Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron Bennett
Read up on "energy density" - that's the prime reason oil and coal are still the primary energy source for many things.
The quantity of potential power contained in a small quantity of coal or a gallon of gasoline is quite large and difficult to match with solar or wind. Hydro is a viable alternative, but is of very limited availability; productive dams are few and far between.
Nuclear is about the only real alternative for large-scale power generation, but obviously comes with numerous drawbacks, such as disposal and security (they're related to each other in regards to why there's so much nuclear waste generated from U.S. reactors).
Small-scale power generation is another path, and is about the only place where solar, in particular, can be viable, but as of now, the costs of panels is still very high; externalized costs, since it takes a lot of energy to make solar panels and related components, such as batteries.
Ron
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I understand energy density and the power of coil and oil. However the long term effect of these products is not worth it in my opinion. And studies are in, global warming is in fact real.
Fact is, oil, coil, nuclear, and solar all do the same thing... Make steam to move a gear shaft. Dams do the same thing just without the steam. Wind also moves gear shafts... Focused solar arays can also create similar amounts of steam pressure as coil plants, they just take up more land rather then mining a product.
Here is one point that nearly every engineer on the planet has agreed on. Hydrogen fuel cells are the future. We make enough green power to create plenty of hydrogen to fuel our homes, cars and any needs. Add a few green aspects to your life like new light bulbs, new toilets, power saving electronics... it would start to add up in a huge amounts. They just need more money put into them to make there cost more feasible for the regular person. Right now the fuel cell alone costs $65k-150k
Basically my point is there are alot of ideas on the table, and instead of money going to them they go to oil investors pockets, cleaning up the oil spills, basically everywhere else but the ideas on the table.
I dont mean to be political at all, but I am one who wants my grand children to have a planet to live on.