Rant Against Big Carbon!

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Ideas always occur to me when I am in the process of doing something else and cannot write them down and this happened yesterday while I was in my car on the way to a destination. I thought about how, where I live, most lose all reason when it comes to carbon based fuel and will lie down and roll over for any company that drills for oil, fracks for natural gas or oil, or mines for minerals and coal. This kind of fuel releases a lot of carbon dioxide into the air and regardless of your opinion on climate change, CO2 is recognized to be a pollutant by scientists and environmentalist. It's pollution. That's what it is. So, it seems logical, industry should try to reduce the release of pollutants into the air we breathe.

So yesterday, I was thinking, there are obvious markets for carbon based fuel. These would be power plants in locations which are too stormy, do not have much sun or wind, and are prone to quakes. That's the perfect market for coal, but not every market should be forced to use this resource for fuel and where I live, coal is definitely NOT the prefered and logical choice but it is one that is made due to excuses, imo.

These thoughts were triggered when I observed my surroundings and saw a light with solar panel attached and I thought, the city's trying to save as much money as it can so it does the logical thing and it gets a solar panel for this light and saves a boatload of money that way, instead of paying a power company to funnel coal generated electricity into it and then I thought, this is what we should ALL be encouraged to do. Hell, even the city does it! So obviously someone, somewhere, has a clue! They are sick of high electric bills to run the city so they simply buy a panel and stick it on a light to save money. Where I live, wind and sun are in abundance so this is obviously a prime location for that kind of energy. The entire southern US is! Coal is really only needed up north where there is very little sunlight because of earth angles and whatnot, and where nuclear energy is not practical due to earth's instability.

Coal would be a good choice in locations where it is harvested, since it wouldn't cost much to ship.

What I object to, is this coal industry attempting to ram their coal down everyone's throat, acting like it's the ONLY possible way to light up the country. There should be SECTORS and where I live, despite rampant fossil fuel interests, that have appeared to team up with these coal entities from places like West Virginia, just to consolidate and lobby harder so they can monopolize and make billions of dollars which they put into more politics, which is corrupt and controlling. It's not the best option.

We are CLEARLY a sun/wind energy market down here, as is the entire southern US, and it would be cheapest and best for us to abandon coal and natural gas for that matter, while utilizing our most accessible, abundant resources, sun and air. Even the city knows to do this. If they were so big on coal, they wouldn't think twice about putting solar panels on everything. You can find one on virtually any light. And I am sure there are factions in this state who object because Lord knows if these solar panels start popping up everywhere, people will start getting ideas and the stranglehold will be lost and can't let that happen!

It just irritates me when people are so closed minded and it really annoys me that anyone would complain when they see one of those solar panels, trying to pressure the city to abandon them because we can't let the people know, solar panels are the cheapest, smartest way to go down here.

It's a myth that coal is needed everywhere and there should be choices based on what the best options are and it's not always coal so deal with it. It's called the free market. How ironic people who are so into capitalism only support it when it increases their cash flow but to hell with it when it doesn't.

Co2 is not a pollutant, it is the basis of all life on this planet. To "regulate" Co2, you would literally have to control the planet like you were god and that's just what the New World Order aspires to do.

I do support alternate energies, there is no reason why solar can't be used more for personal energy consumption. I think there should be a lot of policies encouraging self-sufficiency altho I do not think that is the interest of those in power.

One question. Can you breathe in CO2?

Yes, you do so with every breath. As long as the concentration isn't too high, you'll be fine.

Only a handful of crazy crackpots believe CO2 is a pollutant.

The concentration is going to get much higher and you're healthier with less CO2 in the air. It's considered a pollutant. What you need is oxygen and you exhale CO2. Ideally, plants will use what you exhale to grow more plant matter. When plants inhale the CO2, they respirate the oxygen you need. This is part of the Carbon cycle that makes your life possible.
Plants are one Carbon sink, another is the ocean floors but guess what? If the air has too much carbon dioxide, it settles in the oceans which are another filter and it makes the water acidic. If it gets too acidic, it reduces the number of species able to live within it. The Ph Balance is compromised. So you see, it's a serious problem. It's polluting the habitat of sensitive creatures who might not be able to adapt and will simply die out.

To a plant, it isn't a pollutant but to humans, it is.

Let me ask you, WHAT is it about everyone using coal that is so enticing? You live in the Netherlands, right? You would likely have coal or nuclear plants because I am pretty sure there's not a lot of wind or excess sunlight. You might be able to utilize wind energy, some.
Why would it matter to you if states in the southern US relied more on solar and wind? I just don't see your dog in this fight...no one would force your country to switch to solar energy is what I'm saying because you don't have enough sunlight.

Increased emissions of CO2 would actually be beneficial.

You wouldn't be as healthy. It's harder to breathe. It would also acidify the oceans which could cause a lot of extinction in marine life. All that carbon dioxide affects the sinks. You are probably referring to plant life benefitting which you are correct, it would. Plants like to have a lot of CO2 and they grow faster and larger. There could be large dead zones in the oceans.

Also, with each generation there would be more CO2. It's going to keep increasing and increasing if coal is the only option. It's inevitable.

We need to emit more CO2 into the atmosphere.

If that were the case, no scientist would have ever come up with this idea it could be problematic. They would have no reason to. It would be like saying crops don't need nitrates in the soil when everyone knows they do and this is why they rotate crops. So for a scientist to declare, crops do not need nitrates to grow, it would be pointless to declare such a statement. There's no reason to and as you know, none of them say that. They don't say stuff just to say stuff.

Then again, I can see where you're coming from because you're up there in Norway where it can get dark and cold a part of the year so might welcome a climate that's warmer. So your reasoning might be, it will warm up in Norway so it could be good.

Last edited by ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo on 14 Aug 2015, 1:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Fear of CO2 is a new phobia.

You want to be warm. I understand.

My point remains. Why not let the people decide what's best for the people, not special interests. Where I live, sun and air is in great abundance so the logical choice would be windmill and solar panels. We are not a coal rich land but we already have plenty of air and sunlight all around just waiting to be captured and utilized. It's not up to mining companies in Wyoming or West Virginia to decide what works best here.

They already are. It's called the market.


Buy a windmill and some solar panels, then, and let other people decide for themselves. Don't be a totalitarian nutcase.

I am just pushing back against Big Carbon who have decided everything so far and will continue to do so into the foreseeable future.