A Car Guy's Take on Global Warming.

Topic: A Car Guy's Take on Global Warming. (Read 4780 times) previous topic - next topic

A Car Guy's Take on Global Warming.

March 19, 2008, 10:24:27 PM

Some of you know who Gary Witzenburg is. He has a long and celebrated career in automotive journalism and has even written a few books to include Mercury Cougar 1967-1987 .

Read THIS

A Car Guy's Take on Global Warming.

Reply #1 – March 19, 2008, 10:30:40 PM

I think GW has come into question since the temperature has stayed relatively flat since 1998.

Here's another good article.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/04/09/do0907.xml

A Car Guy's Take on Global Warming.

Reply #2 – March 19, 2008, 10:59:29 PM

I was aggravated (though not too surprised) to not see this on the evening news back in oh AUGUST when it happened...http://www.townhall.com/columnists/AmandaCarpenter/2007/08/17/nasa_blocked_climate_change_blogger_from_data seems one could argue global warming was a Y2K bug lol. The corrected data makes 1934 the hottest year of the 20th century, not 1998. And in the ten hottest years as you follow the list it tends to jump back and forth from the first half to the second half of the century entry after entry, yielding no pattern at all.

I always believed it was just another case of a few misleading many with fear/guilt etc, and still do. Just another good reason not to jump to conclusions too quickly and try to extreme-overhaul everything you do when it might not even be necessary.

A Car Guy's Take on Global Warming.

Reply #3 – March 19, 2008, 11:14:26 PM

Quote

Some of you know who Gary Witzenburg is. He has a long and celebrated career in automotive journalism and has even written a few books to include Mercury Cougar 1967-1987.

Yeah, well, he got some facts dead wrong in that book too...

A Car Guy's Take on Global Warming.

Reply #4 – March 19, 2008, 11:37:01 PM

Wow, that guy likes insulting people and likes to combine the words "CO2" and "harmless". I read the entire article but there was little meat on them there bones.

A Car Guy's Take on Global Warming.

Reply #5 – March 20, 2008, 07:26:04 AM

He just summed up my current view of Global Warming (a year ago I thought very different). He's not very good with tact, but he has made all the major points.

Food for thought, during the Medieval Warming Period, people were farming in Greenland. It was also a time of economic and agricultural boom. Amazing how the earth bounced back without regulating how much those farmers sheep were allowed to fart.

A Car Guy's Take on Global Warming.

Reply #6 – March 20, 2008, 09:24:11 AM

I don't know whether global warming is happening or not (our last several winters, including this one in which as I type on the first day of spring there's a freezing rain storm going on outside my window, would seem to suggest "not"). Truthfully, it doesn't matter to me whether it's happening (and even more truthfully, after the long, cold, snowy winter we're still trying to see behind us, I'm secretly rooting for global warming). All of that is on the back burner in my mind. Still, I see great merit in the push for alternative energy and energy conservation, if not for any other reason but that for every bit of energy I conserve I spend a little less money.

That's right - I conserve energy because I'm CHEAP. I bought a 40MPG Saturn because I was too cheap to fill up a 20MPG Lincoln. I cut my trips to the city in half because I'm too cheap to buy the gas necessary to do it 4 times a week. I drive at exactly the speed limit on the highway because I'm too cheap to burn the extra gas required to drive faster (and WAY too cheap to pay a $250 ticket). I bought 7 cords of firewood for $900 because I'm too cheap to fill up a 200-gallon oil tank several times at $800/shot. I turn the TV off when I'm not watching it, replaced all my bulbs with CFL's, and use the clothes line because I'm too cheap to pay high power bills.

My stingy ways have saved me a lot of money in the two years I've owned this house. For example, CFL's not only burn less energy, they last longer (I've yet to have one burn out, including the one in the basp00get that has been lit constantly all last winter and all of this winter). It's had the added bonus of keeping more of my money out of Chavez's bank account (most of our oil on the east coast comes from Venezuela). Every drop of oil my stingy ways has conserved is a drop of oil that will be available in future. The environmental impact of my stingy ways is merely a side benefit.

A Car Guy's Take on Global Warming.

Reply #7 – March 20, 2008, 09:34:05 AM

^^^ Definitely a good point. Nuttin' wrong with trying to save as much as you can on fuel.

http://www.newscloud.com/wire/redir/1706828/ It's so obvious diesel is the way to go. Funny how all of those are from Chrysler but thats still SIX cars made HERE that we can't own here. I mean I'm all for regulating the diesels from THE non-attainment areas, but I don't see the merit in screwing us ALL just because of those areas.

All I know is good luck getting the big 3 to meet 35 MPG cafe by 2020 without diesel. WITH it, they could probably pull it off even sooner!

A Car Guy's Take on Global Warming.

Reply #8 – March 20, 2008, 09:46:28 AM

Quote

replaced all my bulbs with CFL's

Homo. :flip:

J/k Carm, I wouldn't consider that being cheap. It's being frugal, and being smart, with everything that you do. You're not that far from what I and most others have been forced to do, thanks to the economy: tighten the belt, buck up, and do what needs to be done. My home heating supplement to propane has been an electric ceramic heater, which has done a wonderful job in keeping things moderately temperate in the house. Cost $40 new, has added only about $20/month to the electric bill, and like your situation, it beats a $3/gallon fill of the 500-gallon propane tank. Then again, I have a ranch house so it's a lot easier to do in my situation.

Hell, I probably drive the least of anyone here: 7 miles a day total, 35 miles a week. I fill up the tank on the Mountaineer once a MONTH. And even I had to make adjustments in my life to ensure that I have enough money to fill the tank. Can't wait until summer, when I've got the other two cars out (and one of those takes premium unleaded). But that's the price I must pay to have three vehicles, and two summer toys. It's my responsibility.

