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Bush signs new energy bill...........

  • #41
Solar Panels need to be improved to harness more energy. Right now there is an effort to swap out the components and elements in a solar panel to increase efficiency. So far in small test samples researchers have been able to vastly improve the efficacy. Of course this does not mean that solar energy is the all around solution, rather it is just one of many. What would be nice to see is the price of solar panels reduced so that an increasing number of people can put them on top of their houses, thereby eliminating the need for more land.

As for the automobile industry, well there are other ways of increasing fuel efficiency other than weight, but you are right: it is a huge factor. Light and cheap can still be safe though. Using better design, engineered more for performance and less for aesthetics, structural elements can vastly improve the safety of a car. Anywho, this is likely never going to happen because of the vested interests in the powers that be. The good old status quo.

As for that carbuerator, I think PK only said 40 MPG, not that I have any take on the story either way, just clarifying.
 
  • #42
still from 9 to 40 by simply switching out a carb is about impossible, unless you want to give it the power of a moped.......i could see 9 to maybe 20.....but those big engines old use alot of gas, there is no way around that.
 
  • #43
Nepenthes....i to believe solar panels can work on a small scale like individual homes and such, but to think they will work for powering the big cities here hundreds of ppl can be in one building is nieve. nuclear power is a better option there.....the newer nuculer power plants are small, efficient, and dont have nearly as much radioactive material as the old ones.....complete and total melt downs are nearly impossible short of complete and total sabotage. and at that point now, so lil radioactive material is involved its far more impactive to destroy the large oil refineries.
 
  • #44
Sir you have not been keeping up on recent technological leaps in the field of solar power. The old solar power of even a few years ago is far less efficient than the prototypes they are developing these days. You shouldn’t shoot improving technology down before it even gets off the ground. a 75% increase in efficiency from 5 years ago and more on the way is nothing to dismiss.

Edit: but not one one building, i agree.

Nuclear power has a horrible stigma, but its time to get over it, i agree.
 
  • #45
I've heard the story about the oil company conspiracy, but I don't entirely buy it. I find it much more beleivable that the poor efficiency norms/standards in cars come from a lack of economic and political intitiative (due to cheap gas).

I heard somewhere that "alternative" energy cars or super small cars will not be profitable in the USA until gas reaches $8/gallon. Prices are near that in Europe, hence the greater push for innovation in European cars.
 
  • #46
I'm willing to blame oil companies for all kinds of things, but suppressing incredibly efficient carburetors isn't on the list. Maybe we should tax vehicles by the pound and houses by the cu ft.
 
  • #47
I'm also not a big fan of corn energy, er.. ethanol. It's so profitable for farmers that they are diverting precious corn to energy rather than to food market, driving up food costs. Bleh.

I have a friend who is really into solar energy and 'living off the grid' as much as possible. He is able to make more than enough electricity for himself each month, and the local electrical utility buys the extra from him - so he's being paid by the electrical company! Fantastic! I'm very interested in using solar energy eventually also, but for now the cost is still prohibitive to me.
 
  • #48
I have a friend who is really into solar energy and 'living off the grid' as much as possible. He is able to make more than enough electricity for himself each month, and the local electrical utility buys the extra from him - so he's being paid by the electrical company! Fantastic! I'm very interested in using solar energy eventually also, but for now the cost is still prohibitive to me.

yeah i know of a number of ppl who have done so.....as i said i know it works on small sacle such as a single house.....have my doubts on working large scale, atleast not without giving up lots of land devoted to solar arrays at which point i would rather have a nuclear power plant......tons more energy produced in a much smaller area
 
  • #49
yeah i know of a number of ppl who have done so.....as i said i know it works on small sacle such as a single house.....have my doubts on working large scale, atleast not without giving up lots of land devoted to solar arrays at which point i would rather have a nuclear power plant......tons more energy produced in a much smaller area

The major problem with switching from current energies to alternative energies is that it gets rid of the corporations. Once you invest in the technology and pay the steep upfront costs, the energy is virtually free. Think about it. If you lined your rooftop with solar-paneled shingles, you could easily power your house for nothing once you bought the shingles and the batteries. Another problem is how can you force everyone to install solar panels?

