REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

Ways to solve global warming

POSTED BY: SIGNYM
UPDATED: Tuesday, April 7, 2009 04:02
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Sunday, April 5, 2009 6:08 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Oh, hey... BTW- welcome back to RWE Finn!

---------------------------------
It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.

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Sunday, April 5, 2009 6:19 AM

BYTEMITE


The reason I've heard from environmentalists against hydropower is that damming up streams changes their ecology and causes declines in native species and invasions of non-native species.

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Sunday, April 5, 2009 7:08 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


Youre right: dams have all kinds of negative effects on river ecology. They prevent silt from being carried downstream, leading to (riparian) beach erosion, release COLD water, prevent fish migration, drown valleys etc. Maybe modern technology has a way around these issues. I don't know. But so far, there is an ongoing program to take down old dams.

---------------------------------
It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.

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Sunday, April 5, 2009 12:11 PM

FINN MAC CUMHAL


Quote:

Originally posted by chrisisall:
Quote:

Originally posted by Finn mac Cumhal:
I`m not sure what would be unreliable about hydropower.

As river origin points lose snow & ice, hydropower may fluctuate some, I conjure.


The laughing Chrisisall

Not really. A dam backs up enough water behind it and is generally built on major rivers that are fed by many tributaries. Runoff fluctuations are likely to have little effect.



Nihil est incertius vulgo, nihil obscurius voluntate hominum, nihil fallacius ratione tota comitiorum.

Nothing is more unpredictable than the mob, nothing more obscure than public opinion, nothing more deceptive than the whole political system.

-- Cicero

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Sunday, April 5, 2009 12:14 PM

FINN MAC CUMHAL


Quote:

Originally posted by SignyM:
BTW_ Electricity generated by boilers and turbine is not more reliable. Just look at the outages California had several summers ago when power plants were taken offline during peak season. Or just google major+ power+failures

So a dam might have been taken offline several summers ago, which doesn't really compare to the irregularity of wind and the day/night cycle. Dams are more reliable, because their source of energy flows almost constantly, whereas wind and the sun produce energy at a certian point only somtimes.



Nihil est incertius vulgo, nihil obscurius voluntate hominum, nihil fallacius ratione tota comitiorum.

Nothing is more unpredictable than the mob, nothing more obscure than public opinion, nothing more deceptive than the whole political system.

-- Cicero

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Sunday, April 5, 2009 1:25 PM

OUT2THEBLACK


Quote:

Originally posted by rue:

...I wonder if one can use biological materials to heat up the waste to such a high temperature, or if one needs to use fossil fuels for that.




Emphatically , yes...

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/11/1125_031125_turkeyoil.
html


http://www.mindfully.org/Energy/2003/Anything-Into-Oil1may03.htm

There was a fuels plant built in the United States that was adjacent to a turkey-processing facility , where the offal and feathers were bioreacted at over 600 degrees F to produce gasoline and diesel fractions....Part of the fuels were used to heat the boilers...

"This is a solution to three of the biggest problems facing mankind," says Brian Appel, chairman and CEO of Changing World Technologies, the company that built this pilot plant and has just completed its first industrial-size installation in Missouri. "This process can deal with the world's waste. It can supplement our dwindling supplies of oil. And it can slow down global warming."

"...The process is designed to handle almost any waste product imaginable, including turkey offal, tires, plastic bottles, harbor-dredged muck, old computers, municipal garbage, cornstalks, paper-pulp effluent, infectious medical waste, oil-refinery residues, even biological weapons such as anthrax spores. According to Appel, waste goes in one end and comes out the other as three products, all valuable and environmentally benign: high-quality oil, clean-burning gas, and purified minerals that can be used as fuels, fertilizers, or specialty chemicals for manufacturing."


Also , there used to be a significant 'bone ash' industry here in the States for disposing of animal bones , while producing a soil-amendment product--'biochar' , as it's now called...

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Sunday, April 5, 2009 4:02 PM

FINN MAC CUMHAL


Quote:

Originally posted by SignyM:
Oh, hey... BTW- welcome back to RWE Finn!

---------------------------------
It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.

Well I probably won't be visiting as much as I have in the past. I've gotten very heavy into my dancing. I compete and perform regularly now. And between that, my family and work, I don't have any free time.




Nihil est incertius vulgo, nihil obscurius voluntate hominum, nihil fallacius ratione tota comitiorum.

Nothing is more unpredictable than the mob, nothing more obscure than public opinion, nothing more deceptive than the whole political system.

-- Cicero

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Monday, April 6, 2009 11:01 AM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


"I`m not sure what would be unreliable about hydropower. It runs or can run constantly. It produces a steady, usually unbroken, stream of electricity."

