“Some people are like Slinkies - not really good for anything,
but you still can't help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs.”
Friday, October 10, 2008
Black Balloons...
OK. I'm scared now.
Although the narrator isn't the same here in Queensland.
6 comments:
Anonymous
said...
If the government really wanted to cut emissions then they would not be targeting households.
Here's why:
According to the ad each balloon is worth 50gms of greenhouse gas and the average home releases 200,000 'balloons' annually. Do the maths and that accounts for 10,000kg of emissions per home or - for ease of use - 10 tonnes of emissions per home.
Australia has (or had in 2001) about 7.4 million households. If each is emitting 10 tonnes worth of balloons then the total emissions are 74 million tonnes.
How does that compare to the national total for emissions? Well in 2004 we emitted about 327 million tonnes of CO² - just one of the greenhouse gases - as a nation.
Even if everyone in Australia cut their household emissions to zero there would still be more than 250 million tonnes of CO² emitted by industry, government and other non-household sources.
Like cutting Australian emissions by 60% to save the world, decreasing the number of 'balloons' each house pumps out would do bugger all to save the planet.
The problem for me is the bad physics. As anyone who was awake during high school science lessons knows, CO2 is denser than air. A balloon full of it would sink to the floor, not float off into the sky.
Sheesh. Even I know that CO2 makes puddles, like water. Being a caver I've been in some caves with "bad air", it's CO2 which has collected in the cave. You can find out you're in CO2 only when you get a roaring headache, and then you know it's time to get out.
6 comments:
If the government really wanted to cut emissions then they would not be targeting households.
Here's why:
According to the ad each balloon is worth 50gms of greenhouse gas and the average home releases 200,000 'balloons' annually. Do the maths and that accounts for 10,000kg of emissions per home or - for ease of use - 10 tonnes of emissions per home.
Australia has (or had in 2001) about 7.4 million households. If each is emitting 10 tonnes worth of balloons then the total emissions are 74 million tonnes.
How does that compare to the national total for emissions? Well in 2004 we emitted about 327 million tonnes of CO² - just one of the greenhouse gases - as a nation.
Even if everyone in Australia cut their household emissions to zero there would still be more than 250 million tonnes of CO² emitted by industry, government and other non-household sources.
Like cutting Australian emissions by 60% to save the world, decreasing the number of 'balloons' each house pumps out would do bugger all to save the planet.
Grrrr...
Dylan, I just find the black balloons ominous and spooky. They scare me.
I guess that's the point, huh?
The problem for me is the bad physics.
As anyone who was awake during high school science lessons knows, CO2 is denser than air. A balloon full of it would sink to the floor, not float off into the sky.
Don't tell everyone that, Skeeter.
Sheesh. Even I know that CO2 makes puddles, like water. Being a caver I've been in some caves with "bad air", it's CO2 which has collected in the cave. You can find out you're in CO2 only when you get a roaring headache, and then you know it's time to get out.
You should change the colour of the balloons to ... Green!!
Problem solved
Cheers
JMH
Yes, Mini, you're right there. What a great idea.
Green balloons.
Not nearly so menacing...
Or are they?
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