dougmanxx's Page

More from dougmanxx

Forum Posts

Comments

Recommendations

Posted on: The Future of the Climate Debate?
at 11/13/2009 4:50pm

I am not quite sure what the relevance of an article about "Peak Oil" has to do with a discussion of ... more(+)

Bon wrote:Read this one

http://www.smh.com.au/world/panic-warni ... -i7j0.html[url][/url]

I am not quite sure what the relevance of an article about "Peak Oil" has to do with a discussion of geo-engineering, please enlighten me. The only possible connection I can see is that if the "Peak Oil" theory is correct, then we do not have to worry so much about CO2 as there will be a steadily decreasing amount pumped into the atmosphere as oil stocks dwindle, and less and less is burned. Of course this does not address the central point of THIS discussion which is in effect DUMPING MEGATONS OF POLLUTION into the atmosphere. Yes the very solution mentioned in this article is the driver for the fears of "acid rain" a few years ago, and which various environmental groups protested over quite vigorously. It boggles my mind how anyone would consider pumping a KNOWN POLLUTANT into the atmosphere to combat affects of a gas that STILL remain theoretical, as a "solution". Hell, to get this "program" working just relax some of the EPA's pollution regulations and there you are! Absolute insanity. close(-)

Posted on: The Future of the Climate Debate?
at 11/09/2009 11:59am

The politics of climate fixes
Judith Layzer says there’s no easy way out when it comes to climate change — but that ... more(+)

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2009/geoengineering-tt.html

The politics of climate fixes
Judith Layzer says there’s no easy way out when it comes to climate change — but that geo-engineering might be a last-ditch solution.
David Chandler, MIT News Office


In the middle of a day filled with a stream of information-packed PowerPoint displays and alarming projections of what the future holds for our planet and our civilization, Judith Layzer’s talk was something of an anomaly.

Layzer, an assistant professor of environmental policy in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning, was among the speakers at last Friday’s daylong symposium on “Engineering a Cooler Earth.” She immediately changed the tone of the day’s presentations by dispensing with graphs and charts and speaking only with the aid of her quite expressive gestures.

The symposium was a detailed exploration of a subject that has long been nearly taboo even for polite discussion: that instead of, or in addition to, the emissions-reduction strategies usually looked at as a way to stave off the dangers of global climate change, there might be other ways of solving or at least reducing some of the effects faster, more inexpensively or both, through grand schemes collectively known as geo-engineering. These include two major approaches: pulling carbon dioxide right out of the air, or blocking some percentage of incoming sunlight to reduce temperatures.

Truly frightening that serious scientists would consider tinkering with systems they do not actually understand. These ideas are just waiting for the Law of Unintended Consequences to come kick us in the ass! close(-)

Posted on: Fewer Americans See Solid Evidence of Global Warmi...
at 11/06/2009 6:50pm

 more(+)

Eskie wrote:I suppose most americans who live where it is summer most of the days of the year, will most likely think this way. If you live where there's snow, no matter what climate experts say, or the atmospheric experts say, carbon is not colorless ordourless gas, you can see it, especially when the engine is a diesel power generator. It also smells very bad, and gives you a sour eyes and sleepy.

NO. CO2 IS colorless. Odorless. You will not even notice its prescence until concentrations reach above 6000ppm according to studies done by the US Navy. At that concentration the only noticed symptom was a minor increase in respiration, most people do not even notice until concentrations reach more than 10000ppm. There are not noticeable affects until concentrations reach much higher levels. The same studies saw no long term consequences with concentrations of more than 20000ppm. Generally you do not need to be concerned with co2, except (yes there is always a condition!) if there is a corresponding decrease in atmospheric oxygen. As long as O2 retains the same concentration in the atmosphere we are quite capable of adapting to MUCH higher levels of CO2. OSHA limits CO2 to 5000ppm and it is not considered dangerous until concentrations reach 30000ppm, 50000ppm is considered a "lethal" level.

What you are noticing with the diesel engine are all of the OTHER byproducts of combustion, mainly the particulates (these are the ones that cause the smell and itchy eyes). The reason you are getting sleepy is most likely a large increase in carbon-MONoxide (CO). You need to better ventilate where your generator is kept as these things can kill you, especially carbon-monoxide. Too much CO in the air and you will simply fall to sleep AND DIE. OSHA limits CO exposure to 50ppm in the US, levels of 100ppm are considered dangerous, death will occur in about 20 minutes at a concentration of 6000ppm.

http://www.inspect-ny.com/hazmat/CO2gashaz.htm
http://www.logico2.com/Documents/ACGIH%20recommendations%20for%20CO2.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide_poisoning close(-)

Posted on: Clever Fools: Why a high IQ doesn't mean you're sm...
at 11/04/2009 9:14am

So Checked_out, coming from one of those people who would have merely glannced at this and said ... more(+)

So Checked_out, coming from one of those people who would have merely glannced at this and said "undetermined", who is George looking at? Does he have his eyes closed? Is he blind? Gazing into space? Out the window? LOL. I love stuff like that, where one of the options is not constrained, the answer could be almost anything! I gues I'm just dumb.

So basically they had to take this long article to tell us intelligence does not equal common sense and wisdom? DUH! close(-)

Posted on: Polar Bears
at 11/04/2009 8:59am

To give you some food for thought about Polar Bear populations:

 more(+)

To give you some food for thought about Polar Bear populations:

http://www.ff.org/centers/csspp/pdf/200701_taylor.pdf
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0503/p13s ... tml?page=1
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 132549.htm
http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/origi ... tives.html

FYI The antarctic ice sheet hit an all time high this summer. The idea that it is "shrinking/melting" is simply untrue. The past year had the most Antarctic ice "ever recorded". I will of course put the same caution to this data that I give with Arctic ice statements like "lowest ever recorded", records of ice extent are a mere 30 years long, pretty meaningless in systems that have cycles we know last thousands or tens of thousands of years. We have no idea whether what is being seen now is simply noise or is an actual trend, our time scales are too short to be sure.


http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/images/daily_images/S_timeseries.png close(-)

Commented on: Orwellian or Green? Carbon Taxes on Indi
at 2009-11-20 20:37:48

"Taxing American businesses, or not providing free national health care for American workers, drags American businesses ... more(+)

 close(-)

Commented on: Record Highs Outpace Record Lows
at 2009-11-17 14:07:16

Enough said:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_b5jZxTCSlm0/Sv31ZY99ioI/AAAAAAAAD38/zHZkCLYg590/s1600-h/image017.png

It's ... more(+)

 close(-)

Commented on: Permanent Arctic Ice Nearly Gone
at 2009-11-08 22:51:17

The only part of this article I read was the title. Then I wondered when Sea Ice became permanent and decided it wasn't ... more(+)

 close(-)

Commented on: Kilimanjaro Ice Fields Set to Disappear
at 2009-11-03 14:35:03

Yuo have discovered the "fly in the ointment" of this hypothesis. The more likely culprit has nothing to do with ... more(+)

 close(-)

Commented on: Kilimanjaro Ice Fields Set to Disappear
at 2009-11-03 14:25:01

The more likely culprit is deforestation. see the peer-reviewed studies ... more(+)

 close(-)

2009-10-21 | in Health | by Dan Peterson">Dan Peterson

Music Benefits Exercise, Studies Show
Exercising to some tunes may make for a better workout.

2009-10-14 | in Technology | by LiveScience Staff

Military Fuel-Cell Aircraft Sets Record
The Navy has built a fuel cell-powered aircraft that can fly all day.