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Old 12-18-2016, 09:44 AM
 
Location: Portsmouth, VA
6,514 posts, read 8,392,782 times
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I'm convinced that true renewable energy does not exist. We'll always need fossil fuels.

We can reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, and we should. Not sure that we have much choice. But everything that is involved with renewable energy, is either constructed from fossil fuels, or involves fossil fuels, at some point. Something as simple as having to use petroleum or burn coal to create glass to build solar panels in order to collect solar energy.

The worst thing that could happen is that we continue to go down the rabbit hole of like 99% fossil fuels, and when the s* hits the fan we don't have enough materials or infrastructure available to facilitate renewable energy in a way that can realistically meet our energy needs. And sacrifices will have to be made, particularly in the area of computing, which has one of the largest power needs, if it is not the largest power requirement that we have. I'm thinking of the cloud and our continued reliance on data centers for 24/7 computing, and "disposable" computing, like smartphones, that take up space in landfills.

Are we going to be in a position to shift, over time, a significant amount of our power to renewable sources in our lifetimes? Or is the best that we can do is continue to rely on sources like nuclear, for the bulk of our energy (assuming that coal and oil will disappear off of the face of the earth by then), and wind and solar for a smaller, insignificant amount of our needs?

Last edited by goofy328; 12-18-2016 at 10:01 AM..
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Old 12-18-2016, 02:51 PM
 
28,803 posts, read 47,505,988 times
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Make glass in a solar furnace.

I believe fission is close. The work done in multiple locations is very promising.

At some point those landfills are going to be opened up just like mines are and for a similar reason.
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Old 12-18-2016, 04:31 PM
 
2,151 posts, read 1,343,196 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tek_Freek View Post
Make glass in a solar furnace.

I believe fission is close. The work done in multiple locations is very promising.

At some point those landfills are going to be opened up just like mines are and for a similar reason.
We already use fission to generate power all over the world.
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Old 12-18-2016, 05:15 PM
 
28,803 posts, read 47,505,988 times
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I hat autocorrect
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Old 12-19-2016, 07:17 AM
 
Location: Portsmouth, VA
6,514 posts, read 8,392,782 times
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Does fission address the issues I've mentioned?
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Old 12-19-2016, 10:17 AM
 
Location: nYC
684 posts, read 709,397 times
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energy is in abundance in the universe. it's converting and storing it. I am still pondering that the new energy efficient light bulb is really not very biodegradable (compared to the old one).
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Old 12-20-2016, 02:50 PM
 
Location: Middle America
10,955 posts, read 7,003,155 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by goofy328 View Post
I'm convinced that true renewable energy does not exist.
Take solar energy and convert it to electricity = renewable. Transfer cold from a cold stream to a beverage you want to cool = renewable. Heat up food from a solar collector for cooking = renewable. Use wind to spin moving coils to generate electricity = renewable.

It's a simple matter of transferring energy from one medium to another. It's about not wasting energy sources that are freely flowing around us, drifting by without us using them. There's no rocket science involved. What's the issue to understanding?

We need to worry less about the fossil fuels that have been used in the past hundred years or so, and look at all the other energy sources that have been around for millennia and mostly ignored by our measly selves.

The loudest supporters of fossil fuels are those that profit from it, and the disciplines and servants that follow under them. None of them contribute anything special or life-changing to society or the world. They want everyone to just shut up and submit to oil and the status quo, while throwing stones at everything else. It doesn't take much of a person to dumb down and carry on like that. Why be drawn to those types?

If we could ever free ourselves of the naysayers and other slugs who keep throwing trash and road blocks in the way of progress, we might actually achieve some great discoveries and advances. The problem is, many continue to listen to them, support them, and repeat their nonsense, giving them perpetual life.

Last edited by Thoreau424; 12-20-2016 at 03:10 PM..
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Old 12-20-2016, 05:23 PM
 
41,815 posts, read 50,801,345 times
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Originally Posted by Thoreau424 View Post
What's the issue to understanding?
Here is the issue. Suppose it's 0 degrees out in the Northeast, cloudy and no wind. Utilities are breaking records at 7 AM and it's going to be like that for the next 2 weeks. This is a plausible scenario.

We can pile coal next to coal plant and meet that demand indefinitely even beyond the two weeks. Your capacity and storage needs balloon out of control to meet that with wind and solar and you are still gambling regardless of the capacity and storage you have. This is and will always be the Achilles heel of solar and wind.
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Old 12-25-2016, 04:51 PM
 
2,151 posts, read 1,343,196 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by goofy328 View Post
Does fission address the issues I've mentioned?
Fission comes with its own set of problems. It's better than fossil fuels for the short term but not a long term solution.

Solar, wind, hydro and fusion are promising for the long term.

We know we need to get away from coal, and it's a race to get there. You can create glass without fossil fuels.
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Old 12-27-2016, 03:09 PM
 
35,309 posts, read 52,016,805 times
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Originally Posted by goofy328 View Post
I'm convinced that true renewable energy does not exist. We'll always need fossil fuels.
If thats the case civilization as we know it will be over when we run out of fossil fuels, at the moment we are using 100 million barrels a day,a number that continues to increase.Sooner or later we are going to reach the bottom of the barrel.
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