Breakfast Topic: Keep Azeroth clean
by Michelle Madison 
May 22nd 2010 at 8:00AM
Is it just me, or is the air a bit dirtier than it used to be? Turbo-Charged Flying Machines, Mekgineer's Choppers, the new Refer-A-Friend X-53 Touring Rocket and not to mention all of the vehicles in Ulduar and Wintergrasp. Soon goblins will be driving their very own cars! Yes, it seems the once fresh, clean atmosphere of Azeroth is destined to become more polluted than trade chat.
At first I thought the whole Ice Stone melting incident was a farce .. just a part of our natural, cyclical climate change. But what if all of this engineering exhaust is causing irreparable damage? Perhaps it's the pollution itself that causes "Cataclysm" and not the return of Deathwing, like we've been told. It seems we are amidst the industrial revolution of Azeroth, and the progression of technology cannot be stifled any longer. As an engineer myself, I have to wonder about the effects I have personally had on WoW's environment -- crafting machines, bombs and even extracting motes and eternals on a daily basis. For shame.
Have you contributed to polluting Azeroth? If so what can we do to improve the air quality or prevent the situation from getting out of control?
Have you ever wanted to write for WoW.com? Your chance may be right around the corner. Watch for our next call for submissions for articles via Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW.com. The next byline you see here may be yours!Filed under: Breakfast Topics, Guest Posts
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
Knob May 22nd 2010 8:09AM
The industrial revolution won't stop even after Cataclysm. The gobbo version of a flight path is a rocket as well. :D
Moonfaxx May 22nd 2010 12:27PM
"...the once fresh, clean atmosphere of Azeroth is destined to become more polluted than trade chat."
Oh Michelle... *shakes head*... Let's not say things we both know aren't true.
Angrycelt May 22nd 2010 2:12PM
I'll stop riding my chopper when Blizz gives druids a ground travel form that's just as fast. Passenger schmassenger.
rhombuses May 25th 2010 3:27PM
More bike lanes in Dalaran.
Elmouth May 22nd 2010 8:00PM
I always hated mechano hogs from the get-go.
nerdrage May 23rd 2010 2:09PM
@ derrek
dang it im too late for most ppl to see this. but co2? lies!
Brando has what plants crave. ;D
Zhadok May 22nd 2010 8:10AM
Come on, people now, people now
People now, come on, people now
Got to drive hybrids, people now
People now, people now, people now
Hybrids are for people now, people now
Good for people driving people now
Get a hybrid, be good people now.
thegatherer May 22nd 2010 9:53AM
Sigh....The hybrid is a good step in order to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere.
That being said, it is absolutely terrible in the implementation of the battery system. If I remember correctly, the battery lasts about five years, and at that point you throw it away. costing about five grand for a new one.
Besides the economical impact this has on you (the hybrid owner); I wonder something: where does the battery get disposed of?
Sure, the manufacturers (who would supply the new battery, replace the old battery, and take the old battery) could dispose of it in an environmentally responsible way (i.e.: recycling it) but most likely, they either send it to a land fill in some third world country, or they send it off to be "referbished" in some third world country.
I have heard how they reclaim materials and "referbish" stuff in third world countries, and lets just say, I am surprised the workers still have hands.
jishdefish May 22nd 2010 10:25AM
I'll have you all know that my Chopper and Flying Machine are 100% nuclear powered. Besides a little radiation, they give off nothing but steam from the excess heat evaporating the water coolant tanks. No carbon dioxide emissions here, though I don't vouch for those dirty Goblin rockets... Only God knows what they're pumping into the atmo...
lemur May 22nd 2010 11:44AM
So you're saying that we need to make bear-machine hybrids. My gnomish engineer warlock will get right to it.
Derrek May 22nd 2010 11:59AM
Contrary to what the environmentalists, politicians, and hybrid car manufacturers would have you believe, carbon dioxide is what plants breathe. They take in CO2 through their leaves, the carbon is removed through a chemical process, and they emit pure oxygen. It's where the oxygen in our atmosphere comes from. Grade school biology.
