I saw no plan addressing the sequestering of VAST quantities of CO2 produced in the 'manufacture' of the Lime (not to mention what mineral/surface owner is going to allow the refrigeration/compression/storage of VAST quantities of CO2 in their terrestrial strata if they even are porous and isolated enough to 'store' high-pressure CO2), nor the plan for the infrastructure *for the VAST energy needs* TO sequester the liberated CO2 from the Limestone, nor a mention of a PLAN on how to TRANSPORT the VAST quantities of Lime produced, nor a CO2-free Plan on the extraction/quarrying of the limestone source rock and its transport before it becomes lime.
Running around with your arms waving in the air and yelling "Change!, Change!, Change!!!", does NOT make it a PLAN.
I want to see the *actual numbers*, the real logistics, and the bottom line cost in "Dollars per Gigaton of CO2 sequestered" in the ocean (less the total amount of CO2 released in the atmosphere in the manufacture, transportation/distribution, and extraction of Lime *AND* the energy production needed to power this proposed CONCEPT.
And, oh yes, and WHO THE HELL PAYS FOR IT? I Smell the scent of *Heavy Taxation* for the funding...
It may just well be cheaper to relocate our coastal cities and deal with higher oceanic levels...
Plus, think of the positives to "Global Warming"... er, uh, um... ya,...I mean "Climate Change"... (Sorry, I missed the 'new directive from HQ' to change out the buzz terms).
Plus, think of the positives to "Climate Change", It could really free up lots of new real estate in Alaska and Asia, not to mention Greenland and the Antarctic...
Me thinks this is akin to sausage making... tastes good, looks good all covered with kraut, but you don't want to know how its made...
"First, you heat limestone to a very high temperature, until it breaks down into lime and carbon dioxide."
"Then you put the lime into the sea, where it reacts with carbon dioxide dissolved in the seawater."
"This has the effect of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It also helps to prevent ocean acidification, another problem caused by the increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
If done on a large enough scale it would be possible to reduce carbon dioxide levels back to what they were before the Industrial Revolution.
The first step of the process - breaking down limestone into lime and carbon dioxide - seems counterintuitive as it uses a lot of energy and actually produces carbon dioxide. But this carbon dioxide can either be safely stored away or used to help grow crops in very dry areas." http://www.cquestrate.com/the-idea
Nope... Me thinks NOT. Remembrances of my chemistry classes tell me this is not practical...
Anyone ever look into HOW MUCH energy is required to strip the CO2 (and water hydrates) from raw Limetone to produce Lime? ALOT!
FYI: "Quicklime, or burnt lime, is calcium oxide (CaO) produced by decarbonisation of limestone (CaCO3). Slaked lime are produced by reacting, or "slaking", quicklime with water and consist mainly of calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2). Slaked lime includes hydrated lime (dry calcium hydroxide powder), milk of lime and lime putty (dispersions of calcium hydroxide particles in water). The term lime includes quicklime and slaked lime and is synonymous with the term lime products. Lime is, however, sometimes used incorrectly to describe limestone products which is a frequent cause of confusion."
"The lime industry is a highly energy-intensive industry with energy accounting for up to 50% of total production costs. Kilns are fired with solid, liquid or gaseous fuels. The use of natural gas has grown substantially over the last few years."
"The main releases from lime production are atmospheric releases from the kiln. These result from the particular chemical composition of the raw materials and fuels used. However, significant releases of particulates can occur from any part of the process, notably the hydrator. Potentially significant emissions from lime plants include carbon oxides (CO, CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and dust."
http://aida.ineris.fr/bref/bref_ciment/site/pages/anglais/bref_chaux_2_1.htm
Unless this is done with Nuclear Power (or solar/hydroelectric/wind/tidalelectric), this is a net CO2 loser. Anything else will pretty much fail if the Goal is to cause CO2 reduction.
Try to imaging the transportation of VAST Quantities of Lime around the oceans without the burning of fossil fuels... nope..
This smells of a big grab for venture capital/government grant money, nothing more...
Besides, the tree-huggers will cry foul about how we are wasting billions on turning the Oceans into cement... save the 'Spotted-Owl Crabs' and such...
I have some ocean-front property in Arizona for sale too, let me od get the deed, I keep it in the back seat of my Fiero... Also, I'll go fill out that personal check on the dash of myu car to cover our extensive bar tab... Be right back...
I am just glad HP does not sell Refrigerators or Couches!
One could just imagine that each would come from HP inside its own 40' shipping container filled with those "environmentally friendly" peanuts that turn into snot when they get wet... LOL
The proper spelling is "Zymurgy'": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zymurgy & http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/zymurgy
I am "Zymergy" on/. and a couple of other places... Unfortunately, that username is not my gmail login either, both were already taken...
