Global Warming

[Scarecrow63]

Fine, i lose

[Meyer]

And some claim USA is the richest and most powerful country there is

[Slornie]

Sorry, this is going to be a very long post.

Global Warming, yes i do believe in it, although i dont believe human actions are necessarily the sole cause.

We do need to do something about the human influence, since it appears to accelerate the natural temperature fluctuations (at some points in history, the earth has been warmer than now, at others colder).

Nuclear fusion isnt "clean" energy, while it doesnt generate greenhouse gases (like coal, oil and gas), it does leave us with radioactive waste, which can be just as harmful to the environment (if not more so).  The same will be true of nuclear fission if/when scientists are able to safely and efficiently put the theory into practice.

Renewable energy sources can provide a large proportion of our energy needs:
- Solar power is a huge source of energy!  Think of the number of buildings in the world:  Homes, offices, factories, public services (schools, hospitals, emergency services, transport), etc - if solar panels were put on all that roof space...
- Ground source heating can be used in many places to heat and cool buildings, while being much more energy efficient than conventional heating and air-con systems.
- Wind power, while reliant on an unpredictable and sometimes unreliable source, is well suited for use in areas without connection to national electricity grids.
- Hydroelectric power is reliable and can generate vast amounts of energy, and is not just restricted to large scale projects like the Hoover or Yangtze dams, it can work effectively on a much smaller scale, as shown by many small villages in African countries.
- Others that i havent mentioned, such as wave, tidal and geothermal power, can also be used.
With a combination of all these sources, it should be possible to generate a large proportion of our energy requirements without resorting to fossil or nuclear fuels.

On a much smaller scale, as Arbiter pointed out, kinetic energy can be used, such as shaking and winding up torches, mp3 players, etc.  There is even a laptop under development that can be kinetically powered (via a winding handle) , while this is aimed at "third world" countries, with advances in technology the generation system could be improved and utilized for many devices in the "first world".

Energy generation is only one point, there are many other aspects to consider:
- Increasing building insulation and energy efficiency, the amount of energy needed would be reduced, which could lead to less use of polluting energy sources.
- Dare i mention public transport, reducing reliance on private cars reduces pollution and resource usage (remember there is a fast running out supply of oil).
- "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" - Reducing packaging, the amount of disposable products bought, Reusing products where possible (give unwanted items to charity shops or sell online *Ebay*), Recycling cans, bottles, paper, cardboard and other matter (this also saves energy since it requires less electricity to remake something from recycled material than to use raw material).

And that is just a few points, there are many other things that can (and should) be done.

If anyone wants me to provide links to anything ive mentioned, feel free to ask

EDIT: Its a shame the forum shop/bank doesnt work anymore, this post would have me very rich

[Meyer]

there are many good point there, Slornie. And I can say that I don't use a moped or scooter or whatever to move around, I use my bicycle. That ain't polluting. But I must say that building all those wind generators is costly and all those mills will make the landscape look stupid. And solar power must have huge mirrors to collect enough power for large cities. and they too are expenssive. At this point in my opinion the best choices are water and nuclear power. Both are plenty to have if people quit bicthing about nuclear power.

And isn't fission already in use? Aren't they trying to invent fusion power right now. if they do Then all energy problems are solved.

[Slornie]

But I must say that building all those wind generators is costly and all those mills will make the landscape look stupid. And solar power must have huge mirrors to collect enough power for large cities. and they too are expenssive. At this point in my opinion the best choices are water and nuclear power. Both are plenty to have if people quit bicthing about nuclear power.

Building any type of power station is expensive.  I agree that too many wind turbines can damage the landscape, but so can many other things, and i ask would you rather have a nice clean wind farm or a potentially dangerous nuclear power station behind your house (if you lived in a rural area) ?  And if more money was invested in solar power, it would become more efficient (and thus affordable).

And isn't fission already in use? Aren't they trying to invent fusion power right now. if they do Then all energy problems are solved.

I thought fusion was what we use at the moment, but i could be getting confused.  I dont think they have completely overcome issues with fission, in that it currently takes more energy to start the reaction than they actually get out of it.

[Meyer]

I think they use fusion now. And I would rather live next to a nuclear power plant than a wind mill. There hasn't been major nuclear accidents that hasn't been caused by human error.

[Slornie]

I would rather live next to a nuclear power plant than a wind mill. There hasn't been major nuclear accidents that hasn't been caused by human error.

And of course that would be of great consolation to your vaporised body if the station went into nuclear meltdown - it wasnt the technology that went wrong, it was human error

[sarcronis]

fusion is like in spider man 2, it is an unlimited energy source.  Fission is what we use now.  Fusion is possible, it just takes more energy to make than it produces.

[Slornie]

Sorry, i got fission and fusion the wrong way round, my points still stand if you switch them round

[Scarecrow63]

solar and wind energy may be clean, but you cant just put a solar panel on a roof, its only really effective in certain areas

and fusion is the future, they're building a test reactor now which in a couple years will probably work

[Darth Dino]

I say YES!, to global warming.

[Kratas]

hm we have  little choice but to believe it

[Scarecrow63]

Remember, just say no

[Meyer]

I would rather live next to a nuclear power plant than a wind mill. There hasn't been major nuclear accidents that hasn't been caused by human error.

And of course that would be of great consolation to your vaporised body if the station went into nuclear meltdown - it wasnt the technology that went wrong, it was human error

How many nuclear plants have been melteddown by technology error?

solar and wind energy may be clean, but you cant just put a solar panel on a roof, its only really effective in certain areas

and fusion is the future, they're building a test reactor now which in a couple years will probably work

Solar power is quite useless in up here north. in winter we have sunlight a few hours.

[Scarecrow63]

In fact, how many nuclear power plants have gone wrong at all?

[Meyer]

Noneif you don't count those human error things.

[Scarecrow63]

Im saying all of them

[sarcronis]

2 maybe 3. not that many.

[Scarecrow63]

Compared to the amount of power plants out there? I used to live 5 miles from a nuclear power plant, i was fine with it

[sarcronis]

I live 50 miles from one and it doesn't scare anyone I know.