Reefkeepers Tackling Global Warming

Leilani57 · #1 10/23/2006, 06:24 PM

Hi All, Global warming is a serious threat to not only our every day living but to the marine environment we all love. As the world heats up things will change for the worse in the global marine ecosystem, yet as responsible reefkeepers there are things we can do to do our part. Inherently our hobby is energy intensive as we try to mimic mother nature in terms of lighting, heating (chilling), filtering etc 24/7 and electricity generation is one of the main areas of CO2 contribution through the burning of fossil fuels. So now I challenge all of RC’s members to take a proactive step and work to become carbon neutral.

How I am doing it is I have signed up with my energy company in North Carolina to support the development of renewable energy in our state through a small ($4) a month donation (tax deductible) NC Green Power, for those outside NC here is a link National Green Energy to also support green energy or check out my website (Doing our bit for Change) and blog (BLOG) for other ways to do your part…..

Cheers!

2004jeepoutlander · #2 10/24/2006, 12:07 AM

will check that out

GreyHawk1968 · #3 10/25/2006, 09:14 PM

Today as I sat in the waiting room of a hospital waiting my wifes surgery result I was astonished to see the bottom scroll bar on CNN state that 50% of the coral reefs are in dire straits of dieing. My God,,, 50%???
I decided many years ago to only buy what I believed to be aquacultured corals and now I am actively propogating the corals I have. Maybe it won't change the world but at least in my own little mind I will feel better knowing I am not part of the destruction directly. I know every time I flick a light switch or drive to the store I am slowly indirectly doing damage. But with that I ask, what do you do? Live like a caveman?
I fear our grandchildern will only be able to view corals in a tank , or on a movie. But maybe, just maybe more people will become more educated about what they are doing and stop buying animals they are not prepared to keep, or are not willing to provide for. Just because it's pretty or it shows my status doesn't make it right. There is no excuse for stupidity, that's just a lazy person who thinks they are special.
Sorry for the negative response. And for all of you out there that do all you can to keep the animals you have happy and thriving I commend you. Keep going and enjoying the hobby . Happy Reefing

Leilani57 · #4 10/25/2006, 09:56 PM

Don't be sorry, it is not a negative response, it is a realistic response - here is the link to the story you talk about (CNN Reef Story Link)
Things will only change if everyone does their bit, weather it is donating towards renewable energy, choosing the right coral and fish for sustainability (we just purchased captive breed Clowns for our Nano...), using energy efficient light bulbs (there are 6000k lights available that will give a clean white light, not the dull yellow glow usually associated with EF CF's), recycling an aluminium can (it uses 95% less energy than making a new one from ore) or buying a more gas efficient car v's and SUV.
Small changes can make enough of a difference if lots of people do it and we still have the chance to preserve this awesome underwater environment we all enjoy for our kids and thiers to also appreciate! .

In another CNN story, these people are heading towards losing thier homes b/c we have to drive SUV's and have 60" TV's to watch CSI........

Island states seek aid from rising tides

Boomstick · #5 10/26/2006, 06:12 PM

This is def an issue that affects all of us and esp as reef keepers as the worlds coral reefs are under serious threat as seen from the links above and also this video posted on CNN today: Endangered Corals

FYI - I went to The Home Depot today and it looks like they are backing the energy efficient lighting also - they have the "Daylight" CF's [6000k] that give out the nice white light.........

I'll be doing my part - will you?

samtheman · #6 10/30/2006, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Leilani57
Hi All, Global warming is a serious threat to not only our every day living but to the marine environment we all love. As the world heats up things will change for the worse in the global marine ecosystem, yet as responsible reefkeepers there are things we can do to do our part. Inherently our hobby is energy intensive as we try to mimic mother nature in terms of lighting, heating (chilling), filtering etc 24/7 and electricity generation is one of the main areas of CO2 contribution through the burning of fossil fuels. So now I challenge all of RC’s members to take a proactive step and work to become carbon neutral.

How I am doing it is I have signed up with my energy company in North Carolina to support the development of renewable energy in our state through a small ($4) a month donation (tax deductible) NC Green Power, for those outside NC here is a link National Green Energy to also support green energy or check out my website (Doing our bit for Change) and blog (BLOG) for other ways to do your part…..

