How many gallons of gasoline to charge an iPhone?--Getting a Grip on Energy Costs

[The T]

"What the Experts are Not Telling About Renewable Green Energy"

Green energy is also unlikely to reduce our dependence on foreign imports. Since renewable energy sources are unreliable, we need a way to store this collected energy, meaning batteries. Who dominates the market for elements needed to make these batteries? (china).

Another point this author claims is that energy provided by one oil well is the equivalent of 20 large windmills on a windmill farm. Wind farms are considered visual pollution by some.

Some say there is more oil and natural gas in the Rocky Mountains than in the entire Middle East. But objections to drilling stifle its exploitation. Any thoughts?

th oil and gas is expensive to extract, cause of the way its was deposited.

What?

 

[candycorn]

Well, thattruly is a good idea. However, it has drawbacks: if we build more nuclear plants, they need to be surrounded by or at least near to military bases in order to reduce the threat of terrorists hanging around plants relegated to remote badlands with insufficient terrorist-monitoring abilities. Also, some of the states who want nuclear power want nothing to do with storage of nuclear waste. Who do we expect to store radioactive nuke waste that has a half life in the millions of years?

Organizers shut down a plant that had not opened yet in the State of Washington because of the waste disposal issue. It cost consumers 30 million in already-spent construction costs.

Oregon and many watered states use natural water power to generate electricity. This is my favorite, although precautions are needed to protect fish and other resources in the biological ecosystem. Some states are too flat or too dry for water power, so unfortunately, that makes it impractical there.

It's complex.

The US Navy has shown that it manages nuclear power almost perfectly. I wouldn't be opposed to simply turning the keys to every plant in existence along with the ones we're going to need to build over to the Navy. Not every solution needs to come from private enterprise.

Build them where ever....they will always be a target for terrorism. Fort Knox would not be secure enough.

Just out of curiosity and I know the answer is probably no; would it be possible to just use an existing nuclear powered vessel to add power to the grid? As one of these cruisers goes out of commission; can we dock it, lets say in Jacksonville or Portland, OR and hook up some cables more or less?

Just a thought.

Nice theory so long as unions don't take over the Navy.

In the real energy world, trying to can an incompetent union employee who refuses to take a different job when the one he has could kill 30 people in one moment of inattention for which he is famous, and almost did the deed, is next to impossible. And the person who fires him is ostracized for life by union personnel, although they know from personal experience one wrong touch of a button can kill another man or a group of men or a room full of working men. But because management is not to be trusted, they cling to the union that obfuscates the facts in order to vilify management for cash rewards. They know what they're doing is wrong, but they do it for financial gain.

If you changed an incompetent guy's job in the Navy and he resisted for any reason, he'd be the inmate in a brig in a new york minute with everyone on board agreeing he had it coming.

This is not a perfect world we live in in the presence of danger, but sometimes someone's idea of his make-a-wish job is something he will never be qualified to do based on his deficiencies but not known until he does actually almost does someone else in, or his service is filled with multiple discrepancies that are a management and unknown numbers of fellow worker's nightmare due to the danger such a person places them in by showing up to work, and going into play-computer games mode while someone's life hangs in the balance if he forgets to throw a safety switch when he is scheduled to, or he's winning an imaginary horse race while his monitor is zeroed in on a man who is about to get zapped by a couple of hundred thousand volts. If management doesn't fire him for incompetency, insubordination, etc., they'd be in for a heap of conspiracy theory rationale when the idiot kills a roomful of fellow union employees. Then, it would be management targeting whistle blowers.

Everything on the table is an option for cash and prizes in Union world.

Don't know how this became an issue about organized labor but as far as it goes, I agree with you. The Navy has experience with nuclear power, an impressive safety record running nuke vessels in harsh conditions; doing so with 20 and 30 somethings at the controls, and has a totally no nonsense approach to the enterprise.

That is why I threw that out there. I think if we replicate that command and control in the private sector; nuke is as safe as anything. But instead of replicating it; hell, just let the Navy run it and you don't have to worry about replication; or waves for that matter.

 

[freedombecki]

"What the Experts are Not Telling About Renewable Green Energy"

Green energy is also unlikely to reduce our dependence on foreign imports. Since renewable energy sources are unreliable, we need a way to store this collected energy, meaning batteries. Who dominates the market for elements needed to make these batteries? (china).

