rapid, reduction of population. Because the only way to decarbonize is to reduce how many people are using the resources. Through policy this can be obtained, War is the other. The last would be railroad cars.
This is how these things turn out. They sound good to start, but eventually someone starts handing out the little polystyrene cups with purple punch for everyone to drink. Everyone knows climate change, Climate change dangers, co2 bad, and the world is going to end. But as a result, everyone forgot how to recognize they live in Jones Town.