Journeyman

Hmm! I think a dose of over negativity there Baff1! Â This guy Doesn't do too badly with solar panels. Although I expect you might be referring to those sold in B&Q the size of a dinner plate! Or these things for your garden shed! I agree though you do need a lot of them and big ones too if you are gonna go for the punch! I think about 1sq meter of PV panel for 150 watts so do the maths! And yes your right they are not cheap! Your point about wind turbines in silly places is also something I've held off mentioning so far and is yet another case of "hey look here is another opportunity to con the green gullible consumers!" This site says it all! Stick 'em where they get the wind, not on your urban dwelling rooftop!!

… An interesting graph for those who think nuclear power is not a valid option! France relies on nearly 80% of its power from nuclear. What do French people think of this? Would they be against it? What is France's safety record? Would they prefer a landscape full of wind turbines instead? … Over to France!

This is a great thread! ... It's over three months since anyone felt compelled to post anything and yet it is still pinned! Time for a revamp in here I think? Mr Stratham ...? ... When you have a moment...

Yep! And that is the way the world works I'm afraid! The ones that push all the buttons are motivated by two things only: Money and Votes! If you are looking for a fair world you can forget about this one! Â

I don't have the time to read books these days unfortunately! If I can't find a summary in less than 10 minutes I usually take exception! However, I am interested to learn more about this, so if you can give us some interesting snippets/highlights it would be appreciated! I'm sure some would accuse you of trying to protect your right to continue driving your SUV! These are the ones that have a closed mind and will be jumping off cliffs as soon as they are advised to by the OVERWHELMING majority of FUNDED advisors! Â

This is why I don't like your poll! I wanted to check several boxes but the software does not allow! I live in an urban environment but was bought up in a rural one and know all about rural life. I would have no problem with wind generators next to my home so long as they were doing their useful job of providing power. You argue your case over local environmental disruptions which affect some more than others and yes these may well be more rural, but what is the alternative environmental disruption from burning fossil fuels? Is a global problem not more important than a local (and lets face it) pretty 'knit picky' one? No offence and I understand your concerns about wind turbines/farms. But I think that you are failing to look at the whole picture and weighing the pros and cons against the alternatives. The issues you mention are pretty much insignificant if you view them on a global level are they not?

THIS ONE is my favourite! from these people! I just love the concept! I've not seen any efficiency comparison tests with normal bladed turbines though. Although this type has to be quieter and probably more bird friendly.

'I don't know what is wrong with you. I explained this quite clearly last time. The OVERFUCKINGWHELMING consensus of educated, intelligent, qualified scientists state that the world eco systems will collapse and we will all die and kill the world forever.  Do you understand? The conclusions of a few hundred scientists do absolutely nothing to the OVERFUCKINGWHELMING certainty of this statement! I know because I have the power to see into the future and every other person with an opinion is just a fucking moron! If you don't understand the words, look them up in a dictionary. As I said, lazy, selfish and ignorant.' … Haha!! Sorry mate I just didn’t want to disappoint you!! Seriously though higher prices for anything are just another demand and supply reaction and will always undermine any fundamental changes to our energy supply. It just proves what I have said in the past about how fundamental the economy as in determining our progress form our current fossil fuel dependency towards more environmental ones, and you can bet your bottom dollar that any shift from one fuel to another however small will have a big knock on effect on the economy. That is why we are where we are. Our world leaders and chief economists know this and are very wary of making any sudden changes whether we desperately need them or not. It will happen though; public pressure will force it if dwindling fossil fuel supply doesn’t! Maybe it’s a good time to get yourself self-sufficient if you are lucky enough to have the land and means to do so! That’s what I will be doing! I can’t stand all this uncertainty!