Another point this author claims is that energy provided by one oil well is the equivalent of 20 large windmills on a windmill farm. Wind farms are considered visual pollution by some.

Some say there is more oil and natural gas in the Rocky Mountains than in the entire Middle East. But objections to drilling stifle its exploitation. Any thoughts?

th oil and gas is expensive to extract, cause of the way its was deposited.

It wouldn't be expensive if we had slaves and let people die instead of following a safety agenda, dear. We don't do slavery, and we don't do unsafe in this country.

The great money energy companies invest in safety programs for employees and in employee wages is expensive, but people are worth something, you know?

 

[freedombecki]

The US Navy has shown that it manages nuclear power almost perfectly. I wouldn't be opposed to simply turning the keys to every plant in existence along with the ones we're going to need to build over to the Navy. Not every solution needs to come from private enterprise.

Build them where ever....they will always be a target for terrorism. Fort Knox would not be secure enough.

Just out of curiosity and I know the answer is probably no; would it be possible to just use an existing nuclear powered vessel to add power to the grid? As one of these cruisers goes out of commission; can we dock it, lets say in Jacksonville or Portland, OR and hook up some cables more or less?

Just a thought.

Nice theory so long as unions don't take over the Navy.

In the real energy world, trying to can an incompetent union employee who refuses to take a different job when the one he has could kill 30 people in one moment of inattention for which he is famous, and almost did the deed, is next to impossible. And the person who fires him is ostracized for life by union personnel, although they know from personal experience one wrong touch of a button can kill another man or a group of men or a room full of working men. But because management is not to be trusted, they cling to the union that obfuscates the facts in order to vilify management for cash rewards. They know what they're doing is wrong, but they do it for financial gain.

If you changed an incompetent guy's job in the Navy and he resisted for any reason, he'd be the inmate in a brig in a new york minute with everyone on board agreeing he had it coming.

This is not a perfect world we live in in the presence of danger, but sometimes someone's idea of his make-a-wish job is something he will never be qualified to do based on his deficiencies but not known until he does actually almost does someone else in, or his service is filled with multiple discrepancies that are a management and unknown numbers of fellow worker's nightmare due to the danger such a person places them in by showing up to work, and going into play-computer games mode while someone's life hangs in the balance if he forgets to throw a safety switch when he is scheduled to, or he's winning an imaginary horse race while his monitor is zeroed in on a man who is about to get zapped by a couple of hundred thousand volts. If management doesn't fire him for incompetency, insubordination, etc., they'd be in for a heap of conspiracy theory rationale when the idiot kills a roomful of fellow union employees. Then, it would be management targeting whistle blowers.

Everything on the table is an option for cash and prizes in Union world.

Don't know how this became an issue about organized labor but as far as it goes, I agree with you. The Navy has experience with nuclear power, an impressive safety record running nuke vessels in harsh conditions; doing so with 20 and 30 somethings at the controls, and has a totally no nonsense approach to the enterprise.

That is why I threw that out there. I think if we replicate that command and control in the private sector; nuke is as safe as anything. But instead of replicating it; hell, just let the Navy run it and you don't have to worry about replication; or waves for that matter.

The Navy has something companies do not have: absolute control over behavior. I'm not saying that in a critical way, nor do I mean to disparage the huge contribution Unions made in harsh times when people had a hard time getting and keeping a steady job. And I'm very proud of being a sister to a man who dedicated his life to safety of pilots on an aircraft carrier for 22 years of being out to sea for months on end, short home visits, and back to endless days and hours of putting his skills to the good of his buds. I've seen the energy business from both sides, that's all, both as a union member and as a wife to someone in the headache of managing his end of a company for the prosperity of union workers and shareholders in the company's stock. Things go so much better when people work together.

I'm truly proud our Navy still has good people in it.

 

[flacaltenn]

To compete with the energy density of gasoline, the only close solution is Hydrogen.


We have the fuel cell technology to run the vehicles. But manufacturing and storing hydrogen (under high pressure) is very energy intensive. We would need EXCESS nuclear power OR ---

Take all that solar and wind capacity that DOESNT fit well on a 24/7 electric grid system and dedicate it to MAKING hydrogen.. It's not time critical -- so you have production during the day by wind and solar and by wind alone at night to keep it pressurized.

When you look at energy density of EV batteries and energy/weight -- we have a long way to go to even get close to gasoline..

 

[Mr. H.]

Did you know that a brownie has the energy equivalent of one stick of dynamite?