Send some silkies back with them!!!!!!!
not to rant but
- Thread starter lacyloo
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #12
Why do people fly in ari planes anyways ?
- Mar 25, 2007
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Non-food-derived home-grown sources:
-Electric cars (yes, we have 'em here: Zenn cars )
-Cellulosic ethanol: Derived from waste materials (bagasse, corn stover) rather than food
-Biodiesel from algae instead of food oil
-Plasma conversion of garbage into energy
There's also solar, wind and tidal power. Solar power has gotten much more efficient in the past few years; the older solar panels were not very good and were extremely susceptible to even the slightest bit of shade. The new ones work well enough that our local radio station is powered 100% by solar--and their PEP is pretty high, even for a commercial station. I saw a wind farm in Rhode Island the other day, catching coastal breezes, and we've got another in the works for Massachusetts if the darn Kennedys will get over themselves and let us build one. San Francisco is working on tidal power.
If I got any kind of wind on my property, I'd make wind turbines shaped and painted to look like great big flowers. Fields full of wind daisies and dahlias. I am the only engineer on earth who believes that aesthetics really count for anything, which is a pity; "coolness" counts for a lot when you're trying to get people to part with their money in the short term.
However, a lot of this stuff is long-term, only in development stages. It will take several years before it becomes widespread. Implementing new infrastructure takes time even when everyone is 100% supportive. You need people who are really awesome at change implementation and technology transfer, and sadly most people, especially governments, are horribly bad at it.
You know what I would like to see, as a taxpayer? My taxes going to subsidize energy projects so that I could have local algae biodiesel for free or cheap, locally subsidized electricity from a wind farm, local solar power, etc. I pay a small fortune for the local schools, but I would gladly volunteer to teach high school science classes for free if they would take the $50,000 they'd pay a teacher and put it into buying a plasma converter for the local garbage collection.
-Electric cars (yes, we have 'em here: Zenn cars )
-Cellulosic ethanol: Derived from waste materials (bagasse, corn stover) rather than food
-Biodiesel from algae instead of food oil
-Plasma conversion of garbage into energy
There's also solar, wind and tidal power. Solar power has gotten much more efficient in the past few years; the older solar panels were not very good and were extremely susceptible to even the slightest bit of shade. The new ones work well enough that our local radio station is powered 100% by solar--and their PEP is pretty high, even for a commercial station. I saw a wind farm in Rhode Island the other day, catching coastal breezes, and we've got another in the works for Massachusetts if the darn Kennedys will get over themselves and let us build one. San Francisco is working on tidal power.
If I got any kind of wind on my property, I'd make wind turbines shaped and painted to look like great big flowers. Fields full of wind daisies and dahlias. I am the only engineer on earth who believes that aesthetics really count for anything, which is a pity; "coolness" counts for a lot when you're trying to get people to part with their money in the short term.
However, a lot of this stuff is long-term, only in development stages. It will take several years before it becomes widespread. Implementing new infrastructure takes time even when everyone is 100% supportive. You need people who are really awesome at change implementation and technology transfer, and sadly most people, especially governments, are horribly bad at it.
You know what I would like to see, as a taxpayer? My taxes going to subsidize energy projects so that I could have local algae biodiesel for free or cheap, locally subsidized electricity from a wind farm, local solar power, etc. I pay a small fortune for the local schools, but I would gladly volunteer to teach high school science classes for free if they would take the $50,000 they'd pay a teacher and put it into buying a plasma converter for the local garbage collection.
And now they want to put a .45-.50 cent per gallon extra tax on gas. To help pay for road repairs! Also read that sugar cane makes better makes better fuel than corn,but the US has a tariff on importing it. The chicken industry is applying for hardship money because of the price of corn. Where will it end?
I am very guilty, I have a gas guzzler, (Jeep Grand Cherokee) I would love to be rid of it, but I owe too much money on it! We got it for our ski house because it was impossible for me to get up the hill in the winter. (The house is long gone, the jeep isn't.) But fortunately I don't do a lot of driving, mostly around town for errands. I also own a zuma scooter, it will be used alot once the weather breaks! I can put one days groceries under the seat...
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It's high here too. Can't understand why diesel is now More Expensive than gasoline. Historically, it's been much lower. DH spent 4.19/gal yesterday to fill his tank. It's getting crazy.
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16 spoilt chickens, 1 hounddog, dd
dh
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16 spoilt chickens, 1 hounddog, dd
Quote:
Have you ever tried to drive to Japan? If you think about it a passenger jet full of people flying across country will use less fuel than all those people driving the distance. If everyone started driving long distances instead of flying the fuel demand would go up and prices would follow. Think of the time savings. Think of how many miles and how much wear and tear it saves on cars . Think of the amount of traffic if those people used the interstates. It would take alot more paving. Roads would be bigger and would have to be repaired more often. If you take a couple cross country trips in your car it will make you have to replace that car alot earlier. It takes alot of energy to build a new car. Jets last much longer than cars. Private jets are the enviro nightmare not passenger jets.
Have you ever tried to drive to Japan? If you think about it a passenger jet full of people flying across country will use less fuel than all those people driving the distance. If everyone started driving long distances instead of flying the fuel demand would go up and prices would follow. Think of the time savings. Think of how many miles and how much wear and tear it saves on cars . Think of the amount of traffic if those people used the interstates. It would take alot more paving. Roads would be bigger and would have to be repaired more often. If you take a couple cross country trips in your car it will make you have to replace that car alot earlier. It takes alot of energy to build a new car. Jets last much longer than cars. Private jets are the enviro nightmare not passenger jets.
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- Thread starter
- #18
I dint mean it like that... I would be so freaked out my plane would be bombed 
Quote:
A couple of variables. They quit making diesel from coal and now make it from crude. So oil prices affect diesel even more. The refineries also know that people can somewhat alter driving habits in passenger cars but trucks and trains have to move so they can charge a little more for diesel and demand does not suffer. I also wonder about the fuel tax difference between diesel and gasoline.
A couple of variables. They quit making diesel from coal and now make it from crude. So oil prices affect diesel even more. The refineries also know that people can somewhat alter driving habits in passenger cars but trucks and trains have to move so they can charge a little more for diesel and demand does not suffer. I also wonder about the fuel tax difference between diesel and gasoline.
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