Category Archives: Science

Propane Powered Mosquito Traps Are Bad for the Environment

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Everyone knows that Global Warming is something to be concerned about. Some of the more informed people who don’t get force fed rhetoric from the oil and gas industry also might understand the effect carbon dioxide has had on the environment.

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and also the primary cause of global warming. The levels of carbon dioxide have increased 31% since 1750 based on Antarctic ice core data.

Carbon dioxide is generated when we burn fossil fuels, diving to work every morning. It is also exaled by every living human bieng and all other aerobic organisms. Mosquitos feed off of blood from oxygen breathing, carbon dioxide exhaling, organisms so that they can breed and continue their life cycle. The way mosquitos find their prey is by tracking sources of carbon dioxide.

Since everytime we exhale we become beacons for any nearby mosquitos it is natural for someone to come up with the idea of a mosquito killing device that releases carbon dioxide. What better way to kill mosquitos than to pretend to be a human bieng. In come the Propane Powered Mosquito machines. You might have seen them in Home Depot, Lowes or online. They sell anywhere from $100 -$1000+ depending on the brand and the features.

Here are some examples you can find online

One thing I am not sure of is the amount of carbon dioxide that is released by varying models. I think they definatly release more CO2 than one human, probably more than 10 humans and some of the industrial models are likely to release more than 100 humans. How else could these machines said to cover over 2 or more acres of land. You can fit alot of humans on 2 acres. I know if I am the only human in 2 acres of land I suddenly am not overcome by hundreds of mosquitos.

What I don’t understand is, how can in the face of certain and drastic climate change due to global warming, why would we buy and use these products that will only worsen our situation here on Earth. It would be one thing if there were less than 6 billion of us and we all used transportation that didn’t emit carbon dioxide. If this were true than these CO2 machines that only made for our comfort might be a more viable solution to our insect problem.

Time to Move the Mississippi, Experts Say

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Time to Move the Mississippi, Experts Say – New York Times

“A major diversion in the lower part of the river is something that needs to be done,” said James R. Hanchey, deputy secretary of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. He said the state was convening a planning meeting on the idea this fall. The diversion would be well downstream of New Orleans, in the bird-foot delta at the river’s mouth. Even so, there would be tremendous engineering challenges, particularly in finding a new way for freighters to make their way into the Mississippi’s shipping channel, said Mr. Hanchey, who took his job after retiring as director of engineering and technical services for the Mississippi Valley division of the Army Corps of Engineers. But he added, “I think it’s within the realm of possibility.”

No not time to move to Mississippi, but time to move the River. Experts think that this is a good way to rebuild the coast line, but it seems to me to offer New Orleans any additional protection. The river is not much good for the city at this point but divertiing the flow seems like it would further increase the loss of the wetlands that stands between New Orleans and the gulf.

They need to move the city inland 50 miles or raise the entire city by 30 ft. New Orleans as it is now is ripe for another disaster, god forbid. The levies they built now aren’t going to do much good against another catagory 4-5 hurricane.

End of Oil and Gas

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How Much Oil and Natural Gas is Left?

oil-consumption

At 2003 consumption levels [2], the remaining reserves represent 44.6 years of oil and 66.2 years of natural gas. Does this mean that the world will be out of fossil fuels in 50 years or so? That theory has been around since the 1970s. In fact, the figures for years of remaining reserves have remained relative constant over the past few decades as the industry has replaced consumption with newly discovered oil and gas deposits and has developed technologies to increase the amount of oil and gas that can be recovered from existing reservoirs.

Will we run out of oil in 44.6 years? Probably not, but I think ~100 years is a better estimate depending on conservation and new oil and gas discoveries. I think that at most there is 20% of current known reserves left in the earth to discover, which means we have 53.5 years of oil and gas left.

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