The problem is we're at the mercy of corporate greed. Do you think they have any interest in allowing technologies that would produce free energy at the cost of the equipment? It's the same thing with the oil companies. They have no interest in solar powered or electric cars, because they lose out on the billions of dollars in profit. So we have these little technology companies being bottlenecked by these big corporate energy companies that are holding hands with the government (who also will lose money). As finch said we cannot belittle the gains we are making and we need to spread awareness of what's currently out there. I bet most people don't even know they could buy a wind turbine for their backyard if they wanted to. Sure it's expensive but the technologies are making their way to the consumer.
 
  • #50
yeah but solar energy to power a single house is easily do able even with the tech from a couple years ago, and was being manufactured at prices not to far out of line.....when i priced it about a year ago i think it was about $17,000 to outfit my house but cant remember if that included the batteries for storage. granted my i couldnt afford to do it as i just got the house and am paying for it but my main concern was how long the panels lasted. they were guaranteed for something like 10 years and thats about when i would be seeing a return on the investment.....cant wait to see what the future holds for solar for personal use like that.
 
  • #51
yeah but solar energy to power a single house is easily do able even with the tech from a couple years ago, and was being manufactured at prices not to far out of line.....when i priced it about a year ago i think it was about $17,000 to outfit my house but cant remember if that included the batteries for storage. granted my i couldnt afford to do it as i just got the house and am paying for it but my main concern was how long the panels lasted. they were guaranteed for something like 10 years and thats about when i would be seeing a return on the investment.....cant wait to see what the future holds for solar for personal use like that.

It can only get better and better! Unless the energy companies send a Terminator from the future to this time to destroy all solar power technologies and the creators of the technology.
 
  • #52
Hey Rattler,

Just had a chat with my neighbor. He said it was a 454, and was sometimw between 73 and 75. The paper then (and now) was the Lubbock Avalanche Journal. I'm sure they've got the article in their archives.
 
  • #53
would like to see a copy of said article
 
  • #54
The only way to meet growing energy demands with renewable energy is to cover dry lands with much-improved solar cells and put wind turbines everywhere else. Some of the power generated would feed the demand for electricity, but much of it would have to be used to produce hydrogen, which can be stored and distributed. That would require massive electrolysis "refineries", distribution systems, and so on. The only ones with the capital and business model for that are the, umm..., oil companies.
 
  • #55
I'd like to see it too. I'll try to shoot them an email in the next couple of days, but I am way too busy until the time I retire to sift through 1095 days worth of articles. I don't have the time or patience to do that for the next 45 years :D
 
  • #56
check this out:
http://www.nextenergynews.com/news1/next-energy-news-toshiba-micro-nuclear-12.17b.html

I'd like to see it too. I'll try to shoot them an email in the next couple of days, but I am way too busy until the time I retire to sift through 1095 days worth of articles. I don't have the time or patience to do that for the next 45 years

dont know how they run their place. if it was ours, we charge $50 an hour for research if we do it but the public is welcome to come and search on their own time during our regular business hours for free. i could prolly find it with an hours worth of work. however a call could atleast maybe get a closer date if nothing else.
 
  • #57
That reactor is pretty sweet. In winter though, my electric is already 5 cents/kwh anyway. I think it's 7 cents in summer, so...the reactor wouldn't really save me any money unless everyone had one.
 
  • #58
Hydrogen fuel cells are promising too, has anyone seen anything on this technology outside of cars? Of course we would still need a renewable source of energy to produce the electricity needed for this, but still it's very promising and more attractive than nuclear power IMO.
 
  • #59
I think I warned all you about this nut way back in '99. We'll be paying for this idiot for decades, if not centuries.... If we last that long.
 
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