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mac
Joined: 07 Mar 1999 Posts: 17766 Location: Berkeley, California
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Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2022 4:10 pm Post subject: |
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All that and serious mental illness. |
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mac
Joined: 07 Mar 1999 Posts: 17766 Location: Berkeley, California
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coboardhead
Joined: 26 Oct 2009 Posts: 4303
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 1:50 pm Post subject: |
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Mac
I was reading that without air conditioning in homes some 20000 people would die each year in the US alone. Air conditioners that are fueled, in a large part, by fossil fuels.
So, here’s the rub. Without air conditioning folks die. With more and more of the world needing air conditioning to survive, we accelerate climate change so
We need more air conditioners.
Can renewables keep up with this increased demand? Can we make a switch to renewable air conditions power sources fast enough? I question this. I’ve been trying for six months to get someone to install a new electric mini split to heat my basement. When I finally got a call back, the installed cost was, in a word, breathtaking. I might be able to afford it. But, the payback in savings takes longer than the unit is expected to last.
Most households will not be able to make a switch to update air and heat systems until their’s break down. The reductions that the Biden Admin claims in the climate bill seem to be at odds, to me, with the market driven ability to make the changes.
This is more complicated than greed by fossil fuel providers. |
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mac
Joined: 07 Mar 1999 Posts: 17766 Location: Berkeley, California
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 5:13 pm Post subject: |
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CB—all true. Great article in the New Yorker last issue about the many different pieces. Carter was right and visionary, and a carbon tax established while he was President, with rebates for those at lower income levels, would have been the most effective and efficient way to bend the CO2 curve down. Didn’t happen.
Virtue signaling by Democrats doesn’t make a difference either. But the incentives in the Obama stimulus bill have had a real impact on technology, and the costs of renewables has dropped nearly an order of magnitude. There are promising concepts for new ideas like cheap batteries that may be scalable, and plenty of flaky ideas that won’t work. None of it will be fast enough to prevent the world of my grandchildren being hellish in many places. Billions of people will be on the move, millions are now. There is enough heat already stored in the ocean to assure us of at least 50 years of warming, even if we reduce CO2 to negligible levels. Say goodby to much of the ski season.
I disagree on the role of big oil. They helped make Carter a one term President, and killed all approaches that would have bent their sales curve down until Obama’s election. |
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coboardhead
Joined: 26 Oct 2009 Posts: 4303
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 5:40 pm Post subject: |
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I am afraid we missed our chance to make effective changes during the Carter years. True that the oil companies were not Carter’s friend. But, the bottom line is that consumers have no stomach for high fuel prices and will punish politicians that propose policies that affect short term fuel prices.
We have become fat and lazy and climate change is someone else’s problem. Oil companies make a great target. But the real problem is our attitude. I believe the behavior of the carbon industry is related to the attitude of the average American.
I’m driving to Baja to kitesurf and windsurf. I flew to Peru last fall for an extended kiting surf trip. I’ll think about the carbon I’m emitting. But I’m still gonna go. I don’t even know anyone who doesn’t have this sort of attitude. Maybe you don’t travel but you are probably in the minority for well to do retired professionals your age! |
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MikeLaRonde
Joined: 11 Jun 2001 Posts: 772
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 11:10 pm Post subject: |
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whatever
Last edited by MikeLaRonde on Tue Nov 29, 2022 11:53 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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vientomas
Joined: 25 Apr 2000 Posts: 2343
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 11:13 pm Post subject: |
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Step off |
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MikeLaRonde
Joined: 11 Jun 2001 Posts: 772
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 11:45 pm Post subject: |
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vientomas wrote: | Step off |
If your world is a spinning evil magic carpet, I would advise just that.
OK fine, enough games. The answer is PEAK OIL.
This simple phrase probably sounds like just another conspiracy propaganda to many. But anyone familiar with the theory knows that it inevitably results in a dramatic reduction in world population.
Even if you don't think PO is a THING, the one thing people really need to understand is the relationships between "fossil" fuels, the world fertilizer/grain markets, and the sustainable (NEAR term!) population. |
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mac
Joined: 07 Mar 1999 Posts: 17766 Location: Berkeley, California
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 11:53 pm Post subject: |
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The piano has been drinking. |
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techno900
Joined: 28 Mar 2001 Posts: 4172
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Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2022 9:47 am Post subject: |
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As the world warms, AC demand increases, but doesn't the heating demand drop. Is there balance? |
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