tsk.

http://clubs.ccsu.edu/recorder/editorial/editorial_item.asp?NewsID=188

Key points:

1. The Prius takes more energy to build than a Hummer
2. The Hummer lasts approximately 3x longer than a Prius
3. The Prius’ savings on fuel do not make up for its overall energy costs
4. Summary: Prius = $3.25 per mile (lifetime) vs. Hummer = $1.95 per mile (lifetime)

If you’re concerned about energy costs/carbon footprint, then the Hummer is a better answer than the Prius.

While I don’t believe the above statement (or any other drivel that proceedeth from Al Gore’s minions), I would agree that overconsumption/gluttony is one of America’s biggest weaknesses. Right behind uptight Prius drivers of course

“Where do we bury the batteries, they’re not recyclable”

Who said that?

Lithium is a quite rare metal and it will fetch big bucks. It is also not nearly as toxic as the lead in the starter batteries present in every single car made, which have to be replaced more often than 120,000 miles.
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You can bash the concepts of energy efficiency and conservation all you want, but the fact is that the redneck/McMansion/celebrity lifestyle isn’t sustainable. The Earth can’t support it when 6.5 billion people all want it. Climate change is only ONE of many environmental problems caused by overconsumption.

However, hybrid SUVs are not a solution to any of them. But Just as some people may use their Prius as a “status symbol”, some SUV owners do the exact same thing. The worst are the SUVs with the “Support the Troops” magnets plastered on the back. Yeah, thanks for supporting the troops while the world buys more fuel from the very nations which we are at odds with.

Personally, I’ve never heard anyone boast or talk about buying a hybrid car. I rarely overhear people boasting about cars. This even though I live in a community whose other occupants are very liberal. In contrast, I’ve seen the topic is often a complaint on denialist internet blogs. Go figure.

The guy just bought an SUV that runs 8 - 10 mpg better. Big deal. But the ladies say overconfident guys often think bigger is better. ‘Taint so. This family has a vehicle they don’t really need. They should get some real cost savings in a mid-sized hybrid that gets 50 mpg. But Ford doesn’t make one.

Kids are often sharper than their parents and this one is no exception. I know that is true for mine and it is probably true for yours. Even though dad has bought the wrong car, the girl realizes global warming will have a significant effect on her world. She is however insufferably hung-up over appearance.

“Just remember that global warming is an idea that has existed in the scientific arena for decades.”

Well, heck. That’s all the proof I need. The idea has “existed” — and in the scientific arena, no less — for so long, it must be true!

“Three oxygen molecules forming a bond are what we know as “ozone”, you can read all about it…”

Actually, not. To form ozone, three oxygen atoms do not form “a bond”. Three sigma bonds must form — one between each oxygen atom. Picture a triangular arrangement of the oxygen atoms, and a bond between each one. This is in contrast to the oxygen gas that we breathe, which has two oxygen atoms bound by a sigma bond and a pi bond — your standard double bond.

To paraphrase Glenn Reynolds, I’ll start believing that global warming is a crisis when the people who are telling me that it’s a crisis start acting like it’s a crisis.

I’m not sure what you are. I know climatologists, and you’re no climatologist.

I am a physicist. I know how IR interacts with CO2, H2O and others. Water is the bigger culprit here, and there’s a feedback. The warmer it gets, the more water evaporates from the oceans, the more H2O in the air………

Canada is predicting it’s worst winter since ‘94, and has already seen much colder weather than normal. I know that my natural gas usage is up considerably over the last two years, because it’s colder in the midwest.

There is more evidence against CO2 causing climate change than for, but the contrary evidence is not accepted in journals, since it can’t be correct if the lawyer from TN says so. NASA has taken up the mantra to stay in business, since they were on the block. There is no funding available to the “independent” university researchers to disprove anthropogenic global warming, so the research will not be pursued. The money’s only there if you come up with the “correct” results.

Cheers.

But I for one will take your advice and continue to shy away from tofu!

Look into the science, do some experiments of your own. No one likes a hack (except for a bunch of loud, shrill like-minded hacks). You don’t have to love Al Gore’s personality to see the evidence for carbon emissions causing warming. Hell, no one I know has ever chatted me up about seeing his movie, and I never have. Just remember that global warming is an idea that has existed in the scientific arena for decades.

I don’t agree you should all drive hybrids. I drive a straight 6 for a reason called horse power. I don’t have the money to afford a prius and probably never will. Hybrids are getting cheaper though, and gas is getting more expensive, so where is your complaining leading? If global warming is not in existence, those little imaginary Prius-driving assholes that breath down your neck ALL FUCKING DAY will just leave more gas for you and I to use as we please. Ahhh, all those hippies! They’re everywhere! Momma, halp!

So, lets agree to disagree there.

However, I do agree that none of you should eat tofu or salads… please work that cholesterol up just like all the men in my family, who have all died by 60 from heart problems. I plan on sidestepping that milestone myself, as steak and chicken are something I prefer to have once a week instead of once a meal. I wouldn’t mind having a little more space between my neighbors and myself, and negative population growth is the best way to do that. Go forth!

Thanks for entertaining me at work, guys. You’re really something else.