Beam me to Planet Gore !
Posted on 01/30/2008 10:00:05 AM PST by Bronco_Buster_FweetHyagh
LONDON (Reuters) - The patio heaters warming drinkers and diners on the pavements of northern Europe are also warming the planet's climate and should be banned, according to a European Parliament report that could be adopted on Thursday.
Environmentalists argue that heaters not only pump heat directly into the atmosphere but also climate-damaging CO2, while owners of pubs and bars say they need them to help retain customers driven outside by smoking bans.
"Patio heaters are scandalous because they are burning fossil fuels in the open sky, so producing vast quantities of CO2 with very little heat benefit," said European parliamentarian Fiona Hall, who wrote the report criticizing the pace of energy reforms in Europe.
"We urge the Commission to set a timetable for completely taking off the market some appliances that are intrinsically inefficient, such as patio heaters," she added.
The report will not lead directly to legislation, but it seeks to guide the European Commission on parliamentarians' priorities.
Any ban would be fiercely opposed by UK pub owners, whose businesses suffered after a smoking ban last year and are now struggling with weakening consumer spending and rising costs.
The heaters are also popular in many other European countries.
"It's ironic this comes at a time when we've all invested heavily in slightly heated areas after the government banned smoking," said Giles Thorley, Chief Executive of Britain's biggest pubs owner Punch Taverns, which has around 8,400 venues.
"But it's a long way from legislation," he told Reuters.
According to UK government statistics, outdoor heaters produce about 22,200 tons of CO2 a year, compared with around 21 million tons from household heating and hot water.
The report will be debated later on Wednesday by the European Parliament, with a vote to adopt it on Thursday.
Friends of the Earth's Director Tony Juniper said: "If the UK government is committed to reducing carbon dioxide emissions, it must be prepared to back EU proposals to improve energy efficiency, which include banning these carbon-belching monstrosities."
(Additional reporting by Marc Jones, editing by Will Waterman)
a) The cumulative effect of patio heaters is .0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001% of the CO2 in the world b) CO2 feeds plants, right? So whats the problem c) The harm and damage to society and business owners in preventing them from warming up people at night seems to not only outweigh and harm of this behavior, but it seems more and more to be the goal.
Are we self-destructing?
Are we self-destructing?.......No, the EuROPeans are........
“Environmentalists argue that heaters not only pump heat directly into the atmosphere ...”
So now even a fireplace can be regulated out of existence because the fire will “pump heat directly into the atmosphere”.
See my tagline.
This has to be one of the stupidest things that I have ever read. I guess leaving my doors open in summer with the A/C cranked to the max will cause Global Cooling?
If the path of maximum damage to civilization was the same as the path to maximum liberal self-congratulation... they’d take it.
What did they expect after throwing all the smokers out of the pubs and into the elements?
As an upside, as the patio heaters contribute to global warming, then eventually they’ll not be needed. :-)
Science has been politicized out of existence.
“Science” is now a religion, and the politicized “science” of “gobull warming” is to be used to destroy western civilization.
We need to take all these enviro-morons and plant them on an island without:
Oil/Gasoline
Cars
Airplanes
Electricity
French Fries
Our Congress banned traditional light bulbs.
Only a matter of time until outdoor heaters are banned?
I’ve wondered about these. I’ve been to some lib oriented autumn parties with these and no one seemed to think anything about them. At least they’re being consistent.
Gee! So do people!
Animals do too.
It is.
Between reducing their lifestyle for a bogus crisis and appeasing the Islamic takeover,
the Europeans are on a quick path to maximal human misery.
If outdoor patio heaters pump out heat, are wooly sox far behind? If we live in the cold, we should ENJOY it? What about car heaters? What about home heaters? Humans also exude CO2, don’t we? At least warm air. And then catalytic converters. Boy, do the libs have a great time coming.
“According to UK government statistics, outdoor heaters produce about 22,200 tons of CO2 a year, compared with around 21 million tons from household heating and hot water.”
So a fraction of a percent of home heating. And where are the calls to end home heating?
Next they will want to pass a low on how warm you can have your house. Seriously, you can hear it now - they will say you should just use more clothes and blankets and turn off your heat.
Or should I also turn the AC on during the summer and neutralize the effect of the added heat?
Me too. Something that makes it more convenient for smokers banned from indoors to indulge their habit, and also consumes fuel, won't escape the notice of the Nazis for long.
Coming to your neighborhood in the near future.....
And Bar-B-Que grills?... forgetaboutit!!!
Remember--- John McCain thinks Al Gore is a great scientific mind.
The big box store where I am going to buy incandescent bulbs also sells patio heaters. I’ll get one of them too.
In fact I think I’ll get the 150 watt bulbs instead of the usual 100’s.
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