Are Humans Using Up Too Much Sun?

The National Anxiety Center ^ | June 25, 2003 | Alan Caruba

[presidio9]

"The energy of the sun, captured by plants and passed on to animals, powers everything in our world---dolphins leaping out of the ocean, geese moving across the sky, people stirring their morning oatmeal."

So says Elizabeth Sawin. Her article, published in Grist Magazine, was entitled "There Goes the Sun: humans are gobbling up too much of the sun’s energy."

Now, if this strikes you as too stupid to deserve comment, you’re right. On the other hand, I will comment on it because it reflects what lots and lots and lots of people believe. These people have passed through our elementary and secondary school systems since the 1960s and are thoroughly indoctrinated to believe we are using too much of the sun’s energy.

They believe, as does Ms. Sawin, "There is only so much energy on Earth, and all the interconnected, complicated, essential parts of the living system cannot survive without a share of it." Do you think we are running out of the Sun’s energy? Do you think there’s only just so much energy to be had that we have to completely alter all human activity to insure there’s enough for the geese and the dolphins?

Let me tell you a little bit about the Sun. It is a ball of hot gases and is 865,000 miles in diameter. Its mass makes up more than 99.9 percent of the solar system. This is necessary to insure that its gravitational attraction is great enough to hold the entire system together. It is a star of "average" temperature, about 15,000,000 degrees Celsius in its interior and about 6000 degrees Celsius at the surface. Its energy, radiating through space, is the only significant source of heat and light for the solar system. Here’s where it gets worrisome. Scientists estimate that there’s only some five billion years of energy left.

Oddly, despite its enormous generation of heat, there are whole parts of the Earth covered in ice. These places are very cold and home to polar bears and penguins. No sensible person wants to live in these places because nothing grows there. Once ice covered a much larger portion of the Earth and, until it melted sufficiently—thanks to the sun—human beings didn’t even exist. Their ancestors reputedly lived in trees or ran around on all fours eating Lord knows what.

I tell you this because it well may be that, having passed through our educational system, you too haven’t a clue about the sun, the earth, and all that dwells thereon.

Back to Ms. Sawin. The reason she "knows" that humans are using up too much of the sun’s energy is that "humans co-opt 32 percent of the total solar energy captured by land plants, according to a study in the Dec. 2l issue of Science. Ecologists know this because they can measure the plant biomass created each year, something called the Net Primary Production, or the NPP, and estimate how much of it is diverted away from the rest of life by human activities."

Follow me closely now because you will learn why virtually everything any environmentalist or ecologist tells you is the biggest pack of lies you have heard since your husband told you you’re not getting fat or your wife told you she doesn’t care you’re going bold.

First of all, the article she cites appeared in Science, a magazine that, like Scientific American, has been seriously infected by the environmental agenda to the point that much of what it offers as proof of anything requires heavy duty, critical examination and deconstruction. The notion that the Net Primary Production index or whatever they call it can accurately measure plant biomass is ludicrous. Can you imagine anyone being able to determine with certainty the use of solar energy by all the grasses, plants and forests of the earth? No, of course, you can’t.

This is a typical environmental propaganda device, much like the computer models cited to prove global warming is happening. It sounds scientific. It looks scientific. It is a load of crap.

However, the Elizabeth Sawin’s of the world will continue to worry that "the solar energy flowing through a cornfield won’t find its way to some of the specialized birds and insects that populate a prairie, because those prairie creatures don’t have the faintest idea what to do with corn stalks or corn earworms."

If this strikes you as idiotic, go to the front of the class, put a gold star beside your name, and return to your seat satisfied in the knowledge that you are not as big an idiot as Ms. Sawin. Then go home and bake some cornbread muffins. Hmmmmm, good!

[gov_bean_ counter]

Gerold Nadler alert.

[LiteKeeper]

YEC INTREP

[DoughtyOne]

I don't remember the exact statistics now, but only an infantesimile amount of solar energy that hits the earth is converted into anything meaningful. I believe the figures are something like 95+ percent of the energy hitting the earth is lost, but that figure may be higher than 99%.

Perhaps someone else will come along and dispute or confirm this. I'll see if I can find something on the subject.

[vbmoneyspender]

I am waiting for how long it will take the liberals to come up with a Sun-Tax proposal. I give the liberals here in California about two weeks.

[Pearls Before Swine]

This reminds me of my argument (tongue in cheek) against heavy use of tidal power--it will slow down the moon.

[Carolina]

"the solar energy flowing through a cornfield won’t find its way to some of the specialized birds and insects that populate a prairie, because those prairie creatures don’t have the faintest idea what to do with corn stalks or corn earworms."

First, we had eeeveeel SUVs. Now, we have evil, what? Corn?

The poor prairie animals are starving because they don't know what to do with CORN?

Explain to me, Miss EcoWacko, what worms are doing in my ears of corn when I husk them?

[ffusco]

The sun generates huge amounts of solar radiation, only a small bit is converted to useable energy. The rest is reflected onmidirectionally out to space.

[presidio9]

"Since the begining to time, mankind has wanted to block out the sun..." -Montgomery Burns

[StriperSniper]

against heavy use of tidal power--it will slow down the moon.

LOL! That's so silly!

(Everyone know it would speed up, break away, hit the Sun and create a solar flare that will fry the Earth ;-)

[ffusco]

I used to watch the Simpsons religeously- I've converted to Family Guy-ism.Funny stuff!

[Ruth A.]

Gotta love something from the National Anxiety Center.

[ffusco]

Or if we launch too many rockets, we will reduce the mass of the Earth and the Moon will float away.


Or the one about all Chinese people jumping up and down simultaneously would cause earthquakes.

[hellinahandcart]

or your wife told you she doesn’t care you’re going bold.

I don't care if he goes bald, and I like it when he goes bold. ;D

Good article too.

[wyodude]

Goodness. I'm not sure what to think about this...after reading and rereading Sawim's original article I cannot tell if she is really serious about this or not. Grist magazine describes itself as "gloom and doom with a sense of humor"...

Assumine she really is serious, I'd have to reply that we are *under* utilizing the sun. First, Earth is only so big and much of the sun's energy is lost to space. Second, it's night half the time (on average). I propose we mine the asteroids and outer planets to build a Dyson sphere or at least a Niven ring. Then we could more efficently use the limited resources of the sun. After all, 5 billions years is only a blink of the cosmic eye!

[supercat]

This reminds me of my argument (tongue in cheek) against heavy use of tidal power--it will slow down the moon.

Actually, tides do measurably slow down the earth.

[Springman]

Bump for later.

[Dr Warmoose]

Their ancestors reputedly lived in trees or ran around on all fours eating Lord knows what.

I love the juxtaposition of acknowledging "evolution" while in the same sentence referring to the Creator.

[MattAMiller]

These people have passed through our elementary and secondary school systems since the 1960s and are thoroughly indoctrinated to believe we are using too much of the sun’s energy.

I've been through the school system after 1960 and I can tell you that I've never heard this anywhere before. Swain is in her own universe on this. It makes no sense, whatever sun energy I use isn't getting to dolphins anyway.

[Fintan]

So says Elizabeth Sawin. Her article, published in Grist Magazine, was entitled "There Goes the Sun: humans are gobbling up too much of the sun’s energy."

 

I've been working for 40 years to have this much useless time on my hands...