And yet people are saying there's to much CO2 in the atmosphere. Rofl.
Rhoe May 22nd 2010 1:15PM
@derrek
Also scientists. Contrary to anybody qualified in the relevant fields. Us people, with these learno-qualifactiono-things. Dissent on the topic amounts to serious scientists saying "maybe its 3% instead of 2.9%" and quacks saying "[common sense x] [non sequitar empirical assumption y] [consensus that agrees with their political bias z]".
Come on people, politics isn't where you should even glance for scientific knowledge. We have peer-review, meta-analysis and rigorous academic standards for a study to even be looked at, while the other side is lacking in even basic theoretical or experimental grounding. The science says the earth is experiencing anthropogenic (human caused) warming, because of certain gas emissions, significantly increased since the industrial revolution. The politics, whether it agrees or disagrees is irrelevant.
I wasn't going to comment, but the thing about photosynthesis almost gave me an aneurysm. It's one single isolated fact that, believe it or not, your triple digit IQ superiors are fully aware of. You know, when we were founding the subject of biology.
Tokkar May 22nd 2010 1:52PM
So, Derrek, I guess that just gives us a green light on continuing the deforestation of Indonesia for palm oil so we can have those Kit-Kat bars, the Amazon so we can have McDonalds, and...oh, that's right, if the PRIMARY SOURCE of the oxygen on this planet is all destroyed for corporate greed, that kind of kills off the rest of us, huh?
But hey, plants love that CO2! We, however, can't breathe the stuff. So, using your logic, here's an experiment for you:
Buy a few plants and put them in your room. Buy plenty of duct tape and plastic sheeting, too! Make the neocons proud! Now, put that plastic sheeting over all ventilation ducts, windows, your door frame, don't forget the lighting fixtures and wall outlets. Tape them in place and seal them up really well!
See how long you can live off of what those plants are exhaling.
High school biology.
Rotties67 May 22nd 2010 3:24PM
I really hate hippies....
BEEFCAKE!!!
Cure4Living May 22nd 2010 3:29PM
@Rotties67
I approve of that comment!
adyuaa May 22nd 2010 3:34PM
The tauren and the nightelves should hire the ethereals to come up with something clean, quiet, and low to the ground. The goblins and gnomes might scoff, but they'll look mighty foolish when gaswerk and mechagnomoil is outlawed by the rest of their respective coalitions.
icepyro May 22nd 2010 4:59PM
First of all, depending on the plants, you could live a very long time in a sealed room. Provided, of course, that the plants are getting sunlight and nutrients and you are getting food and you both are getting water. One pot with a tomato plant isn't going to cut it, but a proper hydroponics nursery probably will.
High school biology. pssshaw. Still, while the plants may produce enough O2 for a human, there are a few billion humans in this world, not to mention all the other animals. Also, if you are not careful, the balance can be upset by any number of other reasons. O2 and CO2 are not the only things in the air. It doesn't take a large space to support an ecosystem, but there is more to it than space.
Tokkar May 22nd 2010 7:18PM
Icypro, I think without understanding that I was making a retort against Derrek's oil company lobbyist mentality, you have nonetheless helped illustrate the point I was making. Thank you!
Felix_NZ May 22nd 2010 7:21PM
No, this turbo-charged flying machine is electrical, I just need the nuclear reaction to generate the 1.21 Gigawatts of electricity I need!
Ozzard May 22nd 2010 7:24PM
I've got three hybrids: a druid, a shaman and a paladin. If only Blizzard would make druid flight form take passengers, I'd cheerfully offer rides in my hybrid ;-).
It's *mostly* zero pollution at point of consumption. Just occasionally, y'know, a bird's gotta do what a bird's gotta do and someone's windscreen gets fouled...