Cheers!

You think you are carbon neutral because you are paying somone $4.00 a month. What a load.

Boomstick · #7 10/30/2006, 07:36 PM

Wooooh samtheman - that is not what is being said, this is one step that RC members can take towards this - no-one said $4 a month will get you there, but it is a good start. Stimulating other RC members to do their part is a great thing, better than being a negative so and so, what are you doing?

samtheman · #8 10/31/2006, 07:14 AM

Not having kids!

awestruck · #9 11/01/2006, 04:12 PM

I agree with Boomstick. Often a frightening problem like global warming and destruction of the reefs looms so large and over-whelming that people get kind of stuck and don't do anything. The answer may be to try to do little and/or big stuff. For example, I read not too long ago that, aw, now I can't remember which country, but anyway, this country has asked its citizens to ride bicycles vs. driving cars. They're doing it! Additionally, recycling your milk jug and your Pepsi can also helps. And so does
contributing $4.00 toward the development of renewable energy. I have been trying to help my 11 year old son be aware of how serious global warming is--I guess he's taking me to heart because several months ago he lectured his dad for buying an SUV. I think it's great that Leilani57 opened this thread.

Ignorance may be bliss, but ignorance can also be downright scary.

awestruck · #10 11/02/2006, 08:08 AM

Hi-found where I had read about the country where its citizens are riding bikes. This info. is in the Scholastic Book of World Records 2005. The country with the most bicycles is the Netherlands. "... has more bicycles per capita than any other nation". "The Netherlands, in particular, is battling a major pollution problem, and it is one of the world's most densely populated nations." The opposite page of this book shows which country has the most cars. It's the U.S. -- surprised ??? "The citizens of the United States own 147.8 million automobiles. That's about 33% of all the automobiles owned in the world". The United States' contribution to global warming is enormous.

samtheman · #11 11/21/2006, 10:05 AM

There is nothing but a correlation that suggests Global Warming has any manmade content. Consensus is not science.

HippieSmell · #12 11/28/2006, 02:30 AM

Silly scientists and their statistically significant data. It's all a coincidence. Go back to sleep.

sayn3ver · #13 11/29/2006, 11:46 PM

i myself would like to invest in a solar panel for my roof to try and break even on the amount of electricity i use for my tanks.

Voltekker · #14 11/30/2006, 03:56 PM

im gonna go ahead and copy paste what i wrote on our club forums about this.

Humans are responsible for aprox 3.2% of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere anually (from about 5-6 billion tons).. The earth naturally releases 90billion tons of CO2 from our oceans and around 60+ from our vegetation. so around 150-160 billion tons total.

Carbon dioxide makes up only 5-7 percent of all the greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere. The most common, and the gas which absorbs more thermal radiation, is WATER VAPOR, accounting for about 90-95% of ALL GREENHOUSE GASSES...

How, in just over 100 years of industrial revolution, polluting only a miniscule fraction of the carbon dioxide, and an even smaller fraction of total greenhouse gasses, did we cause global warming?

Also
I think global warming is a real event, we just aren't causing it. The earth goes through heating and cooling cycles, it looks like we are at the begining of a warming cycle. Our 5% contribition is probably having little to no effect on the total temperature changes going on.

HippieSmell · #15 11/30/2006, 05:37 PM

I don't feel like getting into this again, so I'll just post this thread from earlier.
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=880148

To quickly reply to voltekker, your statements are correct but you're glossing over certain facts. Earth does release a lot of CO2, but it also reabsorbs what it releases, and that keeps levels relatively constant.

Water vapor is the largest contributor to trapping heat, BUT, and this is a big but, CO2 is a DRIVING force. That means that if you removed all of the CO2 from the atmosphere, the average temp would drop to below freezing. Then there isn't any vapor, and its warming effects are zero. CO2 is very important for that reason. By increasing CO2 it drives the temp higher. Then there is more water vapor, and that makes it worse. It's a feedback loop that can quickly get out of control.

