Hundreds of Deep Sea Vents Found Spewing Methane off US Coast

a reply to: lostbook

I don't deny that in the slightest and we have a lot of issues as you rightly mention but we are slowly making progress.
I do think we are on the cusp of clean energy and our over reliance on oil is weaning slowly, the problem is that the world economy is based on oil, so we can't just shift to clean energy all at once or it could have a catastrophic effect on the world economy.
The problem is I think the changes going on in the world just now are out of our control.

originally posted by: mclarenmp4
a reply to: lostbook

I don't deny that in the slightest and we have a lot of issues as you rightly mention but we are slowly making progress.
I do think we are on the cusp of clean energy and our over reliance on oil is weaning slowly, the problem is that the world economy is based on oil, so we can't just shift to clean energy all at once or it could have a catastrophic effect on the world economy.
The problem is I think the changes going on in the world just now are out of our control.

I know this is the looming issue; oil is everywhere and used in just about everything or in the manufacturing process for everything. How do we make significant changes without throwing the world into chaos...? Who gets to decide that we have to depend on oil anyway?

a reply to: lostbook

Oil served us well, it was a great resource and fueled the progress in the world to where we are today.
We now have the technology and knowledge to switch to renewables and eventually zero point energy.
We need to make a major shift away from plastics, that for me is one of the biggest problems we have with pollution.
In the U.K we started charging people for plastic bags and it does have an effect, as I now take with me reusable bags that the supermarkets will replace for free if they become unusable.
So i'm not throwing plastic bags away anymore the supermarket recycle the bags that are no longer fit for their purpose.
Hybrid cars are becoming more and more prevalent and once there's a breakthrough in battery technology, we'll see less petrol driven cars in the near future.
Reforestation is the answer to our CO2 concerns, it's no surprise the temperature of the earth has risen as the deforestation of the rainforests occurred.

IBTIMES

a reply to: lostbook

Ah the good ol' days....



When pop, milk, OJ, etc etc all came in returnable glass bottles.

When packaging was in paper or cardboard or metal or glass or wood containers, bags, and boxes.

When you stored foods in glass or ceramic dishes.

When frying pans were uncoated cast iron.

When your tools were made from metal and wood.

When cars were made from solid metal parts and fancy woodcarved dashboards.

When furniture was solid wood with dovetail corner joints.

When undergarments were soft silk, and airy cotton, and comfy linen.






And then along came the plastics industry....

*sigh*

a reply to: jjkenobi

I can see a common problem here with most people taking offense to what I'm saying. You all seem to be so defensive and ready to fight over whether or not you might be to blame for it that you don't even listen to anything else being said. So let me get something clear, which I've already said, but I'll do it again.

I'm not here to try and blame anyone or even the human species for climate change. I'm also not pushing some political agenda or some stupid carbon tax idea as the way to solve it. I don't give a sh*t about any agendas. On top of that I also have no skin in this game or the outcome. I'm already half way through my life and I have no kids coming after me. I will slip off this dirt ball without any worry about leaving someone I care about for generations to come. So as far as I'm concerned you can all sh*t where eat if you want to and dump toxic waste in your backyards. It won't effect me nearly as much as it will effect some of you.

So stop worrying about whether or not I'm trying to blame you for anything. Even if people aren't at fault for any of it doesn't mean these changes and events aren't still happening. Either way we're going to have to deal with the changes to the planet which are happening. It no different than being nomadic people who needed to understand the changing of seasons so they would know when to migrate to other climates or move to where the food would be. It's simply a matter of being aware of changes in your surroundings and how to adjust to them.

I actually agree with one of Rednecks posts above where he talks about nature telling him to stop polluting, poisoning the air and water, etc. But not telling him to tax carbon. I totally agree. This isn't a political debate. It's an issue about whether or not you're going to destroy your only source of life. We are literally raping the earth of everything it has to offer at such a rate that there will be nothing left for future generations. Maybe we'll have plenty of time before we have to worry about the climate but that doesn't mean it's all smooth sailing folks. The resources are finite and we've been using them exponentially more every year and they won't last forever. Fresh water, clean air, high energy sources like oil, etc. These things were once everywhere and in less than 200 years have either reached their peak supply or are very close to it. Doesn't mean they're gone, but on the down swing. Meaning all those glory years of being pigs and gluttons and wasteful greedy takers are done. You will all feel the pinch as you slide down curve of that peak drop off and there is little or nothing you can do to change it aside from something off planet.

