The online racing simulator
Quote :but it is a very visible display of western excess. How is this interpreted in developing countries?

The UAE don't seem to have a problem with it. Or China. Or Brazil. Or any other developing nation that hosts an F1 race.
I laugh out loud every time when I hear or read somebody complaining that other People are "wasting their Money". Don´t they have a clue how economy works? If nobody is buying things nobody can earn Money.

So I am happy when there are people around who buy things like there´s no tomorrow no matter how "useless" I think these things are. The worst thing that could happen to me when someone buys Stuff is that I get the Money as a salary from my Boss. And if someone throws out Millions to buy Stuff the economy gets that Money, then People get it who hopefully spend the Money again to buy other things.

I think you could spend hours finding out who gets money for one Bolt if you follow the Path from mining the raw material, to transportation, someone who produces these Bolts, again Transportation and so on.

All I can say is that I find it better when people spend their money instead of hiding it under their pillow. Economy needs Money flowing around... otherwise sooner or later most of us will be unemployed.

So people out their: Waste your Money and consume consume consume!
Quote from TiJay :]Finally, global warming is a natural process!

True, We are just speeding up the process, my way of thinking is stuff the planet really, it's gonna happen anyway, all we can do is prolong the natural process.
and as it has been said before, We (Earth) are really overdue for another Ice Age, so which would you rather have?
Quote from Xaid0n :True, We are just speeding up the process, my way of thinking is stuff the planet really, it's gonna happen anyway, all we can do is prolong the natural process.

That's a pretty stupid view to have, the natural process would take a few hundred thousand of years instead of the few hundred the way we are going now. Its also a very ignorant and selfish view to have, we the human kind should protect our home and habitat not simply destroy it so that we can have a few years of fun with cars, planes, tv's and any other materialistic rubbish that we really do not need for our basic living. Even though we wont be alive in a few hundred possibly another thousand years that doesn't mean we should just say, f*** this.... arghghgh.. *takes deep breaths*
#32 - SamH
Global warming is real. However, IMO it's utter ballz that we're responsible for it or that changing our ways will stop it or even REMOTELY slow it. Where I live, 11,000 years ago or so, was a MILE deep in ice. We sure as hell weren't responsible for that either.

However, scientists who research global warming are well sponsored with their massive grants (it's the in thing), and those governments that subscribe to the "fact" that global warming is our fault or is within our capacity to fix or change, stand to gain MASSIVELY by taxing the hell out of us for our carbon footprints.

I have yet to see anything CONVINCING that ties we-the-people to the global warming IDEA, and I object to the prospect of being taxed on what is in FACT just a theory right now, and could just as equally turn out to be a complete MYTH.

There's my 2c
Quote from SamH :Global warming is real. However, IMO it's utter ballz that we're responsible for it or that changing our ways will stop it or even REMOTELY slow it. Where I live, 11,000 years ago or so, was a MILE deep in ice. We sure as hell weren't responsible for that either.

However, scientists who research global warming are well sponsored with their massive grants (it's the in thing), and those governments that subscribe to the "fact" that global warming is our fault or is within our capacity to fix or change, stand to gain MASSIVELY by taxing the hell out of us for our carbon footprints.

I have yet to see anything CONVINCING that ties we-the-people to the global warming IDEA, and I object to the prospect of being taxed on what is in FACT just a theory right now, and could just as equally turn out to be a complete MYTH.

There's my 2c

Thank you.

We aren't causing climate change - but we still have problems re. oil supplies. For home use, nuclear energy is clearly the way forward. Nuclear fusion technology would be a clearly good idea when we can sort out cold fusion

And anyway, even if human CO2 emissions were causing climate change, anything we do would be pissing in the wind when China are building a new - coal fired - power station every working day!

Also, note the G-Wiz (also known as REVA) electric car. If it had a normal petrol engine it would fail the crash tests. They are dangerous and should be taken off the roads.

Other electric cars are also too quiet re. blind people crossing the road ETC. I suggest that there shouldn't be blabber about reducing car noise. All cars should - by law - have to be ABOVE a certain volume.
Quote from Bean0 :Years (and I mean years) ago, there was a piece on the Big Breakfast about shoes/boots you could buy that were made from the rubber of old F1 tyres, the sole and the upper.

They had a race around the garden, someone with ex-Michael Schumacher shoes v someone in ex-Damon Hill shoes.

