Gulf Oil Rig explosion who do you think should be blamed? or not.

[Hagar]

Biofuels are all very well but do we have the capacity to grow enough jojoba & other plants to satisfy the demand? Many countries have enough problems growing food. I don't think our dependency on crude oil will be broken unless ordinary people are prepared to make sacrifices. I don't see that happening any time soon.

[Slotback]

I figure that people and corporations will not accept sacrifice hence we might keep burning fossil fuels till it's too late. Therefore I feel that it is necessary to create, develop and use technologies that require minimal sacrifice. Oil is extremely expensive, which is why it is almost never used for electricity generation. In terms of fuel costs per unit of distance traveled, an electric car costs less than one quarter that of an economical gasoline powered car. That's why I think we should move everything over to electricity. Might as well use biofuels for the areas where electricity cannot do the job (e.g. aviation). Where do we get the electricity from? Only thing I can think of is Nuclear, especially 4th generation Nuclear which solves every single downside to the technology.

[JBaymore]

Really it all comes down to making money.

[Slotback]

[quote]Stuff like solar, and so on are not easy for the really "big boys" to get their hands wrapped around.

[JBaymore]

NNG,

Solar panels can be installed in myriad locations producing small but very useable amounts of electricity.

[JBaymore]

[quote][quote]

Anyway...... who's to blame for the oil rig disaster?

[Slotback]

[quote]One of the "sacrifices" that we all need to make is to realize that "cheap" enery is not cheap.

[JBaymore]

My previous post assumed that solar was decentralized.

Then I really don't undestand what you meant here:

The problem is that solar and wind are generally implemented in ways that are hardly decentralized and democratic, often requiring huge transmission investments to keep the grid stable.

best,

..........john

[Fozzer]

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/0 ... how-9.html

The ultimate in optimism.

Paul..... ...!

[Al_Fallujah]

let me add to it... There was a Volcano eruption somewhere else either last night or some other time... of course I could have been dreaming.

Since the Apocolypse is rooted in Christian religious viewpoint, and at SimV we don't discuss religious stuff in the forums, let's keep the focus here on the blame game on the oil rig situation (if we must).

Thanks.

best,

...................john

Not strictly true.
http://blog.beliefnet.com/idolchatter/2 ... about.html

Not trying to start a religious thread... just pointing out that the end of time can be a truly multi-cultural event! 

[Slotback]

My previous post assumed that solar was decentralized.

Then I really don't undestand what you meant here:

The problem is that solar and wind are generally implemented in ways that are hardly decentralized and democratic, often requiring huge transmission investments to keep the grid stable.

best,

..........john

Decentralized photovoltaic is the easiest way to do the math since I don't have to account for the grid. I also assumed that we were talking about rooftop solar panels versus grid electricity. Solar Photovoltaic doesn't make a whole lot of sense centralized or decentralized, maybe in 20 years it will, hopefully it turns out better than electric cars.

[Fozzer]

Latest....

Failure.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... id=topnews

Paul.

[Steve M]

Latest....

Failure.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... id=topnews

Paul.

Why does Pandoras box come to mind? 

[TacitBlue]

As for decentralized power, I think that the key right now is to do what you can. I mess around with solar cells and wind power on a very small scale. As it stands right now, I have a radio that runs completely for free. It has rechargeable batteries in it which are permanently attached to a small solar panel. I have not replaced the batteries or taken them out to charge them in about 3 months and I use my radio a lot. Also, for things like flashlight batteries (I use a flash light a work all the time) I have built a small wind generator that charges 2 at a time. On top of that, if it isn't windy I have another solar panel to charge AA's with. My Dad has gone a step further, he uses a few large solar panels to keep a big deep cycle battery charged. That battery powers several lights in his house, the system is experimental but it looks good so far and he plans to expand it. My point was that if more people went to using solar panels and batteries to run just the lights in their house, then it would take a lot of the draw off of the power grid. reduce the consumption, reduce the production, and therefore reduce the usage of fossil fuels.

[tcco94]

[quote][quote]Comeon...really now?