It just sounded so much better to me than "teetotaler" or "teetotaller" and it is nearly always on the last page of any good English dictionary...:)
Good Point, Sir.
But... What if were to tell you that my real Gmail address is "ToddDavis@gmail.com" AND I AM Protected With "LifeLock"!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zuom4j3-dGY
Ditto.
Since all names are really all about pretense, I set up mine on Gmail as "firstnamelastname@gmail.com" (Where 'firstname' and 'lastname' are my actual names.
I think there are only eight or ten other people in the US with my same spelled the same anyway. Regardless, I think Gmail's spam filters have only let a couple of false negatives into my Inbox.
*THIS* is why I use very different passwords for web mail as say, my banking or credit report service passwords, etc... If the password file were to be breached, I would only have one to change.
I suggest a good password management app such as this one: http://passwordsafe.sourceforge.net/
It would be interesting to see a performance comparison of both classically themed (ala Win2k) Server 2008 vs. Vista SP1 performance comparison, all other things being equal.
I have read that the DRM components of Vista and it's gestapo memory tactics (think physical video card memory) are what make it a real dog (as well as the UAC and other "let's think for the user" detritus).
Having spent years using Win2000 Advancer Server, the switch to XP was hard enough... IMHO, Vista gives me the look and feel that I would expect if I ever entered cartoon land (sans Jessica Rabbit)...
I have often wondered why we have not seen more of this.
The stability of MS' "Server" line of OS' is proof that they have no real excuse for the Vista poor performance (other than it was deliberately done).
If I were not such a PC gamer, I would probably still be using the Windows 2000 Advanced Server on my current 4-core CPU. (It supports up to 4 CPUs if memory serves). XP is still fine by me, but no where as stable as Win2kAS ever was.
I assume that 2008 server is made from the same stuff.
Actually, the B2 has been retrofitted (sans rotary munition magazine) to hold a really really really big *something* supposedly called the 'M.O.P.': http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1915871/posts
Excerpt: "$88 million to modify B-2 stealth bombers so they can carry a newly developed 30,000-pound bomb called the massive ordnance penetrator, or, in military-speak, the MOP. The MOP is the the military's largest conventional bomb, a super "bunker-buster" capable of destroying hardened targets deep underground." http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/7/26/212543.shtml
I can see Kucinich running around screaming 'the sky is falling' and 'Impeach' in the same sentience... (Personally, Mr. Kucinich, I am not too keen on Iran *EVER* having *ANY* nukes, despite potential for local Iranian nuclear contamination to their environment!!! The idea is to to keep the radiation contained OVER THERE not to have a big boom OVER HERE!! ). http://www.commondreams.org/news2007/1108-21.htm
What happens when a 'Terrorist' finds a way to purge/rupture the coolant? *POOF*
What happens if lightning directly strikes the conductor's coolant jacket? Could that cause a coolant jacket leak?
So when and where can I get some of these cells in a user-installable 'shingle' form to re-roof my home's traditional shingle roof? (To be tied them into series/parallel grid cells with power controller and inverter, etc..)
Not needing to track the sun makes them extremely suitable for my pitched roof facets... and possibly cost-effective too!
When you start ripping your Blue-Ray HD Movies to store on a disk-less HDD share (at about 25GB to 50GB a pop) and then you conveniently convert them into mountable ISO images, you will then know why you bought that 1.5TB HDD.
I have a buddy that does this and he uses a 1TB HDD to store the ripped & converted ISO HD movie images. He then mounts them over his wireless N network on his Multimedia PC attached to his living room's 60" HDTV or he mounts the images on his HD laptop anywhere he feels like round his home. Very cool, and he NEVER scratches or loses one of his Blue-Ray disks... (Thank You SlySoft and Elby)
(NOTE:I posted this comment earlier and it got buried as the parent was modded 0)
When you start ripping your Blue-Ray HD Movies to store on a disk-less HDD share (at about 25GB to 50GB a pop) and then you conveniently convert them into mountable ISO images, you will then know why you bought that 1.5TB HDD.
I have a buddy that does this and he uses a 1TB HDD to store the ripped & converted ISO HD movie images. He then mounts them over his wireless N network on his Multimedia PC attached to his living room's 60" HDTV or he mounts the images on his HD laptop anywhere he feels like round his home. Very cool, and he NEVER scratches or loses one of his Blue-Ray disks... (Thank You SlySoft and Elby)
I completely agree with you on the nuke plants. We cannot build them fast enough. We need AT LEAST 40-50 new Nuke power stations as has been suggested by a particular political party's candidate.
