re: global warming and what you can do against it
kreed
> Dear All,
> As you know global warming is endangering the future of life on the
> planet. It will also affect us;
> rising sea levels, dwindling water supplies, mass deaths due to heat
> waves, stoppage of the gulfstream, which
> brings milder climate to north of Europe, super hurricanes, less food
> due to droughts are some of the effects.
> As you also know global warming is produced due to CO2 emissions
> coming from burning of fossil fuels.
Fortunately this has been shown to be false, so no need to panic about
it.
Dont be the last one to find this out, you will just look like a
moron.
>So what
> can every single person do to reduce global warming ?
Absolutely nothing. No way on earth you can stop a natural process.
You can however stop promoting rubbish like carbon pollution,
man made global warming etc, and by this alone you can do your bit to
stop bottom feeders (gore and other politicians for example) profiting
from it - stealing directly out of you and your family's pocket and
your future.
If you still want to believe in AGW, then feel free to spend this
money on your own ways to reduce energy consumption. That is your
right. Dont dare FORCE others to do the same.
I do agree however that saving energy is a good idea, there are many
easy and cheap way to do so, if you can do more for less it saves
money and that allows you to potentially have a higher amount of funds
to spend on other things, or save, invest.
> 1) Insulation: Do you know that you can save 50% of heating energy
> (and money) by insulation ? Especially in
> the times the financial crisis, you can make the insulation cheaper
> and save the money when oil, natural gas and
> coal prices are higher due to higher demand. What needs to be
> insulated ? Firstly the Roof, since warmer air
> goes up, then the windows (tripple glass or at least dual glass and
> shutters for additional insulation at night,
> and in summer time), then the outer walls. Also small cracks, leaks in
> weatherstrips etc should be eliminated.
> An infrared inspection of your house for heat losses would be the best
> way to find out what else can be done.
> A wintergarden will help heating your house additionally in winter
> time.
>
Depending on climate it is a good idea.
> 2) Using rechargable batteries instead of alkaline batteries, and
> charge them during less demand ours like at night
> will also save a lot of energy and money.
Remember that some rechargeables are 1.2v VS 1.5v, this may be a
problem
with some equipment.
I have had success with these newer 2000MAH AA L Ion cells, when
used with the proper charger.
They don't last for as many charges as they claim, but even if they
last for 50 or so is a worthwhile saving of money.
Running things directly off mains power rather than battery will be
more efficient (if possible).
>
> 3) Lightning; the use of Compact fluorescent lamps instead of
> traditioanl light bulbs will save 80% of energy, the
> use of very new LED lamps will save even more.
>
Straight 2" and 4" fluro tubes ( that have been used for decades)
(better still the new T5 Fluorescent fittings, and/or triphosphor
tubes) use even less power than CFL and give more USABLE light.
Retrofitting with electronic ballasts can save a few watts of power
(and heat).
A lot of what is said about CFL's is false and they are not the
universal answer (though they are good in some cases). Please read
this technical article on the matter.
http://sound.westhost.com/articles/incandescent.htm
> 4) Buying local. Most of the energy is spent for transportation of
> imported goods, especially food. By buying local
> made food you not only save a lot of energy, but also create more jobs
> at home.
>
Very little is made locally (if you are referring to western
countries). Food I agree with if the quality is there and the price is
value for money.
One case where you should NOT buy locally is western made cars
compared to asian imports (japan etc).
Western cars in my experience generally have worse build quality,
outdated design and technology, higher price, less efficiency, lower
life, lower resale values than most Japanese (and even korean) brands.
This is bad for all of us, and "the environment".
> 5) Heating; there are several way to save energy and money by changing
> the heating method; you can use the free heat
> of the nature by adding a solar thermal equipment to heat the water
> for taking showers and also to heat your home.
> Additionally you can use a heating pump, which funtions like a reverse
> fridge; it takes the heat of the outside and
> transfers it to your home. You use much much less energy to do this
> (electricity to pump a liquid).
>
Heat pump is indeed the most efficient way to provide heat from
electricity that I am aware of.
> 6) Your car; by buying a hybrid car you save 30% of fuel, by
> converting your car to CNG (compressed natural gas) you
> can save a lot of CO2, since CNG has much less carbon but more
> hydrogen, which will result in water (CH4 instead of
> C8H18). CNG will also result in much more energy output per mass. The
> conversion is not very expensive. It is totally
> save, since the storage has to resist a certain pressure.
