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LeviticusMky · 10-03-2004, 02:17 AM

If you wanna talk about the global environment and economics, then China and Global warming is where it's at.

First, Global warming; Global levels of greenhouse gases produced from artificial (human) sources has contributed massive amounts to the natural greenhouse processes of this planet. Theories surrounding the greenhouse climate shift point toward a greenhouse "cliff" that could occur within the next couple of decades. Too many greenhouse gasses faster than the planet can handle means massive die-offs in vegitation, trees, seaweed, etc. All begin rapid die-backs in response to the ever increasing corbon dioxide levels. Moderate vegitation death brings about a small but important rise in global temerature, between 4-5 degrees celsius. An increase of 2-3 degrees celsius is all the planet would need to undergo in order to release the massive amount of greenhouse gases stored off the coast of California and Indonesia. Once these millions of tons of greenhouse gases go up into the atmosphere, the earth will most likely undergo a rapid additional 5-6 degree hike in global temp. At this point, most oxygen producing plant life wil be unable to deal with rapidly rising temperatures, and only the heartiest plants will survive. With our main source of oxygen gone, the demise of the human race is all but assured, since the Earth will likely head into a massive warming period that could either culminate in a Venusian atmosphere (Hell on Earth) or a slow return to equilibrium (50-500 million years).

Given, it's all speculation, but it's founded on solid scientific evidence.

NOW, If you're still with me, lets talk about CHINA.

China is sitting on some of the most extensive coal reserves on the planet. Coal is a cheap and easy source of power, as it creates very large temperatures when you burn it. The downside, is that it is the single most polluting source of power that the human race has ever devised, releasing obscene amounts of toxic chemicals and even more obscene amounts greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. In the USA, some of those pollutants are filtered out, some are rendered non-reactive, and the rest are let out into the air. In China, no such restrictions on pollution are in place, so coal power plants are going up all over the country to power their ever-growing industrial infrastructure.

I think you can see where this is going.

Greenhouse "Cliff" = End of human life on Earth (theoretically)
China's Power Industry = Could single-handedly bring about said cliff.

I will assume that this is way more information than you would need, but it's still interesting to think about. The possibility that within our lifetimes, we could see the beginning of the end of the human race. It may have already become irreversible.

But then again, perhaps the Earth is more hearty than we think, and it will adapt to the larger amounts of greenhouse gas in a positive way. Think positive!

10-03-2004, 02:17 AM	#4 (permalink)
LeviticusMky Crazy Location: Minnesota	If you wanna talk about the global environment and economics, then China and Global warming is where it's at. First, Global warming; Global levels of greenhouse gases produced from artificial (human) sources has contributed massive amounts to the natural greenhouse processes of this planet. Theories surrounding the greenhouse climate shift point toward a greenhouse "cliff" that could occur within the next couple of decades. Too many greenhouse gasses faster than the planet can handle means massive die-offs in vegitation, trees, seaweed, etc. All begin rapid die-backs in response to the ever increasing corbon dioxide levels. Moderate vegitation death brings about a small but important rise in global temerature, between 4-5 degrees celsius. An increase of 2-3 degrees celsius is all the planet would need to undergo in order to release the massive amount of greenhouse gases stored off the coast of California and Indonesia. Once these millions of tons of greenhouse gases go up into the atmosphere, the earth will most likely undergo a rapid additional 5-6 degree hike in global temp. At this point, most oxygen producing plant life wil be unable to deal with rapidly rising temperatures, and only the heartiest plants will survive. With our main source of oxygen gone, the demise of the human race is all but assured, since the Earth will likely head into a massive warming period that could either culminate in a Venusian atmosphere (Hell on Earth) or a slow return to equilibrium (50-500 million years). Given, it's all speculation, but it's founded on solid scientific evidence. NOW, If you're still with me, lets talk about CHINA. China is sitting on some of the most extensive coal reserves on the planet. Coal is a cheap and easy source of power, as it creates very large temperatures when you burn it. The downside, is that it is the single most polluting source of power that the human race has ever devised, releasing obscene amounts of toxic chemicals and even more obscene amounts greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. In the USA, some of those pollutants are filtered out, some are rendered non-reactive, and the rest are let out into the air. In China, no such restrictions on pollution are in place, so coal power plants are going up all over the country to power their ever-growing industrial infrastructure. I think you can see where this is going. Greenhouse "Cliff" = End of human life on Earth (theoretically) China's Power Industry = Could single-handedly bring about said cliff. I will assume that this is way more information than you would need, but it's still interesting to think about. The possibility that within our lifetimes, we could see the beginning of the end of the human race. It may have already become irreversible. But then again, perhaps the Earth is more hearty than we think, and it will adapt to the larger amounts of greenhouse gas in a positive way. Think positive!