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> (c) 10 million air pollution deaths/year That's a drop in the bucket compared to the plausible future deaths from climate change. Burning gasoline moves car
by p1mrx 3y ago
> (c) 10 million air pollution deaths/year
That's a drop in the bucket compared to the plausible future deaths from climate change. Burning gasoline moves carbon from the ground into the air, and we basically have no idea how to undo that operation at an appropriate scale.
- 4hg4ufxhy 3y agoIf we ran out of oil today billions would die.
- p1mrx 3y agoyes, and?
- chii 3y agoso using those 10 million air pollution deaths/year figure without the context of the deaths that would've occurred had we not have good fuel for transportation etc, means it's just a piece of statistic meant to misinform you about the argument.
- p1mrx 3y agoI already said upthread that pollution deaths are a drop in the bucket. Modern gasoline engines are pretty clean, if you ignore the enormous future effects of CO2.
- nextaccountic 3y agoUndoing this will probably take more energy than what we gained from burning gasoline. If you consider the whole operation (extracting oil -> refining fuel -> burning fuel -> sequestering carbon -> storing said carbon underground), the whole cycle probably provides negative energy. At this point, things like biodiesel or alcohol (which can be processed from plants) seem more energetically efficient.
- dmurray 3y ago> (extracting oil -> refining fuel -> burning fuel -> sequestering carbon -> storing said carbon underground), the whole cycle probably provides negative energy Very straightforwardly true. But if you add some steps: having an industrial revolution -> developing technology -> manufacturing solar panels or other renewables on a massive scale -> collecting energy for the carbon sequestration - you could imagine the human race coming out ahead.
- mike_hock 3y agoRenewables can replace fossil fuels as an energy source. To undo a century plus of burning fossil fuels, you'll need a revolutionary energy source that outputs an order of magnitude more power. Maybe fusion, or maybe something that we cannot yet fathom. You can imagine this all coming to a happy ending, but at this point it's all up in the air. Both the CO2 and whether it'll ever come down again.