Since its now widely known that carbon pollution is a hoax, the amount
of carbon emitted
doesn't matter anymore.
Hybrids cost much more to buy over equivalent normal cars, the extra
cost is much more than the likely fuel savings over the life. The
batteries used are a shocking pollutant, don't usually have a long
life, and high cost.
Buying a very efficient normal car is a much better way to save fuel
and cost in my opinion.
> Of course there are also other smaller things you have to consider:
> - Each 60 pounds increases fuel consumption by 10%.
> - Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration, and hard braking)
> wastes gas. It can lower your highway gas mileage
> 33% and city mileage 5%.
It can, dont know the exact figures though.
> - Drive at lowest and constant rpms; 2000 rpm are enough; you can save
> up to 30%. Even a Porsche can be driven at the
> 4th gear at 20 mph and at the 6th gear at 50 mph with 2.5 times less
> fuel consumption.
> - Avoid high speeds. Driving 75 mph, rather than 65 mph, could cut
> your fuel economy by 15%.
In practice with modern cars in my experience it makes no noticeable
difference
Around here you are more likely to cause an accident, aggravation or
be a victim of road rage
if you were to try doing that on a main road.
> - Use air conditioning only when necessary
Car Air conditioning uses less fuel than the aerodynamic drag caused
by open windows, especially in modern
cars where aerodynamics are an extremely important part of the design
to improve fuel efficiency.
If you are driving slowly the aerodynamic losses will be less, but you
probably wont be getting much airflow either. If its in traffic, the
outside air will be hot, probably full of exhaust fumes, in this case
using aircon with vents closed is probably whats needed.
> - Keep tires properly inflated and aligned to improve your gasoline
> mileage by around 3.3%.
It does help, also makes them last longer and grip better.
> - Replace clogged air filters to improve gas mileage by as much as 10%
> and protect your engine
true - dont know exact figures though
> - Combine errands into one trip. Several short trips, each one taken
> from a cold start, can use twice as much fuel as
> one trip covering the same distance when the engine is warm. Do not
> forget that in the first mile your car uses 8
> times more fuel, in the second mile 4 times and only after the
> fourth mile it becomes normal
>
Dont know about the figures accuracy, but stuff like repeated short
trips isn't good for the engine, it should
be regularly driven for long enough (20-30 min) to heat up the oil
enough to burn off the crap that accumulates
in it if it doesn't get warm. This crap becomes acidic and damages
your engine if not burnt off. Same with exhaust systems I have found
that if they regularly get hot enough, it gets rid of the condensation
etc that causes corrosion.
Repeated short trips probably increase damage via metal fatigue from
the metal expanding and contracting many times where on a long trip,
this will only happen at start up and when stopped.
> 7) Buying A++ or A+++ equipments. The extra money you pay for this
> will be back in 1-2 years. It will save a lot of CO2.
>
??????????
> 8) Try to save also energy at your job; you can do it by insulation,
> more efficient processes, heat recovery, more
> efficient pumps/engines, low temperature processses, material
> saving, water savings, optimization, automatic turning
> off of unnecessary energy using processes, control if some
> processes are really necessary (the change of some
> processes makes other processes sometimes unnecesarry on which
> nobody has thought about).
>
> 9) Solar cells for your own home; at the moment solar cells are very
> cheap since there is an overproduction. These cells
> can operate a fridge for example.
>
They arent here, even though there are subsidies
> Regards.
fritz
"kreed" wrote...
>
> One case where you should NOT buy locally is western made cars
> compared to asian imports (japan etc).
> Western cars in my experience generally have worse build quality,
> outdated design and technology, higher price, less efficiency, lower
> life, lower resale values than most Japanese (and even korean) brands.
Rubbish, the best cars in the world are made by German companies.
They have the highest build quality in the world and they always lead
automotive
technology in all areas -e.g. Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, Audi etc.
kreed
I don't dispute that - but they are European, not western.
On the downside brands like you mention are beyond the reach of most
people though, and are not an option for the majority of the
population.
The entry level and lower priced Mercedes are not made in Germany now
either. Not saying that they are necessarily bad quality as I havent
owned one.