Did the guy in the schumi shoes take out the guy in the hill shoes after he crashed?

sorry, couldnt resist that one.
Quote from SamH :Where I live, 11,000 years ago or so, was a MILE deep in ice. We sure as hell weren't responsible for that either.

Testify!

*hides time machine and catering-sized Mr Frosty*
Quote from SamH :what is in FACT just a theory right now, and could just as equally turn out to be a complete MYTH.

thats complete and utter rubbish im even inclined to call it bullshit spread by gw opposers who havent got the slightest idea how science works

everything in science (with the exception of math) is a theory ... general relativity which was used to crash probes into the surface of mars is a theory ... quantum mechanics which you might use every day with a laser pointer is a theory ... semiconductor physics which you used to type that are a theory as well
its just what it is ... scientific semantics and the word alone doenst make it any less true than it is

the scientific process is based on finding faults with a theory ... if no one can find any that theory becomes accepted and turns to scientific fact
plus i cant think of any theory in the history of science that got prooven completely false instead of just being replaced with something more complicated and accurate which doesnt necessarly invalidate the original theory for quick approximation

the fact is that there is no evidence that the basic ideas of global warming are false making them for all that it matters fact
i think that go karts f1 and all that crap should be banned and just keep the wrc and Fun racing like that
#38 - Jakg
What in the hell is wrong with "go karts f1 and all that crap" and keep the "fun racing"

Do you even have a CLUE what your on about?
I was always taught that to test something scientifically you need a Control.
How can we know if humans are the cause if we can't test somewhere without them?

Turns out Mars is also suffering from Global Warming...no humans there.
Source
Quote from Jakg :What in the hell is wrong with "go karts f1 and all that crap" and keep the "fun racing"

Do you even have a CLUE what your on about?

I seriously hope that was misunderstood sarcasm, or I've lost all respect for him.
Quote from Bean0 :Turns out Mars is also suffering from Global Warming...no humans there.
Source

thats a local warming somewhere in ome of marses polar regions not a global one

how about venus then ? an atmosphere that almost entirely made up of co2 and has a significantly higher surface temerature than what is to be expected with its distance to the sun
face it the greenhouse effect is a reality with venus being a prime example and its also a reality that the co2 concentration in earths atmosphere is on the rise and lastly ita a reality that earths surface temps are rising

how much man is an influence in all that and how much change it will really bring to the earth we know (imho the scenarios with natural catastophies happening left and right are rubbish) is debatable and not yet known but the fact remains that man is indeed an influence and that it might not be the best idea to knowingly accelerate the process
Quote from Shotglass :thats a local warming somewhere in ome of marses polar regions not a global one

how about venus then ? an atmosphere that almost entirely made up of co2 and has a significantly higher surface temerature than what is to be expected with its distance to the sun
face it the greenhouse effect is a reality with venus being a prime example and its also a reality that the co2 concentration in earths atmosphere is on the rise and lastly ita a reality that earths surface temps are rising

how much man is an influence in all that and how much change it will really bring to the earth we know (imho the scenarios with natural catastophies happening left and right are rubbish) is debatable and not yet known but the fact remains that man is indeed an influence and that it might not be the best idea to knowingly accelerate the process

Indeed, but my point about the ratio of motorsport cars to road cars still stands. Furthermore there's no way you can just shut down a stable, massive, international economic platform. It's never going to happen. Ever.

We are so far into pumping excess CO2 into the atmosphere, I feel it would take decades to get back to a state where we were having a negligable effect. Again, don't see it happening. However, I don't know what the future holds.

I certainly do know I enjoy the sound of a petrol engine revving its nuts off, can't quite get the same satisfaction from an electric motor

@theirishnoob: Think before you speak, possibly better still in your case, don't speak at all.
Quote from Shotglass :plus i cant think of any theory in the history of science that got prooven completely false

I can think of a few things accepted as scientific fact:
-The world is flat
-The Earth is the centre of the universe
-Everything revolves around the Earth

Every single one proved false beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Quote from theirishnoob :i think that go karts f1 and all that crap should be banned and just keep the wrc and Fun racing like that

Quote from Jakg :What in the hell is wrong with "go karts f1 and all that crap" and keep the "fun racing"

Do you even have a CLUE what your on about?

My guess is no.

