| ??? 03/26/10 23:34 Read: times |
#174544 - Earth just a black body problem? Responding to: ???'s previous message |
Christoph Franck said:
Well, the major problem with global warming isn't that it's getting hotter. The problem is more energy in the atmosphere, more extreme weather, changing weather patterns, and of course melting pole caps. None of these are local problems. If I scorch a square kilometer of land, it will not change the global temperature in a way that may be easily measured. But the land is still scorched. A nuclear power plant will increase the temperature of the water with a couple of degrees. The amounts of currents will control the actual temperature increase, and what distances from the plant you will be able to measure the temperature change. But the temperature change will result in changes in what organisms that will live there, and how large they will grow. Also, _temperature_ rises roughly with the fourth root of heat input. You sure you should see earth as a black-body problem? Most black bodies don't have any eco system... And thirdly - the sun is dumping energy on Earth at a rate of ten thousand times the primary energy consumption of humanity. The anthropogenic heat simply disappears next to that. And some organisms can only be found in how small percentage of the earth area? There are plants that are only known to exist in a few square kilometers - so just looking about how much a power plant affects the global temperature and ignoring local climate may not always be so bright. Most insects are safe. But a local sting can still produce a lot of irritation. |
