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Treating beef like coal would make a big dent in greenhouse-gas emissions

economist.com

341–344 of 344 posts

Re: Treating beef like coal would make a big dent in greenhouse-gas emissions

#341
post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Weird, does this apply to EV's, too?

No- electric motors generally perform better at lower speeds, gas at higher speeds. Especially so in direct comparison. Which is why hybrids often switch from electric to gas past some determined speed.

That's only true because the electric motors don't have a gearbox but the gas engines do.

Re: Treating beef like coal would make a big dent in greenhouse-gas emissions

#342
post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me it seems it's the only realistic solution ( more realistic than the grid scale storage required to make renewables only work for most countries). What does cost have to do with it? We either want to fix the problem before it renders a big chunk of the planet inhospitable and who knows what else ( e.g. the heat dome in the Pacific Northwest this summer ), or not. Money shouldn't be part of the conversation, like…

If you're right that it's the only solution then of course cost is not that important. Many people don't think that it's the only solution, so cost is important.

Well another completely wild solution would be to make end users responsible for storing electricity during non-generation hours. I.e. "each home having a battery device." I just made this up now but thinking about what the end result might be...

encourages:

  - more people to buy electric cars that can also act as a whole home battery
  - even more research dollars in storage/battery tech
  - distributed power grid
  - resell electricity to grid (or maybe even local neighbours)
  - short-term power outages are handled by design
  - people think more about their electricity usage
  - people may be more likely to generate power at home

downsides:

  - unnecessary extra cost to end users
  - might be less efficient then centralization
  - certain markets/peoples will not be able to easily access stored electricity?

Re: Treating beef like coal would make a big dent in greenhouse-gas emissions

#343

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a wrong answer if I've ever heard one.

seems like ive misunderstood this since i was a child. thank you for allowing me to embarrass myself in a safe environment.

It's ok! Not all of us are atmospheric chemists! I certainly am not one.... Hence my lack of understanding.

Re: Treating beef like coal would make a big dent in greenhouse-gas emissions

#344
post #340

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You honestly believe that we will return to a medieval era if the gulf stream is disrupted?

The gulf stream is predicted to collapse in about 40 years. You won't catch me making strong predictions about what happens that far in the future, but the gulf stream is responsible for keeping North America's farm belt temperate, aka, farmable. The North is expected to cool dramatically, and closer to the equator is expected to warm dramatically -- perhaps inhospitably so. Additionally, the oxygen levels in the oce…

"Medieval era" implies a regression to subsistence farming and the end of today's technological civilization. Even a severe disruption to food production would result in substitution of foods, not a destruction of civilization.
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