I do know that Congress, just like with the congressional-imposed ban to drill for oil/gas in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, has limited the ability to put up wind power farms.
In my home state of Oklahoma, I read somewhere that there is a restriction on the books limiting Wind Generator farms to only 500 turbines per COUNTY. With each generator requiring the same area of a large house with a front and back yard, I'd say that's rather limiting and shortsighted. After all, the wind is best geographically where the wind is best.
Many of the obstacles that Pickens is suggesting Congress to get involved in are related to stupid laws that have been lobbied and inserted into the books by corrupted politicians such as the artificial limit on how large the 'wind farm' cluster can be per county. A Federal Mandate in many cases can overcome the numerous disingenuous state lays and ordnances as they claim that too many birds are self-selection their candidacy and trying out for the Darwin-Awards in the wind generator blades and they follow up with cries of "NIMBY".
Of course, 'the liberal hippies' are spreading FUD all over.. (apparently they WANT more coal-fired power plants?) And yes, Democrats, as judged by their own actions, want higher prices on anything energy-related they do not tightly regulate and collect a chunk of tax dollars on. But they have to leave the laws open-ended some so they can collect those fat contributions every election cycle.
Nobody is publicly talking about just how many of the stupid tax collecting laws wind-power bypasses because it does not use any fuel that can be taxed, and it puts fat checks in the pockets of the surface landowners who OWN the surface of their land and 99% of these land owners are all for wind power clusters after their checks clear.
-Now that profitable and efficient massive 'wind farms' are an actual threat and likelihood to these liberal/progressive interests, they are resurrecting the "Spotted Owl Strategy"... Only this time it is with the "Whooping Crane". (I can remember in Oklahoma when they found one of these endangered birds deceased as it apparently had flown directly into a 5' tall barbed wire fence... There was a 'hippie' drive to then pull up and restrict the fences in that part of the state.)
What total BS!
Somebody please call Penn & Teller and get this on their show at Showtime1!...
For example, here is a 'fine' piece by the liberal AP: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080321_238_A11_spanc46450
Sure, Pickens he has some business interests in his wind power generation, but who cares. It is clean, renewable, and nearly always available. (And it produces *Zero* CO2)
Get some added transmission lines to the main grid from the 'wind corridor' and we up and running.
-Pickens is putting his money where his mouth is and at the same time helping America, that is a true Capitalist and a Patriot.
So does this now mean that my phone bill rates/fees be be lowered?
You know..., because of all the lawsuit and legal counsel *savings* the telecoms have now that they cannot be sued ala immunity ex post facto...?
That depends if the shooter gets paid by the head shot or paid by the hour.
I am putting my money on he will drag the process out rather than crop like a fiend at his/her workstation (and probably not get paid much fo that time)..
That, and the 50 kids that were talking to each other or had their eyes shut.
Somewhere there are nerdy American college students now trying to box between heated rounds of decent chess playing.
New fight clubs are cropping up all over American cities...
Right....
Glad somewhere, at least, they are making efforts at balanced sports.
I remember consciously feeling embarrassed that some (but certainly not all) of our American athletes possessed major skill imbalances to put it mildly.
Someday leagues such as the NFL and HNL might add IQ and each player's individual chess handicap rating on their stats pages for each player....Right.
I think some of our sports should have a tie-breaking round of mental challenges that educated folks could relate to... It would make the demographic expand IMHO anyway..
Try to imagine some of our "best" American athletes as they must be victorious in a tie-breaking spelling test, or better yet, have to accurately pronounce English words like "ask" and "alright" for that matter... lol
For an effective dirty bomb, it just needs to sound scary as it is actually an act of terrorism and not intended to kill lots of people, just scare them.
If you wanted to kill lots of people, you would want an isotope that will replace some of the non-radioactive atoms in the body's bones, organs, and fatty tissues.
Other than the initial blast, dirty bombs will typically kill exposed people over months to years and not instantly. (So it really is little better than a standard bomb and far easier to detect...) They mostly sound scary.
I am praying that that terrorists NEVER get a hold of an ERB: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_bomb
Are you with PETA? Kinda reads like it. http://www.peta.org/
I've always enjoyed the bumper stickers that said: "PETA - People for the Eating of Tasty Animals"
We must have cured hunger in the world 100% in order to justify eliminating entire tasty food groups and then to also make fuel out of our edible grains.
FYI, BSE (AKA 'Mad Cow Disease') infects nervous system and spinal column tissues NOT MEAT (AKA 'muscle tissue').