I don't know if the other companies you mentioned make lower price
models for the mainstream market here. In my experience, Japanese made
cars provide the best build quality in the lower priced market where
the majority of buyers are.
F Murtz
no one has heard of it and nearly impossible to buy.(toyota century)
David L. Jones
> "kreed" wrote...
>>
>> One case where you should NOT buy locally is western made cars
>> compared to asian imports (japan etc).
>> Western cars in my experience generally have worse build quality,
>> outdated design and technology, higher price, less efficiency, lower
>> life, lower resale values than most Japanese (and even korean)
>> brands.
>
> Rubbish, the best cars in the world are made by German companies.
And so are some of the worst.
Even ownend an Opel?
Dave.
--
---------------------------------------------
Check out my Electronics Engineering Video Blog & Podcast:
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Trevor Wilson
"fritz" <yap...@microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:hgkv7b$c66$02$1...@news.t-online.com...
**Clearly you have never owned a Japanese car. They are vastly more reliable
than any of the European brands. Including Mercs. In fact, one of my clients
owns a C Class Benz. It has been back to Mercedes 37 (THIRTY SEVEN) times
for under warranty faults. He asked for a replacement and Merc refused.
--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au
Moonshadow
When it comes to reliability, German cars are worse all the major
Japanese makes, and worse than Kia!
http://www.caradvice.com.au/1436/top-10-reliable-brands/
"Other manufacturers which performed relatively poorly in the list include
* Porsche (27.48%)
* BMW (28.64)
* Mercedes (29.90%)
* Audi (36.74%)
* Land Rover (44.21%)
* Jeep (46.35 %)"
kreed
wrote:
> "fritz" <yapu...@microsoft.com> wrote in message
>
> news:hgkv7b$c66$02$1...@news.t-online.com...
>
>
>
> > "kreed" wrote...
>
> >> One case where you should NOT buy locally is western made cars
> >> compared to asian imports (japan etc).
> >> Western cars in my experience generally have worse build quality,
> >> outdated design and technology, higher price, less efficiency, lower
> >> life, lower resale values than most Japanese (and even korean) brands.
>
> > Rubbish, the best cars in the world are made by German companies.
> > They have the highest build quality in the world and they always lead
> > automotive
> > technology in all areas -e.g. Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, Audi etc.
>
> **Clearly you have never owned a Japanese car. They are vastly more reliable
> than any of the European brands. Including Mercs.
That is my experience too. Have had 2 Mitsubishi, and a Toyota (japan
made) and they just kept going for many years and are extremely well
priced for what you get.
The best example was our 1991 Express work van, bought new and got
over 600,000 km out of it before it wasn't viable to repair with. I
did have the engine rebuilt, and put in a reconditioned exchange
gearbox from wreckers at around 300,000k, but a friend did it for a
reasonable price.
To my amazement I have seen the thing STILL getting round as one of
those "wicked" backpacker hire vans.
Locally made cars or locally assembled japan brand cars have been poor
quality, and I would never buy again.
> In fact, one of my clients
> owns a C Class Benz. It has been back to Mercedes 37 (THIRTY SEVEN) times
> for under warranty faults. He asked for a replacement and Merc refused.
>
> --
> Trevor Wilsonwww.rageaudio.com.au
Is this particular model made in Germany or elsewhere ?
A good friend of mine who is a Merc enthusiast told me a few years
back that all but the top end models are now made outside Germany
(South Africa, Korea, US depending on where they are to be exported
to IIRC).
He has also mentioned similar stories to what you say about your
client's Merc troubles.
kreed
I havent heard of it either.
I always assumed that the luxury cars toyota made were under the
"Lexus" name.
F Murtz
Trevor Wilson
"kreed" <kenre...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:cf26eaa1-6a60-4622...@b36g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
**Fair enough. I've been lucky. We have a 1989 Telstar in the family. Since
new, the only problem has been a squeaky water pump.
>
>
>> In fact, one of my clients
>> owns a C Class Benz. It has been back to Mercedes 37 (THIRTY SEVEN) times
>> for under warranty faults. He asked for a replacement and Merc refused.
>>
>> --
>> Trevor Wilsonwww.rageaudio.com.au
>
>
> Is this particular model made in Germany or elsewhere ?
