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Family Values
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 4,075
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I'd really like to know what's "green"?
Is buying a used car greener than buying a new one? If so, how much MPG does the old car need to get before it becomes less green (assuming new cars get better MPG).
Does recycling really make a difference? Does all of the energy that goes into recycling really reduce the amount of "waste". (side note: there seem to be bands of people emptying the cans from people's recycling bins in our neighborhood for the deposit money).
Are CFLs, which contain mercury better than plain old incandescent bulbs when you add in the manufacturing and new waste (mercury).
Are hybrids, with their battery packs, better than a non-hybrid that gets similar mileage?
Why aren't we building more nuclear power stations? If CO2 is the real problem, wouldn't that make sense?
If plug-in electric cars are in our future, will they be more efficient than gas or diesel cars given the amount of electricity we'll be sucking down to charge them and the fuels (coal, natural gas, nuclear, etc..) that we'll need to generate to power them? What about the transmission losses in power lines compared to the refining and shipping costs in gas/diesel?
Until someone can answer these questions, I am not sure what it means to be "green".
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- Joe
Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves. - William Pitt
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