BSE is caused by defectively folding proteins called Prions. These Prions can cause similar protein mis-foldings in the brains and nervous tissues of people or animals who eat the infected nervous tissues. (It makes the Alpha-helix fold into a Beta-sheet which causes the protein to malfunction/cease to function) See: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2001pres/01fsbse.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovine_spongiform_encephalopathy
Frank Herbert's Harkonnen's installed "Heart Plugs" into their citizens and prisoners, etc... as a form of 'kill switch'...
If that is not the latter part of the "Kill Switch" 'Slippery Slope', I suppose making it remote-controlled might be...
I typically start my dishwasher and both the washer and dryer as I head to bed at night.
It is much less of a strain for my home Air Conditioner at night (plus AC runs more efficiently at night because of the lower outside/inside air temperature differential.)
In the future, I plan on re-charging my electric car's batteries and my home's fuel cells at night, when the electric rates are cheaper!
Many large Industries like electric arc steel foundries and large smelters (for the reduction of metal oxides into pure metal) operate at night.
There are many many industries that also operate at night taking advantage of the cheaper electric power rate differentials (due to lower demand) Also, many of these industries would not be able to use the same quantities of electric power during the day unless they build and maintain their own costly supplemental/primary power facilities like this one http://gepower.com/prod_serv/products/gas_turbines_cc/en/midrange/ms9001e.htm .
If storing solar energy to run our world at night worked so well we'd be using it by now.
The fact is, the varied schema for the 'warehousing' of enough energy collected by day for release by night are not capable of meeting our power demands by a long shot and will require VAST solar facilities to collect enough energy to replenish the nighttime storage apparatus as well as to meet our peak demands during the day. The bean counters have doubtless already applied the formula and there is not enough for a recall of current power technologies as they are economically better and result in lower electric utility bills to consumers.
Yes, various experimental methodologies and concepts for the storing of energy from daytime solar collectors and the desimenation of that energy for off-peak nighttime power generation are being considered.
But, I do not know of ANY in use at this time! I can think for several reasons why:
(1) Their complexity (and unproven reliability/safety)
(2) The considerable expenses of building/operating compared to just building/operating a traditional clean and efficient power plant (not to mention exorbitant real estate costs if located near a city or the cost of the long transmission lines and line losses if built remotely).
(3) Also, the vast amounts of energy that must be stored to create the constant RPM spinning of our modern Alternating Current generators exceeds current efficient storage technologies.
Some here have mentioned storing compressed air into caves, but I have no caves where I live, and what of the effects of the pressurized air on my groundwater?...
The storing of heated liquid sodium or graphite has been suggested, etc.. (This will require a VERY VERY large and extremely well-insulated container...and if I remember my chemistry correctly, superheated graphite is flammable and sublimates in the presence of Oxygen and Superheated liquid Sodium is even more reactive to Water than the highly-reactive room-temperature metallic form is!)
Pumping large amounts of water to a higher elevation reservoir using daytime solar pumps is probably the best energy storage idea (and safest), but I don't have a mountain lake to fill with vast amounts of water to be drained daily as I live on the plains... (and I doubt that many environmentalists will approve of a mountain lake to be filled and drained daily).
If you believe that CO2 is a bad thing, Nuclear and Hydroelectric (if you have lots of elevated water) are your best options.
If you live near the coasts there is the possibility of tidal and wind generators, but they too can only supplement a larger and more reliable power source (Nuclear, etc..)
It comes down to money folks... Coal is, by far, the cheapest to operate with reliability approaching that of a modern expensive Nuclear plant.
"Cheaper, Faster, Better. Pick Any Two." Applies to the Power Industry and this discussion. (Environmental concerns appear to only be a recent addition to the definition of "better".)
Solar has a LONG way to go to compete with what we have for primary large-scale electric power generation, financially anyway. (Even with the heavy government subsidies.)
Slashdot Mirror
I saw no plan addressing the sequestering of VAST quantities of CO2 produced in the 'manufacture' of the Lime (not to mention what mineral/surface owner is going to allow the refrigeration/compression/storage of VAST quantities of CO2 in their terrestrial strata if they even are porous and isolated enough to 'store' high-pressure CO2), nor the plan for the infrastructure *for the VAST energy needs* TO sequester the liberated CO2 from the Limestone, nor a mention of a PLAN on how to TRANSPORT the VAST quantities of Lime produced, nor a CO2-free Plan on the extraction/quarrying of the limestone source rock and its transport before it becomes lime.
...I mean "Climate Change"... (Sorry, I missed the 'new directive from HQ' to change out the buzz terms).
