by darthfader 18 Replies latest social current
I found this idea on how Americans could contribute to reducing global warming on Ferrari Chat:
Every American with an air-conditioned house could volunteer to open their doors and windows for about an hour a day. The cool air escaping to the outside would tend to cool the atmosphere.
Of course, it was written by a troll.
Does anybody else see a fundamental flaw in the thermodynamic principles here?
I have to assume it's because they have little oil industry working against the sustainable energy market.
Bingo, that is why our politicians are worried about Social Security, which isn't due to run short of money for 30 years , but they are not worried about switching from an oil/coal based economy to a renwable energy economy. The money our Govt has spent on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could have built enough electric wind generators to supply 1/3 of the consumer's electrical needs in the USA. 4KW of solar panels on a new home would provide 50% of the yearly average electrical needs for the average family. On a big scale the price could be brought down to $12,000 or less per home. We have the ability, but not the political will to do this.
Obama was throwing money at shovel ready projects in 2008 while China was building new solar cell factories- before demand was ready for the new capacity. Now China has lowered their price per watt of photvoltaic panels to under $2/watt and US companies can't compete without a subsidy. Evergreen Solar in Massachussets is closing their factory down because of Chinese price competition. China made no secret about their global intentions, but our Govt seems to be willing to just let our domestic solar industry just up.
Mad Sweeny:
I’m not sure of the practicality of producing electricity this way but yes it absolutely can be done. Pressure differentials on certain types of materials will in fact produce an electrical current. One such material is quartz crystal. Putting the big squeeze on it will directly make a small amount of DC electricity.
When earthquakes occur, sometimes huge deposits of quartz are compressed; this has resulted in intense electrical discharge at the site of compression and random generations of high voltage ball lighting. A little more power then we’re looking for, but that’s how it works.
I suggest arranging honeycombed sandwiched slices of quartz woven together using flexible carbon fiber thread as the conductor material and to tie it together. The edges of the carpet could be tied down with metal eyelets making contact with carbon fiber conductors as appropriate. Your feed lines would of course be tied from the metal eyelets to your charging / power storage device.
Voila, there you have it, free electricity! It even has the potential to correct an ongoing societal injustice. Yes I’m talking about discrimination against our plus size citizens.
No longer should their weight bring an overcast of darkness to their lives. In fact the more they weigh, the brighter the light will be. Proverbs 4:18
Freeman
I really can't understand why solar panels have to cost so much. Is it THAT expensive to manufacture them?
With more and more people in the USA living in southern states, it only makes sense to use the available sunlight for energy.
States such as Florida, Texas, Arizona, California, etc. get a huge amount of sunlight most of the year. And the sun is shining when energy use is at its peak, in the afternoons when air condtioners are running non-stop.
I just don't get it.
Rub a Dub
We dont use them in Arizona because the cost of electricity is low. There are a few pilot projects here and there, but it's just not $ wise to install them. I know a number of people in California who are looking at them because of the high cost of electricity. They make financial sense there.
Best book on the subject.....free download:
There's a great chapter on solar.
We dont use them in Arizona because the cost of electricity is low.
Is that because of the Hoover dam ?
Rub a Dub
The German government has been subsiding installation, and has legislated the selling back of excess power to the energy company. In 10 years they had 1% of energy usage coming from solar. In less than 1 year they were up to 2%. They are currently cutting back subdidies because it was so popular there is now concern for the aging grid and surges of excess during sunny periods.
Best book on the subject.....free download:
http://www.withouthotair.com/
Leolaia ...
Thank you. Very interesting article.
Rub a Dub
