Re: Global Warming was RE: Hazards of Coal Burning

From: Kai Becker (kmb@kai-m-becker.de)
Date: Tue Feb 04 2003 - 18:18:01 MST

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    Am Mittwoch, 5. Februar 2003 00:26 schrieb Gary Miller:
    > Global warming until proven is just a theory.

    From what I've read about it until now, the heat and the waste (CO2, NOx,
    FCHCs) of our civilization seems to increase the energetic level of the
    global climate. While the long term effect may be another stable state,
    the short term effect seems to be increased instability and local peak
    events like devastating thunder storms, hurricans, floods, etc.,
    destroying a lot of land.

    > Even if we are accelerating the warming effect, it will still happen
    > over a long long period of time allowing us to perfect alternate energy
    > sources as fossil fuels become scarcer and more expensive!

    That's not so clear. Many factors of the climate equation contain a
    buffering element, for example to store CO2, bind NOx or decompose toxic
    waste. The oceans, forests and large mountains are known for this.
    Systems like that work up to a certain point and then suddenly tilt and
    collapse like a lake that dies.

    > Perhaps some areas will be intolerably hot but areas like the continent
    > under the arctic may become habitable! As temperatures slowly increase
    > people will migrate to more desirable climates.

    Such large scale migrations - not from Nevada to Wyoming, but from Africa
    to Europe, from Middle/South America through the USA - will probably
    produce a lot of wars for resources and against the emigrants rsp. those
    who are defending their soil. This could be a substancial threat to our
    civilization.

       Kai

    -- 
    == Kai M. Becker == kmb@kai-m-becker.de == Bremen, Germany ==
      "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced"
    


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