Not just Hansens's mentor, but Reverend Al's as well!  I read on Drudge a few weeks back (sorry, no link), that the guy who taught Al Gore earth science and the global environment at Princeton also didn't believe in AGW.  He said even if global warming was real and man made, we didn't have the political will to make the necessary changes to stop it. 

Real interesting fellow.  He first articulated the gaia theory that the earth was a living organism.  His solution was also radical.  He proposes that if we want to reduce the atmospheric CO2 concentration, the best way would be to harvest biomass, turn it to charcoal, and bury it deep underground.  It makes wonderful sense, really.  Plants sequester an enormous amount of CO2 every growing season.  Bacteria and nematodes in the soil metabolize a lot of this biomass re-releasing CO2 during the decay process.  If you were to collect this biomass instead on a global scale, you could remove enough CO2 to make a difference.  Of course, you would lose your excuse to regulate the power industry this way, so don't look for it to be high on any government's agenda.  Something to think about.

BeeerLover

Apr 2, 2009 -- 4:27PM, Bodean wrote:

Hey Beerlover ...

Funny you should mention such.  The latest hairbrained project I'm working on here at my house is a Compost Heater.  I have a crawl space [peer and beam system], and I figure, if I can heat that dude, some of that heat will rise through the floor, thus heating the house.  And the fuel is FREE!

I mean hey, if the little buggers are going to break the stuff down anyway .. I might as well get a little benefit from it!

Sounds a little too WT to me, kind of like hanging your clothes on a clothes line or gutting deer on the front porch.....

So, how does it all work?  Do you shovel garbage under the house and it just disappears?

Actually, the whole energy from garbage concept has been bouncing around for some time, whether it be just heat like what you are doing, or generating and capturing methane.  Farmers in Europe used to build barns attached to their houses to take advantage of the heat their animals gave off.  I guess it's not sexy enough to garner big government grants though. 

Let me know how it works.  {I have a crawl space, too.}

BeerLover

Enjoying Yungling's Black and Tan these days.