Biofuels - Worse than oil ?

Discovery News

"Clearing raw land to produce biofuels actually contributes to global warming by emitting large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, researchers have warned.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from new croplands carved into rainforests, savannas, wetlands or grasslands would easily surpass the overall amount of CO2 emissions reduced through the use of biofuels, according to a report in the Feb. 8 edition of Science."

"...crops used in the production of biofuels -- creates a "biofuel carbon debt" by releasing 17 to 420 times as much CO2 into the atmosphere as the greenhouse gas reductions which the biofuels provide by displacing fossil fuels."

"The researchers calculated that in Indonesia, where wetlands are being converted to grow palm oil to produce biofuels, it will take 423 years before biofuel CO2 emission savings would repay the carbon debt caused by the land conversion."

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Offset your carbon output

So I saw an ad to reduce "Global Warming". I clicked on it to see what it had to say. I personally do not believe in global warming. I believe in emissions , and I believe in smog , but I don't believe that us , as humans has any real impact on the cycles that occur on earth. The natural shifts of what happens. The weather guessers (weathermen) can't even get it right a week out. There were times recently within human memory when they had "global cooling", and mini ice ages.

Right now being "green" is trendy, and people are trendy. If it weren't trendy, you wouldn't see so many Prius out there on the roads. The Prius is only popular because people think , that buy driving it they are helping, or giving the outward appearance of helping the environment. Hybrid cars are not the answer. Neither are electric cars, if we are talking on a purely emissions basis. Most of the electricity produced in the US is made by burning coal. If the electricity came though solar or wind power, then I could see it being on the right path, however, burning coal is cheap, making and setting up solar plants or wind power is expensive , so the dollar wins again. Even for the sake of the Prius , lots of people drive them because gasoline prices have risen fairly dramatically over the last few years. Thats another whole post though , the cost of gasoline.

So I went to the site - Neutralize your pollution.

So , they are saying , I can offset the carbon I put into the atmosphere by giving them money. Shit , they don't even want much money. These guys - Carbonfund.org say that if I pay them $25 a year I offset what my car puts out (5 tons). For Zero carbon a year , they say $90 (18 tons). Can I use this like a "Get out of Jail Free" card. One of the other sites - e-Bluehorizons gives you a certificate that they print out


So , how much money do I have to pay these people , to keep the CARB in California off my back. Leave my car alone. $25 a year ? $90 a year? I like this idea. I pay them $90 a year, they don't need to smog my car. I bring my little certificate , and the cops have better things to do than pull me over, and argue whether what is under the hood is stock or not.

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Greenland is melting - oh no - the sky is falling

In your best chicken little voice - "the ice is melting, the ice is melting."

CNN news

But below the surface, the ice sheet is in constant motion, as ice built up in the interior pushes toward the coast in the form of massive glaciers. During warmer months, ice from these glaciers melts into the ocean.

It's an age-old process that scientists say has speeded up in recent decades because of global warming.

A recent report from the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, made up of scientists from around the world, estimates the sea level rise by 2100 could be as much as 1½ feet.


"When we came here in 1990, the first two, three years were actually colder than normal. Then in 1994, 1995, it started to warm steadily and since then, we've had a temperature increase during the winter months of 4.5 degrees centigrade, 8.1 degrees Fahrenheit, which is very large, the largest temperature increase on earth," he said.

Despite all the changes in Greenland, this is not the first time temperatures have risen on the world's largest island. During the 1920s and 1930s, there was a significant warming trend that occurred without the level of man-made greenhouse gases recorded in our atmosphere today. The majority of scientists say greenhouse gases are the chief cause of global warming.

The fact Greenland has warmed before leads some scientists to question how worried we should be about the current warming trend. Dr. Patrick Michaels, a climatologist, is part of a small group of climate change skeptics. He said Greenland's warm past didn't cause the ice sheet to disappear.

"Well, this happened for 50 years in the early 20th century, and it happened for a millennium after the end of the last ice age," he said. "And the ice didn't shed off it."

"Even if we reduce our carbon dioxide output, the climate will continue to warm," he said. "So even by stopping the increase of carbon dioxide today, we will have a warming, we will have sea level increase."

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ARE GAS PRICES REALLY CAUSING SHIFTS IN THE VEHICLES CONSUMERS BUY?

ARE GAS PRICES REALLY CAUSING SHIFTS IN THE VEHICLES CONSUMERS BUY?

Another volatile gas-price season is here, but are consumers ready to give up their pickups and SUVs? According to a recent The Wall Street Journal article, automakers are pressured by consumers to build more fuel-efficient vehicles, but consumers are saying one thing and doing another. Consumer polls say they recognize global warming, but new-vehicle buyers are less willing to sacrifice performance in exchange for subcompact cars. Consumers have also said that $3.00-per-gallon gasoline prices make them think twice about the type of vehicles they drive. But there has not been a substantial shift in the types of vehicles consumers are buying, nor has there been a reduction in the number of miles consumers drive.

According to The Wall Street Journal article, “Small cars, small crossover wagons and compact trucks make up only about 25% of total retail sales in the United States, compared to 40% for small vehicles in Europe, where gas prices are about double U.S. levels.” For example, the article states that GM dealers have had to offer rebates in order to sell Chevrolet Aveo subcompacts, whereas these same vehicles sell for nearly $5,000 dollars more in Europe. First-quarter sales in the United States do show some shifts in the types of vehicles consumers are buying, but these shift may be largely due to the increase in the number of CUV and subcompact car offerings by the OEMs compared to last year.



Gasoline prices are expected to remain roughly the same over the summer as they are now, according to the Federal Energy Information Administration (EIA). This may not necessarily drive consumers into the direction of more fuel-economic vehicles. The difference between a 15-mpg vehicle and a 22-mpg vehicle averages $2.26 per day, according to the article. Consumers begin to realize that if they cut back on some of their unnecessary daily expeditors, they can drive the type of vehicle they really want.

Source: “Gas Prices Rise and Consumers Shrug,” The Wall Street Journal/Automotive Digest, www.automotivedigest.com.


From SEMA.SEMA.org


Consumers, saying one thing, doing something else. Its the "you should do something good". Emphasis on the "you" Lots of people try and blame the vehicle manufacturers will make what they can sell. The market is shifting, but the market doesn't know what it wants. Here in LA, we see a ton of Prius and other Hybrids. Other parts of the country, a lot less.

Sometimes, I feel that the whole global warming thing is a "Chicken Little" scenario. "The sky is falling, the sky is falling." Maybe I just feel beat up being in the auto industry. The environmentalists being the first to blame automobiles. I see people say that automobiles are responsible for 25% of the gasses that contribute to global warming. Then 75% of the gasses come from other sources ? Cows emit a pretty substaincial amount of greenhouse gasses. I'll do my part, walk to McDonalds, and get a Big Mac. Just don't go to a car dealer and burn some Hummers, it really doesn't get anyone, anywhere.

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