Seriously, do not get me started. The main reason I do engineering is because I know how fcuked its going to get if we continue the way we are. Seriously, things wont be bad right now...but in the time when I am old, things will be bad. So if things arent done now, say bye bye to the human race...it will go back the the ice age. I know that that is a big overstatement, but seriously, we need to change the way things are being done...
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The problem is though, some people are worried more about CO2 levels than other much more serious pollutants. I don't doubt that things need to be done, we need to start taking better car of the world we live in - but need to look at the big picture. OK, so cars are quite big polluters but what about the sheer amount of toxic shit that heavy industries pollute? Building works? Needless wars? Inefficient and short sighted farming strategies?

For example What's the point in focusing on how much less CO2 is released by hybrid cars when the battery manufacturing plants are literally destroying the surrounding environment? I read a great piece in a magazine saying that we need to think about everything rather than just short-sightedly worrying about only cars and air travel.

The flip side is, you have to start somewhere and take a small step at a time though. either way, there's trouble ahead and I do worry.





Rather hypocritically I know, the ST pisses fuel away like crazy. It's not very economical (but it is quick).
Like Teho, I never really worry too much about looking at the price of fuel, it's not like I can get it much cheaper. Just fill up when I need to.
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I on the other hand did buy a car with economy in mind, considering I drive quite a lot for work. Allready this year I've driven over 12.000 km work-related alone. Pays well to have a car that doesn't burn a lot of fuel then, I can tell you that!

And it seems, good for the environment too. Didn't have that in mind when I bought it though.
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Really? It seems to me even the scientists haven't got much of a clue if you look at the difference between their best-case and worst-case scenarios.

I've always been a bit sceptical about things, and always one to question what is put in front of me especially when it's coming from the government. Global Warming has the potential to increase taxes on many commonly used things, and as such it's in the governments interest to present it as 100% fact.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think we should unnecessarily waste resources. I recycle things where possible, use rechargeable batteries instead of Duracells, have energy efficient lightbulbs etc. but realise that this doesn't make any detectable difference to the world's "Carbon Footprint" (the buzzword of the moment).

Going back to the 'green taxes', how come it's always a case of "increase taxes on non-energy-efficient products" rather than "reduce VAT on energy-efficient products". And more to the point, we do all these fairly pointless little changes when in fact, the govt. if they'd really wanted to do something about it could have built some renewable energy power stations rather than spending a fortune fighting a war. That would have made a noticeable difference to Britain's carbon footprint.

And for those buying a Prius because it's more economical and therefore cheaper to run, a car magazine did a test between it and the Fiat Panda 100HP. They worked out that the Panda used £5.00 (ish, can't remember the exact figure) more fuel than the Prius over a 500 mile journey meaning to make up the difference in the cost to buy the cars the Prius would need to cover over a million miles. Such a small difference in fuel consumption is surely offset by the CO2 produced by building two engines and a battery for the car over a regular lifetime. One final interesting point, their measurements showed the Panda's computer over-estimated the MPG figure by about 2MPG the Prius' overestimated by about 6.
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Yea, there may be conflicting statements from scientists, but thats because they will get influenced by someone to tell you want they want you to hear....look at what tobacco companies did.

But like I said before, it will get worse, a lot worse, maybe not now, but it will eventually. Take for example cars. If everyone were to continue using the combustion engine, the world would be finished, not to mention the oil supply. It is being wasted by being burnt, it should really be used to make things like plastics and the like.

The use of the combustion engine must be removed. We have to start using solar and electric cars. Otherwise, it will be back to bicycles....
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It drives me mad every time I hear the term "Carbon Footprint". You cannot turn on the TV these days without it being mentioned on some children's program or the news. But the people reporting it and those they are reporting about all amount to nothing.

That the average person in this world does will make very little impact and will not change much. It is the governments and manufacturers who are the only ones who can change anything and force the general public they control to live in a greener and cleaner way.

But I cannot see that happening. The world is fuelled by greed and the two biggest economies in the world, the bloated USA and the fast growing China are not going to listen to the rest of the world while their governments and rich citizens can make a quick buck from the sale of cheaply made products created using polluting processes or through the sale of oil for petrol.

Why do you think the US and China are refusing to sign any global warming agreements with the rest of the world? Because they are the two biggest producers of CO2 emissions in the world and burn a lot more petrol than anyone else. They cannot see beyond a lose if they agreed to reduce emissions and look at alternatives to oil.
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