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Global Warming Thoughts
Dec. 9th, 2009 10:15 amIt may be weird to think about global warming in the middle of a snowstorm, but you blog the thoughts you have, not the thoughts you wish you had. So, apropos of nothing, some random thoughts on global warming.
1) Some of the Usual Suspects are arguing that we might be heading for a global ice age, and CO2 emissions are all that is saving us from this Dread Fate that is Worse Than Death. I find this analogous to the 500-pound man not wanting to go on a diet lest he become anorexic. In either case, the solution to the (probably non-existent) problem is obvious.
2) There are, if not 57, a number of geoengineering proposals. I'm all for the idea, but, the ideas all share the same problems:
- We don't know if they will work or what the side effects are. We have even less data on geoengineering than on climate change.
- Waiting until we need to geoengineer to find out if the schemes work is like waiting until you're in a gunfight to see if your gun is loaded.
- None of these schemes will be profitable for private enterprise unless government pays for them, either directly or indirectly.
3) If we're going to get serious about global warming, we're going to need nuclear power plants. The single largest source of greenhouse gas is the smokestacks of electrical power plants. Here's an idea - call it the "Dirty Dozen Plan."
We build a dozen CANDU reactors in the US. These reactors are, inherently safe (no meltdowns - loss of coolant = fission stopping).
They can burn waste uranium from conventional (light water) reactors, helping to solve that problem. Each reactor is linked to specific, high-pollution, conventional power plants. When reactor #1 comes on line, specific plant(s) go off-line, and so forth.
Building the reactors are an obvious economic stimulus package, and by retiring high-pollution plants, we reduce our CO2 emissions. It's an obvious win-win.
1) Some of the Usual Suspects are arguing that we might be heading for a global ice age, and CO2 emissions are all that is saving us from this Dread Fate that is Worse Than Death. I find this analogous to the 500-pound man not wanting to go on a diet lest he become anorexic. In either case, the solution to the (probably non-existent) problem is obvious.
2) There are, if not 57, a number of geoengineering proposals. I'm all for the idea, but, the ideas all share the same problems:
- We don't know if they will work or what the side effects are. We have even less data on geoengineering than on climate change.
- Waiting until we need to geoengineer to find out if the schemes work is like waiting until you're in a gunfight to see if your gun is loaded.
- None of these schemes will be profitable for private enterprise unless government pays for them, either directly or indirectly.
3) If we're going to get serious about global warming, we're going to need nuclear power plants. The single largest source of greenhouse gas is the smokestacks of electrical power plants. Here's an idea - call it the "Dirty Dozen Plan."
We build a dozen CANDU reactors in the US. These reactors are, inherently safe (no meltdowns - loss of coolant = fission stopping).
They can burn waste uranium from conventional (light water) reactors, helping to solve that problem. Each reactor is linked to specific, high-pollution, conventional power plants. When reactor #1 comes on line, specific plant(s) go off-line, and so forth.
Building the reactors are an obvious economic stimulus package, and by retiring high-pollution plants, we reduce our CO2 emissions. It's an obvious win-win.
