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The world should not rely on fossil fuel
Posted on Thursday, November 24, 2005 @ 19:54:26 UTC by vlad
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Overtone writes: Letter published November 22nd in the Christian Science Monitor
Regarding
the Nov. 9 (Monitor) article "How soon will world's oil supply peak?": Huge deposits of
methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide, are locked
in permafrost, which is beginning to melt quickly all over the world. Within the
past five years the surface permafrost in an area in Siberia the size of France
and Germany combined is melting for the first time since the last ice age,
11,000 years ago.
Methane released from melting permafrost could quickly
eliminate most life in the Arctic. As the methane drifted south, it could
threaten all life on earth.
Present efforts to slow global warming fall
tragically short of what is needed. We may be facing a little-publicized
planetary emergency.
The very hope for the survival of human life
requires an extremely rapid end to dependence on oil, gas, and coal, whether or
not we have reached peak extraction of these resources. Those with vested
interests in the oil industry must recognize their most important interest is
life itself.
During World War II, the US produced armaments in quantities
that would have been unbelievable a short time earlier. To slow global warming,
a similar effort to develop breakthrough systems to produce energy, as well as
rapid expansion of all current carbon-free energy technologies, must become an
urgent priority.
Mark Goldes
Chairman and CEO Magnetic Power
Inc.
Sebastopol, Calif.
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Average Score: 4.5
Votes: 2
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Re: The world should not rely on fossil fuel (Score: 1)
by tomcat on Friday, November 25, 2005 @ 02:20:51 UTC
(User Info | Send a Message) | Mark,
I sure hope you have sent copies of this text to people who have
a more direct impact on your subject matter. Although the methane
angle is a new one to me , you are preaching to the choir.
tomcat
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Re: The world should not rely on fossil fuel (Score: 1)
by RobW on Friday, November 25, 2005 @ 16:26:23 UTC
(User Info | Send a Message) | Mark
It appears that by your enthusiam and confidence in recent posts that
YOU HAVE THE ANSWER to global warming. So why not reveal your
invention immediately? The sooner the experts see this miracle, that
faster it can be mass produced and the sooner we could possibly avoid
this catastrophe
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CARBON DIOXIDE LEVELS HIGHEST FOR 650,000 YEARS (Score: 1)
by vlad on Friday, November 25, 2005 @ 20:35:33 UTC
(User Info | Send a Message) http://www.zpenergy.com | GLOBAL WARMING: CARBON DIOXIDE LEVELS HIGHEST FOR 650,000 YEARS, November 24
Levels of carbon dioxide, the principal gas that drives global warming, are
now 27 percent higher than at any point in the last 650,000 years, according to
research into Antarctic ice cores published on Thursday.
Full story at http://www.physorg.com/news8475.html [www.physorg.com]
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STABILIZING CLIMATE CHANGE (Score: 1)
by vlad on Friday, November 25, 2005 @ 20:43:09 UTC
(User Info | Send a Message) http://www.zpenergy.com | STABILIZING CLIMATE CHANGE MORE DAUNTING THAN THOUGHT, November 24
If the
world is serious about halting global warming then it will have to reduce carbon
emissions over the next century by as much as 230 billion tonnes more than
previously thought, according to new research from the University of
Calgary.
Full story at http://www.physorg.com/news8463.html [www.physorg.com]
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Global warming doubles rate of ocean rise (Score: 1)
by vlad on Sunday, November 27, 2005 @ 12:09:19 UTC
(User Info | Send a Message) http://www.zpenergy.com | Public release date: 24-Nov-2005
Contact: Carl Blesch
cblesch@ur.rutgers.edu
732-932-7084 x616
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
Global warming doubles rate of ocean rise
Rutgers-led team shows rising ocean levels tied to human-induced climate change
Global ocean levels are rising twice as fast today as they were 150
years ago, and human-induced warming appears to be the culprit, say
scientists at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and
collaborating institutions.
While the speed at which the ocean is rising – almost two millimeters
per year today compared to one millimeter annually for the past several
thousand years – may not be fodder for the next disaster movie, it
affirms scientific concerns of accelerated global warming.
In an article published in the Nov. 25 issue of the journal Science,
Rutgers professor of geological sciences Kenneth G. Miller reports on a
new record of sea level change during the past 100 million years based
on drilling studies along the New Jersey coast. The findings establish
a steady millimeter-per-year rise from 5,000 years ago until about 200
years ago.