Running around with your arms waving in the air and yelling "Change!, Change!, Change!!!", does NOT make it a PLAN.
I want to see the *actual numbers*, the real logistics, and the bottom line cost in "Dollars per Gigaton of CO2 sequestered" in the ocean (less the total amount of CO2 released in the atmosphere in the manufacture, transportation/distribution, and extraction of Lime *AND* the energy production needed to power this proposed CONCEPT.
And, oh yes, and WHO THE HELL PAYS FOR IT? I Smell the scent of *Heavy Taxation* for the funding...
It may just well be cheaper to relocate our coastal cities and deal with higher oceanic levels...
Plus, think of the positives to "Global Warming"... er, uh, um... ya,
Plus, think of the positives to "Climate Change", It could really free up lots of new real estate in Alaska and Asia, not to mention Greenland and the Antarctic...
Me thinks this is akin to sausage making... tastes good, looks good all covered with kraut, but you don't want to know how its made...
"First, you heat limestone to a very high temperature, until it breaks down into lime and carbon dioxide."
"Then you put the lime into the sea, where it reacts with carbon dioxide dissolved in the seawater."
"This has the effect of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It also helps to prevent ocean acidification, another problem caused by the increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
If done on a large enough scale it would be possible to reduce carbon dioxide levels back to what they were before the Industrial Revolution.
The first step of the process - breaking down limestone into lime and carbon dioxide - seems counterintuitive as it uses a lot of energy and actually produces carbon dioxide. But this carbon dioxide can either be safely stored away or used to help grow crops in very dry areas." http://www.cquestrate.com/the-idea
Nope... Me thinks NOT. Remembrances of my chemistry classes tell me this is not practical...
Anyone ever look into HOW MUCH energy is required to strip the CO2 (and water hydrates) from raw Limetone to produce Lime? ALOT!
FYI: "Quicklime, or burnt lime, is calcium oxide (CaO) produced by decarbonisation of limestone (CaCO3). Slaked lime are produced by reacting, or "slaking", quicklime with water and consist mainly of calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2). Slaked lime includes hydrated lime (dry calcium hydroxide powder), milk of lime and lime putty (dispersions of calcium hydroxide particles in water). The term lime includes quicklime and slaked lime and is synonymous with the term lime products. Lime is, however, sometimes used incorrectly to describe limestone products which is a frequent cause of confusion."
"The lime industry is a highly energy-intensive industry with energy accounting for up to 50% of total production costs. Kilns are fired with solid, liquid or gaseous fuels. The use of natural gas has grown substantially over the last few years."
"The main releases from lime production are atmospheric releases from the kiln. These result from the particular chemical composition of the raw materials and fuels used. However, significant releases of particulates can occur from any part of the process, notably the hydrator. Potentially significant emissions from lime plants include carbon oxides (CO, CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and dust." http://aida.ineris.fr/bref/bref_ciment/site/pages/anglais/bref_chaux_2_1.htm
Unless this is done with Nuclear Power (or solar/hydroelectric/wind/tidalelectric), this is a net CO2 loser. Anything else will pretty much fail if the Goal is to cause CO2 reduction.
Try to imaging the transportation of VAST Quantities of Lime around the oceans without the burning of fossil fuels... nope..
This smells of a big grab for venture capital/government grant money, nothing more...
Besides, the tree-huggers will cry foul about how we are wasting billions on turning the Oceans into cement... save the 'Spotted-Owl Crabs' and such...
I have some ocean-front property in Arizona for sale too, let me od get the deed, I keep it in the back seat of my Fiero... Also, I'll go fill out that personal check on the dash of myu car to cover our extensive bar tab... Be right back...
I am just glad HP does not sell Refrigerators or Couches!
One could just imagine that each would come from HP inside its own 40' shipping container filled with those "environmentally friendly" peanuts that turn into snot when they get wet... LOL
The proper spelling is "Zymurgy'": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zymurgy & http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/zymurgy /. and a couple of other places... Unfortunately, that username is not my gmail login either, both were already taken... :)
I am "Zymergy" on
It just sounded so much better to me than "teetotaler" or "teetotaller" and it is nearly always on the last page of any good English dictionary...
Good Point, Sir.
But... What if were to tell you that my real Gmail address is "ToddDavis@gmail.com" AND I AM Protected With "LifeLock"!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zuom4j3-dGY
Ditto.
Since all names are really all about pretense, I set up mine on Gmail as "firstnamelastname@gmail.com" (Where 'firstname' and 'lastname' are my actual names.
I think there are only eight or ten other people in the US with my same spelled the same anyway. Regardless, I think Gmail's spam filters have only let a couple of false negatives into my Inbox.