Also, the increase in CO2 levels since the beginning of industrialization isn't minuscule, it has DOUBLED, and there is no stop in sight.

samtheman · #16 11/30/2006, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by HippieSmell
I don't feel like getting into this again, so I'll just post this thread from earlier.
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=880148

To quickly reply to voltekker, your statements are correct but you're glossing over certain facts. Earth does release a lot of CO2, but it also reabsorbs what it releases, and that keeps levels relatively constant.

Water vapor is the largest contributor to trapping heat, BUT, and this is a big but, CO2 is a DRIVING force. That means that if you removed all of the CO2 from the atmosphere, the average temp would drop to below freezing. Then there isn't any vapor, and its warming effects are zero. CO2 is very important for that reason. By increasing CO2 it drives the temp higher. Then there is more water vapor, and that makes it worse. It's a feedback loop that can quickly get out of control.

Also, the increase in CO2 levels since the beginning of industrialization isn't minuscule, it has DOUBLED, and there is no stop in sight.

A really great set of opinions. Is there data to support your opinions other than a "consensus" based on a correlation. Correlations prove nothing about causation, How do you prove it?

By the way, the correlation between CO2 and temperatures are nearly identical to the correlation between world population and temperatures. Do you support population control? Another very good correlation is the one between the total paved area of the earth and world temperatures. Maybe we should be tearing up roads and parking lots and not worring about CO2?

samtheman · #17 11/30/2006, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by samtheman
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Post error.

HippieSmell · #18 11/30/2006, 11:18 PM

Please, there is a lot more there than opinions, and there is plenty of data out there to support anthropogenic warming. There is no arguing with you, because no matter what evidence is shown, you will never believe it.

Of course there is a correlation between population and temp; industrialization made the current population possible. And don't try to turn this into some scenario where GW is a platform for crazy people to promote genocide. You know that's absurd. But, GW may do that for us.

samtheman · #19 12/01/2006, 05:25 PM

Nice dodge on causation!

HippieSmell · #20 12/01/2006, 06:39 PM

Whatever. You obviously don't have any science background. You can't PROVE causation on a planetary scale because there is only one Earth. However, just about every branch of science builds on basic observations and proxy. Get over it.

awestruck · #21 12/01/2006, 07:44 PM

Ok, let's see if we can find some peace here. Undoubtedly, correlation is not the same as cause and effect. But, correlation is certainly a "heads up" to whatever is being studied. The variables in question certainly need to be explored to try to determine whether one or more are deemed causality or merely correlation. From all the reading I have done over the years, many experts seem to agree that global warming has a PLETHORA of contributing factors. Yes, overpopulation can be problematic for all sorts of reasons; and yes, lots and lots of roads and parking lots mean fewer and fewer green areas; and yes, the emissions of gunk into the air interferes with Mother Nature's oxygen and carbon dioxide exchanges. The issue of global warming is huge, frightening, and extremely difficult to understand. And, although my final statement is in no way scientific, please think about this: scientists may not know the exact affect that, let's say, cars/trucks/suv's have on our planet, but is it logical to say that emitting lots and lots of junk into our atmosphere IS NOT going to be, in some way, detrimental? I said this earlier, and I'll reiterate now--I'm glad that Leilani opened this thread--the effort is there and that effort is commedable.

samtheman · #22 12/01/2006, 07:58 PM

If you can't define the problem, you can't solve it. NO matter how hard you work. So is working on the wrong issues "commendable", or something else?

awestruck · #23 12/01/2006, 08:52 PM

Sam, I agree with you. Thus, are you making this statement: is global warming actually occurring or is the earth going through a natural cycle of warming?

awestruck · #24 12/01/2006, 08:58 PM

Sam, I had another thought and it's going to sound very mushy, but bear with me for a moment. I have a song on one of my CD's and one of the lines says that "no labor of love is ever in vain". So, if perhaps the understanding of global warming is incomplete or even incorrect, what I find commendable is "the labor of love"; the caring and the concern for our planet. To me, I guess that that in and of itself is to be commended.

HippieSmell · #25 12/02/2006, 12:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by samtheman
If you can't define the problem, you can't solve it. NO matter how hard you work. So is working on the wrong issues "commendable", or something else?

Apparently you just have difficulty defining problems facing the planet. Believe me, there are plenty. Don't let the absence of black and white issues stop you from acting.