From Turbines and Straw, Danish Self-Sufficiency

chrnb writes "Last year, the Danish island of Samso (pronounced SOME-suh) completed a 10-year experiment to see whether it could become energy self-sufficient. The islanders, with generous amounts of aid from mainland Denmark, busily set themselves about erecting wind turbines, installing nonpolluting straw-burning furnaces to heat their sturdy brick houses and placing panels here and there to create electricity from the island's sparse sunshine. By their own accounts, the islanders have met the goal. For energy experts, the crucial measurement is called energy density, or the amount of energy produced per unit of area, and it should be at least 2 watts for every square meter, or 11 square feet. 'We just met it,' said Soren Hermansen, the director of the local Energy Academy, a former farmer who is a consultant to the islanders."

Comments

Re:parse error at "generous amounts of aid"

[khallow]

So what was the prototype? I just see an uneconomic mess of well-developed technologies. Subsidizing an expensive alternative isn't the same as a "prototype". It can be, I admit that. But I don't see the novelty here. Another qualm I have is whether this program is sustainable. It apparently depends to a great degree on locals burning their hay in an heating plant rather than leaving it on the field. That might lead to soil loss in the long run.

Re:parse error at "generous amounts of aid"

[uuddlrlrab]

Let me spell it out for you, since the simple concept seems to escape you. The island wanted to see if they could change their Infrastructure, basically the way all'uhv that tharr 'lectrissty stuff was gettin' made, ah-hyuck! So they went an' asked the gonverme- govmer- gomerv- tha guys in charge, an' whatnot, fer sum money ta try outa' whole buncha new ideers. When they dun found one what warks an' all, they went an' bilt it! Ah-hyuck! Now that they dun figger'd out whatta'do an' whatall that don't make all that stinky smoke, thar gonna start bildin' it all over So thar it is! Gawrsh... Now I'm off to down a bottle of Ibuprofen. Could someone else please field the next potential Darwin Award nominee that starts spouting off rhetoric and trying to cloud the issue? Talking down to that level physically pains me.

Re:Nonpolluting straw burning?

[drinkypoo]

People are still dying from working 18 hours a day providing you with sneakers, computers, TV's, toys ....

That's very true, and it's a big part of why I do my best to buy used. It's difficult in the clothing area because I am so gigantic, but I've rescued a lot of computers (and several cars) from landfill over the years. It does not change anything about the fact that people who are NOT working to make me toys and TVs are dying from starvation and plague, literally, and all over the world. There's a lot of people starving right here at home, and there will be more before the recession ends (as it will be a depression before then.)

P.S. Putting you in strong text when you are also part of the problem (I see you posting) makes you a hypocrite. Fixed that for ya... Hmm, you didn't fix anything for me, did you? You just pasted your own rant onto the end of mine in a desperate bid for relevance. Try again, kid.