Jolie Rouge
04-20-2009, 08:54 AM
The Republican War On Science
http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2009/04/the-republican-war-on-science.html
House Republican leader Boehner, as part of his "Operation Enduring Minority", displays a dismal unawareness of global warming science: http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=7373578
BOEHNER: George, the idea that carbon dioxide is a carcinogen that is harmful to our environment is almost comical. Every time we exhale, we exhale carbon dioxide. Every cow in the world, you know, when they do what they do, you've got more carbon dioxide. And so I think it's clear...
[/qutoe]
Oh, my - now we are doing cow flatulence jokes, as we continue to scale the comedic peaks. Look, cows and sheep emit methane, as do teenage boys with cigarette lighters. Carbon dioxide doesn't burn.
Can we get back to teabagging jokes now?
I PASS ALONG THIS KNOWLEDGE: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123561039911777481.html
[quote]The root of the problem is that sheep, cows, goats and other so-called ruminants are unique in the way they digest their food. While that allows them to convert more energy from grasses, the process also generates hydrogen as a byproduct. Microbes known as methanogens convert the hydrogen to methane, which then leaves the animal through belching -- and to a lesser extent, flatulence -- and then floats into the atmosphere, where it helps to trap heat and potentially accelerate global warming. Humans emit methane, too, but not so much.
The UN tackled this in "Livestock's Long Shadow". ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a0701e/A0701E03.pdf Per their executive summary, carbon dioxide associated with animal respiration is a minor issue (since cows are growing they are probably a net carbon sink, actually.) Methane and ammonia are problems.
The Independent had this to say about the UN report: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/cow-emissions-more-damaging-to-planet-than-cosub2sub-from-cars-427843.html
Livestock are responsible for 18 per cent of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming, more than cars, planes and all other forms of transport put together.
Burning fuel to produce fertiliser to grow feed, to produce meat and to transport it - and clearing vegetation for grazing - produces 9 per cent of all emissions of carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas. And their wind and manure emit more than one third of emissions of another, methane, which warms the world 20 times faster than carbon dioxide.
Livestock also produces more than 100 other polluting gases, including more than two-thirds of the world's emissions of ammonia, one of the main causes of acid rain.
WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME WHAT I AM ASKING YOU: Stepanopolous and Boehner go round and round on climate change:
STEPHANOPOULOS: But it sounds like from what you're saying that you don't believe that Republicans need to come up with a plan to control carbon emissions? You're suggesting it's not that big of a problem, even though the scientific consensus is that it has contributed to the climate change.
BOEHNER: I think it is -- I think it is an issue. The question is, what is the proper answer and the responsible answer?
STEPHANOPOULOS: And what is the answer? That's what I'm trying to get at.
BOEHNER: George, I think everyone in America is looking for the proper answer. We don't want to raise taxes, $1.5 to $2 trillion like the administration is proposing, and we don't want to ship millions of American jobs overseas. And so we've got to find ways to work toward this solution to this problem without risking the future for our kids and grandkids.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So you are committed to coming up with a plan?
BOEHNER: I think you'll see a plan from us. Just like you've seen a plan from us on the stimulus bill and a better plan on the budget.
Back when Doonesbury was readable there was a great strip with Duke and his Oriental aide. The Duke had been snubbed by some officials somewhere and was ranting to his aide about how this insult would never stand and they would soon face the wrath of an angry man. The aide, long inured to these tirades, said something like "So, sir, do you have a plan?". To which the Duke replied "A plan! That's right, I'll need a plan".
Or so I remember it. I guess Stepanopolous could be cast as the aide in his little skit with Boehner, who clearly would make a great Duke.
And here is an IPCC paper on the radiative forcing of carbon dioxide, methane, and other gases. http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-chapter2.pdf
See also http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/19/boehner-calls-global-warm_n_188688.html
http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2009/04/the-republican-war-on-science.html
House Republican leader Boehner, as part of his "Operation Enduring Minority", displays a dismal unawareness of global warming science: http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=7373578
BOEHNER: George, the idea that carbon dioxide is a carcinogen that is harmful to our environment is almost comical. Every time we exhale, we exhale carbon dioxide. Every cow in the world, you know, when they do what they do, you've got more carbon dioxide. And so I think it's clear...
[/qutoe]
Oh, my - now we are doing cow flatulence jokes, as we continue to scale the comedic peaks. Look, cows and sheep emit methane, as do teenage boys with cigarette lighters. Carbon dioxide doesn't burn.
Can we get back to teabagging jokes now?
I PASS ALONG THIS KNOWLEDGE: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123561039911777481.html
[quote]The root of the problem is that sheep, cows, goats and other so-called ruminants are unique in the way they digest their food. While that allows them to convert more energy from grasses, the process also generates hydrogen as a byproduct. Microbes known as methanogens convert the hydrogen to methane, which then leaves the animal through belching -- and to a lesser extent, flatulence -- and then floats into the atmosphere, where it helps to trap heat and potentially accelerate global warming. Humans emit methane, too, but not so much.
The UN tackled this in "Livestock's Long Shadow". ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a0701e/A0701E03.pdf Per their executive summary, carbon dioxide associated with animal respiration is a minor issue (since cows are growing they are probably a net carbon sink, actually.) Methane and ammonia are problems.
The Independent had this to say about the UN report: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/cow-emissions-more-damaging-to-planet-than-cosub2sub-from-cars-427843.html
Livestock are responsible for 18 per cent of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming, more than cars, planes and all other forms of transport put together.
Burning fuel to produce fertiliser to grow feed, to produce meat and to transport it - and clearing vegetation for grazing - produces 9 per cent of all emissions of carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas. And their wind and manure emit more than one third of emissions of another, methane, which warms the world 20 times faster than carbon dioxide.
Livestock also produces more than 100 other polluting gases, including more than two-thirds of the world's emissions of ammonia, one of the main causes of acid rain.
WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME WHAT I AM ASKING YOU: Stepanopolous and Boehner go round and round on climate change:
STEPHANOPOULOS: But it sounds like from what you're saying that you don't believe that Republicans need to come up with a plan to control carbon emissions? You're suggesting it's not that big of a problem, even though the scientific consensus is that it has contributed to the climate change.
BOEHNER: I think it is -- I think it is an issue. The question is, what is the proper answer and the responsible answer?
STEPHANOPOULOS: And what is the answer? That's what I'm trying to get at.
BOEHNER: George, I think everyone in America is looking for the proper answer. We don't want to raise taxes, $1.5 to $2 trillion like the administration is proposing, and we don't want to ship millions of American jobs overseas. And so we've got to find ways to work toward this solution to this problem without risking the future for our kids and grandkids.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So you are committed to coming up with a plan?
BOEHNER: I think you'll see a plan from us. Just like you've seen a plan from us on the stimulus bill and a better plan on the budget.
Back when Doonesbury was readable there was a great strip with Duke and his Oriental aide. The Duke had been snubbed by some officials somewhere and was ranting to his aide about how this insult would never stand and they would soon face the wrath of an angry man. The aide, long inured to these tirades, said something like "So, sir, do you have a plan?". To which the Duke replied "A plan! That's right, I'll need a plan".
Or so I remember it. I guess Stepanopolous could be cast as the aide in his little skit with Boehner, who clearly would make a great Duke.
And here is an IPCC paper on the radiative forcing of carbon dioxide, methane, and other gases. http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4-wg1-chapter2.pdf
See also http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/19/boehner-calls-global-warm_n_188688.html