Climate change & Peak oil

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Mithrae
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Climate change & Peak oil

Post #1

Post by Mithrae »

It's understandable that the last post in this section was over a year ago. We're here to debate, after all - I myself only just noticed this section, after some two weeks on the forum 8-) Still, with the wealth of knowledge and intellect on these forums, I'm sure it's worthwhile discussing what I believe to be the two greatest issues of our time.

Everyone's heard about climate change of course. It's an issue which, in forty or fifty years, could be causing environmental changes with the potential to kill billions. What's strange is how little is seen in the media about peak oil, an issue which in ten or twenty years could be causing economic unrest and wars with the potential to kill hundreds of millions. Both important, and indeed both related, but it's not the issue which requires immediate and drastic action which gets the spotlight; it's the issue where discussions, summits and promises can fool people into thinking something is being done, while we continue to bake the planet with our remaining fossil fuel reserves.
By George Monbiot. Published in the Guardian 2nd December 2003

The oil industry is buzzing. On Thursday, the government approved the development of the biggest deposit discovered in British territory for at least 10 years. Everywhere we are told that this is a “huge� find, which dispels the idea that North Sea oil is in terminal decline. You begin to recognise how serious the human predicament has become when you discover that this “huge� new field will supply the world with oil for five and a quarter days.(1)

Every generation has its taboo, and ours is this: that the resource upon which our lives have been built is running out. We don’t talk about it because we cannot imagine it. This is a civilisation in denial.
We seem, in other words, to be in trouble. Either we lay hands on every available source of fossil fuel, in which case we fry the planet and civilisation collapses, or we run out, and civilisation collapses.

The only rational response to both the impending end of the Oil Age and the menace of global warming is to redesign our cities, our farming and our lives. But this cannot happen without massive political pressure, and our problem is that no one ever rioted for austerity. People take to the streets because they want to consume more, not less.
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Re: Climate change & Peak oil

Post #2

Post by Goat »

Mithrae wrote:It's understandable that the last post in this section was over a year ago. We're here to debate, after all - I myself only just noticed this section, after some two weeks on the forum 8-) Still, with the wealth of knowledge and intellect on these forums, I'm sure it's worthwhile discussing what I believe to be the two greatest issues of our time.

Everyone's heard about climate change of course. It's an issue which, in forty or fifty years, could be causing environmental changes with the potential to kill billions. What's strange is how little is seen in the media about peak oil, an issue which in ten or twenty years could be causing economic unrest and wars with the potential to kill hundreds of millions. Both important, and indeed both related, but it's not the issue which requires immediate and drastic action which gets the spotlight; it's the issue where discussions, summits and promises can fool people into thinking something is being done, while we continue to bake the planet with our remaining fossil fuel reserves.
By George Monbiot. Published in the Guardian 2nd December 2003

The oil industry is buzzing. On Thursday, the government approved the development of the biggest deposit discovered in British territory for at least 10 years. Everywhere we are told that this is a “huge� find, which dispels the idea that North Sea oil is in terminal decline. You begin to recognise how serious the human predicament has become when you discover that this “huge� new field will supply the world with oil for five and a quarter days.(1)

Every generation has its taboo, and ours is this: that the resource upon which our lives have been built is running out. We don’t talk about it because we cannot imagine it. This is a civilisation in denial.
We seem, in other words, to be in trouble. Either we lay hands on every available source of fossil fuel, in which case we fry the planet and civilisation collapses, or we run out, and civilisation collapses.

The only rational response to both the impending end of the Oil Age and the menace of global warming is to redesign our cities, our farming and our lives. But this cannot happen without massive political pressure, and our problem is that no one ever rioted for austerity. People take to the streets because they want to consume more, not less.
Opinions?
One new technology that is being developed with might help with both issues is using algae to make new oil.

The issue right now with algae farming for getting oil is extracting the oil from the algae. It has a hard 'shell', and there is an energy cost to extract it. Research is going on to maximize the amount of oil produced, and to reduce the cost of extracting the oil.

The plan is to use the CO2 from power plants and other manufactoring plants to help the algae grow. So.. by using the CO2 from manufactoring sources to help boost the production of algae, you get a reduction of CO2 going into the atmosphere, and a boost to replacing fossil fuels.
“What do you think science is? There is nothing magical about science. It is simply a systematic way for carefully and thoroughly observing nature and using consistent logic to evaluate results. So which part of that exactly do you disagree with? Do you disagree with being thorough? Using careful observation? Being systematic? Or using consistent logic?�

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Post #3

Post by Atlantius »

Running out of fossil fuels will be a huge test that will either make or break our civilization. If we can get through it we'll have a sparkly clean planet running on renewable energy.

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Re: Climate change & Peak oil

Post #4

Post by Question Everything »

My favorite way of generating electricity involves using hundreds of inexpensive mirrors to focus sunlight on a tower in the middle to run a steam turbine. Extra heat that does not need to go to power heats molten salt that runs the turbine at night.

This would be very practical in deserts where there is a lot of land and few clouds.
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Re: Climate change & Peak oil

Post #5

Post by isa_muhammad »

Mithrae wrote: Everyone's heard about climate change of course. It's an issue which, in forty or fifty years, could be causing environmental changes with the potential to kill billions. What's strange is how little is seen in the media about peak oil, an issue which in ten or twenty years could be causing economic unrest and wars with the potential to kill hundreds of millions.
You're quite right .. and why do you think that peak oil is 'not taken too seriously' ?

It's the same old story .. greed. Mankind is naturally greedy, particularly if it's not 'tamed' by education/spirituality.

The world's financial system is the underlying cause of inbalance in the environment .. the phenomenon known as 'globalisation' is driven by massive movements of money represented by computer systems very similar to the ones we are using to contribute to these forums.
Often, this money is just a represenation of millions of $'s which is debitted or creditted, multiplied and divided .. Almighty God has forbidden usury, as He has forbidden prostitution .. it's corruption and extortion which can only lead to the collapse of the system along with mankind :(

When will we ever learn?
Some will deny that usury is extortion, in the same way that they deny the existence of God .. yet truth is distinct from falsehood, and God's plans cannot be thwarted!

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Post #6

Post by Cewakiyelo »

Climate change, bah. Climate change is a natural processes of our world. The glacial ice caps once extended so that half of the U.S. was covered. The ebb and flow of glacial ice is nothing new. We can say it is increased by industry and it may be but, just the fact that there is less ice will cause faster melt as it can not maintain water temps cold enough to stop melt. The more melt the faster the melt.

We look at it as some great tragedy. For all we know this world is not supposed to have ice caps at all. This world may be recovering from its usual norm. Less ice means more liquid water and higher heat. More liquid water and higher temps means more water vapor in the atmosphere. More vapor in the atmosphere means more clouds and thus rainfall. More rainfall and higher temps means greater areas of vegetative growth, fewer deserts. More vegetation and fewer deserts means more food sources for animals. More food for animals the greater those animals ranges become. etc...

Science suggests that once upon a time our world was more dominated by rain forests, perhaps that is the norm and our desire to maintain ice caps is merely impeding the healing process of the earth.

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