The rich get richer

[Curmudgeon 28]

I find this interesting in two ways. The LENGTH of the posts in this thread, and the fact I don't get bored with them and actually read them in their entirety rather than resorting to skimming.

I'm a firm believer in solar energy. Gadzillions of megawatts hit the earth every day. Now don't think I'm all about solar cells, as has been pointed out, at this time they are inefficient and expensive. Work should continue on that, but it's not the great new end all. Rather, just a part of the solution.

So how I do I believe in total solar? Well, what drives the winds? What drives the rains? It's all solar in origin.

Do you think all those windmills are unsightly? Then I guess you think Chernobyl is a thing of beauty. It'll happen again folks, sooner or later, everything mechanical is gonna have an oops. Personally, I think those windmills are kinda neat looking, but would scared crapless of nuclear cooling towers. When one of those blades break off, a small hole in the earth, with nuclear, well, take a look at Three Mile Island.

How about more windmills, but smaller, all over the place? Remember when every ranch had a windmill to pump water? People now recreate them for their beauty.

I heard of a fella working on making a windmill like underwater generator for use in the larger rivers. No dams, fish can swim right through the slow turning blades unharmed. Don't even have to look at these, and power 24/7/365.

Hybrid cars COULD be good, if they'd just make them right. Run them on batteries only. If you go beyond the 100 mile range, then, only then, do you start a small gas engine, which would run at a constant, efficient speed, and recharge the batteries. A few solar cells on the roof would increase range when driven in the daytime. Most of the time, the car would run from the overnight plug in charge. You know, the "off-time" cheap time for what is essentially surplus electricity.

There is no one answer, just a whole bunch of small ones working together. For a change.

[refracman 166]

I would have to agree with Dale i do like the jist of this thread.

Heres a little known fact

The large power companys lobbied ( before WW II )our congress to NOT allow steel mills to produce power for sale. Only for their own consumption.

This can be done from off gases produced and steam produced during iron and steel makeing. You would not believe how much lost potential power there is there.

Finally the mills are fighting it because of lost revenue. It has been figured that when tapped into this source we shouldnt need any power stations built for 25yrs.

Just another shining example of our goverment at work