*THIS* is why I use very different passwords for web mail as say, my banking or credit report service passwords, etc... If the password file were to be breached, I would only have one to change.
I suggest a good password management app such as this one: http://passwordsafe.sourceforge.net/
It would be interesting to see a performance comparison of both classically themed (ala Win2k) Server 2008 vs. Vista SP1 performance comparison, all other things being equal.
I have read that the DRM components of Vista and it's gestapo memory tactics (think physical video card memory) are what make it a real dog (as well as the UAC and other "let's think for the user" detritus).
Having spent years using Win2000 Advancer Server, the switch to XP was hard enough... IMHO, Vista gives me the look and feel that I would expect if I ever entered cartoon land (sans Jessica Rabbit)...
I have often wondered why we have not seen more of this.
The stability of MS' "Server" line of OS' is proof that they have no real excuse for the Vista poor performance (other than it was deliberately done).
If I were not such a PC gamer, I would probably still be using the Windows 2000 Advanced Server on my current 4-core CPU. (It supports up to 4 CPUs if memory serves). XP is still fine by me, but no where as stable as Win2kAS ever was.
I assume that 2008 server is made from the same stuff.
Actually, the B2 has been retrofitted (sans rotary munition magazine) to hold a really really really big *something* supposedly called the 'M.O.P.':
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1915871/posts
Excerpt: "$88 million to modify B-2 stealth bombers so they can carry a newly developed 30,000-pound bomb called the massive ordnance penetrator, or, in military-speak, the MOP. The MOP is the the military's largest conventional bomb, a super "bunker-buster" capable of destroying hardened targets deep underground."
http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/7/26/212543.shtml
I can see Kucinich running around screaming 'the sky is falling' and 'Impeach' in the same sentience... (Personally, Mr. Kucinich, I am not too keen on Iran *EVER* having *ANY* nukes, despite potential for local Iranian nuclear contamination to their environment!!! The idea is to to keep the radiation contained OVER THERE not to have a big boom OVER HERE!! ). http://www.commondreams.org/news2007/1108-21.htm
What happens when a 'Terrorist' finds a way to purge/rupture the coolant? *POOF*
What happens if lightning directly strikes the conductor's coolant jacket? Could that cause a coolant jacket leak?
So when and where can I get some of these cells in a user-installable 'shingle' form to re-roof my home's traditional shingle roof? (To be tied them into series/parallel grid cells with power controller and inverter, etc..)
Not needing to track the sun makes them extremely suitable for my pitched roof facets... and possibly cost-effective too!
When you start ripping your Blue-Ray HD Movies to store on a disk-less HDD share (at about 25GB to 50GB a pop) and then you conveniently convert them into mountable ISO images, you will then know why you bought that 1.5TB HDD.
I have a buddy that does this and he uses a 1TB HDD to store the ripped & converted ISO HD movie images. He then mounts them over his wireless N network on his Multimedia PC attached to his living room's 60" HDTV or he mounts the images on his HD laptop anywhere he feels like round his home. Very cool, and he NEVER scratches or loses one of his Blue-Ray disks... (Thank You SlySoft and Elby)
(NOTE:I posted this comment earlier and it got buried as the parent was modded 0)
When you start ripping your Blue-Ray HD Movies to store on a disk-less HDD share (at about 25GB to 50GB a pop) and then you conveniently convert them into mountable ISO images, you will then know why you bought that 1.5TB HDD.
I have a buddy that does this and he uses a 1TB HDD to store the ripped & converted ISO HD movie images. He then mounts them over his wireless N network on his Multimedia PC attached to his living room's 60" HDTV or he mounts the images on his HD laptop anywhere he feels like round his home. Very cool, and he NEVER scratches or loses one of his Blue-Ray disks... (Thank You SlySoft and Elby)
I completely agree with you on the nuke plants. We cannot build them fast enough. We need AT LEAST 40-50 new Nuke power stations as has been suggested by a particular political party's candidate.
I do know that Congress, just like with the congressional-imposed ban to drill for oil/gas in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, has limited the ability to put up wind power farms.
In my home state of Oklahoma, I read somewhere that there is a restriction on the books limiting Wind Generator farms to only 500 turbines per COUNTY. With each generator requiring the same area of a large house with a front and back yard, I'd say that's rather limiting and shortsighted. After all, the wind is best geographically where the wind is best.