So some ppl like the sight of spinning blades and some don't, but we all enjoy electricity. The same ppl who don't like the sight and sound of aeroplanes but enjoy the benefits of flight! I don't think the poll is going to be very informative as there are too many options that could be checked but only one is possible! I think we need to be implementing as many different means of alternative and renewable power as is possible and the types chosen will need to relate to the environment they will be situated. No point in putting solar panels up in Finland if they will only be useful for part of the year whereas the wind is more reliable. Likewise solar panels would be more useful than wind turbines in many tropical locations where the sun is the more reliable energy source. Power from the sea is still mostly experimental, but will also have it's place especially in high tidal flow areas or wave power in those locations where the sea will have a good run out for wave generation to be good. For hydrogen power we need electricity to produce the hydrogen! This may be a good option for future electric (fuel cell) transport though. Nuclear power was supposed to solve everything but it never did! There is a huge initial cost and then we have the problem of the waste. I'm not against it if it is properly implemented and managed, but life is never like that and there will always be accidents. Hydroelectric and geo thermal power should be better implemented too. It's all possible but the status quo (read economists) will always slow things down as will public acceptance of changes to their immediate environment! Sure location sensitivity is important as is the welfare of the local wildlife, but these things can be overcome and is in no way as potentially problematic as the 'global' environmental outcome of continued fossil fuel usage. ...No one wants anything in their back yard, but everyone wants the product!

FFS the eco system will not collapse!!  My OH My! The earth has gone through much bigger events than this mild little warming period in the past ... how come life still exists? Boy Oh boy you have got an issue with yourself here and you have shown yet again how little you understand the world economic system and how fragile and dependant it is on the status quo. You seriously believe that a world wide economic collapse will be nothing but a headache don't you? I’ll quote myself … ... This holds true more than ever!! To continue ... Using the almost magical power of electricity, we can create fuels such as hydrogen, or indeed heat things directly by using the electricity in such a fashion.  I'm surprised you have not heard of electricity, it's quite popular over here. Yes, I suppose your attitude of complaining about something you don't want to understand because you're too selfish to want to change anything in your comfortable, wasteful life- and fuck everyone else -  is a much better solution. Ever tried smelting iron ore with electricity? Please contact the steel companies immediately I’m sure they will be grateful for your revelation! As for your snappy arrogant attitude I think you need to take a hike! I could put it another way but I’m being polite here! I’m off again shortly to continue my ‘comfortable, wasteful life’! No doubt you will still be ratting on about your passion to ‘correct’ the world of its wilful wrong doings when I return! Â

This clearly shows that you have no grasp of understanding world affairs. An economic disaster would kill far more people than climatic displacement both directly through poverty and starvation and indirectly through wars and civil unrest. If I am overstating what is necessary then you are clearly showing a lack of understanding here about the scale of the situation. If man-made CO2 IS the driving force behind this current warming spell then making just a few reductions here and there is going to achieve nothing! Developing countries like China will quickly wipe out any progress on CO2 reductions made by the developed countries. Read HERE! What I said is the reality. The time it takes for both the developed and developing world to move towards more renewable energy recourses would be far too long to curb our current emissions enough to prevent a ‘doomsday scenario’! Also there are currently NO alternative ‘green’ fuels for such industries as steel, copper, glass plastics etc. Furnaces require a lot of heat from combustion of a fuel. Do you know of a fuel that produces ‘no’ CO2? You think you have all the answers, so tell us all how you envisage the future of travel in the near future without burning fossil fuels and how would you propose that our big industries power their furnaces. Until you can answer these questions all you are doing is banging on about an ideology that can never happen in an attempt to preserve something that you know nothing about!

Interesting to see this debate still going!!! Gisen.. the potential cost of acting effectively on man-made CO2 emissions would itself invoke a "doomsday scenario" for the world economy and thus all of us! ... This is a 'certainty'. The potential calamity to the climate that some are predicting as a result of man-made CO2 emissions are not a certainty but a possibility. What are you doing to prevent this 'possibility'? .... Have you stopped driving your car and refused to travel by 'any' means of transport that uses fossil fuels? Don't buy any food from stores either because it was all transported by truck! Turn off all your lights too and all of your appliances (especially your PC!! because unless we all do these things 'NOW' according to you we're all fucked anyway!  Oh BTW … Have a nice day!

