http://outside.danmitchell.org/2008/06/24/two-cents-per-gallon-someday-maybe/ Where I go, what I see, what I do, what I use, what I think, what I like... Thu, 04 Dec 2008 01:15:56 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 http://outside.danmitchell.org/2008/06/24/two-cents-per-gallon-someday-maybe/#comment-6063 cynthialeeder Thu, 03 Jul 2008 06:09:17 +0000 http://outside.danmitchell.org/?p=3994#comment-6063 Yes Dan, you are absolutely right and I have often thought that as well. As long as gas was cheap people had less incentive to buy anything efficient and bought Hummers and Suburbans and Expeditions instead, the very worst of choices for the planet. I feel for the people who were alreadying struggling to survive without having to pay high energy costs. And yet I think we are looking at a bigger issue that could come down to survival of civilization and I am not optimistic. I saw a report in Nature recently that ocean water acidified by CO2 50 years ago is now making its way to the surface and doing its harm to sea life. What is the ocean water of today going to be doing in 50 years when it circulates up? How much hotter will it be? I saw an article on CNN today about the heat waves we can expect in the future and its ugly. I don't like hot weather and I can imagine being one of those done in by a future heat wave. And that doesn't even address the other issues like will there be water to irrigate crops? Will it be so hot that our crops won't grow? And I can just imagine the pressures populations will feel to immigrate in order to survive and the wars that will be fought over something as simple as water. I hope that my worries will be unfounded, that we will all work together and solve it but when I see how so many people respond negatively to the issue of global warming even as it looms over them, I really worry that we're not going to make it. I personally don't believe civilization will survive this century. But morally, I feel I must try to at least do what I can not to make matters worse, to try and be part of the solution by the choices I make going forward. Yes Dan, you are absolutely right and I have often thought that as well. As long as gas was cheap people had less incentive to buy anything efficient and bought Hummers and Suburbans and Expeditions instead, the very worst of choices for the planet. I feel for the people who were alreadying struggling to survive without having to pay high energy costs. And yet I think we are looking at a bigger issue that could come down to survival of civilization and I am not optimistic. I saw a report in Nature recently that ocean water acidified by CO2 50 years ago is now making its way to the surface and doing its harm to sea life. What is the ocean water of today going to be doing in 50 years when it circulates up? How much hotter will it be? I saw an article on CNN today about the heat waves we can expect in the future and its ugly. I don’t like hot weather and I can imagine being one of those done in by a future heat wave. And that doesn’t even address the other issues like will there be water to irrigate crops? Will it be so hot that our crops won’t grow? And I can just imagine the pressures populations will feel to immigrate in order to survive and the wars that will be fought over something as simple as water. I hope that my worries will be unfounded, that we will all work together and solve it but when I see how so many people respond negatively to the issue of global warming even as it looms over them, I really worry that we’re not going to make it. I personally don’t believe civilization will survive this century. But morally, I feel I must try to at least do what I can not to make matters worse, to try and be part of the solution by the choices I make going forward.

]]>