Walsingham Posted June 13, 2011 Posted June 13, 2011 Insta-concrete shelters. http://www.concretecanvas.co.uk/index.html Apologies if this has been posted already. I think it's amazing stuff. Actually, now I think about it, I did post this already. But it's bloody awesome. "It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"." -Elwood Blues tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.
ShadySands Posted June 13, 2011 Posted June 13, 2011 Part man, part jellyfish, all laser Scientists Combine Human Cell, Jellyfish Into Living Laser Free games updated 3/4/21
Walsingham Posted June 13, 2011 Posted June 13, 2011 Just when you thought organisms like ebola couldn't get any worse, scientists give them frakking lasers. "It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"." -Elwood Blues tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.
Wrath of Dagon Posted June 13, 2011 Author Posted June 13, 2011 (edited) May be finally a solution to the oil crisis? Natural gas into gasoline : http://pajamasmedia.com/tatler/2011/06/04/...-gold-in-qatar/ A shame, I would much rather we started moving towards hydrogen and electric cars. Even with this process I imagine the the exhaust still causes massive air pollution. Those would require nuclear power to generate clean electricity, the prospects of that are pretty dim. I don't think burning natural gas derived gasoline would be very polluting, CO2 would be the main concern. It's probably better than burning coal to generate electricity, since with coal all the energy comes from carbon, where with NG and oil you're also burning hydrogen. With electric cars you also have to consider the environmental impact and energy cost of building and replacing all those giant batteries. Probably hydrogen fuel cells are the better solution, but still you need a clean way to generate electricity, and there's no hydrogen infrastructure currently. As far as running out of natural gas, big new deposits are coming on-line all the time in the US and elsewhere, thanks to the new methods of production that have been recently developed, so I don't think it's going to run out any time soon. Probably the small, modular nuclear power plants are the long term solution, or may be if they ever get fusion working, but we'll see. Edit: By new methods of production I mean fracking: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110612/ap_on_...ling_boom_towns Edited June 13, 2011 by Wrath of Dagon "Moral indignation is a standard strategy for endowing the idiot with dignity." Marshall McLuhan
Gorth Posted June 13, 2011 Posted June 13, 2011 Part man, part jellyfish, all laser Scientists Combine Human Cell, Jellyfish Into Living Laser Blasto... the first Hanar Spectre! “He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice.” - Albert Einstein
Rosbjerg Posted June 14, 2011 Posted June 14, 2011 May be finally a solution to the oil crisis? Natural gas into gasoline : http://pajamasmedia.com/tatler/2011/06/04/...-gold-in-qatar/ A shame, I would much rather we started moving towards hydrogen and electric cars. Even with this process I imagine the the exhaust still causes massive air pollution. Those would require nuclear power to generate clean electricity, the prospects of that are pretty dim. Well not if there was a huge demand .. at least not according to the most prevailing economic theory. But yeah, prospects are unfortunately very dim - it's an unfortunate balance, that we have to gamble our immediate well being (with gigantious investments) if we want a better future or a less hurtful present for a more risky tomorrow. Fortune favors the bald.
Humodour Posted June 14, 2011 Posted June 14, 2011 Italy, German, Japan, and Australia are all high-tech, rich economies that do not support nuclear power and are planning to, or are, investing heavily in renewable energy. Renewable energy is coming, whether you personally think it is economically viable or not is irrelevant. Google, as a private actor located inside a sovereign state, is also becoming a huge player in the global renewable energy industry, with ownership of hundreds of millions of dollars in projects ranging from state of the art new power transmission cables to hydro, wind, and solar projects across the world (but typically focused on California, the Californian coast, and Nevada).
Walsingham Posted June 14, 2011 Posted June 14, 2011 Italy, German, Japan, and Australia are all high-tech, rich economies that do not support nuclear power and are planning to, or are, investing heavily in renewable energy. Renewable energy is coming, whether you personally think it is economically viable or not is irrelevant. Google, as a private actor located inside a sovereign state, is also becoming a huge player in the global renewable energy industry, with ownership of hundreds of millions of dollars in projects ranging from state of the art new power transmission cables to hydro, wind, and solar projects across the world (but typically focused on California, the Californian coast, and Nevada). Um... you can't just say that because people are investing in it, that it's coming. People can invest in the flying car, but the economic utility of both systems are pretty much unbending. certainly in the short to medium term which is when the green doomsayers are saying change has to happen. "It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"." -Elwood Blues tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.