Many of the obstacles that Pickens is suggesting Congress to get involved in are related to stupid laws that have been lobbied and inserted into the books by corrupted politicians such as the artificial limit on how large the 'wind farm' cluster can be per county. A Federal Mandate in many cases can overcome the numerous disingenuous state lays and ordnances as they claim that too many birds are self-selection their candidacy and trying out for the Darwin-Awards in the wind generator blades and they follow up with cries of "NIMBY".
Of course, 'the liberal hippies' are spreading FUD all over.. (apparently they WANT more coal-fired power plants?) And yes, Democrats, as judged by their own actions, want higher prices on anything energy-related they do not tightly regulate and collect a chunk of tax dollars on. But they have to leave the laws open-ended some so they can collect those fat contributions every election cycle.
Nobody is publicly talking about just how many of the stupid tax collecting laws wind-power bypasses because it does not use any fuel that can be taxed, and it puts fat checks in the pockets of the surface landowners who OWN the surface of their land and 99% of these land owners are all for wind power clusters after their checks clear.
-Now that profitable and efficient massive 'wind farms' are an actual threat and likelihood to these liberal/progressive interests, they are resurrecting the "Spotted Owl Strategy"... Only this time it is with the "Whooping Crane". (I can remember in Oklahoma when they found one of these endangered birds deceased as it apparently had flown directly into a 5' tall barbed wire fence... There was a 'hippie' drive to then pull up and restrict the fences in that part of the state.)
What total BS!
Somebody please call Penn & Teller and get this on their show at Showtime1!...
For example, here is a 'fine' piece by the liberal AP: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080321_238_A11_spanc46450
Here is what Oklahoma State University has put together: http://www.ocgi.okstate.edu/owpi/ With Oklahoma geospatial wind map: http://www2.ocgi.okstate.edu/website/owpi2/viewer.htm
Sure, Pickens he has some business interests in his wind power generation, but who cares. It is clean, renewable, and nearly always available. (And it produces *Zero* CO2)
Get some added transmission lines to the main grid from the 'wind corridor' and we up and running.
-Pickens is putting his money where his mouth is and at the same time helping America, that is a true Capitalist and a Patriot.
So does this now mean that my phone bill rates/fees be be lowered?
You know..., because of all the lawsuit and legal counsel *savings* the telecoms have now that they cannot be sued ala immunity ex post facto...?
That depends if the shooter gets paid by the head shot or paid by the hour.
I am putting my money on he will drag the process out rather than crop like a fiend at his/her workstation (and probably not get paid much fo that time)..
That, and the 50 kids that were talking to each other or had their eyes shut.
It WOULD be interesting to take some hi-res shots of stadium crowds to spot gems like this: http://my.break.com/content/view.aspx?ContentID=353366
Somewhere there are nerdy American college students now trying to box between heated rounds of decent chess playing. New fight clubs are cropping up all over American cities... Right....
...Right.
Glad somewhere, at least, they are making efforts at balanced sports.
I remember consciously feeling embarrassed that some (but certainly not all) of our American athletes possessed major skill imbalances to put it mildly.
Someday leagues such as the NFL and HNL might add IQ and each player's individual chess handicap rating on their stats pages for each player.
I think some of our sports should have a tie-breaking round of mental challenges that educated folks could relate to... It would make the demographic expand IMHO anyway..
Try to imagine some of our "best" American athletes as they must be victorious in a tie-breaking spelling test, or better yet, have to accurately pronounce English words like "ask" and "alright" for that matter... lol
This is probably the worst isotope to which one could be exposed: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium
For an effective dirty bomb, it just needs to sound scary as it is actually an act of terrorism and not intended to kill lots of people, just scare them. If you wanted to kill lots of people, you would want an isotope that will replace some of the non-radioactive atoms in the body's bones, organs, and fatty tissues.
Other than the initial blast, dirty bombs will typically kill exposed people over months to years and not instantly. (So it really is little better than a standard bomb and far easier to detect...) They mostly sound scary.
I am praying that that terrorists NEVER get a hold of an ERB: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_bomb
Are you with PETA? Kinda reads like it. http://www.peta.org/
I've always enjoyed the bumper stickers that said: "PETA - People for the Eating of Tasty Animals"
We must have cured hunger in the world 100% in order to justify eliminating entire tasty food groups and then to also make fuel out of our edible grains.
FYI, BSE (AKA 'Mad Cow Disease') infects nervous system and spinal column tissues NOT MEAT (AKA 'muscle tissue'). BSE is caused by defectively folding proteins called Prions. These Prions can cause similar protein mis-foldings in the brains and nervous tissues of people or animals who eat the infected nervous tissues. (It makes the Alpha-helix fold into a Beta-sheet which causes the protein to malfunction/cease to function) See: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2001pres/01fsbse.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovine_spongiform_encephalopathy
I believe you are also referring to the Polonium 210 poisoning and murder of Alexander Litvinenko?... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polonium
Great, now I hear a voice in my head yelling "My Preciouses!..., My Preciouses!"