MMMMmmmm ... not true. For one thing, no power generation plant - whether coal gas, hydro or nuclear- runs 100% of capacity, 100% the time.

When it comes to hydropower specifically, look at Niagara Falls for example: "To balance the need for power with a desire to preserve the beauty of Niagara Falls, the United States and Canada signed a treaty in 1950 that regulates the amount of water diverted for hydroelectricity production. On average, more than 200,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), or 1.5 million gallons of water a second, flow from Lake Erie into the Niagara River. The 1950 pact requires that at least 100,000 cfs of water spill over the Falls during the daylight hours in the tourist season, April through October. This flow may be cut in half at night during this period and at all times the rest of the year."

In other words, during daylight hours April through October, the falls power units operate at half-capacity. In addition, at night the hydropower is used to pump water to a reservoir, so that during the day power production will be maximized.


"Solar and wind power do not. They are intermittent, whether they are in Kansas or the coast."

If the standard you use is that each unit be on line 100% of the time, you're right. But that's not the correct standard to use. As above, no power plant operates at 100% capacity, 100% of the time. Additionally, there are power plants built to run only briefly - they are called 'peaker units'. So the idea of a part-time unit is not so novel as you might think.

"A dam backs up enough water behind it and is generally built on major rivers that are fed by many tributaries. Runoff fluctuations are likely to have little effect."

But siltation behind the dam does - it limits the lifespan of all dams, unless they are taken out of service and dredged.


Even more than that - see the post below.

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Silence is consent.

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Monday, April 6, 2009 11:03 AM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


Salazar: Eastern wind could replace coal for power

By WAYNE PARRY, Associated Press Writer Wayne Parry, Associated Press Writer – 4 mins ago
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Windmills off the East Coast could generate enough electricity to replace most, if not all, the coal-fired power plants in the United States, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Monday.



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Silence is consent.

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Monday, April 6, 2009 11:05 AM

CHRISISALL


Quote:

Originally posted by Finn mac Cumhal:
Well I probably won't be visiting as much as I have in the past.

Dance well, my friend.


The laughing Chrisisall

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Monday, April 6, 2009 11:09 AM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


"Well I probably won't be visiting as much as I have in the past."

I keep thinking we'll see him in some dance competition - and sadly - not know who he is.

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Silence is consent.

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Monday, April 6, 2009 11:10 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!


Quote:

Originally posted by rue:
Salazar: Eastern wind could replace coal for power

By WAYNE PARRY, Associated Press Writer Wayne Parry, Associated Press Writer – 4 mins ago
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Windmills off the East Coast could generate enough electricity to replace most, if not all, the coal-fired power plants in the United States, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Monday.




" Sen. Ted Kennedy and many residents who own coastal property from where they could see the wind turbines on a clear day oppose the project along with some environmental groups concerned about disrupting the patterns of migratory birds and the potential effect on local sea life."


Has uncle Teddy come around to Obama's way of thinking on this matter ?




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Monday, April 6, 2009 12:42 PM

KWICKO

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." -- William Casey, Reagan's presidential campaign manager & CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)


Quote:

Originally posted by AURaptor:
Quote:

Originally posted by rue:
Salazar: Eastern wind could replace coal for power

By WAYNE PARRY, Associated Press Writer Wayne Parry, Associated Press Writer – 4 mins ago
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Windmills off the East Coast could generate enough electricity to replace most, if not all, the coal-fired power plants in the United States, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Monday.




" Sen. Ted Kennedy and many residents who own coastal property from where they could see the wind turbines on a clear day oppose the project along with some environmental groups concerned about disrupting the patterns of migratory birds and the potential effect on local sea life."


Has uncle Teddy come around to Obama's way of thinking on this matter ?






Not to be too crass, but maybe his successor will have a different viewpoint on the matter.

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Monday, April 6, 2009 12:47 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!


Does his successor live with in eye sight of the proposed wind farm?


Not to be morbid or disrespectful, in the least, but I do find it curious, that so many Democrats vilify 'big oil', but when it comes to do something about energy and cutting dependency on foreign powers, they adopt the attitude of "not in my back yard! " as their battle cry.




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Monday, April 6, 2009 1:34 PM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


Probably one would not want to set up hydrothermal generation units in Yellowstone. Or put up large solar units in Zion National Park. Or like Niagara Falls, one would like to limit the visual impact of whatever you do to generate electricity - when dealing with a natural wonder.

There are probably better sites to put up wind generating units than the ones selected for the Cape Wind project. It is reasonable to support offshore wind power and not support one particular project. It is possible to be an environmentalist and not support every single instance of alternative energy - with good cause.

