Alternative Energy
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- LimaBean
I need your feedback. What are YOUR top questions on Alternative Energy (i.e. wind, solar, hydrogen cells, etc.) How it works, etc.
Cheers
- Nairn0
"when?"?
- jox0
Well, if americans start using diesel like europe does, we'd have oil for another thousand years at least. Not exactly alternative energy, but it'd be a step in the right direction.
- LimaBean0
yeah that makes sense although i am on the side of no oil dependency whether excessive or less excessive. A cleaner emissions standard... I guess the big question is, would you ever buy a hybrid car like the Prius or others?
- jox0
I like the idea of the Prius and its sad it's not a bigger hit. However, as for myself, no. I have extremely high standards when it comes to veichles (that I justify by saying its a hobby), and its too small for me. I currently drive a wagon and a tiny sedan is just not possible.
Btw, modern diesel cars are extremely clean and friendly to the environment.
- rabattski0
well why isn't there more wind, solar and water generated energy? and why are car manufacturers still not using ceramic engines?
- LimaBean0
yes much cleaner but we are still in the oil family of fuel.. less is always better but none unequaled...
Diesel engines do give us some cool alternatives as well... for example A friend of mine from san francisco owns an old Mercedes Diesel, and converted it to run off of Biodiesel (corn, soy by products)..
As for the prius, they are a bit small but seems like they are making quite a bit of head way... I've heard that the new ones are coming out with a top of the line stereo system, although i have no idea who makes it?have you seen that in the U.S. you get a federal tax deduction..
- LimaBean0
whats a ceramic engine?
it's interesting to see the progression of alternative energies and publicity of it...
I think with oil production in question we are already seeing huge leaps as far as alternative energies... Take for instance the wind farms going up on the Cape... by cape wind... pretty cool stuff. And places like American Apparell (sweatshop free clothing) is putting solar on their manufacturing plant in L.A.
- rabattski0
copy/paste:
"A couple of decades ago, Toyota researched on producing a ceramic engine which can run at a temperature of over 6000°. Ceramic engines do not require a cooling system and hence a major weight reduction in fuel-efficient vehicles. Fuel efficiency of the engine is also higher at high temperature. In conventional metallic engine, much of the energy released from the fuel must be dissipated as waste heat in order to prevent a meltdown of the metallic parts. Despite all the desirable properties, such engines are not in production because the manufacturing of ceramic parts is difficult. Imperfection in the ceramic leads to cracks. Such engines are possible in laboratory research, but manufacturing difficulties prevent them from becoming reliable products."
now this is a couple of decades ago. ceramics have and still are being used in a lot of various industry. i cannot imagine that they can't build a engine which would be mass producable by this time.
- LimaBean0
wow i've never heard of it, pretty cool idea...
- rabattski0
ceramics in general is quite interesting.
here's a little bit more info, esp. read the cost and status part: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCan…
- rabattski0
there is also a "conspiracy" theory regarding ceramic engines about the reason why the car industry is still not using them and that is that the lifespan is way longer than conventional engines which basically means less sales and less maintenance. it's all about the money.
- monkeyshine0
There's a must-read article in the New Yorker about this myth of oil independence:
- LimaBean0
yeah oil independence is still a dependence on oil just domestically.. that article is interesting, and i agree that kerry and bush are equally scarry and all on their views... what i dont agree with is the idea that its almost impossible to pursue alternative means... we have to start somewhere and be optomistic... thus the invention of the hybrid engine.. its all about weaning ourselves off of this stuff..
- LimaBean0
yeah the "conspiracy theories" heheh its always interesting.. Hasn't there always been a way for internal combustion engines to be way more efficient yet big oil wont let it happen... yet another reason why we need a new president, where bush is run by oil industries...
- Nairn0
re: ceramic engines.
regardless of the previous politics on this subject, necessity will force their development - consider aerial applications like UAVs and such, where fuel consumption/weight/performance issues are that bit more critical. especially if, like crystal display monitors, producing larger structures becomes successively harder.
- rabattski0
but isn't it often the case that the production of alternative energy (e.g. electricity, natural oil based fuels) is not efficient. as in it costs more conventional energy than it supplies?
- LimaBean0
thats a great point... i believe that a lot of coal giants are pushing for Hydrogen Fuel Cell development because one way to produce hydrogen is through the use of Coal.. Although i think the pros and cons are there for instance the con is that anything coal is Incredible polluting..ugh.. but the pro is that perhaps through the pushed incentive to produce hydrogen fuel cells and develop the technology we will develop alternatives to that engine... there are also other ways in which Hydrogen can be produced and used for fuel where as the Internal Combustion is always dependent on some sort of oil produced fuel..
- LimaBean0
re: UAV's
that is very cool stuff... have you been following the SpaceShipOne stuff that rocket uses Hydrogen as its main fuel supply i believe
- mbr0
Only if you consider 'money' synonymous with 'energy'. If you look at solar, as I am more and more (for my architecture), the limitations are only monetary. And even then, it's just the initial investment that is prohibitive, as it will eventually pay for itself in savings.
Basically, it all comes down to $$, as most things in life. We can build indeestructable cars (F1, Indy, Nascar), but we don't because people won't pay for it.
We can build buildings that will withsatnd earthquakes, missile attackes, airplanes, etc., but we don't because people won't pay for it (it's the 'acceptible loss' theory).It's sad, but true. Same goes for most of teh alt energies. While the technologies are still in their infancy, we could survive with them alone, it would just cost a gigillion more, and people just won't have that.
- rabattski0
well thing is, acceptable loss theory is based on the fact that a certain group of people, or a certain amount of people will be fucked in which it serves the greater good. simple costs and income balance. hard but true. but in case of energy, if we run out of conventional energy and have by then no sources for unconventional energy we *all* are fucked and it won't be an acceptable loss.
what i also don't understand, solar cells are quite expensive but they are only expensive because there is no bigger demand. if there would be a huge demand the prices will drop automatically.
another thing, in holland there is something called horizon polution, whereas windmills "polute" the horizon. i still cannot understand people who find this more worse than regular polution. as in, they rather have more cars because they find windmills making the country side looking ugly? weird way of thinking.