Conserving Energy: Stepping in the Right Direction?

[thegathering]

I was just reading this article about power saving processors:
http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS8508116370.html
and started thinking about the ways we waste electricity on the small scale that add up to much larger amounts of waste in the long run.


Scientists are coming up with more and more ingenius ways of cutting power as we can see in that article. Unfortunately, as many innovations as there have already been, we rarely use energy saving devices and we waste energy in our homes.

The Democratic Party has been pushing a scare-tactic approach to Global Warming. Research has yet to be concrete and conclusive. Many scientists are not sure , why the globe is on a warming trend or how much it will warm. They are also unsure if Global Warming is an actual threat or just another cycle in the long chain of ice ages and big melts. Noone is sure what will happen to the environment in the long run, if animals will adapt or die out.

While global warming is a hot topic, we still forget that we're running out of oil and are using our coal supplies at an alarming rate for energy. There are many alternative technologies available to coal burning power plants but coal remains the power source of choice in the US.

Nuclear technologies such as fission using pellets and even fusion using [urlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_fusion_energy]magnetic containers[/url] are on the horizon. Politicians, however, seem to want to stay away from the stigma of nuclear energy.


How would you rate our attempts at creating a greener earth (A,B,C,D,F) and what do you think we did well or still need to do to protect the earth? What are your predictions for our future energy needs as well as the future of our environment?

[BuddyB309]

I know my opinion is going to cause extreme debate.

Ive been to an abandon theme park and saw how fast nature regenerates. The theme park has only been uncared for only 15 years and there are already trees growing in the middle of the parking lot. I've also been to an abandon brick farm house. it was abandon for only 40 years and there is hardly nothing left. The only way you'll know the farmhouse was there is because a little sign points it out.

Our environment has an amazing way of bouncing back. maybe we wont see it in our lives but 400 years in time is really a tick in the clock of geology. Think of what a city like Chicago would look after 400 years if all humans just disappeared off the face of the earth. After the roof gives way on those buildings the deterioration would be rather quick.

More on the subject matter, yes we need to find another way of energy that last. our best bet is nuclear power, But three mile island killed that. The problem is that the oil companies have to much power and people don't want to spend allot of money even though its better in the long run. If you put enough money and people into a project, you can get it accomplished. The nuclear bomb is one example, America put enough money and people into that project and it was created. If we do the same for an alternative fuel it will get done. However some people who have the power and authority to do so don't see it that way.

Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm not trying to offend anyone.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Originally Posted by BuddyB309

I know my opinion is going to cause extreme debate.

Ive been to an abandon theme park and saw how fast nature regenerates. The theme park has only been uncared for only 15 years and there are already trees growing in the middle of the parking lot. I've also been to an abandon brick farm house. it was abandon for only 40 years and there is hardly nothing left. The only way you'll know the farmhouse was there is because a little sign points it out.

Our environment has an amazing way of bouncing back. maybe we wont see it in our lives but 400 years in time is really a tick in the clock of geology. Think of what a city like Chicago would look after 400 years if all humans just disappeared off the face of the earth. After the roof gives way on those buildings the deterioration would be rather quick.

This part I didn't understand. Could you explain to me what that has to do with the issue of global warming? (I'm not trying to be mean if the question was read like that.)

Originally Posted by BuddyB309

More on the subject matter, yes we need to find another way of energy that last. our best bet is nuclear power, But three mile island killed that. The problem is that the oil companies have to much power and people don't want to spend allot of money even though its better in the long run. If you put enough money and people into a project, you can get it accomplished. The nuclear bomb is one example, America put enough money and people into that project and it was created. If we do the same for an alternative fuel it will get done. However some people who have the power and authority to do so don't see it that way.

Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm not trying to offend anyone.

Which is why our government is run by people affiliated with major oil companies. But enough of that. I don't think the people of America put the research for alternative energy at the top of the list. However, living in the Midwest I see that stuff is getting done. There are at least 3 more ethanol plants being built in IA. Flex fuel engines are now being produced by the major American automobile companies. I know Brazil has had flex fuel for a while now, maybe we could get imput from the Brazilian members of this forum.

My rating would be a B- at best. I'm pretty disappoined about what is being done, but I have to admit that I don't think enough about it either.

[BuddyB309]

Originally Posted by Budda648

This part I didn't understand. Could you explain to me what that has to do with the issue of global warming? (I'm not trying to be mean if the question was read like that.)
.

No offense taken.

I'm not ruling out global warming. However, we've only seen temperatures rise in the past one-hundred years. Granted that is when heavy coal and petroleum usage started and that is when we began putting carbon in the air. But carbon its self cannot have a five degree global temperature difference. maybe two at best. My point is that 100 years in geology is a blink, its almost insignificant. So what if temperature rise is just a little hiccup? Also what was the big scare before global warming that turned out false? And the one before that?

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Ben,
Interesting subject. True we don't know if the current trend is a natural event or not. What we do know is that a major trend has occured since the broad use of fossil fuel has begun in this country about the turn of the century (1900 that is) It is hard to see the effects of that trend in the lower 48 but for a real upfront look, one needs to travel to Canada or Alaska. Even Glacier National Park here in the US may have no glaciers by 2030. I witnessed glaciers in both Juneau and Anchorage that have retreated miles since just the fifties. In Barrow during the summer, the pack ice retreats many miles from shore. Last year when I was there, it was more than 15 miles offshore and melting. Although these may seem like lsmall events, the amount of water being returned to the seas is enormous and sea levels are rising. From an environmental standpoint, fishing grounds, coral reefs, beaches, islands etc. are all disappearing. Even Point Barrow and Cape Cod are disappearing as the sea rises and waves wash the land out to sea. Locals in Barrow estimate that Point Barrow will be completely gone in my lifetime. Fully 3/4 of the Marconi radio site on Cape Cod has washed away, leaving only the base of one tower (of four) on the edge of a sand dune. As these seemingly small events grow, there is going to be a tremendous effect on all of mankind.
So, are we doing anything? I think we are. Is it enough? I am not sure that it is. I think it is important to look for alternative energy sources and conserve when we can. China is a place that we ought to look at. As it cranks up it's industrial machine using predominantly coal for energy, huge amounts of CO2 are being dumped daily. It is only a matter of time, before that has an impact on it's neighbors like Japan and eventually, the results will be even felt on the west coast.

[sanddrag]

A light bulb burned out in my room and I haven't replaced it. That must count for something.

But seriously, 4 words: We need more E85

Flex Fuel vehicles are easy and not very expensive to make. They've been out there for over 7 years. But there are still very few stations to buy E85 at. In all of California, there is one.

With how much great farmland we have, I can't figure out why we don't grow more corn. As stated above, it does seem to be working for Brazil. I believe I heard over half their cars run on E85.

Also, if anyone has an old diesel Mercedes (or similar), hang on to it! You can convert those things over to run on waste vegetable oil.

Back on the topic of lighting, many cities now require fluorescent in any new construction or remodel. There's nothing stopping people from putting back in incandescent bulbs (if they fit in the fixture) when the inspector leaves, but when the inspector is there, those bulbs better be fluorescent.