I guess that ArmA just isn't an off road simulator and BIS is just trying to over simplify the fact that you wouldn't normally be able to drive as fast in most off road environments as you would on it! Let's face it ArmA doesn't exactly handle the off road physics very well does it! No wheel spins, sliding and all those other things that you might find in an off road simulator like the one that I talked about HERE! Â

I agree this is not about RL but about ease of gameplay. I actually don't bother trying to use the mouse (ACA Trackball) to drive in ArmA anymore, as it is just too frustrating. Instead I've set up the controls on my Cyborg 3D Gold joystick where the steering is the twist action and the throttle/brake is the slider! This gives me complete analogue control of both steering and movement and is not as much an encumbrance to have to grab and use, as setting up my wheel and pedals would be each time I jumped in a vehicle! The joystick gives me much more control and adds realism to some extent but I still preferred being able to keep my hand firmly on my mouse when jumping in and out of vehicles! Call it ease of gameplay or laziness whichever but I certainly don't fancy having to set up my wheel and pedals every time just to drive a few miles to a base then jump out and start shooting! Â

OK Balsch I added my vote! Although I reported this issue in the BT many months ago together with other issues. I guess BIS has just had their hands full with too many more important bugs to swat! Â

I think there have been threads about this in the past but alas I’m afraid BIS has ‘stuck to their guns’! [RANT] Controlling vehicles in OFP with a mouse was a dream and I really cannot see why we now need to have some kind of time response auto centre on mouse steering in ArmA! It serves NO purpose whatsoever other than to annoy many people! My car does not have auto centre on the steering wheel! When I’m typing a word document my cursor doesn’t keep returning to the centre of the screen! Please BIS at least make this silly feature OPTIONAL! OH and while were at it please separate boat engine controls from rudder controls! Again I can’t see why it has been done this way! This is a REALISM game right? [/RANT] Â

Video gaming just like anything else can be used or abused! It can be educational, informative, therapeutic, entertaining, addictive, all consuming, dangerous, ……… However, those that play video games are by their very nature ‘interactive’ so they are exercising their brains and their responses. Those who sit and watch endless episodes of TV dramas are ‘passive’ so are exercising only their arses! Those who take drugs are exercising only their addiction to a substance, which seems to be a force far greater than brains, responses or arses! Â

It is an interesting topic. But as you have posted your request for opinions in a public forum you should also share any findings here also! Otherwise you are not using the forum correctly. I have views about this too but share it publicly so that we can discuss openly! Â

And so we’re back to 'name calling and 'assuming' without anything to back up anything! This is what I’m up against not ‘science’! My wife is right I waste too much time here! Â

 Nice one! ... Is it beyond you to admit that you just didn’t read my post properly? (I seem to remember someone saying something about ‘pride’ earlier! ) So is this an admittance that man made co2 cannot be solely blamed for the current change in climate? And please tell me what are the other gasses so that we can discuss these too! Otherwise you are just speculating again and speculating is not science! The ‘other factors’ interests me most though! What might these be? Â

You are speaking nonsense This is how volcano output gas levels are measured Please look to real, peer reviewed, respected scientific information instead of some geocities -spawn website run by a nut in his basement for your information.  The claim that volcanoes emit more CO2 and other greenhouse gases* than humans is just fantasy nonsense.  *Several people have already told you that CO2 is not the only greenhouse gas nor factor affecting the temperature of the earth, so why do you persist in your strawman claim that the CO2 graph should fit the temperature graph exactly?? Could it be because you're not using science but rather faith? Please read my posts properly instead of jumping out of your skin in anger over something that was not stated and then proceeding to misquote me over it! If you had taken the time to read what I said instead of assuming that I was somehow linking volcanic eruptions with co2 you would have ‘understood’ (possibly! ) that I was referring to the known impact that major volcanic eruptions have on world temperatures due to the ash clouds that cover the earth and cause a cooling effect! This has been recorded in the past and I was attempting to explain why it was that the temperature had dropped during the period from ~1880 to ~1910 and then again from ~1940 to ~1955 and was in no way implying that this was the cause either. In fact quite the opposite I was showing how this temperature drop could NOT be explained easily and definitely has NO bearing whatsoever on the co2 graph. It makes me laugh whenever someone sees something that ‘threatens’ their views that ‘man made co2 is the single force governing our present day climate’ they simply cannot take it so much so that they don’t even bother to read it properly! And yes I was right yet another name has emerged in an attempt to disrepute the latest threat! You didn’t even read my post properly so you can’t possibly have read anything else properly either before deciding that it didn’t suit your views! Consequently your last post (just like the two before it) have added about as much to this debate as farting in a methane factory! You tell me to get some ‘real evidence’ I tell you to ‘open your eyes’!

