Quote:
Originally Posted by topster7
goldengrain; the site in Nevada is not on a fault line. That's why they chose it. Will the other sources of energy you cited produce economically TODAY? In 10 years? 20 or 30? I haven't seen proof they will, just hopes and projections. The quality of life, as far as disposable income, etc. of our kids is at stake here. We can't get on a soapbox and be "preachy". Real lives will be economically affected by our choices here.
Should we drastically limit consumption of gas, oil and coal; but India and China still use it, they will have cheaper energy than us and put out factory goods far cheaper than we can. They do this already with cheap labour. We are already in hock to China with our bonds.
And seriously; won't the polluted air of a non-compliant China, India, and other nations enter the same atmosphere we breathe in America? That was rhetorical; of course it will. Why are so many enviros so wilfully blind/silent to this? Do you want YOUR kids and grandkids to inherit a lesser standard of living?
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I will address all of your concerns in the following:
I, at one time, was considering purchasing a house for retirement rather than a condo and decided that I would free myself, as much as possible, from the shackles of monthly energy bills as much as possible. I did research and decided on geothermal. I interviewed a few families who had installed these units in their yards and heard nothing but praise. There are some schools that are operating on geothermal in the US, too.
If those units are installed properly and the pipes are properly joined and sealed, they are practically foolproof.
You need not be located near a hot spot in the earth for geothermal use. The earth is a pretty much constant temperature at a certain level, and can be used for both cooling and heating.
THe energy lobby in the states, which you must realise by now, has a very far reach. There is negative propaganda and even people who peruse forums such as this, hired by those companies, trying to downplay and discourage people from considering alternatives, but there are systems now in use that receive nothing but praise by the consumer lucky enough to employ them. One of my co-workers had a neighbour who installed solar and was getting a check from his electric company monthly for the energy he PUT BACK INTO their system.
Such is the ignorance and influence of nay-sayers in the US that we are the laggards in this field as compared to other 'first world' nations.
Solar panels are becoming increasingly lighter and less costly.
A recent report by London-based consulting firm New Energy Finance, which found overall global investment in clean energy for the year was up 4.4 percent from $148 billion from 2007.
Alternative Energy's Great 2008 Also Revealed Its Weakness
Eastern European countries that have been looking to reduce their dependence on natural gas from Russia are embarking on several wind and hydro projects. France, a staunch nuclear power advocate, is ramping up its wind and solar and Greece's parliament recently approved five-year solar feed-in tariffs.
nbbusinessjournal.com - For alternative energy 2009 will be a year to 'get through' | Dirk Lammers, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - Breaking News, New Brunswick, Canada
Wind power accounts for 20-percent of electricity use in Denmark, 9-percent of use in Spain and 7-percent in Germany.
Little Germany has more than twice the wind power generators than all of North America.
http://alternate-power.org/about/
New Zealand and Switzerland, get enough power from their hydroelectric plants to supply half of their countries' energy requirements.
What Is Hydroelectric Energy?
England is using wind generators on the shoreline.
Renewable Energy: The Energy Supply for the Future
The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) investment in alternative sources of energy is $1,152 billion in 2008. The World Bank Group recently reported $1,192 billion to energy efficiency for the year ending 30 June 2008.
House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 04 Mar 2009 (pt 0015)
A Spanish energy company in Mexico is building an alternative energy farm at which should generate 250 megawatts of electricity with 167 turbines, 25 of which are already operating. The rest should be on line by the end of 2009, making the project the largest of its kind in Latin America. (
Associated Press; Jan. 22, 2009)
Acciona EnergÃa
Ireland has concentrated its efforts in obtaining the fifteen percent barrier, that is , produce fifteen percent of the energy needed by the population through wind farms. This is in fact, a governmental objective for 2010. Judging by the efforts made leading to discovery, one can say that in the future, Ireland can become the market leader in the sector. Analysts believe that wave energy possesses the potential to change and that renewable energy may become the norm; if this is accomplished, then Ireland wouldn't have to depend anymore on the energy provided by others and could thus reduce the consumption of fossil fuels.
Alternative Energy Usage in Ireland
For years countries like France, Ireland and Scotland have already used generators to successfully use this source for power.
Alternative Energy Types - How They Are Utilized Today
For some considerable time now, Japan has regarded microhydroelectric and the smaller scaled mini hydroelectric power plants as very suitable for the mountainous terrains. Japanese cities now increasingly use these plants through refinement which have proved excellent. Smaller scale hydroelectric power plants have been developed through the involvement of Japan Natural Energy Company, Kawasaki City Waterworks and Tokyo Electric Power Company
Alternative Energy Development In Japan - How Japan Uses Wind For Energy
Geothermal accounts for one percent of the electricity produced in the U.S. California, Nevada, Hawaii and Utah are states with geothermal power plants. These are plants, and not the units used for home installation.
Geothermal Energy - Untapped Unlimited Renewable Energy From The Earth
'The global cleantech industry stayed on a bull run despite a shaky economy in 2008' -
Clean Energy Revenues Climbed 53% in 2008: Forecast Flat to Down for This Year | Xconomy
The US has farmed so much of it's manufacturing out to China, which is one thing to consider - and
we, even in spite of this,
are still the world's largest polluter. It has been obvious, on so many occasions, that China has little regard for our, and its own, people. If we lower manufacturing costs by using alternates we will no longer have to put up with their inferior products and without a market in the US their pollution will diminish considerably.
There are other articles, but this is from Wikipedia concerning the faults in the nuclear waste site and our lousy ability to spot them -
Yucca Mountain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In June 2008, a major nuclear equipment supplier, Holtec International, criticised the Department of Energy's safety plan for handling containers of radioactive waste before they are buried at the proposed Yucca Mountain dump. The concern is that, in an earthquake, the unanchored casks of nuclear waste material awaiting burial at Yucca Mountain could be sent into a "chaotic mêlée of bouncing and rolling juggernauts".
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Then, there is the Times article -
Nevada: Changes Made at Nuclear Waste Site - The New York Times
Engineers moved some planned structures at the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump after rock samples indicated a fault line unexpectedly ran beneath their original location, an Energy Department official said.
Indeed, as you say, real lives ARE affected here.
We owe our children a
livable world, before anything else, I would think. The world population grows at a rate of about 6.6million people per MONTH. Most of those people will have increasing demands for a better life, which means more energy consumption.
Our energy by products, at their currant levels, are destroying ecosystems. We certainly cannot go on as we are. I cannot see much wiggle room here.
Often 'nature' thins out our population with plague and war. I would choose, if I were consulted, to adopt measures to limit population and to continue our present lifestyle with half the population on the planet. That is not about to happen. I do not see any other choice but to live more cleanly on the planet and to show more respect for our home. What was that saying, about the animals - they don't soil the place where they live? How does that reflect on humanity in general, I wonder?
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People don't want wind farms, oil burning cars, solar, nuke, you name it they don't want it.
