Speaking of water, the City of Atlanta will have the most expensive water and sewer bills in the entire country next year (currently, we're second only to Seattle and we've got 12.5% and 12% increases scheduled for the next two years). Do you know why?
It's not because of the tri-state water war (although that'll make it even worse soon), it's because the city neglected its infrastructure for about 30 years and now we've been forced to spend $4 billion fixing it all at once. If we had been maintaining the systems properly all along, we wouldn't be in this mess now!
Carbon taxes/offsets/whatever work the same way: by paying a little bit more now, we avoid having to pay a lot more all at once later.
Remember, its not "Global Warming" anymore, its "Climate Change". An ubiquitous catch all phrase which assigns any negative changes in nature to the life style of industrialized nations. Receding glaciers? Global Warming. Rising water levels? Global Warming. Hurricanes? Global warming! Blizzards and cold summers... uh... er... Climate Change!!!
No, it's all global warming, including the [unusually severe] blizzards. "Warming" -- increasing the energy of the system -- really means increasing volatility, not increasing temperatures evenly everywhere. Hotter summers, colder winters, wetter floods, drier droughts -- all are examples of increased volatility.
As an analogy, consider a glass of water. In its normal low-energy state, the surface is flat and calm. But if you shake it, adding energy, it'll slosh around. Do you deny that the shaking made a difference just because the average depth remained constant?
If your electricity comes from hydro and nuclear, then your power bill becomes CHEAPER because your electric co is selling the carbon offsets, not buying them! So what are you complaining about?!
No it doesn't. Maybe CO2 at STP does (and I haven't checked to be sure), but pure, solid carbon weighs either 1.8-2.1 g/cm^3 in amorphous form, 2.267 g/cm^3 as graphite, or 3.515 g/cm^3 as diamond.
How long have accurate temperature readings been kept? When I say "accurate", I mean with 0.76C margin of error? Is that really long enough to make a trend?
Using mass spectrometry to measure the oxygen isotope ratio in ice cores allows temperature data to be collected going back 500,000 years. My source doesn't say whether the margin of error meets your particular demands, though. (I suspect it does.)
But a credit is a credit, isn't it? Does it really matter whether the wind power is concentrated in one 350+ MW project or distributed between 350+ 1 MW ones?
If we can do this on a large enough scale, loggers might be able to sequester CO2 by cutting down enough trees, then planting another set of trees to continue the process.
And then we could keep stacking the wood so that it gets buried and compressed under its own weight!
Or we could just quit digging the coal out of the ground in the first place, which seems like a lot less effort than trying to put it back manually!.
No it doesn't. It subsidizes the more efficient alternatives. The taxes collected from coal-fired power plants might go towards building solar or wind power plants, for example, so the latter become cheaper.
Forcing people to pay a tax or to buy imaginary 'carbon offsets' (fuck, how stupid are some people) is not a way to a solution, it's a way to monetize a problem...
I happen to like my mechanical diesels, which achieve efficiencies very near to modern systems.
The only problem is that the mechanical diesels don't achieve emissions very near to modern systems.
Of course, I have the same attitude you do (that the older cars are better), except I complain about failure-prone and biodiesel-incompatible diesel particulate filters while praising my rotary-injection TDI.
These sorts of security "flaws" also allow people to change the fuel injection mappings to increase horsepower, or enable extra electrical features not included from the factory, or do any number of other neat things. I want my car's computer to be more accessible, not less!
now many people can argue that they say that but woln't do it BUT out of the different publishers and networks Steam seems to be the only one actually doing GOOD work - and i have YET to see them re-nig on something, and there for will give them the benefit of the doubt and my money - until they give me a reason not to.
The trouble is, if that situation were ever to occur it means that Valve was going out of business... and who knows if the ethical people would still be there at that point?
I see no reason why Valve can't write that guarantee into the Terms of Service. Then we'd really (officially, legally) be assured of it!
But you have to understand, just about every mode of travel (actually, I think literally every mode of travel), for a probe, deep space or otherwise, is just some sort of fancy orbit or another.
I'm pretty sure the Voyager probes are the exception to that, since they're aimed to actually exit the solar system rather than eventually returning.