Quote from Shotglass :how about venus then ? an atmosphere that almost entirely made up of co2 and has a significantly higher surface temerature than what is to be expected with its distance to the sun
face it the greenhouse effect is a reality with venus being a prime example and its also a reality that the co2 concentration in earths atmosphere is on the rise and lastly ita a reality that earths surface temps are rising

how much man is an influence in all that and how much change it will really bring to the earth we know (imho the scenarios with natural catastophies happening left and right are rubbish) is debatable and not yet known but the fact remains that man is indeed an influence and that it might not be the best idea to knowingly accelerate the process

Just to throw this out there, according to scientific fact, at one point the Earth's atmosphere was pure CO2. I don't recall how it all worked out, but plants grew and used the carbon for food, raising the relative oxygen level in the atmosphere making it possible for life, etc etc etc.

Anyways, Shotglass, I can completely understand your POV on the subject, and yes pollution is a big problem. I think the health issues raised by dirty air is the biggest problem though (not to mention the ugliness of green air...)
Quote from pb32000 :Indeed, but my point about the ratio of motorsport cars to road cars still stands.

which gets countered by my point on not knowingly accelerating the warming

thing is motorsports with a few exceptions here and there is pointless for anything else than marketing (which i despise) the only othere benefit being engineering process
but a lot of the development in f1 goes in the direction of aero (which well never see in road cars for obvious reasons) and (thanks to fia) very simplistic engines that rev way too high for continuous use
in other words mechanics dont progress anymore and the more regulations a series has the less progress there is
to get to the point im trying to make f1 has no real use but pushes a crapload of co2 into the atmosphere ... which if you look at it that way seems like a bad deal

Quote :We are so far into pumping excess CO2 into the atmosphere, I feel it would take decades to get back to a state where we were having a negligable effect.

right but you gotta start somewhere if you want to have any hope of arriving anywhere

Quote :I certainly do know I enjoy the sound of a petrol engine revving its nuts off, can't quite get the same satisfaction from an electric motor

i guess that goes for most of us here
There was an interesting show on the Discovery channel a week or two ago that proposed a new (to me) twist on the whole global warming issue. The premise is that the focus on reducing CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions could pose a problem if it isn't accompanied by a significant reduction in particulate matter pollution, i.e. smog - pollution you can see. The idea is that the tiny particle pollution that floats around in the sky and bonds to water vapor in clouds and such actually contributes to global cooling by provide more surface area for rays of sun to be reflected and/or refracted, obviously casuing less of the sun's warmth to reach into the lower atmosphere. So, if we drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions without simultaneously reducing a balanced ratio of particulate matter pollution the earth will of course plunge into another ice age killing all life and making babies cry, etc, etc.

It was a very intriguing show, and while it was tricky looking past all the Danger Will Robinson! catastrophe scenarios, the ideas did appear to be backed up by actual scientific *gasp* research and testing.

Just thought I'd throw that out there in case no one had heard this take on it; I hadn't.
I say

A world without motorsport, isn't a world at all!

Let the world go down, but at least we will be racing when it does!
Quote from MAGGOT :I can think of a few things accepted as scientific fact:
-The world is flat
-The Earth is the centre of the universe
-Everything revolves around the Earth

Every single one proved false beyond a shadow of a doubt.

calling any of these scientific is a bit of an insult so science if you ask me
the way i see it science pretty much faded out of existance some time after the greeks and came back with peeps like galileo
basically all of these are much more religious beliefs that science as none of these is based on (sufficient) observation

Quote :Just to throw this out there, according to scientific fact, at one point the Earth's atmosphere was pure CO2. I don't recall how it all worked out, but plants grew and used the carbon for food, raising the relative oxygen level in the atmosphere making it possible for life, etc etc etc.