Walsingham Posted June 25, 2011 Posted June 25, 2011 Bacteria eats bongzilllion tonnes of methane. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/01/07/de...etane_bacteria/ "It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"." -Elwood Blues tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.
Humodour Posted June 26, 2011 Posted June 26, 2011 Italy, German, Japan, and Australia are all high-tech, rich economies that do not support nuclear power and are planning to, or are, investing heavily in renewable energy. Renewable energy is coming, whether you personally think it is economically viable or not is irrelevant. Google, as a private actor located inside a sovereign state, is also becoming a huge player in the global renewable energy industry, with ownership of hundreds of millions of dollars in projects ranging from state of the art new power transmission cables to hydro, wind, and solar projects across the world (but typically focused on California, the Californian coast, and Nevada). Um... you can't just say that because people are investing in it, that it's coming. People can invest in the flying car, but the economic utility of both systems are pretty much unbending. certainly in the short to medium term which is when the green doomsayers are saying change has to happen. Solar is roughly 5 years away from parity with oil and solar can indeed produce baseload electricity (look up solar thermal towers). Anyway, governments around the world have been subsidising fossil fuels and nuclear for decades. It's no surprise that many will do the same for various alternative technologies.
Humodour Posted June 26, 2011 Posted June 26, 2011 But for people like you who're rather irrationally averse to solar, whatever. You lot can cheer on thorium nuclear reactors instead, since they're developing with an equally rapid growth trajectory: http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-06-pint-s...ear-energy.html So far that I know of, the British, US, Russian, Chinese and Indian governments are actively working on thorium reactors or thorium research. For those out of the loop, thorium reactors are far less radioactive, produce far less waste, and CANNOT undergo nuclear meltdown by design. Also, thorium is extremely abundant such that every country has reserves to power it for quite a long time (with places like India, Canada, Australia having extremely large reserves). Oh, and thorium is actually a waste by-product of rare-earth mining already.
Walsingham Posted June 26, 2011 Posted June 26, 2011 Solar is roughly 5 years away from parity with oil Arse. If that were genuinely true you'd have craptonnes of industry gearing up for it to avoid oil price fluctuations alone. "It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"." -Elwood Blues tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.
Walsingham Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 Um, we DO! I can't link to people not doing something. You can do the reverse. "It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"." -Elwood Blues tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.
Humodour Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 Um, we DO! I can't link to people not doing something. You can do the reverse. Japan now requires all new buildings to have solar panels on their rooves: http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-05-japan-solar-panels.html Google investing hundreds of millions in solar: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-0...-in-solar-plant America investing billions in solar: http://gigaom.com/cleantech/doe-offers-alm...ermal-projects/ Australia investing hundreds of millions in solar: http://www.rechargenews.com/energy/solar/article262602.ece http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-20/b...r-projects.html World government investment in solar: http://cleantechnica.com/2011/06/07/china-...s-top-10-lists/ China specifically: http://cleantechnica.com/2010/07/24/more-i...urope-combined/ New news articles describing some massive new solar investment come out every week or so: http://www.google.com.au/search?sourceid=c...680&bih=925 New research papers describing some new advance in solar efficiency or cutting manufacturing costs, or a new type of solar energy come also come out every week or so: http://www.physorg.com/search/?search=solar I reiterate: your aversion to solar energy is irrational, and industry and investors everywhere are switching to it. Solar energy works. And it's getting cheaper just as oil gets more expensive.
Humodour Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 Some Melbournites have discovered a technology which should enable typing-powered laptops in about 3 years. http://www.newelectronics.co.uk/electronic...ou-work-/34845/
Humodour Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 All-day solar power: http://inhabitat.com/video-gemasolar-plant...hr-solar-plant/
pmp10 Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 All-day solar power: http://inhabitat.com/video-gemasolar-plant...hr-solar-plant/ That just proper storage, it still can't generate power at night.
