What happened to global warming?

I'm about to go out for a BBQ , but for example , China is currently spending $4 Billion a year on solar and wind power in just one of it's provinces

http://m.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/19/china-windfarms-renewable-energy?cat=world&type=article

 

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/201...is-spending-5-5-million-per-green-energy-job/

 

Interesting , but as I said , my article was for one province , feel free to read it

 

I will. Have fun at ur bbq

 

My God, go away for a few hours and a thread can really become a train wreck.

It is not surprising politics/social leadership is such a wreck if even we, who aren't paid to have one opinion or another, can have a reasoned discussion.

Crap, it's hot outside. I'm going swimming

 

http://www.wri.org/chart/green-stimulus-spending-country

 

Thanks Meoff

Well I'm off for steaks

 

reported

 

I stand corrected. Does it take into account all the failed green companies we lost money in as well?

 

Funnily enough, I think this statement has grabbed my attention more than any other in this thread. Well done, Chris, well done. This works out to about 142 people per square acre. Nebraska would be crowded.

Anyway, I wish Chris were right. It would seem, however, that humanity's balance with the supportive natural resources ended sometime in the 1950's (I'm trying to find the link on this and will post when I do). And, since that time, we have been gradually racking up more and more "debt" with our natural resources and ecosystem services.

And, if you really doubt that we can be a global driving force, consider a few things:

• Three Gorges Dam in China created a reservoir so big that it altered how the earth rotates
• Global species extinction rate is unmatched since dinosaurs died
• Ozone hole
• Pacific garbage patch (size of Texas)
• Anthropcene (see earlier post)

7 billion people is quite a reckoning force. In 2010, humanity emitted 33.5 gigatons of CO2. Changing the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere from 387.38 ppm (parts per million) to 389.78 ppm. We are literally changing the chemical composition of the atmosphere.

Go team.

 

Ok, so now what? Say ur right are we supossed to stop driving cars and start riding bikes and tear down all the buildings and use the land to grow crops? Driving electric cars is great for saving gas but not practical for everyone to use. At this time, oil is our cheapest greatest source. And despite what is reported we have a huge ammount left of it. Not including all the places we haven't drilled yet. If we stop using gas and use electric won't that put a strain on out electric usage?

 

This is a great question. You're right, we cannot just abandon our current technology and go back to living in the stone ages. But we cannot avoid the issues because it is tough or scary. And it certainly seems a bit silly to be here in the 21st century defending 18th and 19th century fuels and energy sources.

I'd say the most important first step is acceptance. If we could have a collective, meaningful national or global discussion about the problem we could probably develop some very meaningful solutions. Especially the national discussion. America has led the development of so many new technologies over the years and it was that innovation, not a strong manufacturing sector or other, that has directly created our prosperity. Hell, why not lead world in renewable energy technology, alternative fuels, building energy efficiency, or zero-carbon technology? I like being the best, man!

The best solutions will be those that make lots of small changes over time. Small increases in energy efficiency, small increases in vehicle efficiency, small increases in fuel technology. Etc. Changes that don't hurt much aren't really noticeable will be most successful. And far cheaper than cleaning up the effects of extreme weather should the worst projections be true.

 

Why is it so difficult for people to understand that the reason for climate study is to predict trends going forward and to shape policy going forward

We won't be abandoning our current technologies overnight

 

Al Gore made a movie

 

How about we take the billions and billions of dollars we use to subsidize already obscenely profitable oil companies and use that to subsidize hydrogen and renewable energy. While we sit here and claim solar and wind power is not feasible Germany is making us look like idiots. Hydrogen powered cars and planes exist but they won't be mass produced until energy companies figure out how to make the technology insanely profitable at the expense of consumers.