... But wait... that works too... http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=preciouses LOL
Frank Herbert's Harkonnen's installed "Heart Plugs" into their citizens and prisoners, etc... as a form of 'kill switch'...
If that is not the latter part of the "Kill Switch" 'Slippery Slope', I suppose making it remote-controlled might be...
Not the specific example I was looking for, but you get the idea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3K-jRXij-w
The 'heart plug' concept, however, has now been successfully applied for other purposes: http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/anti+theft-coffee-cup-stops-that-klepto-cube+mate-244147.php
I am not sure which of these (if any including the above listed Firebox) just roll-over to the second connection if the first goes down or if they truly load-balance all the time?
D-Link made a (now discontinued) 4-port router that load-balanced: http://support.dlink.com/products/view.asp?productid=DI-LB604
Edimax Technology currently makes a couple of lower-priced load-balancing routers: http://www.edimax.com/en/produce_list.php?pl1_id=3&pl2_id=18
It appears that software firewall solutions (mostly linix-based) have the best support and the most features, for example: http://www.smoothwall.com/products/advancedfirewall2008/?loadbalance
I typically start my dishwasher and both the washer and dryer as I head to bed at night.
It is much less of a strain for my home Air Conditioner at night (plus AC runs more efficiently at night because of the lower outside/inside air temperature differential.)
In the future, I plan on re-charging my electric car's batteries and my home's fuel cells at night, when the electric rates are cheaper!
Many large Industries like electric arc steel foundries and large smelters (for the reduction of metal oxides into pure metal) operate at night. There are many many industries that also operate at night taking advantage of the cheaper electric power rate differentials (due to lower demand) Also, many of these industries would not be able to use the same quantities of electric power during the day unless they build and maintain their own costly supplemental/primary power facilities like this one http://gepower.com/prod_serv/products/gas_turbines_cc/en/midrange/ms9001e.htm .
If storing solar energy to run our world at night worked so well we'd be using it by now.
...and if I remember my chemistry correctly, superheated graphite is flammable and sublimates in the presence of Oxygen and Superheated liquid Sodium is even more reactive to Water than the highly-reactive room-temperature metallic form is!)
The fact is, the varied schema for the 'warehousing' of enough energy collected by day for release by night are not capable of meeting our power demands by a long shot and will require VAST solar facilities to collect enough energy to replenish the nighttime storage apparatus as well as to meet our peak demands during the day.
The bean counters have doubtless already applied the formula and there is not enough for a recall of current power technologies as they are economically better and result in lower electric utility bills to consumers.
Yes, various experimental methodologies and concepts for the storing of energy from daytime solar collectors and the desimenation of that energy for off-peak nighttime power generation are being considered.
But, I do not know of ANY in use at this time! I can think for several reasons why:
(1) Their complexity (and unproven reliability/safety)
(2) The considerable expenses of building/operating compared to just building/operating a traditional clean and efficient power plant (not to mention exorbitant real estate costs if located near a city or the cost of the long transmission lines and line losses if built remotely).
(3) Also, the vast amounts of energy that must be stored to create the constant RPM spinning of our modern Alternating Current generators exceeds current efficient storage technologies.
Some here have mentioned storing compressed air into caves, but I have no caves where I live, and what of the effects of the pressurized air on my groundwater?...
The storing of heated liquid sodium or graphite has been suggested, etc.. (This will require a VERY VERY large and extremely well-insulated container
Pumping large amounts of water to a higher elevation reservoir using daytime solar pumps is probably the best energy storage idea (and safest), but I don't have a mountain lake to fill with vast amounts of water to be drained daily as I live on the plains... (and I doubt that many environmentalists will approve of a mountain lake to be filled and drained daily).
If you believe that CO2 is a bad thing, Nuclear and Hydroelectric (if you have lots of elevated water) are your best options. If you live near the coasts there is the possibility of tidal and wind generators, but they too can only supplement a larger and more reliable power source (Nuclear, etc..) It comes down to money folks... Coal is, by far, the cheapest to operate with reliability approaching that of a modern expensive Nuclear plant.
"Cheaper, Faster, Better. Pick Any Two." Applies to the Power Industry and this discussion. (Environmental concerns appear to only be a recent addition to the definition of "better".) Solar has a LONG way to go to compete with what we have for primary large-scale electric power generation, financially anyway. (Even with the heavy government subsidies.)