Then I expect you will be doing the same with THIS  scientific paper? … Make a cup of tea it is quite long! … Oh wait! What will you be calling it … let me think urm ..more pop science? … or  wait maybe ‘just another nut job’ report?  Please ridicule it with a name as this has been your fame to date! Or maybe you know the therapist of the author of this paper! You see everything so far that you have presented to me has also come from the Internet so you are shooting yourself in the foot with that one! As for the graph that you still keep parading, I would like you to clarify to us all what happened… … and please tell us why the co2 graph does NOT fit these temperature decline periods? Why would temperatures fall if co2 is on the rise and this (according to you) is the predominant temperature driver? The eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 might explain the first fall in ~1883 but then it drops again in 1900. Could the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius explain 1940? But what about the eruptions of Mt St.Helens in 1980 and Mt. Pinatubo in 1991? These were massive too but I don’t see any significant impact on the temperature for that period? I am searching for the cause but I can’t find it. It certainly doesn’t reflect the co2 graph! You see so many things are inconclusive! We can certainly assume that co2 is driving the current climate. BUT we can ONLY assume! And now with this in mind you still haven’t said how we should be ‘realistically’ rectifying the ‘problem’! The last post by Necromancer- was about the scale of it!  EDIT: Incidentally when I read a graph I don’t just look at the squiggly line than has been drawn over the readings, instead I refer to the ‘peaks’ and ‘troughs’. The ‘peaks’ and ‘troughs’ are the ‘real data’ that was recorded and not just someone’s estimation of averages added later! But I assume you already know that! Â

This has got nothing to do with pride! Until a short while ago I would have been backing up walker all the way, but alas I have seen the light! I still consider myself a ‘tree hugger’ too; environmentalism is part of my job. And back in the early eighties when I was in my 20s I was actively campaigning for Friends of the Earth on several issues including global warming which at the time was nothing more than a ‘cranks’ movement! Things have evolved since then and now being ‘green’ is no longer considered cranky instead it has become the latest fashion! No longer can the governments ignore it. The ‘green’ vote is now massive! The whole debate about global warming has gone from being a genuine concern amongst a few ‘environmentalists’ to being a whole new movement that has sucked in a new multi million dollar co2 abatement industry forced on by the new ‘green’ fashion movement, forced on by the worlds governments eager to please the voting consensus who in turn have been advised by their now newly funded ‘global warming’ investigative scientists! So what’s wrong? What is wrong is that there are just too many new incentives to not only keep this issue alive but to continue expanding on it as much as possible, and non of them are for the sake of the environment! And no this is NOT a big conspiracy between most of the worlds Governments, scientists, NASA and ESA all conspiring in a smoky room to stop someone from driving his SUV! That is just being smart! This is about many individuals on all levels of power helping themselves to a slice of the cake! … Helped on by the media who just can’t resist a good disaster story! The politicians want to keep their voters, the scientists want to keep their funding and now there are thousands of new jobs at stake all connected with this new co2 abatement industry whether in the civil service sector or the manufacturing of all the new plant. And to top it all off we have now given our governments an extra opportunity to tax us all more and give it the new name of (yes you guessed it) environment tax! Fuel can now be taxed more so can big cars etc. So why not, surely it is a good thing? Well that is a matter of opinion! Firstly how can we trust anymore what we are being told by either our leaders or their funded scientists when they would have so much to loose if they were to tell you anything different than “the climate is warming because of man made co2â€?  Even if a group of scientists was to suddenly discover it was all a load of crap (which has quite possibly already happened) I doubt they would even dare speak out, first they would be lynched upon by everyone else and second what a dumb thing to do when they could loose out financially over it! Who would even believe them? Such is the state of affairs now that the oil companies would even get blamed for funding their claims! It is not a big conspiracy just a chain of events driven by individuals eager to put their own interests first. That is human nature and I don’t blame them either, but unfortunately it has made one big mockery over this whole climate debate! I even doubt that anyone in power believes that the measures that are being brought about to reduce co2 by **% by 20** is going to make the slightest difference to our climate, but they have to do it in order to uphold the fallacy! And ‘we’ are the ones paying for it! ... Just like with all the other science on the net you don’t have to look far to find articles supporting this theory over any other. I’ll point to THIS ONE again! Anyone who thinks that politicians and their advisors are ‘squeaky-clean’ is living a very sheltered life! I’ve had first hand and second hand experience of how things like this work on a local government level through my work. Whether it is tree preservation order permissions or other planning applications I’ve seen it all! Politicians and their advisors are individuals looking at their own careers and their own best interests not that of you and I. It’s a fact of life and if you don’t know it yet you soon will! Right Ralph you can PR me now! Â

