Save the EARTH

[robert.]

Far from possible. Picture how your bank’s remote drive through works. It’s a tube. With your deposit in a pod. You hit a button and that pod zips onto the teller’s counter top. If that system could be used for space travel. Propelled by Co2. It could vent along the way. In outer space. Probably only good for a sci-fi movie

[HONDO74]

Have you seen some of those 2019 photos of the massive changes in Iceland's glaciers ? Wow.

And this is why you are going to give up your internal combustion vehicles and get an electric or hydrogen powered one..

None of which will make any difference unless the production of electricity or hydrogen evolves beyond fossil fuels

Biden says he has a plan to upgrade the infrastructure and it's going to create thousands of new high paying union jobs.

I don't know what the plan is I'm just quoting what he said...

[Rufus T. Firefly]

And this is why you are going to give up your internal combustion vehicles and get an electric or hydrogen powered one..

None of which will make any difference unless the production of electricity or hydrogen evolves beyond fossil fuels

Biden says he has a plan to upgrade the infrastructure and it's going to create thousands of new high paying union jobs.

I don't know what the plan is I'm just quoting what he said...

Trump had a plan, too............that never saw the light of day or more likely never existed.

Either way, it's something 20-30 years overdue.

Not just union jobs, but think about all the businesses providing materials, transports, etc. Infrastructure covers a lot of areas very quickly. Problem is that making cement makes a lot of CO2.....

[HONDO74]

[quote="Rufus T. Firefly" Problem is that making cement makes a lot of CO2.....[/quote]

YES....
Scientists are taking concrete steps towards reducing cement’s massive carbon footprint
https://qz.com/1748561/%E2%80%A8reducin ... ate-fight/

Cement is one of the global economy’s most carbon-polluting industries. Responsible for about 8% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2015, if it were ranked with individual countries, the cement industry would be the third-largest greenhouse-gas emitter in the world behind only China and the United States. And this already outsized footprint is only projected to grow in the coming decades as economic development and rapid urbanization continue across Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. According to the International Energy Agency and the Cement Sustainability Initiative, by 2050 cement production could increase by as much as 23%.

[robert.]

Use existing cement. Mount solar panels on hyway barriers. We have a network of miles and miles of concrete sound barriers. Many running right into major cities. Cover them with panels.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Use existing cement. Mount solar panels on hyway barriers. We have a network of miles and miles of concrete sound barriers. Many running right into major cities. Cover them with panels.

Could be done and that would support a domestic industry making and installing the panels, and then supplement power generation.

[robert.]

Maybe Co2 can be pumped into water. Causing algae to grow faster. That algae can be harvested and used for many things. we could feed it to cattle. Then we could feed people all the corn cows once consumed. We could ferment this algae into a fuel instead of using corn. This could be done in sallow ponds. Making harvest time easy. Sounds like a good business

[HONDO74]

Covid-19 paused climate emissions – but they're rising again
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2021 ... sing-again

The world's sudden launch into lockdown a year ago had an interesting effect on carbon emissions – now they're returning back to normal far quicker than society is.

The planet had already warmed by around 1.2C since pre-industrial times when the World Health Organization officially declared a pandemic on 11 March 2020. This began a sudden and unprecedented drop in human activity, as much of the world went into lockdown and factories stopped operating, cars kept their engines off and planes were grounded.

There have been many monumental changes since then, but for those of us who work as climate scientists this period has also brought some entirely new and sometimes unexpected insights.

The pandemic made us think on our feet about how to get around some of the difficulties of monitoring greenhouse gas emissions, and carbon dioxide in particular, in real time. When many lockdowns were beginning in March 2020, the next comprehensive Global Carbon Budget setting out the year's emissions trends was not due until the end of the year. So climate scientists set about looking for other data that might indicate how CO2 was changing.

[HONDO74]

What 'net-zero carbon' really means for cities
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2020 ... on-by-2050

A city historically known for its lethal 20th-Century smogs has committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 – how will London get there?

London, like the rest of the UK, is committed to becoming net-zero carbon by 2050. That means greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions would be dramatically slashed and any remaining emissions offset, neutralising environmental impact and slowing climate change. But how does a city choked with traffic and packed full of carbon-emitting processes and structures – from fossil fuel-generated energy to steel skyscrapers – reach such a goal? And exactly how different would the urban environment look if it were net-zero?

If London’s population continues to rapidly grow – by 2050 it may be home to more than 11 million people – and the climate crisis accelerates, the challenge will only become more urgent. Transport, energy infrastructure, waste, new construction and existing architecture, all need to be take steps to achieve carbon neutrality.

Transport
In the UK, transport is the largest source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, damaging both the environment and public health. When we imagine the city of the future, novelties like flying cars may come to mind – but a decarbonised future for transport might mean no cars at all. Realistically, it’s about shifting the ratio of transport modes. At last count in 2018, 37% of trips in London were made by car or motorcycle, 36% of trips by public transport and 2.6% by bicycle (the rest were walked or described as “other”). In order to achieve a net-zero city, and reduce toxic air pollution, the proportion of trips made by car would need to drastically reduce.

In order to get to net zero by 2050, we would need nearly a 60% reduction in car mileage, even if all cars were low emission, by 2035

The built environment is responsible for around 40% of the UK’s total carbon footprint


All I'm looking for is how are we going to do it...

[Rufus T. Firefly]

All I'm looking for is how are we going to do it...

We'll probably lag behind the rest of the world denying any need for change............

[HONDO74]

Citing grave threat, Scientific American replaces 'climate change' with 'climate emergency'
https://news.yahoo.com/citing-grave-thr ... 29578.html

"The planet is heating up way too fast. It’s time for journalism to recognize that the climate emergency is here," the statement said, adding, "Why 'emergency'? Because words matter. To preserve a livable planet, humanity must take action immediately."

Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that, despite the pandemic, which curtailed travel and economic activity, carbon dioxide and methane levels in the Earth's atmosphere continued to rise, reaching their highest levels in the past 3.6 million years. The last time CO2 was at its current levels, global sea levels were 78 feet higher than they are today and the average global temperature was 7 degrees Fahrenheit hotter.

Scientists have been warning that the increased amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere caused by human activity has already warmed global temperatures by 2 degrees Fahrenheit and is fast melting the polar ice caps.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

To my knowledge, there are a number of cities, such as NYC, New Orleans, and Venice, which have been taking this very seriously.

[HONDO74]

World's wealthiest 'at heart of climate problem'
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-56723560

The world’s wealthy must radically change their lifestyles to tackle climate change, a report says.

It says the world's wealthiest 1% produce double the combined carbon emissions of the poorest 50%, according to the UN.

The wealthiest 5% alone – the so-called “polluter elite” - contributed 37% of emissions growth between 1990 and 2015.

The authors want to deter SUV drivers and frequent fliers – and persuade the wealthy to insulate their homes well.

The report urges the UK government to reverse its decision to scrap air passenger duty on UK return flights.

And it wants ministers to re-instate the Green Homes Grant scheme they also scrapped recently.

The document has come from the UK-based Cambridge Sustainability Commission on Scaling Behaviour Change.

It’s a panel of 31 individuals who study people’s behaviour relating to the environment. They were tasked to find the most effective way of scaling up action to tackle carbon emissions.

Their critics say the best way to cut emissions faster is through technological improvements - not through measures that would prove unpopular.

But the lead author of the report, Prof Peter Newell, from Sussex University, told BBC News: “We are totally in favour of technology improvements and more efficient products - but it’s clear that more drastic action is needed because emissions keep going up.

“We have got to cut over-consumption and the best place to start is over-consumption among the polluting elites who contribute by far more than their share of carbon emissions.

[HONDO74]

As Biden prepares for climate summit, U.N. says the world is 'on the verge of the abyss'
https://news.yahoo.com/as-biden-prepare ... 22171.html

Yahoo News
As Biden prepares for climate summit, U.N. says the world is 'on the verge of the abyss'
David Knowles
David Knowles·Senior Editor
Mon, April 19, 2021, 2:42 PM

Just days before President Biden kicks off a climate summit with world leaders, the United Nations World Meteorological Organization released a report Monday warning that “time is fast running out” to keep global temperatures in check.

Titled “State of the Global Climate 2020,” the report finds that concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere continued to climb in 2020, despite lockdowns imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Last year, the report notes, was the third warmest on record, worsening the melting of glaciers and sea ice, the acidification of the world’s oceans and the severity of wildfires and hurricanes.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

With all the Ice Cap melting, is the salinity of the oceans lowering, or is there, by sheer volume , including depth, far too much ocean water to have it affected like that ?

And wouldn't lowered salinity of the oceans have an effect on sea life, such as at coral reefs ?