Wednesday, February 8, 2012

If you remember, some time ago I explained a way to understand carbon


If you burn the tree in your yard for firewood, depending on the type of wood and the water content we can say about 90% of it by weight vanishes into the atmosphere as carbon, instantly, a 10 pound log sends up 9 lbs perhaps.  Into the atmosphere where it stays and as greenhouse gas further warms the earth from it's current norms.
OK now jump to oil and don't worry if your drive to the market sent up 2 pounds of carbon or 5, just think about all the oil man has available to burn.  Scientist (the kind Republicans say are liars) say if we spew 565 gigatons more carbon into the atmosphere, we’ll quite possibly go to far and change the earth completely and forever from the way we need it to be comfortable. But the oil companies, private and state-owned, have current reserves on the books equivalent to 2,795 gigatons — five times more than we can ever safely burn. It has to stay in the ground.  IT HAS TO STAY IN THE GROUND.  Now, I didn't even bring up coal burning, or natural gas, just oil.  Most of that has to stay in the ground to.  
Gigaton = a billion tons

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