I hope they stay open over here long enough for me to get an EV …
https://www.dutchnews.nl/2024/07/ha...20small,Ukraine%20and%20the%20energy%20crisis.
https://www.dutchnews.nl/2024/07/ha...20small,Ukraine%20and%20the%20energy%20crisis.
Trouble is the EV isn't about saving the planet it's about saving the motor industry, which is the biggest generator of CO2 and biggest cause of climate change.
EVs are their last hope and probably a dead end.
We need better public transport and to work closer to home.
Phasing out the IC should have begun years ago, to induce us to adjust to the new world now facing us.
Phasing out IC engines for you and I trying to get to the store or work is not a big problem. The real problem is the amounts of fuel needed to farm, get it to processors and distributors, truck, ship and fly the food to near us and then get it to a store. Same goes for just about every product we need including glue, wood, finishes and fasteners. The car is visible and easy to pick on. Real answer is to reduce the birth rate so there isn't such a big demand on the earth's resources. I know. Not going to happen.Phasing out the IC should have begun years ago, to induce us to adjust to the new world now facing us.
High birthrate is the species survival mechanism in most life forms including ourselves. If the going gets tough then there will be more chance of survivors if we already have a large population. Not much fun for individuals but good for the species.Phasing out IC engines for you and I trying to get to the store or work is not a big problem. The real problem is the amounts of fuel needed to farm, get it to processors and distributors, truck, ship and fly the food to near us and then get it to a store. Same goes for just about every product we need including glue, wood, finishes and fasteners. The car is visible and easy to pick on. Real answer is to reduce the birth rate so there isn't such a big demand on the earth's resources. I know. Not going to happen.
Pete
China did it for 40 years, they are now desperate to undo the results since they are facing a demographic time bomb that makes the baby boomers here in the West seem mild by comparison.Real answer is to reduce the birth rate so there isn't such a big demand on the earth's resources. I know. Not going to happen.
Pete
But China has a problem that is less likely to occur in the west - they expect the eldest male to provide for the parents in their dotage. that did cause a great imbalance of the genders in the Chinese population with the females becoming very prized.China did it for 40 years, they are now desperate to undo the results since they are facing a demographic time bomb that makes the baby boomers here in the West seem mild by comparison.
Haven't you noticed?Real answer is to reduce the birth rate so there isn't such a big demand on the earth's resources. I know. Not going to happen.
Pete
True, but you are missing the reason for this. Population dynamics in the animal kingdom that rely on high birthrates are due to high mortality rates. Populations fluctuate as disease and predation come and go. Population increases - predators increase - population decreases - predators decrease - repeat. They normally find a relatively stable equalibrium assuming no external factors.High birthrate is the species survival mechanism in most life forms including ourselves. If the going gets tough then there will be more chance of survivors if we already have a large population. Not much fun for individuals but good for the species.
No it is not only predators and applies to the plant kingdom the same. Deteriorating life conditions whether through war, disease, famine, environmental issues, etc. can produce increasing reproduction rates. e.g. in wartime we are our own predators and population booms tend to follow.True, but you are missing the reason for this. Population dynamics in the animal kingdom that rely on high birthrates are due to high mortality rates. Populations fluctuate as disease and predation come and go. Population increases - predators increase - population decreases - predators decrease - repeat. They normally find a relatively stable equalibrium assuming no external factors.
The trouble with humans is we have eliminated our predators (mostly) and for the most part are dodging disease events that wipe out large numbers of people.
We've tipped the hand in our favour (for now) at the expense of all other species.
Not my area of expertise but I think it's true that modern refineries can crack to different proportions of molecular weight according to demand, the days when the unwanted grades had to be burned off in pits ended in the 1900s.The petrochemical industry is like a stack of cards or tins on a shelf in that you cannot just take one from somewhere in the middle. It is a process that produces petroleum but also a lot of byproducts that we also need and that if you have no outlets for petrol or diesel then you either shut the refineries or stockpile the unwanted fuel and raise the cost of everything you can sell to cover the running cost of the refinery. The list of products from petroleum is extensive and includes butane / propane at one end and asphalt at the bottom so once there is no demand for petrol / diesel or aviation fuel then we lose a lot of other products as well.
not really sure what you are arguing? You want more births? The human species has been around for 100's thousands of years and didn't need 8 billion of us to last all that time, and stands a much better chance of surviving if there are significantly less of us.No it is not only predators and applies to the plant kingdom the same. Deteriorating life conditions whether through war, disease, famine, environmental issues, etc. can produce increasing reproduction rates. e.g. in wartime we are our own predators and population booms tend to follow.
It's the first thing you learn in school biology, with reference to the amoeba, which survives dry-outs by "encysting" and reproducing in thousands when (if) the opportunity arrives.
in ~40 years (assuming current reserve estimates are correct) we won't have a choice. Regardless of climate change or pollution, fossil fuels are finite. They will run out, no ifs or buts, just a question of when.The petrochemical industry is like a stack of cards or tins on a shelf in that you cannot just take one from somewhere in the middle. It is a process that produces petroleum but also a lot of byproducts that we also need and that if you have no outlets for petrol or diesel then you either shut the refineries or stockpile the unwanted fuel and raise the cost of everything you can sell to cover the running cost of the refinery. The list of products from petroleum is extensive and includes butane / propane at one end and asphalt at the bottom so once there is no demand for petrol / diesel or aviation fuel then we lose a lot of other products as well.
No of course not. I'm arguing that increased population is a survival mechanism, but for the species - not for existing individuals, communities or society as a whole.not really sure what you are arguing? You want more births?
Well yes and a huge population drop, if not extinction, is what climate change will bring about.The human species has been around for 100's thousands of years and didn't need 8 billion of us to last all that time, and stands a much better chance of surviving if there are significantly less of us.
......
But it is not a problem if we need a smaller population. May need some adjustments though!Japan’s demographic problem is an indication of what is going to happen in the Western World, it’s already started. Even the BBC has picked up on it, the figures are alarming, sorry, look it up, I don’t have time to find it, travelling today.
I am sure the problem is very well known to the powers that be, presumably why they are allowing/fostering such high immigration, estimated 10 million in the US this year alone. We will need workers to keep the lights on and Industry turning. They are preparing for a time when India and some other countries population growth far exceeds ours,
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