Joe Katzman explains why environmentalists should be grateful for technology in general, and incandescent bulbs in particular.
And be sure to turn on all your lights at the appointed hour. As Iain notes, in North Korea, as you can see from the satellite image, it’s Earth Hour 24/7/365.
The picture of Korea is a wild one. It has got to be one of the few times you can actually see a border separating countries from space.
The thing that bothers me here is the supposed connection between electricity usage and global warming. Some places like France or the Scandinavian countries have no real connection at all. I suppose it’s another nonsensical ritual sacrifice to Gaia. These meaningless acts have no place in decisions that affect everyone on the planet.
It has got to be one of the few times you can actually see a border separating countries from space.
Another one is Haiti/Dominican Republic. You can also see the US/Mexico border in southern California.
More efficient lighting merely means we can enjoy a higher standard of living at a given energy cost. I would rather drink my wine instead of pouring it on the ground as a symbolic gesture. To each his own on that point. 😉
Karl also is correct that the link between energy usage and carbon emissions is not as solid as some assert.
In any event, the case for increased use of non-carbon energy sources and decreased use of carbon energy sources is overdetermined.
1. Climate change (admittedly disputed);
2. Ocean acidification (independent of #1);
3. Superior hydrocarbons are underneath lands governed by unsavory leaders;
4. Use of inferior hydrocarbons (coal!) releases far too much toxic stuff other than CO2;
= = =
Also, excessive exterior night time lighting is very bad for amateur astronomy. 😉
Also, excessive exterior night time lighting is very bad for amateur astronomy.
And not so amateur thuggery. 🙂
Latest reports are DPRK may be using torpedoes now to light up the night.
So I’ll sit in my driveway reading a book.
Of course energy cost isn’t all of it. People like Bill just about always ignore the capital cost.
I’d rather have my lighting at lowest overall cost.
As for his other points:
1. Climate change – yep it’s changing all the time. The argument is whether human CO2 emissions are the cause. I’ve seen no evidence for this. The assertion is that CO2 is an infra red trapping gas and more of it will trap more infra red which will heat the lower atmosphere of the planet. The effect appears to be so small that it cannot be separated from the system noise.
2.Ocean acidification – again a theoretical effect based on modeling. There simply weren’t good ocean ph measurements 150 years ago.
There is much paleo evidence that it is a non problem.
3. The unsavory leaders need customers as much as the customers need oil. Or else their subjects will overthrow them.
4. Coal burning can be cleaned up of pollutants (not CO2 though).
I prefer nukes.
“Latest reports are DPRK may be using torpedoes now to light up the night.”
Um, surely not…photon torpedoes?
The Katzman link is broken. Goes to a (rather comical) 404 page.
The date in the link should read “27th” instead of “28th”, and then it works just fine. He might have had the date problem pointed out to him after he posted it, and then changed it, I dunno.
He might have had the date problem pointed out to him after he posted it, and then changed it, I dunno.
That’s probably what happened. But he should have created a redirect if he was going to change the permalink.