So, Obama’s Global Warming spokesman Energy Secretary Steven Chu has a plan that will help reduce the rate of global warming at the same rate that we could if we turned off all the cars IN THE WORLD for eleven years. Not by reducing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, but by painting roofs white, thus reducing the amount of heat that gets trapped by darker roofs and reflecting it back into space. He also says we should have lighter colored streets, i.e. less heat absorbing asphalt. These steps would help reduce something called the urban heat island effect, or UHI.
Materials commonly used in urban areas, such as concrete and asphalt, have significantly different thermal bulk properties (including heat capacity and thermal conductivity) and surface radiative properties (albedo and emissivity) than the surrounding rural areas. This causes a change in the energy balance of the urban area, often leading to higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas. The energy balance is also affected by the lack of vegetation in urban areas, which inhibits cooling by evapotranspiration.
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Here is an example of how we Californians are going to pay for the petty foolishness and fiscal stupidity of the California legislature.
Both my cars are very low valued due to the fact that I buy my cars for real cheap, in the $300 range, fix them up, and then run them into the ground. Back in October of last year, the DMV registration for one car was $66 if paid on time. If late, the fee went up $20 dollars to $86.
My other car was due at the end of April. The fee, $56. The late fee? It’s not $20 dollars anymore. It’s gone up $61. Now the fee stands at $129. That’s triple. The late fee is based on the value of the car. Can you imagine if the car had a $300 plus fee and I was late?
Oh, and the great guys in the legislature have decided to completely cut the states public service known as Poison Control, as in gone completely. These are the folks you call when your kid swallows some pills, and you need to know the best thing to do to keep him or her from dying from a drug overdose.
I wonder how people outside the state will feel about moving to the state once word of this gets out. I wonder how many people living in California are going to stay.
PS. Here is another post I wrote about the pathetic state I live in.
