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Tuesday, June 20, 2006

warming up

thank god al gore invented the movie screen so i was able to watch his documentary inconvenient truth tonight, great movie and very informative. i used to have a crush on the man, circa 2000 (stop judging!), so i was more than happy to dedicate my evening to his cause. i even rushed right home to recycle, and by rush i mean i drove slowly to burn less gasoline...err bio-diesel.

every once in a while, i'm pro global warming, like right now--justin has the ac cranked and i'm freezing. bring on the co2! come tomorrow morning when i walk into the office and old old man gray has winter going i'll feel the same way...

if you haven't seen it yet, go. if you have, did the end credits annoy you too?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

This was an excellent movie that everyone should see... I just sent you an email but I'll just post it here - because it makes me feel good that my full size truck is as clean as a prius:

With Al Gore’s movie, I think (and hope) that more general attention will be paid to our own personal carbon balance. I really believe we need to raise awareness and interest in non-fossil fuels. Beyond carbon sequestering technology and solar power, I think the biggest step we could take is to use more bio fuels such as biodiesel.

As most everyone knows, the real problem with fossil fuels (all fuels except nuclear and biofuels) is that we are pulling carbon out of the ground and putting it in the atmosphere. Biofuels don’t do this because they are made from plants that are made from carbon already in the atmosphere. So you know this already – but here is where it gets interesting:

A 2005 Audi A4 2.0T gets 21.9 mpg (average real world edmunds, NOT EPA). This car, driving 15,000 miles per year will put 15,068 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere per year. A 2004 Prius getting 41.2 mpg (edmunds) driving the same miles will put 8,010 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere per year. A 2004 Nissan Titan full size truck getting 13.7 mpg emits 24,088 pounds of C02 per year.

My Duramax truck gets 15mpg to 17mpg. Taking the low end of the mpg range; assuming 15,000 miles; and running B-20 for 6 months and B-100 for the other 6 months; my truck nets 8,800 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This net accounts for the 13,200 pounds of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere by the soy beans that went into the B-100.

So the long and short of this is that my truck is just as clean as a Prius!

Lincoln said...

It's The Environment Stupid! That was a headline in an opinion article nearly 6 years ago in Time magazine. The author claimed Al Gore wasn't getting as much support in the race for the presidency, because he wasn't focusing on environmental goals. I feel the same. It was pre-911 then. We didn't have a whole lot to worry about. I think people would have paid attention had Gore talked a little more environment. Too bad.

Anonymous said...

and to answer your question: yes the end credits annoyed me also. The credits were an ad hoc addition to avoid the criticism of not providing solutions - I don't think it worked.

Anonymous said...

An Al crush?

Anonymous said...

Sarah,

Glad you saw the movie. Now maybe people can get on board with what the people studying climate change (i.e. me) have know for 10 years. The only problem is the people that really need to see this won't (you know who you are). No need to let a little science get in the way of capitalism. And AK gets it dead-on; renewable energy is the only way to go. Electric cars are great, hydrogen engines too but if you have to pollute (i.e create energy ) to get them, then in the long run they are not the solution.

BTW, where in the fuck was this Al Gore in 2000? Just asking....

Anonymous said...

I've never been a fan of Gore. I would like to see the movie for the topic, but doubt I can sit through something involving him on such a level.

Anonymous said...

i've never been a huge fan of Gore, but after seeing the movie, I have to say I like him a lot better. Of course, if you ask Sarah and Scott - there aren't many movies I don't like. Justin asked me after the movie if I would have voted for Gore knowing what I know now - I don't think so. I don't think he would have made a good president and not becoming president has allowed him to focus on the very important issue of global warming - He is doing a lot of good by raising awareness and educating - something that is sorely needed.

We know the problem, we have the technology to fix it,- its all political now, and Gore focusing and pushing this as hi sole cause through his lectures and this movie will help a lot. Go Gore!