Tag Archives: climate change

One of the climate change denialist memes is that, since plants inhale carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen during the day, then increased CO2 will be *good* for trees. Setting aside the facts that increased desertification and increased coastal flooding are decidedly *not* good for trees, a recent study suggests that it more CO2 doesn’t necessarily result in more/faster tree growth:“Why not? Our new research, published today in Nature, shows it comes...

I grew up in Oak Ridge TN, the “atomic city.” It was where the uranium was enriched for the Hiroshima bomb. After the war, uranium enrichment found peaceful application in nuclear power plants. Many of the kids I knew growing up had dads who worked at one of the plants–X-10, Y-12, K-25–that researched and developed uranium enrichment and power plant design.After initial enthusiasm for power that would be “too cheap to meter,” nuclear power plants...

It is difficult to argue against an electric vehicle when the efficiency is far greater. The only argument one could make presently is the sunk cost of your scrapping out your gasoline powered vehicle. There is no gain there and also no penalty if you keep it. The penalty of keeping it will come eventually. And then there is the paying out of another $30,000 for a new EV plus infrastructure. I am not talking about a pickup truck EV either....

I have been looking around to see if I can find some commentaries addressing whether it make sense to swap out an efficient gasoline powered vehicle for an EV. There are not many of commentaries out on the internet. This is one of several I found and it speaks in terms of energy provided by gasoline. I am waiting on permission from one author. I believe the topic of swapping to more efficient vehicles is worth the conversation. The person asking...

In-Box Topics as discovered in my In-Box and accumulate every week. I can’t post them all even though I read or scan them. Maybe you will enjoy them? Healthcare Politics Engaging Antiracist And Decolonial Praxis To Advance Equity In Oregon Public Health Surveillance Practices, Health Affairs, This has consequences for how communities of color are represented or misrepresented, viewed, and valued and for what is prioritized and viewed as...

A guide to electric car misinformation (part 2) by Emily Atkin HEATED Contrasting EVs to gas powered vehicles. And will EVs be as bad or worst that gasoline powered vehicles. And some promoters of EVs go in the opposite direction over promoting EVs or what the article calls green washing EVS. ~~~~~~~~ Financially motivated EV misinformation comes from both sides of the aisle (the lane?). Industries that see EVs as a threat exaggerate...

Another stupid climate change denialist troll trick is to point out that volcanos also emit carbon dioxide and therefore volcanos, not human activity, are the cause of the current climate change crisis. While vulcanism has shaped the climate during earth’s history, it is not a significant contributor today. Human activity-associated CO2 generation dwarfs volcanos. Again, Google is your friend:“Volcanic eruptions are often discussed in the context of...

A favorite canard of climate change denialist trolls is to trivialize the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; how could something that is only 0.04% of the atmosphere drive global warming? Well, Google is your friend:“About 99 percent of the atmosphere is made of oxygen and nitrogen, which cannot absorb the infrared radiation the Earth emits. Of the remaining 1 percent, the main molecules that can absorb infrared radiation are CO2 and water...

We’re seriously considering a hybrid for our next car. One species of the hybrid genus is the “plug-in hybrid,” which seemed appealing to me, both from the standpoint of gas economy and to reduce our carbon footprint. Caveat emptor:“In one study from the ICCT published in 2022, researchers examined real-world driving habits of people in plug-in hybrids. While the method used to determine official emissions values estimated that drivers use electricity...

Kevin Drum has a post up showing that EV sales have plateaued recently in the US. It’s not clear to me whether that’s all EVs or just Teslas, but since Teslas remain the dominant EVs in the US, that’s a distinction without a difference.I’d be happy to see more EVs on the road. But what would make me buy one? Well, one issue is price. I’d consider an econobox EV under $30K, but auto makers seem mostly to be slotting EVs as luxury purchases. Then...