In contrast, sea-level measurements since 1850 from tidal gauges and
more recently from satellite images, when corrected for land settling
along the shoreline, reveal the current two-millimeter annual rise.
"Without reliable information on how sea levels had changed before we
had our new measures, we couldn't be sure the current rate wasn't
happening all along," said Miller. "Now, with solid historical data, we
know it is definitely a recent phenomenon.
"The main thing that's changed since the 19th century and the beginning
of modern observation has been the widespread increase in fossil fuel
use and more greenhouse gases," he added. "Our record therefore
provides a new and reliable baseline to use in addressing global
warming."
The new sea level record spanning 100 million years of geologic time is
the first comprehensive one scientists have produced since a commercial
research endeavor in 1987, which, according to Miller, was not fully
documented and verifiable.
The findings by Miller's team argue against some widely held tenets of
geological science. Miller claims, for example, that ocean heights 100
million years ago and earlier were 150 to 200 meters lower than
scientists had previously thought. Changes at these levels can only be
caused by the Earth's crust shifting on the ocean floor. Miller's
findings, therefore, imply less ocean-crust production than scientists
had widely assumed.
During the Late Cretaceous period (the most recent age of dinosaurs),
frequent sea-level fluctuations of tens of meters suggest that the
Earth was not always ice-free as previously assumed. Ice-volume changes
are the only way that sea levels could change at these rates and
levels, Miller claims. This suggests small- to medium-sized but
short-lived ice sheets in the Antarctic region, and casts doubt whether
any of the Earth's warmer eras were fully ice-free.
Miller's team took five 500-meter-deep core samples of sediments
onshore along New Jersey's coastline from Cape May to Sandy Hook. The
scientists examined the sediment type, fossils, and variations in
isotopes, or different forms of the same elements, at different levels
in the cores they extracted. Miller also correlated these measurements
with others from throughout the world to substantiate the global nature
of their record.
The Rutgers study included participants from the New Jersey Geological
Survey, the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University,
Western Michigan University, the University of Oregon and Queens
College in Flushing, N.Y. The National Science Foundation provided
major funding for the study.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-11/rtsu-gwd112105.php [www.eurekalert.org]
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Some Truth About Hydrofracking (Score: 1)
by Randy on Sunday, June 24, 2012 @ 04:14:55 UTC
(User Info | Send a Message) | According to Wikipedia, "hydrofracking, or "fracking" is a method of extracting natural gas and oil from shale. This type of fracturing creates fractures from a wellbore drilled into reservoir rock formations". Fracking is a method of extracting oil and gas from shale formations using a pressurized fluid. This oil and gas otherwise might be too expensive to extract. What is in the fracking fluid? Oil and gas companies are reluctant to tell us. And they have good reason:
"The fracking technique first made shale gas extraction economical in 1997. The energy from the injection of a high-pressure fluid produces new channels in the rock and increases the recovery of hydrocarbons. Otherwise, they would be inaccessible."
According to a Congressional report issued in 2011, many of the chemicals used in fracking pose for us a serious health risk as they can migrate into our water supply. Here is a list of some of the chemicals used so far identified in the process of fracking:
Water- 98 percent to 99.5 percent of the fracking fluid.
Crystalline silica- found in concrete, brick mortar and construction sand. The dust if inhaled repeatedly can cause silicosis and cancer.
Methanol- found in antifreeze, paint solvent, and vehicle fuel. Swallowing can lead to eye damage and death.
Isopropanol- found in glass cleaners, cosmetics and soaps. Ingestion causes drunkenness and vomiting.
2-Butoxyethanol- found in paints and varnish. Ingestion or skin contact causes headache, nausea, and vomiting.
Ethylene glycol- found in de-icing agents, antifreeze, and household cleaners. Ingestion causes stupor or coma and can lead to fatal kidney failure.
Diesel and sodium hydroxide (lye). In liquid form lye can severely burn the eyes, skin, and mucous membranes, or lead to death.
This in an incomplete list, as the chemical cocktail contains many chemicals. These are the chemicals so far identified.
It seems that little personal comment is necessary. Except to say that many local municipalities have placed a ban on the process of fracking as the process presents them with the possibility of environmental damage.
Is fracking worth the risk? Should we now turn our efforts toward solar power, or the promise of zero point energy? It is time to make a change.
Sources: Department of Energy, TEDX, House Committee on Energy and Commerce, FracFocus, Wikipedia
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