this is known as the faint young sun paradox
the theory of how a star works clearly states that a stars radiation increases over time
considering the mass of our sun youll find that its radiated power was at ~70% 4 millard years ago with respect to todays radiation levels
however youll find that the surface temperature on earth hasnt changed all that much since then
therefore the earth had to have a much stronger greenhouse effect 4 millard years ago than it has today to be warm enough for life to evolve

if you think a little further it directly follows from all that that the concentrations of greenhouse gasses must constantly decrease over time for the earth to maintain its temperature (and that they must continue to do so)

in case youre interested in the subject you might want to look up "daisyworld" and "gaia" as well
Quote from Dumpy :There was an interesting show on the Discovery channel a week or two ago that proposed a new (to me) twist on the whole global warming issue. The premise is that the focus on reducing CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions could pose a problem if it isn't accompanied by a significant reduction in particulate matter pollution, i.e. smog - pollution you can see. The idea is that the tiny particle pollution that floats around in the sky and bonds to water vapor in clouds and such actually contributes to global cooling by provide more surface area for rays of sun to be reflected and/or refracted, obviously casuing less of the sun's warmth to reach into the lower atmosphere. So, if we drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions without simultaneously reducing a balanced ratio of particulate matter pollution the earth will of course plunge into another ice age killing all life and making babies cry, etc, etc.

It was a very intriguing show, and while it was tricky looking past all the Danger Will Robinson! catastrophe scenarios, the ideas did appear to be backed up by actual scientific *gasp* research and testing.

Just thought I'd throw that out there in case no one had heard this take on it; I hadn't.

Yeah i remember watching a program on global cooling last year which is caused by global dimming. If i remember correctly after the 9/11 attacks when the planes were grounded in the USA they got some interesting measurements. They found that the days were hotter and nights cooler.
Quote from Shotglass :...the more regulations a series has the less progress there is

That's debateable. With stronger regulations it forces the manufacturers to innovate to advance technology. Doing so will increase and expand the knowledge.

Having no, or less, restrictions leads to un-economic ideas that will also increase and expand knowledge, but most probably at a slower rate. More technology has come from the modern over-regulated F1 than from the F1 of old I'd bet.

And about Aerodynamics not coming into use on street cars; that is simply not true. In recent years aerodynamics have been used quite a bit to increase fuel mileage by reducing drag, and thus, reducing the work the engine has to do to propel the vehicle at a given speed.

Racing forces manufacturers to advance their technology, this leads to improvements for consumer cars, which benefits both us, and the environment.

Quote from Shotglass :calling any of these scientific is a bit of an insult so science if you ask me
the way i see it science pretty much faded out of existance some time after the greeks and came back with peeps like galileo
basically all of these are much more religious beliefs that science as none of these is based on (sufficient) observation

These were scientific fact back then. Sure, today, we see it as crude and maybe even dumb; but back then it was perfectly accepted as scientific fact. The exact same thing will happen hundreds of years from now, regarding most of our scientific 'facts.' I was once told by my Physics professor "90% of what you learn in school is false, we just don't know it yet." It's true. Our understanding of the world around us is always changing, bringing new evidence to table either supporting or denouncing current facts.
Quote from MAGGOT :That's debateable. With stronger regulations it forces the manufacturers to innovate to advance technology. Doing so will increase and expand the knowledge.

Having no, or less, restrictions leads to un-economic ideas that will also increase and expand knowledge, but most probably at a slower rate. More technology has come from the modern over-regulated F1 than from the F1 of old I'd bet.

as it stands the fia has curbed any development on engines lately forcing the teams more and more to increase the rev limit to get sufficient power from the engines
nowerdays f1 engines are rather simplistic with few fancy bits on them
all the improvements done on the way an engine works like variable intakes or turbos got regulated out of f1 at some point
if you ask me the way the aco goes about these things by mainly regulating the intake restrictors forces teams to develop their engines rather than forcing them to roll back

Quote :And about Aerodynamics not coming into use on street cars; that is simply not true. In recent years aerodynamics have been used quite a bit to increase fuel mileage by reducing drag, and thus, reducing the work the engine has to do to propel the vehicle at a given speed.

this is of course true and f1 certainly has helped our understanding of aerodynamics quite a bit
but all the development goes in the direction of creating downforce which by itself has little relevance to road cars

Quote :These were scientific fact back then. Sure, today, we see it as crude and maybe even dumb; but back then it was perfectly accepted as scientific fact.

like i said these were all born from religious beleifs rather than from observation
todays science however is born from observations and unless these turn out to be false instead of incomplete like it has been in the past everything we know today will still stand in the future

despite general relativity newtons laws are still sufficiently true for many calculations to yield results in a much shorter time and just like that quantum electro dynamics might be truer than maxwell but that doesnt mean that maxwell wont still be used most of the time for being much simpler to work with
i really cant think of any theory born from empiric science that has been proven false to the point where it cant be used anymore for explaining the observations it was developed for

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