**South Afrika. Ironically, the guy also owns a Golf. It was also made in
South Afrika. It has been perfectly reliable. He won't be buying a Benz
again.
>
> A good friend of mine who is a Merc enthusiast told me a few years
> back that all but the top end models are now made outside Germany
> (South Africa, Korea, US depending on where they are to be exported
> to IIRC).
**True enough. A mate has a 3 year old 500SL. It has been reasonably
reliable, but is Hellishly expensive to service.
>
> He has also mentioned similar stories to what you say about your
> client's Merc troubles.
**Clearly Merc could copy VW's expertise in setting up overseas operations.
--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au
keithr
It looks like the car that the chairman of Fujitsu used to turn up at
the factory in, when I was over there in the '80s
keithr
>> Is this particular model made in Germany or elsewhere ?
>
> **South Afrika. Ironically, the guy also owns a Golf. It was also made in
> South Afrika. It has been perfectly reliable. He won't be buying a Benz
> again.
The Toyota Corolla that I had until recently was South African built. It
was completely reliable although it did have to have a major field
upgrade soon after I bought it. I didn't perceive any problems, but it
was a nicer car to drive afterward.
keithr
They can't be worse than US cars, I had 2 GM vehicles, a Pontiac Grand
AM and a Chevy Blazer and they were both absolute crap.
The blaze had all sorts of trick stuff that after 5 years was dying.
It's best trick was the electrically adjusted driver's seat that
occasionally decided to adjust itself. You'd be driving along when
suddenly the steering wheel would start getting closer and closer.
David L. Jones
> "fritz" <yap...@microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:hgkv7b$c66$02$1...@news.t-online.com...
>>
>> "kreed" wrote...
>>>
>>> One case where you should NOT buy locally is western made cars
>>> compared to asian imports (japan etc).
>>> Western cars in my experience generally have worse build quality,
>>> outdated design and technology, higher price, less efficiency, lower
>>> life, lower resale values than most Japanese (and even korean)
>>> brands.
>>
>> Rubbish, the best cars in the world are made by German companies.
>> They have the highest build quality in the world and they always lead
>> automotive
>> technology in all areas -e.g. Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, Audi etc.
>
> **Clearly you have never owned a Japanese car. They are vastly more
> reliable than any of the European brands.
Yup.
I had a Mazda 626 that did over 300,000km with hardly any trouble at all,
incredibly reliable, and never got professionally serviced, I just changed
the consumables myself whenever I got around to it. Worst problem ever was
the alternator going.
My current Opel has done only half that and it's constantly in the shop and
has broken down completely on many occasions. I think I've had half the bits
under the bonnet replaced. Has always leaked coolant like there's no
tomorrow (been in 4 times for coolant leaks alone). And I've had it dealer
serviced since new.
German cars are built like a brick out-house though, very solid, but the
reliability is abysmal.
Dave.
--
================================================
kreed
> Trevor Wilson wrote:
> > "fritz" <yapu...@microsoft.com> wrote in message
> >news:hgkv7b$c66$02$1...@news.t-online.com...
>
> >> "kreed" wrote...
>
> >>> One case where you should NOT buy locally is western made cars
> >>> compared to asian imports (japan etc).
> >>> Western cars in my experience generally have worse build quality,
> >>> outdated design and technology, higher price, less efficiency, lower
> >>> life, lower resale values than most Japanese (and even korean)
> >>> brands.
>
> >> Rubbish, the best cars in the world are made by German companies.
> >> They have the highest build quality in the world and they always lead
> >> automotive
> >> technology in all areas -e.g. Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, Audi etc.
>
> > **Clearly you have never owned a Japanese car. They are vastly more
> > reliable than any of the European brands.
>
> Yup.
> I had a Mazda 626 that did over 300,000km with hardly any trouble at all,
> incredibly reliable, and never got professionally serviced, I just changed
> the consumables myself whenever I got around to it. Worst problem ever was
> the alternator going.
> My current Opel has done only half that and it's constantly in the shop and
> has broken down completely on many occasions. I think I've had half the bits
> under the bonnet replaced. Has always leaked coolant like there's no
> tomorrow (been in 4 times for coolant leaks alone). And I've had it dealer
> serviced since new.
I presume this is Holden badged (Astra, Vectra).
