well what the eff else are you going to burn?

Post #309,534 by boxley 6/9/09 12:51:53 PM Reply	well what the eff else are you going to burn? one needs oxygen and fuel to burn anything so unless you are into burning livestock and people it will be things that have been in the ground or under the water for eons, sheesh :-)
Post #309,537 by Another Scott 6/9/09 1:18:13 PM Reply	The carbon cycle and biofuels. The elephant in the room for energy is the Carbon Cycle. Burning plants isn't a big deal in affecting the carbon cycle over the long term (at least to first order) because it gets recycled from the air into the Earth over a few hundred years. (Ideally, of course, the burnt plants would be replaced by new ones to eat up the CO2 generated in the burning process. That's what biofuels is all about.) The problem with fossil fuels is that the stuff was locked up a long time ago, so the carbon cycle gets out of whack. The biosphere can't compensate for the huge disruption caused by large, quick changes, so the climate changes. http://earthobservat...carbon_cycle4.php IOW, burning biological stuff can be carbon neutral to the atmosphere over the medium term. Burning very old stuff that was brought up from deep underground isn't. Cheers, Scott. (Who thinks that 200 years from now, people won't be burning stuff to get around, anyway.)
Post #309,540 by boxley 6/9/09 1:42:22 PM Reply	not hardly the biosphere doesnt know the difference between a woodfire and burning gas and the plants you dont kill for fuel will still be sucking down carbon dioxide as opposed to releasing it.
Post #309,541 by Andrew Grygus 6/9/09 2:07:12 PM Reply	But there aren't enough of them . . . . . to absorb the additional CO2 from fossil fuel. We need a whole lot more plants to handle the job and we're not getting them - just the opposite. Of course, with a lot more CO2 in the atmosphere and much higher temperatures we could get some massive plant blooms. Some scientists think the last big global warming was stopped by aquatic ferns in the lakes formed from melted icecap. Of course in northern US and Canada these very ferns are being ripped out because they interfere with recreational use of lakes and streams. About the only positive thing we've got going is landfills, the largest volume being carbon in wood and paper.
Post #309,542 by drook 6/9/09 2:07:35 PM Reply	But ... You can only burn plants as fast as you grow them. It eventually reaches an equilibrium. If you burn fossil fuels without sequestering an equal amount, you're causing a net release into the atmosphere. -- Drew
Post #309,544 by boxley 6/9/09 2:17:52 PM Reply	on that point you are correct, so when are you buying a woodburning car? http://thejadeddevel...-burning-car.html

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