IT'S THE HEAT, STUPID!
Global warming.....
Yeah, there's no doubt it's happening....not in my mind, anyway....or in the minds of the scientific community and the population in general.....with the exception of a few nimrods like Bush and Michael Crichton.
But why? The prevailing theory is greenhouse gases, of course....carbon dioxide in particular....but the way I look at it, all that carbon dioxide should just make plants and trees grow faster and larger.
It's the HEAT, stupid!!!!
I'm sittin' here right now watchin' my world population clock....it's tickin' off another 3 people every second....that's more than a quarter million every day, folks...or about 93,000,000 every fuckin' year.......
Okay, let's roll back about a hundred years......to 1900......back then, the world population was 1.6 billion.....today it's 6.6 billion.....that's an extra 5 billion people runnin' around with their thermostats stuck at 98.6 degrees......like a swarm of tiny space heaters.
What were they driving back in 1900? Horses.......now, of course, there's 600,000,000 passenger cars in the world. And, no....that figure doesn't include SUV's, trucks, buses, trains, boats, airplanes, space shuttles, lawn mowers, snow blowers, snowmobiles, ATV's, weedwhackers, chain saws, generators, rototillers, farm machinery, construction equipment, zambonis.......suffice it to say that internal combustion engines in use today total far more than one engine per each of the planet's 6 1/2 billion inhabitants.......
By now, you've probably figured out that those items create one helluva lotta total heat. Not only that, but think of the amount of heat that was generated to produce all of those engines....and before that, all of the heat that was generated to produce the machinery and the parts used in the factories........and before that, the amount of heat generated to mine, pump, and transport all of the fuel that was consumed in the raw material production.
But let's not stop there......we've gotta heat billions of dwellings, schools, offices, factories, stores, etc......or, even worse, cool those structures.....which actually generates more heat than heating them.....one of the most inefficient processes ever.....and then, of course, we just have to cool our vehicles.....which multiplies the amount of heat all of those billions of engines produce.
But you use electric heat, you say? Sorry, you certainly aren't off the hook......think about how much heat is generated to produce all of that electricity.......or the electricity to run your air conditioner, or all of your appliances, or your lights, or.......I live in Minnesota....for the last several days, it's been about -20 degrees around here......50 degrees below freezing......do you suppose that the Mississippi river freezes up around here? Hell, no......the power plants dump all of the hot water generated in the process into the river......
Sure, the planet has ways of cooling itself off.....like evaporation.....and of course the sun doesn't shine at night......but it's gotta be getting tired......turn on that 1500-watt hair dryer of yours, stick it in your refrigerator, close the door, and see if the poor 'fridge can keep up......
It's the heat, stupid......
Yeah, there's no doubt it's happening....not in my mind, anyway....or in the minds of the scientific community and the population in general.....with the exception of a few nimrods like Bush and Michael Crichton.
But why? The prevailing theory is greenhouse gases, of course....carbon dioxide in particular....but the way I look at it, all that carbon dioxide should just make plants and trees grow faster and larger.
It's the HEAT, stupid!!!!
I'm sittin' here right now watchin' my world population clock....it's tickin' off another 3 people every second....that's more than a quarter million every day, folks...or about 93,000,000 every fuckin' year.......
Okay, let's roll back about a hundred years......to 1900......back then, the world population was 1.6 billion.....today it's 6.6 billion.....that's an extra 5 billion people runnin' around with their thermostats stuck at 98.6 degrees......like a swarm of tiny space heaters.
What were they driving back in 1900? Horses.......now, of course, there's 600,000,000 passenger cars in the world. And, no....that figure doesn't include SUV's, trucks, buses, trains, boats, airplanes, space shuttles, lawn mowers, snow blowers, snowmobiles, ATV's, weedwhackers, chain saws, generators, rototillers, farm machinery, construction equipment, zambonis.......suffice it to say that internal combustion engines in use today total far more than one engine per each of the planet's 6 1/2 billion inhabitants.......
By now, you've probably figured out that those items create one helluva lotta total heat. Not only that, but think of the amount of heat that was generated to produce all of those engines....and before that, all of the heat that was generated to produce the machinery and the parts used in the factories........and before that, the amount of heat generated to mine, pump, and transport all of the fuel that was consumed in the raw material production.
But let's not stop there......we've gotta heat billions of dwellings, schools, offices, factories, stores, etc......or, even worse, cool those structures.....which actually generates more heat than heating them.....one of the most inefficient processes ever.....and then, of course, we just have to cool our vehicles.....which multiplies the amount of heat all of those billions of engines produce.
But you use electric heat, you say? Sorry, you certainly aren't off the hook......think about how much heat is generated to produce all of that electricity.......or the electricity to run your air conditioner, or all of your appliances, or your lights, or.......I live in Minnesota....for the last several days, it's been about -20 degrees around here......50 degrees below freezing......do you suppose that the Mississippi river freezes up around here? Hell, no......the power plants dump all of the hot water generated in the process into the river......
Sure, the planet has ways of cooling itself off.....like evaporation.....and of course the sun doesn't shine at night......but it's gotta be getting tired......turn on that 1500-watt hair dryer of yours, stick it in your refrigerator, close the door, and see if the poor 'fridge can keep up......
It's the heat, stupid......
posted by Sir Lacksalot at 1:57 PM
2 Comments:
Egad! We must be psychic or something! I was thinking about doing a post on the same thing. My premise was going to be: why in the hell isn't it any WARMER? Four billion extra furnaces running around just since 1950. And...well, all the other stuff you mentioned. I can't believe the planet hasn't burned up...
Crikey you are so damn right. I'm sat in my office and someone has the airconditioner on AND the window open. Cool air in+cool air right out the window? Hows that for inefficiency in an architects office in the tropics?
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