(I saw when in Russia they also sell an Opel Omega, that is about the
size of our Camry, though here Holden probably sell the Apollo? /
Commodore instead for people interested in that size car)
Some other stuff to look forward to and to help you decide to get rid
of it :)
When the brake pads wear out, the entire disc has to be replaced as
well I am informed by my mechanic
when informing me of all the problems with 2 Astras that he services
for other customers - telling me how lucky I was I didn't buy one.
Wiring harness problems - intermittent are another favourite he said,
they can take hours to find and repair. Finally, they don't have a
brake light switch on the brake pedal, they use other methods via the
ECU of determining when braking occurs. This made a challenge of
finding why a brake light didn't work. Turned out to be the ECU
faulty. Expensive repair for such a "simple" fault. I would have
felt like installing a switch and wiring it direct to the lights, but
in a service situation, this probably isnt acceptable professionally
and might expose them to future liablity the way things are these
days.
The time I drove a friends 2003 Vectra about 300k distance, I just
about had callouses on my arse from the hard, uncomfortable seat that
was bad no matter how you tried to position yourself. Never again !
fritz
"David L. Jones" <alt...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:IBwXm.36097$gd1....@newsfe05.iad...
> fritz wrote:
>> "kreed" wrote...
>>>
>>> One case where you should NOT buy locally is western made cars
>>> compared to asian imports (japan etc).
>>> Western cars in my experience generally have worse build quality,
>>> outdated design and technology, higher price, less efficiency, lower
>>> life, lower resale values than most Japanese (and even korean)
>>> brands.
>>
>> Rubbish, the best cars in the world are made by German companies.
>
> And so are some of the worst.
> Even ownend an Opel?
>
> Dave.
No
I deliberately left out Opel, they are not in the same league.
fritz
"Trevor Wilson" <tre...@SPAMBLOCKrageaudio.com.au> wrote in message
news:7p7mu8...@mid.individual.net...
Actually I have owned a Honda, only a shopping-trolley City though.
It was reliable, but so have all the cars I bought new.
>
>
> --
> Trevor Wilson
> www.rageaudio.com.au
>
>
fritz
"Moonshadow" <moons...@nospam.net> wrote in message
news:4b2ea7e5$1...@news.comindico.com.au...
That list was from an American consumers group.
The following is from the German equivalent of the NRMA, they deal
with breakdowns.
fritz
"keithr" <ke...@nowhere.com.au> wrote in message
news:4b2efde0$1...@dnews.tpgi.com.au...
For a European reliability survey (cars in Germany) see....
Moonshadow
It's strange that the results of the two surveys seem contradictory.
One could imagine parochial bias in the ADAC survey, but it seems
unlikely. Warranty Direct would gain no advantage I can see by distortion.
Any explanations anyone?
David L. Jones
Vectra, 2002.
> (I saw when in Russia they also sell an Opel Omega, that is about the
> size of our Camry, though here Holden probably sell the Apollo? /
> Commodore instead for people interested in that size car)
>
> Some other stuff to look forward to and to help you decide to get rid
> of it :)
> When the brake pads wear out, the entire disc has to be replaced as
> well I am informed by my mechanic
Your mechanic is wrong.
I've had my pads replaced twice, and the only thing they recommend is to
machine the discs (it's a "would you like fries with that" upsell thing).
The pads actually last a long time.
> when informing me of all the problems with 2 Astras that he services
> for other customers - telling me how lucky I was I didn't buy one.
> Wiring harness problems - intermittent are another favourite he said,
> they can take hours to find and repair. Finally, they don't have a
> brake light switch on the brake pedal, they use other methods via the
> ECU of determining when braking occurs. This made a challenge of
> finding why a brake light didn't work. Turned out to be the ECU
> faulty. Expensive repair for such a "simple" fault. I would have
> felt like installing a switch and wiring it direct to the lights, but
> in a service situation, this probably isnt acceptable professionally
> and might expose them to future liablity the way things are these
> days.
>
> The time I drove a friends 2003 Vectra about 300k distance, I just
> about had callouses on my arse from the hard, uncomfortable seat that
> was bad no matter how you tried to position yourself. Never again !
I don't find it hard, just the posture position a bit uncomfortable for long
trips.
I've contemplated swapping it for a similar priced used Jap car, but Mr
Murphy gets me every time, so probably better the devil I know.