Global Warming 24

[zdas04]

Scientific American Frontiers on the U.S. PBS network aired a program this month about Alaska. One sequence showed a "drunken forest". The ground temperature under the forest increased 3F or so and the permafrost became permaslush. The trees were no longer adequately supported and have started to subside at odd angles.

One of the scary things about the show was the contention that global warming is a positive-feedback loop. The permafrost holds an unimaginable quantity of frozen plant material. The contention of the people interviewed is that when that plant material begins to rot, it will release more CO2 into the air than the sum total of all human emission sources of all time. That CO2 increases the green house effect and further raises temperatures. The higher temperatures thaw the permafrost further and further north and release even more junk.

This loop was in addition to the well-understood loop of the warmer temperatures melting more snow, the water under the snow reflects less light, and the extra energy further raises temperatures.

Evidence in the deep-ice cores show that cycles like this have happened many times in the past. My question is: What is the mechanism of the reversal of the warming cycle? And will the industrialization of the planet make it more or less effective.


David

 

[BillPSU]

moltenmetal
Who will decide the True and Full cost of consumption of a product? The bureaucracy of a government agency or a private concern. Neither one are my choice, free markets which aren't truly free has been the current method for a long time and I'll keep that. Subsidized roads? I don't know where you live but roads are supported with fuel taxes. Public transportation on the other hand is usually subsidized and the riders pay only a portion of the true cost of operation.

You also assume that cities are designed, hardly. Most modern cities are not even a single city. Most are a conglomeration of many cities which we call a metro area. LA is a prime example, many cities within a city. If LA doesn't convince you look at Kansas City. There are three different Kansas Cities. Kansas City, MO, Kansas City, KS, and North Kansas City, MO. Which one of those cities was designed?

I will agree it will be some time before we change methods of using energy but price will be the driving force. If gasoline becomes $5.00/gallon you can bet alternatives will be used to reduce fuel expenses. It already is that expensive in Europe and you don't see as many SUV's in Europe.

 

[DrillerNic]

What you also see in Europe is taxes and tax allowances to try and encourage the use of less polluting cars- car tax related to engine size, tax allowances for company cars that discourage extra mileage per year, lower taxes on cleaner fuels and so on.

And don't forget that high speed rail offers a real alternative to air travel for journeys of up to a couple of hours, reducing air pollutiona nd CO2 production.

Incidentally, the proportion of pump price that is tax in the UK is one of the highest in the world, and the UK is an oil exporter...however the UK train system has suffered from decades of underfunding, so the average milage per car in the UK is higher than in other parts of Europe: hihger fuel taxes alone aren't enough to get poele out of their cars. Several polls in the UK have indicated that hypothecated fuel taxes would be popular and poeple would even accept higher fuel taxes if the revenue was hypothecated towards public transport schemes.