Global Warming

As one of them all year biker types, I traditionally regard the back end of
December and all of January as something to be endured with feats of heroic
suffering.

These days though I seem to be tootling backwards and forwards with just a
lightweight waterproof suit over my leathers.

Does this mean that one day Britain will be year long sunny biking paradise
or will we all die of skin cancer/ thirst before that happy situation
occurs?

 

On certain days maybe, apart from last weeks chill it is quite
pleasant at the moment. (1)

yes. The greenhouse effect raises the average surface temperature
about 35 degrees C above what it would otherwise be (from a frigid -21
C to a comfortable +14 C); without it the oceans would freeze and life
as we know it would be impossible.


1. In the Sarf

 

paradise

Because the UK will become a biker's paradise the government has decided
to install special cameras to take our pictures to increase our
enjoyment.

 

In

<FX> smug at being 1300 foot up in the Welsh hills </FX>

Is it time to build an Ark yet?

--
Steve Parry

http://www.gwynfryn.co.uk

http://wrexhamseals.tripod.com

 

One thing that a lot of people seem to not state when talking about the
sea level rising etc. due to melting icecaps, is that most of that which
is frozen at high altitude probably won't be affected very much, whilst
the ice at sealevel and just above/below will probably melt, but water
expands when it freezes, so with the huge amount of submerged ice, I'm
sure the effect will balance out. Oh, that and the cyclic nature of warmer
climates/clouds/rain causing another kind of balancing effect that has
been going on for millenia.

 

Bad form and all that, but saying that, it will probably wreck the
'conveyor' system that keeps the current flowing around the seas at low
level.

 

Indeed. Ask a number of people what happens to the level of a glass of
water, half filled with ice, when it melts.

 

Which is good, as I am off to Edinburgh tomorrow, on the XJ900.

 

It's ok as it will "only" be 50-150 cm in the next 100 years.

I have a friend that works in the oil industry and last year we were
talking about just how long the (known) oil reserves will last.
His answer was 20 years, with what we know of and 30 if we continue
to be more efficient and/or find some big fields.

So, is the next generation of bikers the last ones to have 30 years
riding in front of them or have to ride these :

http://www.rtpnet.org/~teaa/ant-forsale/lectraspecsheet.html

 

As I posted recently, that's been the estimate for the last 30 years -
as every year goes by, there's always about 20 years worth left.

 

The discovery - consumption gap is still increasing as an average
over the last 30 years though.

This makes for interesting reading

http://www.petroleumequities.com/OilSupplyReport.htm

as does:
http://makeashorterlink.com/?D2F3329F6

 

The period marked 57, on the second page is a corker...

 

Hmm... I think I want about 50 years left. Enough such that I'm not
going to be in the position that it's not around whilst I can still
swing my leg over a bike. Oh, and enough so supply and demand doesn't
price it out of my reach (hence 50 rather than 30).

 

This is not global warming but a strange phenomenon known
as "weather".

 

Someone forced me to reply with:

I will have to amaze my oil industry friend with this when he is
pissed and ask him why he did not mention it.

Invest in Oil shares/Geo Companies then ?

 

A chum of mine is in oil exploration, and he's been spending rather a lot of
time in Canada recently... is this a spooky coincidence me wonders?

ZK

 

Now there's a thing. I read just the other day of a "newly realised"
factor affecting global warming ... soot. Particularly, particulate
emissions from industrial sources and diesel engines (I always knew
that diesels were the work of the devil, see) which are coating and
becoming embedded in Polar ice, reducing the reflectivity and adding
therefore to global warming.

Pretty fucking obviously, dirty blackened ice doesn't reflect sunlight
nearly as well as pristine white ice. QED.

 

I would love to work in that field.

 

Got any relavent experience? I'll mention it to him if you have (he owns the
company) ;-)

ZK

 

Zero - I can cook a bit though.