Global Warming The debbil made me do it

In article Bertie the Bunyip writes:
(Alan) wrote
So, will you be scrapping the Debonair and ceasing flying to help do
your part? Each gallon/hour is about 18.5 pounds of CO2 per hour
added to the atmosphere.


Really? I stink at chemistry, but I can't see how 6 pounds of gas oline
can release 18.5 pouunds of CO2. Still, the point is valid even if the
numbers arenot. OTOH, if he sells the Debonair someone else will pollute
with it.

Gasoline is about 84 percent carbon by weight. Thus, a gallon of
gasoline at 6 pounds has 6 * .84 = 5.04 pounds of carbon. Each carbon atom
weighs about 12 atomic mass units. It combines with 2 oxygen atoms at 16
atomic mass units each to form a CO2 molecule weighing 44 atomic mass
units. Thus 12 units of carbon by weight forms 44 units of CO2 by weight.
This has the weight increasing by a ratio of 44/12 or about 3.667 times as
much. Remembering that the weight of the carbon is .84 times the weight of
the gasoline, we get .84 * (44 / 12) = 3.08 pounds of CO2 for each pound of
gasoline, or 18.48 pounds of CO2 per gallon of gasoline.

Diesel fuel is very slightly more carbon by weight, more like .85, but
diesel engines deliver almost twice the useful work for the same amount
of fuel, so one comes out way ahead using them.


Buying indulgences doesn't solve the problem.

True. What's needed is a change in the fuel used. Various things have
been tried but the biofuel thing is not going to work unless the
tecnhology is developed to make a viable fuel out of things like corn
stalks. IOW using the waste of crops already grown. There;s little point
in cutting down forest to make them, is there? NASA ran a Musketeer on
hydrogen in the 70s. could be practical for cars, but I can't see it
working for airplanes unless fuel cell technology take s few farily
large leaps. Airplanes are getting to be more efficient, of course.
though there are some anteeks that can still put any modern to shame..

As you point out, current biofuels are limited in production, and
are expensive to produce.

I think we need inexpensive electric cars recharged by inexpensive
nuclear generated power -- if the cost of the car and the use is low
enough, people will not object to using one car with limited range
for the local trips which are the majority of their driving. Then
use the turbo-diesels for the long trips.


What does this have to do with airplanes? Well, we probably can't
build useful electric airplanes - so it seems that we really need to
stop burning airplane fuel for surface transport and uses.

Alan