Slashdot Mirror
Speaking of water, the City of Atlanta will have the most expensive water and sewer bills in the entire country next year (currently, we're second only to Seattle and we've got 12.5% and 12% increases scheduled for the next two years). Do you know why?
It's not because of the tri-state water war (although that'll make it even worse soon), it's because the city neglected its infrastructure for about 30 years and now we've been forced to spend $4 billion fixing it all at once. If we had been maintaining the systems properly all along, we wouldn't be in this mess now!
Carbon taxes/offsets/whatever work the same way: by paying a little bit more now, we avoid having to pay a lot more all at once later.
Incidentally, I'm envious of your Insight.
No, it's all global warming, including the [unusually severe] blizzards. "Warming" -- increasing the energy of the system -- really means increasing volatility, not increasing temperatures evenly everywhere. Hotter summers, colder winters, wetter floods, drier droughts -- all are examples of increased volatility.
As an analogy, consider a glass of water. In its normal low-energy state, the surface is flat and calm. But if you shake it, adding energy, it'll slosh around. Do you deny that the shaking made a difference just because the average depth remained constant?
If your electricity comes from hydro and nuclear, then your power bill becomes CHEAPER because your electric co is selling the carbon offsets, not buying them! So what are you complaining about?!
That's why they're trying to increase the cost gradually with a carbon tax, rather than suddenly by hitting peak oil without a plan already in place!
You're confusing environmentalists with NIMBYs.
No it doesn't. Maybe CO2 at STP does (and I haven't checked to be sure), but pure, solid carbon weighs either 1.8-2.1 g/cm^3 in amorphous form, 2.267 g/cm^3 as graphite, or 3.515 g/cm^3 as diamond.
AFTER you account for the externalities, which is EXACTLY WHAT THE GODDAMN CARBON TAX DOES!
Yes, 'cause producing photovoltaic panels using precision machines in cleanrooms is totally stone-age compared to burning shit!
But other jobs get created elsewhere. This is why Germany has a booming photovoltaic industry despite having insolation similar to Alaska, for example.
Maybe you should have paid attention in Econ 102.
Using mass spectrometry to measure the oxygen isotope ratio in ice cores allows temperature data to be collected going back 500,000 years. My source doesn't say whether the margin of error meets your particular demands, though. (I suspect it does.)
Methane, the simplest hydrocarbon, is quite a lot different than petroleum, which is made out of complex hydrocarbons.
But a credit is a credit, isn't it? Does it really matter whether the wind power is concentrated in one 350+ MW project or distributed between 350+ 1 MW ones?
And then we could keep stacking the wood so that it gets buried and compressed under its own weight!
Or we could just quit digging the coal out of the ground in the first place, which seems like a lot less effort than trying to put it back manually!.
How about this: quit letting perfect become the enemy of good by supporting both solar and nuclear power!
No it doesn't. It subsidizes the more efficient alternatives. The taxes collected from coal-fired power plants might go towards building solar or wind power plants, for example, so the latter become cheaper.
Speaking of ad-hominem fallacies...
The only problem is that the mechanical diesels don't achieve emissions very near to modern systems.
Of course, I have the same attitude you do (that the older cars are better), except I complain about failure-prone and biodiesel-incompatible diesel particulate filters while praising my rotary-injection TDI.
These sorts of security "flaws" also allow people to change the fuel injection mappings to increase horsepower, or enable extra electrical features not included from the factory, or do any number of other neat things. I want my car's computer to be more accessible, not less!
We haven't had a decent manned space plan. Galileo, Cassini, Spirit & Opportunity, and plenty others worked out very well.
The trouble is, if that situation were ever to occur it means that Valve was going out of business... and who knows if the ethical people would still be there at that point?
I see no reason why Valve can't write that guarantee into the Terms of Service. Then we'd really (officially, legally) be assured of it!
It really sucks that you can't use it with cable or satellite HDTV though.
I'm pretty sure the Voyager probes are the exception to that, since they're aimed to actually exit the solar system rather than eventually returning.
Exactly.
Sure there was! You just had to import it from Japan and pay $2000 for it.
EULAS are contracts of adhesion, and therefore unenforceable bullshit.