Power Generation
[ This probably doesn't belong in this thread. Mods are free to move it to a new thread if they wish. ]
The only problem I have with wind power would be the fact that you need a lot of generators to have it work on a mass level. Having one or two windmills on some hillside in the distance wouldn't look that bad and might even be picturesque. Having thousands of them scattered across the countryside would look like an abomination against nature.
Which is Senator Kennedy's problem too, hence why even that Democrat is fighting it.
But still, it takes
over an order of magnitude more acreage in solar panels (let alone exponentially more cost) than wind. Generators do not have to be above ground either, and are a necessary evil of any mechanical generation. Solar proponents like to point that out, yet they ignore the fact that direct heat to electrical conversion -- as Einstein himself proved -- is wholly inefficient for the area used, even after considering generators.
It still would be better than killing ourselves with oil however so I would still use it.
Or coal for that matter. That's because both still require generators as well.
Maybe in the future it will be viable to create hydrogen from processes that don't rely on fossil fuels themselves.
Yes, if we actually
renovated the power grid like France and went to fission. The Bush administration has put $4B into fission R&D research, the first to do so in 40 years. And he's
merely just matching what 10 other countries are doing, as a collective -- from Britain to China to Japan to Russia.
One of the biggest proponents of fission power that has finally opened up the reconsideration since the mid-'90s was the co-founder of
Greenpeace. He helped found Greenpeace on the platform against fission energy, and now
admits he was wrong, very wrong!. Most of his critics show their utter scientific ignorance when debating him.
I also think Americans are very wasteful when it comes to energy because we take it for granted. As long as we plug something in an outlet and turn on a switch and have it work we generally don't care about what it takes to get that.
So damn true! The hydrogen generator that people buy for their homes is a perfect example. Not only will it cost more, but until the power grid is renovated and expanded,
it will overload the grid and cause rolling blackouts!
California is what I consider
the stupid state because the outlawed new, cleaner power plants to be built for 10 years. Guess what they got? Exactly.
There is no free lunch; we don't get something from nothing, not as long as the law of the conservation of energy holds true.
Not so! As much as I dislike many things about the French government (not French people), they have
had the foresight to not only go fission, but improve it! That's why whenever people want to study fission power, they go to France
because the US is 40+ years behind! At least until 2005, when the Congress and Bush finally approved $4B in new, very needed research to match 9 other countries.
There will always be things we can't get around when we go through our daily lives, like driving to work in a car for some people, or using lighting at night.
Yes, but if we "clean" the power grid by:
A. Replacing our old fission plants with newer, more powerful and longer-lasting ones
B. Augmenting the number of our fission plants, to take over other fossil fuel ones
C. Install wind farms in areas of vast plains and high winds (mid-west and west)
D. Upgrading older fossil fuel plants to coal power plants with new electromagnetic scrubbers
Only then can we provide the 3-fold increase in the power grid that a home with new electric/hydrogen vehicles and systems would need. The American consumer keeps focusing on the chicken -- while EEs realize we can't even handle the egg!
At least the US has major coal reserves, countries like the UK do not. At the same time, the UK doesn't need the energy the US does. So coal will continue to be a major source in the US. In the last 5 years, we've developed the technology to scrub almost every single particle of burning coal -- which means in 10-15 years, it will be feasible to install on virtually every plant.
That's a great complement to more fission, while cutting limited reserves like petroleum and natural gas. And once we have the electrical generation to handle increased household use of electricity,
then and only then can the consumer power their own zero emission vehicles -- NOT BEFORE!
However I see just as often people go on meaningless joyrides when they don't have to, leave lights on in rooms that are not in use, and I have even seen public buildings where the heat is kept on even when nobody is using it at the moment.
And why haven't they moved to flourescent lighting? Etc...? But businesses are even more guilty too.
Even with air conditioning there are people that use it when it's only slightly warm out. In fact for all but a couple of years in my life I have not even had air conditioning and it’s something I could be willing to live without. To think that Americans are stuck with our energy usage and there is nothing we can do to improve our situation is faulty.
I grew up without A/C.