I'm still not sold on the CFL bulbs, especially because their light output can suck. I'm replacing everything in my house, garage and basp00get with flourescent, halogen or LED lighting, mainly for longer life but also with the added benefit of reduced energy consumption. Plus they'll look cool.

Really, I'm well on the path to being energy independent as much as possible. I make my own water (well), I have my own sewage containment (septic), I get my TV shows from the air (satellite), and I have my own holding tank for my heating fuel (propane) whose price is locked in, and once I buy it, it's all mine unlike natural gas. Now the sad part is, I live about a mile from city limits but none of the city utilities are even available to me, and probably never will, so all these things I'm forced to have out of necessity.

But...I got to thinking about how to turn that into a positive. All I need to do now is begin to generate my own electricity and I can be free of most major utilities (still have to have cable Internet and phone). Now as it is, I have one of the lowest electric bills of anyone that I know, but that doesn't mean I can't improve upon it. In about 5 years the house will be paid off, and then I will immediately take out another loan to buy a bank of solar panels for the roof. Hopefully the overall cost will drop by then and the technology will become a little more efficient. Also, I've considered installing a windmill that's hooked to a generator, if only for the fact that windmills are just so ed cool to watch.

In this respect it's possible that one type, or both combined, will lead to an almost negligible electric bill, thus freeing me from the electric company...but more importantly, reducing my carbon footprint by saving some coal that Ohio Edison would burn to make my power otherwise. And the bonus: Ohio is one of 45 U.S. states that will buy back any excess power that I generate, so I'd get a credit for it. During peak hours in the summer that's going to be a blessing.

So inadvertently I am becoming more responsible for the planet in my own small circle. I wouldn't say I'm totally "green" or a "tree hugger" (that's Nick's title LOL) but I am certainly aware of things now more than ever, and have figured out ways to incorporate them into my life without too much inconvenience. They happen to fit my lifestyle now.

But I'm still not putting the catalytic converters back on the convertible anytime soon.

A Car Guy's Take on Global Warming.

Reply #9 – March 20, 2008, 09:56:12 AM

Quote from: EricCoolCats;209986

Homo. :flip:

Hell, I probably drive the least of anyone here: 7 miles a day total, 35 miles a week. I fill up the tank on the Mountaineer once a MONTH.

I drive less than two miles a day :flip: Work is just right down the road.

A Car Guy's Take on Global Warming.

Reply #10 – March 20, 2008, 10:04:32 AM

Quote from: EricCoolCats;209986

But I'm still not putting the catalytic converters back on the convertible anytime soon.

GOOD! LOL I dunno I just looooooove the smell of my exhaust so much more. That and I wonder what it would sound like with 'em on. With all the sound deadener in these cars my catless with Flowmaster 40s sometimes seems too quiet, I'd hate to think of what it would be with cats!!! However, mom scolds me all the time "I'm telling you that thing is OBSCENELY loud, obscene!" So that makes me all warm n fuzzy inside :D.

A Car Guy's Take on Global Warming.

Reply #11 – March 20, 2008, 10:15:36 AM

Quote from: CougarSE;209988

I drive less than two miles a day :flip: Work is just right down the road.

I've got you both beat. My work (main job, Thundercat Electronixx) is just down the hall, first door on the left :hick:. Granted, every once in a while I do go into the city and build a cop car or two when the shop is busy...

A Car Guy's Take on Global Warming.

Reply #12 – March 20, 2008, 10:26:19 AM

A Car Guy's Take on Global Warming.

Reply #13 – March 20, 2008, 11:12:04 AM

Huh, my company office is a 55 mile commute each way :( Yes people, that's about $13/day commute. To compensate, I work from home on Mondays & Fridays - talk about boring.

I agree with Carm on the O/P issue - I'm agnostic and somewhat pro-global warming from where I sit :hick: Any right-wing wacko (left wing fruitloop) that says "it's cold (hot) out today so global warming must be fake (real)" get's a big roll of my eyes :rolleyes: Also, anybody who writes an article where they already have an opinion and they simply want to write a piece that supports their position whilst taking broad-brush swipes at people who believe different also get's a big old eyeroll from me (the clown who wrote the article in the O/P) :rolleyes: It's clear where his prejudices lie.

I like CAFE standards BTW - they're like the Apollo program in that they spur new technology. The last ones gave us EFI, CATs & tighter tolerance, cleaner burning engines. Now we have record breaking power (500HP) & weight (up to 5k lb) vehicles rolling off regular production lines. I think it's time to force the car companies to put some of these beasts on a diet. I have no idea why the new Mustangs weigh as much as my 20+ year old Cougar, but clearly they're not trying very hard to put new materials & technologies to work (other than to sell more vehicles to the reptile brained people). Well, unless the concept of peak oil production and the plot below have no meaning:

A Car Guy's Take on Global Warming.

Reply #14 – March 20, 2008, 11:30:22 AM

He wasn't trying to argue that Global Warming isn't happening (really, all of page four explains this), just what the causes really are. The fact (yes, fact) that the sun is hotter than before should be as obvious a cause of GW as you can get. That is a giant slap in the face worth of cause and effect.

I can't wait for high efficiency solar tech to finally have its day. Really, if the sun is hotter, do you think maybe 'somebody' is trying to give us a hint?

"Hey, I've got some free energy here."

*crickets*

[SIZE="4"]"I said, Free Energy!"[/SIZE]

*mooooo*

[COLOR="Red"][SIZE="7"]"it! I'm giving this stuff away! Listen to me!"[/SIZE][/COLOR]

*"Is it getting hotter down here, or is it just me?"*:flame: