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Do freshwater aquariums help or contribute to global warming?
I was wondering about this as I have this hobby of keeping freshwater fish.. mainly captive bred.
4 Answers
humans existing contributes to global warming. to be honest, a few fish tanks aren't going to make a drastic difference, they are going to contribute due to the electricity they use and where that electricity is sourced from (coal? nuclear? water? wind?). the world is already pretty buggered, turning off a few lightswitches is going to be a tiny weeny, barely a dent, in the global scheme of things.
While I disagree with the media's perspective on Global Warming, yes they do. I disagree b/c Global Warming (imo) will happen regardless of humans. Humans are just making it happen a little faster.
Anything that uses electricity contributes to "global warming" because they use power from the power plant that produces CO2 (most likely coal). Further, the mercury vapor in the the fluorescent lights (if applicable) does not help either when the lights die out. Finally, it uses fresh water to keep the fish alive which depletes the fresh water reserves we have.
That being said - I have a 45G Saltwater, 55G Freshwater and several smaller freshwater aquariums. I do my part to offset my CO2 contribution by recycling the water - great for plants!!! I have a well insulated house so for the past 2 months, the furnace/ac/blower has been off, I use a metal halide lights and fluorescent lights (both contain mercury vapors) but are energy efficient. The RO water for the SW is recaptured to assist me in rinsing dishes before I put them int the dishwasher. I also own a PZEV vehicle (Partially Zero Emission Vehicle) to help reduce the CO2 output. Finally, I recycle everything I possibly can and we have started to change what we buy so that the packaging can be recycled.
We had a cookout recently and 95% of the items in the trashcan were recycled. Plates, Forks, Cups, Glass etc. Even the food I put outside so animals will eat (well, I try to compost it but the darn critters eat it all).
Anything that uses electricity contributes to "global warming" because they use power from the power plant that produces CO2 (most likely coal). Further, the mercury vapor in the the fluorescent lights (if applicable) does not help either when the lights die out. Finally, it uses fresh water to keep the fish alive which depletes the fresh water reserves we have.
That being said - I have a 45G Saltwater, 55G Freshwater and several smaller freshwater aquariums. I do my part to offset my CO2 contribution by recycling the water - great for plants!!! I have a well insulated house so for the past 2 months, the furnace/ac/blower has been off, I use a metal halide lights and fluorescent lights (both contain mercury vapors) but are energy efficient. The RO water for the SW is recaptured to assist me in rinsing dishes before I put them int the dishwasher. I also own a PZEV vehicle (Partially Zero Emission Vehicle) to help reduce the CO2 output. Finally, I recycle everything I possibly can and we have started to change what we buy so that the packaging can be recycled.
We had a cookout recently and 95% of the items in the trashcan were recycled. Plates, Forks, Cups, Glass etc. Even the food I put outside so animals will eat (well, I try to compost it but the darn critters eat it all).
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