Patio Heaters - crazy!

[DavidUK]

Most people accept that global warming is a serious threat to our planet. To reduce the effect, we should all be trying to cut down on the burning of fossil fuels. But there has been a huge increase in patio heaters!

It's crazy! If you are cold outside, go inside the house.

[Little Lady]

Hmmm there was something on the news the other day about the peak district and all the peat bogs that are giving more carbon dioxide than the whole of the UK's cars do in a year how mad is that!?

They are trying to bind it together with heather so not as much can escape thus causing more global warming.

[CT]

4x4 cars that people use to take the kids to school and do the shopping. Now there's a waste of fossil fuel.

[richfo]

And what about fireworks? Think of the millions of tonnes of pollution omitted every year from fireworks, and for what?

[jake-the-peg]

The climate is changing - whether we a causing it or not is open to debate but burning fossil fuels isn't helping.

I do have to smile at all the 4x4 stuff though- the real killer is air transport. A family of 4 flying on a holiday to Florida and back release the same amount as if they'd driven 70-100 thousand KM in a 4x4.

Not only that but its injected nicely into the stratosphere where it'll be most effective.

Now think about all the cargo flown about the world, all those out of season pallets of strawberries in Tescos all that post flown about the place.

You'll get more sympathy stopping Land Rovers assembly line than by trying to tell people to not take foreign holidays.

The time is coming to make some really tough choices - choices like double the cost of air flights or build more nuclear power plants - because banning 4x4s isn't going to cut it. 

[ianess]

Well said jake-the-peg.

A plane like a Boeing 747 uses approximately 1 gallon of fuel (about 4 liters) every second. Over the course of a 10-hour flight, it might burn 36,000 gallons (150,000 liters). According to Boeing's Web site, the 747 burns approximately 5 gallons of fuel per mile (12 liters per kilometer).

Multiply that by the number of planes of all types flying this planet to guesstimate the scale of the damage  the human race is causing.
The situation is scandalous and it will take a lot more than banning 4x4s or fireworks to sort out.
We're all doomed!

[Lillabet]

So what you're saying is that trying to reduce global warming by reducing the use of patio heaters really is highly unlikely to have any effect whatsoever...

Instead we all need to fly less which case I guess patio heaters could even be beneficial. If we are able to spend more time comfortably outside in this country maybe we'll feel less of a need to always travel abroad in the summer - and therefore fly less...

[jake-the-peg]

Possibly...

Of course jumpers are much cheaper than patio heaters too!

Seriously though David's right. It is utter madness. When you have some OAPs struggling to heat their houses in the winter,  patio heaters are like lighting cigars with ten pound notes.

[acw]

Compared to the suggestion on here that the wind farms were going to "blow the earth off its orbit", this all seems perfectly sane to me!  Inside you can't watch the sunset, or hear the evening birds, or watch the stars (if you're lucky enough not to be in a city where such a beautiful sight it ruined by light pollution). 

[acw]

Or if it's one cow that's eating a LOT of beans!!!  Mind you, if it's that one cow, and it lives near you, least you'd go in the house and not waste energy using a patio heater. 

[acw]

I do realise it's an imposter - but he was being funny with the cow comments and not really doing too much harm - at the moment.  Person - why don't you get an individual sign in name that unique to you, not pretending to be someone else.  And continue to be pleasant and funny and maybe even helpful! :-)  Would be nice to see!

[THECORBYLOON]

acw I'm not sure that fraternizing wi "the Enemy" should be encouraged.......

[acw]

Oh CORBY I was trying to make him see the error of his ways! Sorry though, slapped wrist duly noted! :-)

[woofgang]

okay, so lets stop all recreational use of fossil fuels, no driving to the footy, no jet skis, power boats, off roading, bike or car racing, no plastic toys, sports gear, picnic accessories....the list is endless, why just pick on one thing??

[jake-the-peg]

We don't need to stop all recreational use of fossil fuels but we do need to cut them back and the best way of doing that is air transport which is far and away the worst offender. Yet I believe there is no tax on air craft fuel and we routinely fly stuff about the planet at a ridiculous rate often on half empty planes with airlines that are going out of business.

Long term the answer has to be hydrogen fuel cell technology with hydrogen obtained by fusion reactors but that's a way off yet.

We have a fuel addiction and as they say in AA the first step is to admit you have a problem. In Europe at least that's starting to happen - In America, well George Bush is an oil man so we're all stuffed for 4 years that we can ill afford. 

[becks]

Hmmm patio heaters lead to global warming? How do we know the earth isn't heating up because that's what nature has intended - do we really know what wiped out dinosaurs? Is the earth going to do the same thing again to get rid of us humans?  We know so little about the planet really and sorry, but i'm a little sceptical of global warming - in the grand scheme of things humans have been around for less time than a blink of an eye when you consider how old the planet is - do you really think we've caused that much damage? Maybe it's true and our future generations are all doomed but wi won't be worrying too much.

[DavidUK]

Thank you all for some very interesting points. I just spent the last 20 mins typing a response and then, when I clicked "submit", it disappeared! I can't be bothered to type it all again! Perhaps tomorrow!