Like I said earlier you read into things what you want to read into them. You then refer to the ‘conclusions’ of the scientists about what ‘they’ think is happening! Why bother reading an entire article at all if you only refer to ‘what they say they think’ is happening at the end? Let’s have a look at the link you made for me. I’ve read this one too and again we have a ‘what they think’ at the end! This is your scientific approach? And here is the bit you are clinging on to … So the scientists conclude that if you put an electric fire in an average room and turn up the heat the room will only continue to get hotter if the electric fire also continues to get hotter! Sorry but common sense not ‘science’ will tell you that that is not the case! The room will continue to get hotter so long as the electric fire is on high! Unlike you I am reading all of the article and drawing my own conclusions. You on the other hand are prepared to accept anything that is concluded by said scientists! Said scientists that we already know are on a nice little earner over this issue! You’ve already showed us that you can’t read a graph! LMAO! How can you not see it? .... It fits like a glove right up to 1980. Then from 1980 onwards the temperature goes up the sunspot activity settles back .. but to what level? It is still high! I’ll go back to my common sense statement … … How do you suppose this has happened in the past? …  Were all of our ancestors eating too many beans? … “And so the scientists conclude that ‘farting' is responsible for global warming!†You would believe that too wouldn’t you! You just believe ‘everything’ you read, you don’t try and analyse it! So much for your ‘scientific blinding’! (notice I'm adding a few extra smilies this time since I like to treat like with like! ) And I am not saying that co2 is not a factor in global warming either. The last 25 years show us that their could well be a feedback with co2. My 'common sense' statement might not explain everything but it at least challenges your ridiculous hypothesis of 'all or nothing'! I at least have the courage to say that. You on the other hand just can’t take anything that challenges ‘your theory’ that man made co2 is ‘solely’ responsible for this current trend and the very thought that their maybe a far more natural event at least contributing if not forcing this whole episode is just too much for you! Step down off your high chair and try and debate this in a more mature fashion instead of just ‘bashing’ everything that attempts to challenge your ‘faith’!  And now for the bit you just keep skimping over! Given what we know ‘might’ be the culprit what are we going to do about it? Should I stop driving my Land Rover because it is contributing to co2? Should I turn off all the appliances in my house too? Maybe I should also stop buying food because it was all transported by that trusty old diesel engine! Do you seriously believe that any necessary action to reduce co2 to a degree that might have any conceivable affect is not going to cripple the economy? … And what about your ‘co2 feedback’ theory? If the climate is already as warm as the readings suggest then co2 is surely currently being forced from our oceans far faster than we could ever make it! You seem to think you know ‘exactly’ what is the cause of this ‘unprecedented’ warming so what are you going to do about it? … Do you really have any answers or are you just trying to prove how clever you think you are? Â

@ walker why are you posting links to an article that I already linked in my previous post – and read? I read all of it a while back and the conclusion is that solar activity has been dominating our world at a constant high since about 1980 But I guess that has had ZERO influence on our climate hasn’t it? Why because you cannot accept that there are also natural factors influencing our climate! Why? Because this is no longer a science for you! No it’s a faith and why would anyone want to give up a faith? You read articles and read into them what you want. I read articles and try and read into them what makes most sense! Bravo for your mountaineering story! Glaciers don’t just disappear overnight that’s just a load of ‘bollocks’! I’ve been on glaciers too they are shifting all the time but there is not a chance in ‘Timbuktu’ that they can dissolve overnight! What a load of ‘bull’! …. Where are you in those photos? No, on second thoughts spare me any more lectures! This whole ‘I know it all and you don’t crap’ is just too hilarious! Â