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Monday, April 6, 2009 1:57 PM

BYTEMITE


I love those wind turbines. I think they're pretty.

If it weren't for the noise or the possibly dangerous electric field they generate, I wouldn't be opposed to living in one.

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Monday, April 6, 2009 2:01 PM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!


I've always wanted to live in a lighthouse myself.

I wonder if it would be similar.

***************************************************************

Silence is consent.

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Monday, April 6, 2009 2:14 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!


Quote:

Originally posted by Bytemite:
I love those wind turbines. I think they're pretty.

If it weren't for the noise or the possibly dangerous electric field they generate, I wouldn't be opposed to living in one.



Fun to look at, I'd imagine, but do they really pose such a slaughter threat to migratory birds as the environmentalist say ?




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Monday, April 6, 2009 2:18 PM

KWICKO

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." -- William Casey, Reagan's presidential campaign manager & CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)


Quote:

Originally posted by AURaptor:
Does his successor live with in eye sight of the proposed wind farm?


Not to be morbid or disrespectful, in the least, but I do find it curious, that so many Democrats vilify 'big oil', but when it comes to do something about energy and cutting dependency on foreign powers, they adopt the attitude of "not in my back yard! " as their battle cry.






Can't help ya on that one, because I'm not one of those Democrats. I *want* the wind turbines in my back yard. Literally, IN MY BACK YARD. Why? Because they're paying some pretty decent royalties for being allowed to put them up. And you get free electricity, which is nice. So bring 'em on - PLEASE put one in my backyard!

Mike

Just lying smiling in the dark,
Shooting stars around your heart,
Dreams come bouncing in your head
pure and simple every time.
Now you're crying in your sleep;
I wish you'd never learnt to weep.
Don't sell the dreams you should be keeping
pure and simple every time.
"Pure"
, by Lightning Seeds


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Monday, April 6, 2009 2:48 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!


You're such the commoner.







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Monday, April 6, 2009 3:25 PM

FREMDFIRMA


Quote:

Fun to look at, I'd imagine, but do they really pose such a slaughter threat to migratory birds as the environmentalist say ?

That's a good question Rappy, and if so, how to mitigate it ?

Having walked over flocks of dead birds while on rounds at a certain chem plant, one would also seriously consider whether the aerial pollutants are more or less harmful than the windmills too.

I ain't kiddin, neither, there were piles of the damn things, with a dedicated cleanup crew.

-F

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Monday, April 6, 2009 4:06 PM

BYTEMITE


AURaptor: Don't know. I've never gotten up close to any wind turbine, so I've never seen dead birds around. On the other hand, I've never heard of clean-up crews for dead birds on wind farms, which I'd think might be necessary if they were really a problem.

There might be a design that could reduce the problem, if there is one. Or, I heard of a zero energy skyscraper being built in Dubai that's hollow in the center, has these turbines inside for wind power generation but are sealed off except for windflow from the outside.

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Monday, April 6, 2009 7:17 PM

PHOENIXROSE

You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.


Quote:

Originally posted by Kwicko:
Quote:

Originally posted by AURaptor:
I do find it curious, that so many Democrats vilify 'big oil', but when it comes to do something about energy and cutting dependency on foreign powers, they adopt the attitude of "not in my back yard! " as their battle cry.




Can't help ya on that one, because I'm not one of those Democrats. I *want* the wind turbines in my back yard. Literally, IN MY BACK YARD. Why? Because they're paying some pretty decent royalties for being allowed to put them up. And you get free electricity, which is nice. So bring 'em on - PLEASE put one in my backyard!


I mentioned that big empty windy spot behind my neighborhood right? They can put 'em there. Tucked into the mountains like that, they might even pose less threat to birds, if indeed they pose one. I've seen plenty of big white blades spinning along some of the highways I drive, think I mentioned that, too. No dead birds that I've noticed. Maybe they can and do pose a threat, but most migrating birds are going to fly higher than those things. I mean, they fly higher than skyscrapers, higher than huge old trees, higher than the big power and telephone poles, so I think they fly higher than turbines. Things are tall, but not that tall. And as Frem pointed out, maybe they're at more risk from other power sources.
...Just think of all those canaries that are sacrificed to mine coal.

[/sig]

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Tuesday, April 7, 2009 4:02 AM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.


That's why I like the vertical turbine so much- they sweep FAR less of an area, pose much less visual impact and also less on birds (if there is any to begin with)

The windmill technology is based on the old sail technology, the wind turbine techonology is based on old Norse water tubine technologies.

---------------------------------
It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.

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