Humodour Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 (edited) All-day solar power: http://inhabitat.com/video-gemasolar-plant...hr-solar-plant/ That just proper storage, it still can't generate power at night. That's rather semantics isn't it? It does release power at night, and far better than any battery or fuel cell because it releases 99% of energy trapped in the molten salt. Basic fact is that it produces this "baseload" power the anti-renewables peops are always having a whine about. The "baseload power" argument demonstrates a lack of understanding of how renewable energy works: http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/201...m?site=canberra Also noteworthy: The number of households in electricity-starved Bangladesh using solar panels has crossed the one million mark -- the fastest expansion of solar use in the world http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-06-millio...olar-power.html German industrial group Bosch will invest 520 million euros ($750 million) in a solar panel factory in Malaysia, a statement said. http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-06-bosch-...olar-panel.html Edited June 27, 2011 by Krezack
Zoraptor Posted June 27, 2011 Posted June 27, 2011 I reiterate: your aversion to solar energy is irrational, and industry and investors everywhere are switching to it. Solar energy works. And it's getting cheaper just as oil gets more expensive. It's fine in a relatively low latitude place like Australia with lots of space, generally lots of sunshine and relatively constant daylight hours but once you start getting towards a UK situation where in winter the sun comes up at 10 am and sets at 4 and the climate is temperate maritime (lots of clouds and rain) it's considerably less practical. Anyone who has spent a winter in the UK can tell why solar ain't a panacea for all places- you can't rely on something that will produce minimum power at precisely the time everyone wants to run their heaters. Plus it is still, at this time, rather expensive.
Walsingham Posted June 28, 2011 Posted June 28, 2011 Krezack, I've said before that investing billions in something doesn't make it magically happen. If anything, the billions invested simply underline the fact that it won't work. Look at Eurofighter. "It wasn't lies. It was just... bull****"." -Elwood Blues tarna's dead; processing... complete. Disappointed by Universe. RIP Hades/Sand/etc. Here's hoping your next alt has a harp.
Humodour Posted June 28, 2011 Posted June 28, 2011 Krezack, I've said before that investing billions in something doesn't make it magically happen. If anything, the billions invested simply underline the fact that it won't work. You say this: Solar is roughly 5 years away from parity with oil Arse. If that were genuinely true you'd have craptonnes of industry gearing up for it to avoid oil price fluctuations alone. And then when I provide you evidence of "craptonnes of industry gearing up for it", you go and tell me that craptonnes of industry gearing up for it is not evidence of anything and in fact evidence that solar energy doesn't work. And that just because so many advances in the solar manufacturing process and conversion efficiency are taking place doesn't mean that solar is getting better or being is going to work. Tried listening to yourself, Wals? Zoraptor: So build the solar projects in countries where there's plenty of sun and send it over cables (as is already being done in Spain, Morocco). Or, do as is already being done by many companies and combine solar projects with back-up gas to produce a consistent level of output. There's no shame in using fossil fuels to boost renewables. It's a moron who thinks we must only use one or the other. I take it Germany is a very sunny place, btw? Because they sure seem to get a lot out of their solar panels.
Humodour Posted June 28, 2011 Posted June 28, 2011 Anyway, this isn't even just about solar. Renewable energy is a mix of technologies and solar is but one. Wind energy appears to be what shines for the UK.
Gorth Posted June 28, 2011 Posted June 28, 2011 Wind energy appears to be what shines for the UK. It sure isn't the sun Ironically, one of the most conservative people I remember, militantly opposing wind power were the Kiwis. Despite the fact that they the entire western coast of the South Island, from Greymouth and downwards being for all intent and purpose uninhabitated and somewhere between windy and stormy most days of the year. The attitude may have changed the last 5-6 years, but back then it was unthinkable to put up noisy, ugly windmills in the middle of nowhere. “He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice.” - Albert Einstein
Humodour Posted June 28, 2011 Posted June 28, 2011 Wind energy appears to be what shines for the UK. It sure isn't the sun Ironically, one of the most conservative people I remember, militantly opposing wind power were the Kiwis. Despite the fact that they the entire western coast of the South Island, from Greymouth and downwards being for all intent and purpose uninhabitated and somewhere between windy and stormy most days of the year. The attitude may have changed the last 5-6 years, but back then it was unthinkable to put up noisy, ugly windmills in the middle of nowhere. Haha. That brings me to another point: IN WHAT WAY ARE WIND FARMS UGLY?! They're beautiful and majestic and remind me just what humans are capable of. Sort of like the International Space Station. No tengas miedo! El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha va a salvar.
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