hmmm.... Green Energy, not so Green?

Yes, we demand our present standard of living and many of us are willing to turn a blind eye to what makes it all possible. I am just as guilty as everyone else, as I sit here with my laptop watching TV in my climate controlled home.

While I do a few things to help, buy LED products, use as little electricity as possible, buy efficient and recyclable products....it is a tiny effort in the grand scheme of things.

I suspect there will have to be an environmental apocalypse before we are shaken out of our extremely destructive lifestyles. While I dread that possibility, I suspect it may be the only way this planet may shed itself of our ways and survive, on some level.

Geologic time is on a such a different scale we humans have a hard time comprehending it. I suspect our dominion over this planet will only be a speck of time when it comes to this overall view.

If the effects are unknown how is it known that they will be huge?

I might not be totally correct on the figures but as an approximate
The earth is now believed to be 4.54 billion years old
The age of the dinosaurs is approx 160 million years
The age of man - as an upright close to us species is a mere 2 million years
Sort of puts us into perspective as a mere dot on the huge horizon doesnt it.
Interestingly as we also have a thread on the Russian meteor hit - 20 years of recent research has now reached the conclusion that the dinosaurs were actually wiped out in a very short space of time by an asteroid hitting earth.
Time to start packing the family heirlooms or doing all those crazy things on the bucket list????
Or maybe we just get things into such a mess we are bumped back into primitive times and have to start all over again with what little we are left with

I may not know much, but I do know this; the more "acedemics" there are to say something is safe, the more big companies there are to fund research, and the more people there are that believe words on a piece of paper means more job security for me.

Tree hugger I am not, but I've seen first hand what happens when something the brains said was safe, and the reg agencies approved FAILS. A BIG MESS, doesn't even come close.

I know lots of people who've "spent time" in the field, so know what it's like. I haven't found one that even REALLY understands what it's like. I've also met people, VERY SMART people, who understand the "brains" & "the suits" have no clue.

If you want to find a way to reclaim land, or put a mine in, or drill take what anyone who has a bunch of letters behind their name with a grain of salt. Talk to the people who stink because they've been working outside all day, talk to the worker who's been working the land for 40 years, talk to the people that put up with "smarter" people telling them how things are. Those are the people we need to listen to. They don't have an agenda, they don't have some large company supporting an outragious lifestyle, they know their job, they know what works and what doesn't and they don't need a bunch of letters behind their name, or quote a lot of sources to prove it.

No offensive to anyone here, I know you are all more educated than I, but it's "smart" people (not you guys, since I don't work with you) that make me bang my head against a wall most often. Sorry, but this is the only place I can say that with out getting fired.

Busy, that was some smart post!

Yes, it is often the PEOPLE on these lands who really know what's going on, in a real physical sense.

Like the gas companies saying that there has ALWAYS been natural gas leakage into their water wells.....yet four generations of farmers on the land were never able to ignite their tap water until a mere couple of months after fracking was implemented in their area. But..NO, it had nothing to do with THEIR process. All of the "experts" sat so......

Just like pretty "reclaimed" land will act as naturally as the land that was destroyed......


I am a firm believer in the famous quote that has been credited (incorrectly) to P.T. Barnum

Its called the domino effect or look at it scientifically 'For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction'
Once you start a chain of events in motion no matter how small, one thing affects another thing and even though it can take years to happen changes occur so what we do in our lifetime might not be even noticed until our grandchildren are old.
Something that seems really small and insignificant in 200 years time or more can be major.
Of course we and our economy all rely on what we see as progress and esssential but it doesnt mean its always right or will have a happy ending
I wonder if the Europeans had stayed where they were the native american indians, australian aborigines, polynesian islanders would all still be happily living at one with nature in their undeveloped countries
No I'm not a tree hugger or a greeinie but I do wonder if we've gone a step too far in what we see as moving forwards

How about a Hydrogen Engine. Yep there is such a thing
It was developed by Boeing and Ford Motor Co.
It is the same engine used in the ford focus. And it
Does work. The Only polution from the exhuast is water.

Boeing is using it in their newest unmanned drone that
Has been in testing. And there is also another drone
That is using the hydrogen engine.

Granted the earth, in the end, will always heal itself regarding chemicals, always has, always will. But take away rock??? Is there honestly a way to get even the remotest posibility of what that will do? Is there a way to manufacture that kind of pressure in a lab and include all of the movement the earth goes thru?

As it turns out, as we speak, I'm working on making maps of a site next to a GOVERNMENT responsible Suprerfund. Not the gvm't took the site over, but the gvm't created it. With all the regs in place, this place still went to h*** in a hand basket. Now we have to try and explain why OUR site is contaminated even though they are upgradient. I need to research if any bedrock was removed or anything else was altered.

Yes, I see a lot of unwarrented mass hysteria regarding environmental / chemical issues (Groundwater upgradient from the Oak Creek power plant being contaminated, anyone?). But I also see a lot of "bad nastys" being swept under the rug (Marshall, MI spill..)

From where I stand, I wouldn't be surprised if several claims made by people surrounding frack sites, mine sites, wind farms, etc. are physcosimatic. Even some of the more serious ones can be created by the mind or just be an honest coincidence.

BUT, I have seen REAL affects of chemicals / big industry not only on the environment but on people as well.

*stands up and applauds again*


*sits down with a shocked and bewildered look when she realizes she applauded both Faceman and Allison??*

And how do you create the hydrogen? It's going to take power to create that hydrogen, store it, and move it to points where it can be used. Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of hydrogen as a fuel but it will still take quite a bit of energy for us to use it. My personal favorite right now for that power is the new generation of nuclear reactors.