View Full Version : Climate change even worse than predicted: expert
jbond007 02-14-2009, 12:11 PM It seems the dire warnings about the oncoming devastation wrought by global warming were not dire enough, a top climate scientist warned Saturday.
It has been just over a year since the Nobel-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a landmark report warning of rising sea levels, expanding deserts, more intense storms and the extinction of up to 30 percent of plant and animal species.
But recent climate studies suggest that report significantly underestimates the potential severity of global warming over the next 100 years, a senior member of the panel warned.
"We now have data showing that from 2000 to 2007, greenhouse gas emissions increased far more rapidly than we expected," said Chris Field, who was a coordinating lead author of the report.
This is "primarily because developing countries like China and India saw a huge upsurge in electric power generation, almost all of it based on coal," Field said in a statement ahead of a presentation to the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
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Corey006 02-14-2009, 12:37 PM -U are right, I was reading that China was putting 5 plants a week on line...And
they are all coal burning plants.....It don't look good....I believe it will get alot
worse before it gets better....It all comes down to the money....Coal in China is
very easy for them to use.....They have lots in their country....Climate change
will only come under control when countries around the work will work together,
tell that happens nothing will change but the climate will get worse and worse.
jbond007 02-14-2009, 12:50 PM According to the IPCC reports, we must reduce the worldwide output of carbon dioxide to less than one tenth of present day emissions if we are to have any chance of stopping the man made component of Global Climate Change.
It would be undesirable to use military force to enforce a worldwide ban on the use of fossil fuels.
However we can accomplish the same thing if we can force the prices of fossil fuels so high that is no longer economically feasible to use fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas.
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DougR 02-14-2009, 01:16 PM However we can accomplish the same thing if we can force the prices of fossil fuels so high that is no longer economically feasible to use fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas.
And for those of us that live in "Cold Country", we freeze to death. Wind and Solar will not keep us Warm !
mefnikk 02-14-2009, 01:46 PM China is just in their own race to the top. They want to be the strongest and most profitable nation. Their industrial revolution of sorts is happening right now. When China is mining 2 trillion tons of coal, this is definitely a step in the wrong direction. This is almost 5 times what the US produces and the US is in 2nd place. Clean coal is somewhat of an oxymoron, however, it is much cleaner than a lot of ways to produce energy.
I bet you never thought you would hear a lefty say this but I think a good solution would be to build safe nuclear plants. Have a nuclear commission between countries and all structures must pass their scrutiny in order to get a plant online. If used properly, a nuclear plant is a very safe solution and is in fact the most efficient and clean production method out there. The only time it gets unsafe is when the plant has lived its lifespan. BUT, I would think we could figure out a way to make this far safer or even expand the lifespan of a plant to 150+ years. Not only that but set up a way to renovate the structure so that it can continue to last much much longer.
Just trying to find the lesser of all evils. Impacting our environment is a huge problem and if renewable energy sources is not going to become a reality, we need some sort of action.
What do you all think?
r5arndt 02-14-2009, 02:09 PM Mefnikk, That is a very viable option but I think some of the global warning may be coming from your hot avatar.
DougR 02-14-2009, 02:11 PM We have a Nuclear Power Plant less than an hour away from me.
Problem is we can't Tap into it,we are stuck with a Coal Fired type Utility Company for our area of the State.(NIPSCO):|
Cook Nuclear Power Plant ( Michigan )
http://www.cookinfo.com/cookplant.htm
r5arndt 02-14-2009, 02:15 PM We have the same problem here in the south, Doug. I live about 20 miles from Farley nuclear plant in Alabama and we don't get any power from it. Now they are talking of building a coal burning plant. That doesn't make much sense to build a coal burning plant 15 minutes from a nuclear plant.
r5arndt 02-14-2009, 02:18 PM Also a big part of global warming is the deforestation going on in south america. Pretty soon there will not be anything left to help filter our waste. It's a problem that needs to be approached from about a hundred different directions.
n3xtgen 02-14-2009, 03:22 PM I think overpopulation of this world is the reason for most of these problems.
And the secondary problem that supports the first problem (overpopulation) is of course money.
So in short. Coal will ALWAYS be used as long as its cheaper, nobody in a position to make changes gives a rats ass about the earth, no matter what these so called "noble" leaders say.
myplace 02-14-2009, 03:55 PM I think overpopulation of this world is the reason for most of these problems.
And the secondary problem that supports the first problem (overpopulation) is of course money.
So in short. Coal will ALWAYS be used as long as its cheaper, nobody in a position to make changes gives a rats ass about the earth, no matter what these so called "noble" leaders say.:thmbup:you are 100% right, here have a cup of :coffee:on me .and e.p.a. has ran this country in the ground . closed all coal mining down lost hundreds of jobs.big pay thanks for this input :v:
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