"Renewable Energiez"

CommandoDude · 2011-07-21 14:42:50

I hate when environmentalists fawn over Solar and Wind power like the Holy Grail of the future of energy as if they will be the solution to all our problems. Yet, they never try to understand the problems with these energy sources.

Oh, and don't get me started on that bio fuel scam they like to talk about. It's an absolutely terribad idea and nothing more then farming corporations trying to cash in on government subsidies.

Kino · 2011-07-21 14:44:57

Can't spell environmentalists without mental.

ClockworkUniverse · 2011-07-21 14:47:48

The only thing that bothers me about it is that they're afraid of nuclear power because of bombs that are only tangentially related.

The_Edge · 2011-07-21 14:48:53

Solar and Wind power are a great supplement though.

ClockworkUniverse · 2011-07-21 14:51:18

They are, but they aren't viable everywhere. I live in the woods in a valley. Not enough sunlight, not enough wind.

glennmagusharvey · 2011-07-21 14:52:56

Nuclear done right should be baseload energy source for years to come, with solar and wind being major supplements, especially to enable locally generated power to prevent nuclear from having to be used in politically unstable areas and to lessen transmission losses.

The algae biofuels idea might be useful for producing actual fuels, as opposed to grid electricity.

The_Edge · 2011-07-21 14:53:12

Also, from what I hear, it takes about ten years for solar panels to pay for themselves.

glennmagusharvey · 2011-07-21 14:54:31

That just means that they need to develop cheaper solar panels.

Look to China and you might be finding cheap solar panels pretty soon. Their solar tech development is going pretty well.

ClockworkUniverse · 2011-07-21 14:55:51

They also need to make them more efficient. If you've looked at the current ones, you'll have noticed that they reflect a lot of light.

ClockworkUniverse · 2011-07-21 15:02:42

^On that subject, I hear England and France are already starting to experiment with sharing wind power between the two countries.

Hatter · 2011-07-21 15:20:12

There's a project to get some wind farms out near Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.

These environmentalist cunts are trying to stop it.

Why?

Because da wind fawms don't wook pwetty.

The_Edge · 2011-07-21 15:21:20

I heard that story. Those cunts would barely be able to see it.

FrodoGoofballCoTV · 2011-07-21 15:34:58

If the radical environmentalists got their way, we'd go back to preindustrial tech. Which would result in millions starving as ships, trains and trucks failed to connect people with food, crop yields plummeted, etc.

Solar and wind can work IMHO provided that we approach them not as a panacea, but as simply additional options, each with its own drawbacks and advantages. This map shows some places where solar power plants should - and shouldn't - be built.

glennmagusharvey · 2011-07-21 15:54:08

^^^ Yeah, they're idiots.

Chagen · 2011-07-21 16:00:34

What.

Given how Left Commando leans, I thought he would love renewable energy.

This is probably indoctrination from my dad, and the conservative meme that all enviromentalists are radically left-wing.

Crimson · 2011-07-21 16:06:35

^That's not what he's talking about. It's people claiming with absolute certainty that switching from ebul fossil fuels to solar/wind/bio etc. will solve all of the world's energy problems.

Ponicalica · 2011-07-21 16:27:52

«The only thing that bothers me about it is that they're afraid of nuclear power because of bombs that are only tangentially related.»

Actually it's because of the very small probability of a very, very bad disaster, which scares people more than the near certainty of a slowly creeping disaster that is fossil fuels. (Nuclear's probably our best medium-term solution, especially with modern plant designs.)

ClockworkUniverse · 2011-07-21 16:30:52

^If you're thinking of Chernobyl, that's physically impossible with modern designs, and was only possible with Chernobyl because its designer had no clue what he was doing.

Crimson · 2011-07-21 16:34:00

There was the recent incident in Japan too. But that was because of the plants getting hit with one of the worst earthquakes in recorded history.

ClockworkUniverse · 2011-07-21 16:35:23

Yeah, okay, that is a valid concern, but to me it just falls under the category of "earthquakes are bad." There are countries that are shutting down nuclear plants over that incident that don't even get earthquakes.

Crimson · 2011-07-21 16:48:14

Wait, what?!

ClockworkUniverse · 2011-07-21 16:49:33

Yeah, I can't actually remember who it was, but it was someplace in Europe.

FrodoGoofballCoTV · 2011-07-21 16:51:46

^It was Germany, IIRC.

Hatter · 2011-07-21 17:42:42

And what's worse, the Wompanoags have gotten all bothered about it, too, claiming that the SEA IS A PART OF THEIR LAND, and that if the Cape Wind project goes forward, some theoretical shards of pottery may potentially get bwoken. They're playing the "American government is racist" card.

Fuck them. Fuck them and the horse they rode in on. The islands NEED that cheap energy.

inkblot · 2011-07-21 18:17:31

Do they live there? Do they comprise the majority of people who would benefit from it?

DYRE · 2011-07-21 18:24:06

Pro tip: Substituting "w" in place of "r" or "l" does not discredit your opponent's position, it just makes you look like a dick.

Hatter · 2011-07-21 18:35:41

^ Protip: I don't give a shit. It displays my contempt for them. The people here NEED that energy.

^^ They live here. They don't comprise the majority. Hell, only 14% of adults oppose the Cape Wind project, but that 14% is mainly composed of rich special interest groups who are making it as hard as possible to set up these wind farms.

CommandoDude · 2011-07-21 18:39:45

We should really switch to nuclear power and begin to transition our transportation network to an electric based one instead of oil based.

Hatter · 2011-07-21 18:42:18

^ I wish.

BUT NO, YOU CAN'T HUG CHILDREN WITH NUCLEAR REACTORS

Crimson · 2011-07-21 18:45:21

^That's all pathos though, the real reason why we don't have an electricity based transportation netowork is lobbying from the oil companies.

Hatter · 2011-07-21 18:49:02

So in the meantime, we should concentrate on wind power, because it's something that we have a lot of. I've got a blanket over my legs because of the wind, for Chrissake.

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"Renewable Energiez"

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