So don't get offended. I'm not trying to make you spend any of your precious money. Hell, don't do anything at all if you don't want. Use up everything your greedy fingers can grab up if you want and give a big F U to all future generations. But at least look at the facts for what they are. I'm not judging anyone. All I'm suggesting is if you care at all about the future for yourself and especially others you may want to think about what you can do now to make tomorrow a little more comfortable than what it's clearly going to be.

a reply to: mclarenmp4

No harm at all in trying to understand. I support research into this area. What I don't support is blind panic and political pandering based on our attempt to understand.

TheRedneck

a reply to: lostbook

Man has sped up a natural process which will lead to his own demise. Man is the one who can fix his error and maybe slow down the dangerous chain of events which is coming..

Speaking of blind panic...

We do not know what this discovery means to the climate. We don't know how long these vents have been there. We don't know how much methane is normally released from them, or how long they will continue to vent. We know almost nothing at this point. To automatically assume this is the end of mankind is just plain blind panic.

Pray tell, how much methane will be produced from these vents in the next decade and what will be the result? What would you suggest doing to mitigate any harmful result?

TheRedneck

a reply to: mOjOm

I for one am not concerned about blame. I am concerned about the planet. If, someday, someone creates a working accurate climate model that successfully makes predictions, and those successful predictions show that carbon dioxide is irrefutably damaging the planet, I will happily join in the movement to correct the issue.

That simply hasn't happened yet.

Thus far, we have models which cannot accurately make predictions and untested theory. Because of that, politicians have colluded with media to scare people into accepting a financial scheme that promises to destroy our ability to make change by destroying our economy in order to gain money and power. That is not just evil and wrong, it is the epitome of Satan himself.

I want the place cleaned up, but that simply can't happen until this Global Warming scare is put to rest. There's no social will to clean up true pollution, because it is all focused on invisible boogeymen. There's no money left to clean up the planet when it all goes to fight said invisible boogeyman. Global Warming hysteria is the single largest power grab, the most massive propaganda campaign, the most destructive threat to actual science, and the greatest threat to the ecology the world has ever faced.

And I want it DEAD.

TheRedneck

originally posted by: TheRedneck
a reply to: lostbook

Man has sped up a natural process which will lead to his own demise. Man is the one who can fix his error and maybe slow down the dangerous chain of events which is coming..

Speaking of blind panic...

We do not know what this discovery means to the climate. We don't know how long these vents have been there. We don't know how much methane is normally released from them, or how long they will continue to vent. We know almost nothing at this point. To automatically assume this is the end of mankind is just plain blind panic.

Pray tell, how much methane will be produced from these vents in the next decade and what will be the result? What would you suggest doing to mitigate any harmful result?

TheRedneck

I already posed this same question: "how much methane is being produced and for how long?" Sorry but beat you to it.

a reply to: lostbook

Point is, why the doom and gloom without an answer to that? For all we know, it's been happening for thousands of years.

TheRedneck

originally posted by: TheRedneck
a reply to: lostbook

Point is, why the doom and gloom without an answer to that? For all we know, it's been happening for thousands of years.

TheRedneck

Yes, you are correct because we don't know how long they've been there spewing methane. I'd be willing to bet that these are new "openings" almost like the pores on your body which open when it gets too hot to release sweat to cool you down. Maybe these are Earth pores opening.....?

a reply to: lostbook

Ummm... that's not how perspiration works...

TheRedneck

I know people want to remain optimistic about humans surviving the 6th Great Extinction, but I don't believe we will. What about the nuclear plants we have world wide & nuclear waste?

I think this planet is going to be radioactive to the MAX. There is no coming back from that. All hope is lost in my opinion & if we do come back millions of years on a radiated planet who knows what form we could take.

Enjoy Earth for what she is I guess