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This is an easy thing to fix. Houses can be constructed which don't have tall tall celings which take all the warm air.
Personally I love my 10 foot ceilings and they aren't going anywhere, house feels too stuffy with low ceilings. You have to remember that it's not heat that rises but hot air. The key is to have a very well insulated ceiling and taking care to close any cracks or gaps.
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and in areas where they are needed put a system which creates a downward flow so the heat circulates and isn't wasted.
We have fans but that wouldn't be possible with 8 foot ceilings.
I would think this is actually all working out pretty well.
Solar PV is now feasible in the southern half of the country, at least with the provided subsidies. And it is marginal without the subsidies. Five years it will be solid.
Tesla just announced a battery pack that would make energy storage for independence from the grid or time displacement marginally affordable.
Both creation and storage get better over the next years and likely are very cost effective in five years. The workable latitude will also move further north though the long pole may well be heating in the northern latitudes.
Longer term fusion is out there and promises a robust long term solution.
The mobile fuel problem remains but it gets solved if the energy costs get low enough. Efficient disassociation of water will do it.
So we ride petro and coal in the immediate future to solar and eventually fusion. Perhaps a small period when nuclear drops back in for a while. One or more of the designs for compact reactors which are inherently safe.
When "they" become willing to say "There is NO doubt about it, fracking causes earthquakes!" I will be willing to listen to them.
However, at the present time, "they" are very careful to add in terms like "It is quite probable..." and "There is little doubt..." and "It is very likely..." depending on which article you are reading.
Which is to say, "they" don't REALLY KNOW, but if "they" can frighten enough people, "they" will get lots of grant money to study the issue, and in a few years "they" will be ready to make a definitive statement, IF the money holds out.
In the meantime, "they" get lots of free publicity by frightening people.
Well...scientists understand that there is very little in this world that is certain...so I doubt you'll ever hear the words "no doubt" - that doesn't mean it doesn't have an impact. So I guess you can keep your head buried in the sand waiting but the evidence - try watching the documentary "FrackNation" for some perspective.
Once again, please read the article that originated this discussion. Not the headline, the article. The cause on any induced seismicity, at least as far as oil and gas goes is the injection of produced brine water into wells that are poorly sited and/or designed to be used for salt water disposal (SWD).
Nobody in the scientific community is saying "fracking causes earthquakes". People outside that community, though are making that leap.
If there needs to be something done about these earthquakes we need to get past the "fracking--Bad" mindset.
Personally, I think that the new requirements on SWD wells by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission are a good first step. As time goes by they may need to be adjusted, but they appear to be addressing the main causes of concern.
Yes but if you are going to do this on large scale you need some fast growing wood that is very easily managed. Even if you could do it with hardwood the increase in the BTU's is going to have a small affect on acreage.
It's an acreage roughly the size of Alaska, Texas and Californian combined. And that is just to replace electric power.
Just because you have chose to live in little house doesn't mean the rest of us have to make that choice.
That decision is out of yours and others hands, as resources dry up there will be no choice but to stop with the mcmansions and wasteful use of resources. Our country's size once made it possible to ignore the fact that our resources are limited. We're coming up to the concrete ceiling now.
There's no magic bullet to solve our energy issues. Wood is going to be a major component.
That decision is out of yours and others hands, as resources dry up there will be no choice but to stop with the mcmansions and wasteful use of resources. Our country's size once made it possible to ignore the fact that our resources are limited. We're coming up to the concrete ceiling now.
There's no magic bullet to solve our energy issues. Wood is going to be a major component.
Ahhh - More belief in the tooth fairy. Strange. Shared by the RWNs and Environmental junkies...
Some of us live differently than others. Apart from this computer, a snowmobile and a truck, little I have is made of plastic or oil.
Do you have electricity in your house, or is it wired for such? Do you use solar panels? Do you buy groceries? Do you utilize healthcare facilities? You use a lot more oil than you'd like to admit to yourself.
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Originally Posted by arctichomesteader
That explains a lot. You should stop being so concerned with scraps of paper and ink (money) and be a bit more concerned about the world we live in and how it will be for future generations. Try drinking or breathing money sometime and see how well it works.
I doubt the royalties would cover the future doctor bills.
I am quite concerned about this world. That's why (unlike you) I didn't choose a bandwagon position for or against oil until I learned all about it and could make an informed decision.
As far as royalty money, it would more than cover doctor bills. Royalty owners here are funding their great-great grandchildren's college funds.
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Originally Posted by arctichomesteader
The facts do not support your frequent claims that oil is abundant and that we have enough for generations.
There's no magic bullet to solve our energy issues. Wood is going to be a major component.
"Necessity is the mother of invention."
The magic bullet is the market, being able to feasibly replace fossil fuels is huge incentive and the only one you need. As resources get scarce the prices will necessarily rise and that incentive will continue to increase.
You keep advocating for very poor policies and it's justy going to take that much longer. Just look at the ethanol debacle for prime example. You can't even compete against it because the market is guaranteed with the mandate. That's just stupidity.
Expecting that wood is going to be your savior is another lame idea, I've outlined some rough estimates. You're looking at an area the size of California, Alaska and Texas combined. What do you say about that? It's a huge amount of land required and your complaining about mining? Logging even when done right is very destructive not to mention all the oil burning machinery. You need roads, etc. You going to do it with wood powered helicopter?
I would think this is actually all working out pretty well.
Solar PV is now feasible in the southern half of the country, at least with the provided subsidies. And it is marginal without the subsidies. Five years it will be solid.
Solar power is feasible here. I am not in the Southern half of the US, but instead in the Southern half of Maine. I am not using any subsidies.
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... Tesla just announced a battery pack that would make energy storage for independence from the grid or time displacement marginally affordable.
The new Tesla battery pack is suggested to be on a 10-year lease. When amortized it's annual expense is not much better than any other battery-bank.
It is being discussed on Off-Grid forums. We were all eagerly awaiting the announcement. But for a 10-year battery, you can not own, that still requires certified installers, it may not be the battery bank we were hoping for.
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