Comments on: LCD making worse for environment than coal?

"Missing greenhouse gas" called nitrogen trifluoride, used in production of flat-screen TVs, chips, and synthetic diamonds, could accelerate global warming, according to a report.

[birdtford]

BenFlavoredCandy, where did you come up with that H2O is considered an air pollutant. H2O is water. It makes up 70% of the earth and 55% to 78% of humans. Also "CO2 does not, has not, and will not have adverse ecological effects." CO2 is expelled from every animal on the planet. Plants absorb CO2 for their life and produces oxygen that we breath. This is sience 101 that we all learned in school

[bk5312]

The article suffers from one serious mistake - NF3 is a perflurocarbon and IS covered by the Kyoto Protocol. The author is also seemingly unaware of the fact that NF3 replaced other gases with even higher global warming potential AND modern LCD and semiconductor manufacturing utilizes abatement equipment with 99+% destruction rates. With all of the articles on "green" these days, I would look carefully at the sources.

[megreenyou]

Energy demand is projected to grow at least 50 per cent by 2030. Energy generated by biomass and waste is estimated to supply 10 per cent of global demand by 2030. This assumes that fossil fuels will be available to cover most of the demand increase. Unfortunately, energy-related carbon dioxide emissions are projected to increase faster than energy use by 2030.

Energy use has impacts at all levels. Pollution from burning fossil fuels and the related impact of acid rain constitute serious problems for Asia, North American and European forests, lakes and soils. Stringent emission controls may reverse acidification trends. Thermal and nuclear power and solar cells generate waste disposal problems that may result in heavy metal soil contamination. Desertification in North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa is caused partly by biomass fuel demand. Natural resources are overtaxed by increasing energy usage and invasive alien species are entering many regions through global trade due to relatively available transportation fuels.
A complete discussion of climate change, global warming and biodiversity is found at http://www.onebiosphere.com
However, climate change remains by far the most deleterious impact of increasing energy usage. Species ranges and behaviors are shifting and impacting human well-being, including spreading human disease and invasion by alien species. Rare and threatened species will be affected seriously, including migratory species, polar species, genetically weak species, marginal populations and specialized species, especially those in alpine areas and islands. Amphibian species extinctions are linked with climate change. Recently, scientists have estimated that 1/4 to 1/3 of endemic species in various regions may become extinct by 2050 due to climate change.