if global warming isn't real...?

Question

then doesnt it just make sense anyways to use hydrogen/solar/wind power because it is abundant, instead of using oil which is not abundant?

and before you say oil is abundant, then why is the price constantly going up?

even if global warming is not real, it just makes sense to follow sustainability and use a resource that is known to have no negetive effects and wont run out ever.

EDIT: and yes, I do know global warming is real, but for the naysayers, wouldnt it just make more sense to switch to sustainability instead of keep going down the path the world currently is?

Answer 1

It makes no difference if global warming is real or not. We should all do what we can to reduce pollution including green house gases.

Pollution control in the USA is a milti billion dollar business. Factory workers have to breathe the air from their plants just like anyone else, and their property values suffer if where they work isn't a good neighbor.

There is no political resolve to drill for oil. Look at our in actions at ANWR.

Answer 2

Yes it would make sense, but there are two problems with your premise. First, solar and wind are not currently sustainable. To be sustainable, either the raw materials must only come from things that grow OR you must recycle everything. There are currently no programs to recycle solar panels due to cost (the metal for wind turbines could) and the metals required to make these are not endless, especially when you start looking at the requirements of solar panels. One estimate several years ago showed that the known metals would run out before solar hit 20% of the energy needs. The second problem is that solar and wind powers are not under the control of man. Wind farms have petroleum based power for electricity when the wind is not strong enough. Some wind farms actually consume more petroleum than they produce in equivalent wind energy. Solar has the drawback of nighttime. The technology for storing all that solar power needed is not there yet and only by going to some type of global system would it ever work.

Yes, we need to be more sustainable and use as much economical wind and solar as possible, but they are very, very far from being sustainable. We need more research and generations of technology far beyond what we have now.

Lastly, sustainability also requires the economics to work. Currently, without gov't help, solar and wind would become novelties in the energy field. Again, we need technology to advance before people want solar and wind, because bottom line, petroleum is still cheaper.

Answer 3

Global warming is definitely real. The question is whether or not human activity is causing it or if it is part of the natural cycle of the planet.

Oil is still relatively abundant. The reasons for the surge in price are:

A) Speculators driving up the price even though supply is more than sufficient to meet the demand.

B) Up until the early part of this decade most of the oil and most of the surplus oil was purchased by the US. So we pretty much dictated the price. With the explosive growth of the Indian and the Chinese economies they have also began purchasing large amounts of crude oil to be used in manufacturing, etc.

It does make more sense to use renewable sources like wind, water, and solar, (and nuclear though that isn't renewable) However, our entire infrastructure and economy is pretty much petroleum based. And switching over is going to be both painful and expensive for everyone. Doesn't mean it shouldn't be done, but that is the reality of it.

Answer 4

I'm in an Environmental Conservation class right now and the information we've learned on global warming is astonishing! The United States is THE only country in the world where the issue is an actual controversy. Every other country accepts it as an issue caused by humans, although not all may find it as severe as it really is.
The earth is indeed going through one of it's cycles...but these cycles normally take tens of thousands of years, which we are pushing it through in mere centuries.
Oil will run out within the next half dozen decades or so. There may still be oil in the earth, but it will for the most part be too expensive to attempt to get for it to be worth seeking.
The biggest obstacle in finding energy sources other than oil is the government that's in place. On many accounts the Bush administration has gone out of their way to discredit any scientists on the subject and won't grant any finances to research in the area.
But there are many different solutions out there! At the moment they are all expensive and still require more research. Some examples are: Geothermal energy(energy extracted from the earth), Hydrogen, solar energy, wind power, producing energy from biomass, hydro-power.

As I said, they are all expensive and have their disadvantages. I truly hope in the near future we see some changes in support coming from our government!

Answer 5

This is a fairytale but 150 years from now when the Earth is in the same state it is now ,some goofball will be screaming the world is ending. Stop the hype and just look at the facts not the fiction. Yes we should use alternative fuel sources.

Answer 6

I wish they would teach elementary economics in schools. :(

You've correctly identified the relationship between scarcity and price, scarcity being the difference between supply and demand.

If you follow this line of thought out to its logical conclusion, you will see that there's no real reason to try to FORCE people to "follow sustainability." As oil gets scarcer, whether it is because of dwindling supply or increasing demand or both, the price will continue to rise. Given increasing price pressure, the switch to other fuels will happen BY ITSELF when using other fuels becomes more cost effective than oil. Market pressure will take care of it.

Incidentally, this also means we will never actually run out of oil. We'll gradually stop using it before that as it becomes too expensive.

You also need to do a little more research on the "abundance" of hydrogen, solar, and wind power. None of them are remotely as usable or as cheap and abundant as commonly claimed. Hydrogen in particular costs more energy to produce than it releases when burned, so it's a net negative to the environment.

Answer 7

Diversifying energy sources and energy independence always make sense. If AGW is not real, then it will reduce other pollution that can adversely affect human and environmental health (SOx NOx particulate matter, CO, hydrocarbons in water for example). Don't be surprised when the obstructionist say theses can't cause harm!

Answer 8

It always makes sense to be of high ecological morals,to at least make the attempt to slow down the warming processes..

And there is enough info around to tell us what they are partly responsible

that we are warming is not an argument any more
check photographs of the ice to day and a few years a go
all over the globe.

we have to be economic and responsible with our Natural resources.

Because the increase of Humanity is totally out of proportion with what we destroy and utilize.

70.million extra mouths to feed that also drink ,destroy and contaminate ,each year, with also an accumulative factor included.

Answer 9

What Dwisifar said------- I agree 100%. Hydrogen, solar, fusion, and warp engines ! will eventually be economically viable------- but NOT next month or next year.

AND yes there are only two CAMPS------- you are in the skeptics camp as an UNBELIEVER! --------- it really does not matter that you believe it is a natural process -------- the proponents have already ENDED all debate........... and you must be crazy NOT to believe them FULLY.

Answer 10

Wow, I didn't realize there was only two camps on this issue. What happened to the people who feels it's real, but that it's a natural cycle and not caused or even influenced by human activity? Do you mean to tell me we have to think it's either Real or Not Real?

Edit: My problem with that is that people think we should change over night, not thinking of all the people who are not rich enough to just buy a new vehicle, or it isn't feasible for them to get to work any other way but by their present transportation. I'm fighting for those people, since I'm one of them, when I say stop harping on us and telling us we have to change, when we can't afford to change.