Electric vehicles (split from Quentin Willson's hot tips)

[felixkk]

- it would have been useful for people to be reminded that the earth has suffered huge climate changes in it history and will do so again and there is nothing we can do about it. ‘Global warming’ changes are miniscule by comparison - that’s not to say current ‘climate change’ issues are unimportant, it’s just they need to be put in a context.

I'm not sure what "context" you mean. To quote NASA, and do read the whole article, it's quite short. Of course, they (and the vast majority of scientists) could be wrong:

Air temperatures on Earth have been rising since the Industrial Revolution. While natural variability plays some part, the preponderance of evidence indicates that human activities—particularly emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases—are mostly responsible for making our planet warmer.

According to an ongoing temperature analysis led by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), the average global temperature on Earth has increased by at least 1.1° Celsius (1.9° Fahrenheit) since 1880. The majority of the warming has occurred since 1975, at a rate of roughly 0.15 to 0.20°C per decade.

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world ... mperatures

[colin7673]

- it would have been useful for people to be reminded that the earth has suffered huge climate changes in it history and will do so again and there is nothing we can do about it. ‘Global warming’ changes are miniscule by comparison - that’s not to say current ‘climate change’ issues are unimportant, it’s just they need to be put in a context.

I'm not sure what "context" you mean. To quote NASA, and do read the whole article, it's quite short. Of course, they (and the vast majority of scientists) could be wrong:

Air temperatures on Earth have been rising since the Industrial Revolution. While natural variability plays some part, the preponderance of evidence indicates that human activities—particularly emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases—are mostly responsible for making our planet warmer.

According to an ongoing temperature analysis led by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), the average global temperature on Earth has increased by at least 1.1° Celsius (1.9° Fahrenheit) since 1880. The majority of the warming has occurred since 1975, at a rate of roughly 0.15 to 0.20°C per decade.

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world ... mperatures

I would question the last paragraph,, "The majority of the warming has occurred since 1975, at a rate of roughly 0.15 to 0.20°C per decade "

How can this be so, since the end of the Second World War, the air has got cleaner,

The clean air act British government ultimately passed the Clean Air Act, in 1956, as a direct response to the lethal fog. The act established smoke-free areas throughout the city and restricted the burning of coal in domestic fires as well as in industrial furnaces.
The Clean Air Act is the United States' primary federal air quality law, intended to reduce and control air pollution nationwide. Initially enacted in 1963,
Other countries have don the same thing,.. We have scares every ten years or so, remember Acid rain and all crops wil die.
These emissions reductions have led to major decreases in acid rain nationwide. Wet sulfate deposition – a common indicator of acid rain – dropped by more than 70% between 1989-1991.

Manufacturing has got cleaner, in the West at least.

Depending who you believe by 2030 the world is heading for a mini ice age,

A mini ice age that would freeze major rivers could hit Britain in less than two decades, according to research from universities in the UK and Russia.
A mathematical model of the Sun's magnetic activity suggests temperatures could start dropping here from 2021, with the potential for winter skating on the River Thames by 2030.

How Al Gore has made $330m with climate alarmism: Former VP made a fortune after losing to George W when he set up a green investment firm now worth $36BN that pays him $2m a month... as he warns about 'rain bombs' and 'boiling oceans'

The estimated net worth of Greta Thunberg is $1 million.

Al Gore and Greta Thunberg says it all really.

Simple answer plant more trees.
A typical tree can absorb around 21 kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, however this figure is only achieved when the tree is fully grown - saplings will absorb significantly less than this. Over a lifetime of 100 years, one tree could absorb around a tonne of CO2.

[David Davies]

I’m well aware of the NASA type quote and like everyone on this forum would not have the scientific expertise to know whether it is garbage or not. On balance I accept what is being said and all possible steps should be taken.

My point was that if you look at any good book on the history of the earth over hundreds of millions of years, there have been huge fluctuations in climate and they are predicted to continue and mankind (a very late addition) can do nothing about them. Even in the last 20,000 years. The scientists should always give this context

[Richie]

Indeed, though there can be no doubt that the climate is changing far faster than geological causes alone.
And whilst legislation such as various clean air acts had seen fewer toxic gasses released into the atmosphere, they've done nothing to reduce carbon dioxide emissions which have, and still are, rising.
Estimates suggest that 11 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year were released in the 1960s rising to over 36 billion tons in 2022 according to the Global Carbon Budget 2022.

[felixkk]

And whilst legislation such as various clean air acts had seen fewer toxic gasses released into the atmosphere, they've done nothing to reduce carbon dioxide emissions which have, and still are, rising.

booklet_2022_graph.png (19.05 KiB) Viewed 96 times

https://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/report_2 ... ions_table

[Richie]

Good info but reducing percentages doesn't of course mean absolute levels of CO2 aren't rising.

[David Davies]

The more stats and graphs, I think the less many people are convinced. It’s up to politicians to make the arguments, have convincing policies and actions, with very big inventives to change to EVs etc. Ultimately a lot of people paying for their own car (ie not company car people) will ask what’s in it for me - paying 40 per cent more like for like for EV cars is ridiculous.

With some of the biggest polluters internationally having no appetite to change, politicians here are fighting a losing battle, not helped by very inadequate plans here for green energy, EV infrastructure and other ways of dealing with CO2.