The plastic bags were a cost savings measure by the chain stores.
I remember when plastic bags first came into stores, that it was an environmental issue rather than a cost savings measure. We were told to save the trees, use plastic bags.
Course I looked out on the internet, but I can't find any reference to this. Does anyone else remember it that way, or is my memory just faulty?
The offline skill training is one of my least favorite features of Eve. Since it absolutely guarantees that since I didn't get in at the beginning the I can never "catch up"
We don't have to understand how the global climate works to realize humans are adding gases to the atmosphere and chemicals to the water that wouldn't be there otherwise.
I don't think anyone at all would argue with you on that, the problem is grouping CO2 in there. CO2 exists naturally in the environment. CO2 is not a pollutant, it is a requirement for life. The amount of CO2 that humans emit is dwarfed by the naturally occuring CO2.
How can you consider that definitive proof? Hansen's data set is skewed to support his theories. Notice how it doesn't seem to agree with the other temperature records out there. Thats because Hansen has built into his system factors for changing the raw data based on his conclusions. Try using one of the satellite records where the data hasn't been fiddled with and you get a trend that is very different from what Hansen is predicting, still warming, but not nearly as fast, and maybe changing.
Right out on their own, however, are the quite different figures produced by GISS which, strangely for a body sponsored by Nasa, rely not on satellites but also on surface readings. Hansen's latest graph shows temperatures rising since 1880, at accelerating speed in the past 10 years. The other three all show a flattening out after 2001 and a marked downward plunge of 0.6 degrees Celsius in 2007/8, equivalent to almost all the net warming recorded in the 20th century.
If the difference between Hansen's numbers and three other temperature records isn't enough to convince you something is screwy with his data then check out all the issues with his temperature stations over at Wattsupwiththat
Because you aren't changing their salaries. You are paying them a partial salary for the duration of the budget crisis and then back paying them all that remains.
What do you do about health insurance payments -- what if their current options cost more that they are being paid.
Do their 401K deductions and the resulting match go into their account now?
There are a bunch of questions that come up when you start dealing with HR issues. Nothing is ever simple there.
Don't get me wrong I support Arnold's effort to cut state spending to try and lower their defecit. But this might be more difficult to implement than it might seem at first glance.
I agree -- definitely an interesting read. One part that I particularly disagree with is.
Although a single wind turbine is indeed intermittent, this is not generally true of a system of several wind farms,
separated by several hundred kilometres and experiencing different wind regimes. The total output of such a system
generally varies smoothly and only rarely experiences a situation where there is no wind at any site. As a result, this
system can be made as reliable as a conventional base-load power station by adding a small amount of dedicated
peak-load plant (say, gas turbines) that is only operated when required.
It seems to me where they say that they only rarely experience times where there isn't wind at any site that if you are a power company and you are going out a couple hours a month because there is no wind at any site you won't be a power company for long. So your back up ends up being equal to your demand at any time it might go away, in other words your back up needs to be equal to your base and peak. No savings there.
I have heard of plans to do things like hook the wind turbine up and use the generated power to electrolize water and use the hydrogen to run a fuel cell of some kind, and in this way you store, like you said, about a days worth of electricity at each turbine. There are probably lots of other plans like pumping water etc for storing the electricity mechanically or chemically. What I haven't seen is any kind of cost analysis of those kinds of storage systems vs having all those electrical plants as back up.
Another issue that I see with wind turbines spread all over the place is the cost of running power lines all over the place, and the cost of power loss through long transmission distances.
Perhaps the best use for wind power that I have heard is to generate hydrogen for vehicle fuels. Then you aren't generating for immediate use like you are with electricity so periodic down times aren't as big an issue.
Iceland does have the advantage of being probably the ideal place in the world for geothermal power too. I'm a big geothermal fan but in all fairness you have to acknowledge Icelands natural bonus in this case.
Untill we can get some kind of electrical storage system other than batteries, electric and wind are non starters. Yes they could deliver the wattage but when??
Decentralized solar IMO would shine most in hot water generation.
Until we get better energy storage solutions both wind and solar are not good for base load because you can't control when the sun is going to shine or the wind is going to blow.
Geothermal has the ability to assume base load and so for now is the only renewable source feasible for large scale.
Now granted there are people working on the energy storage issues but until there is a working solution wind and solar can't really be used for base load. I read something interesting about them being used for Hydrogen generation which would replace transport fuels, but Hydrogen storage is almost as problematic as electric.
No its not a troll. Wrong though. Until electrical storage technologies advance to where PV can actually be usefull we require nuclear or coal to provide a base load capability. Solar and wind simply cannot provide the constant generating capability required for technology. And nuclear waste reprocessing is a proven technology, see France, which make nuclear a viable option until we get capacitors or something in place to be able to balance load between when the sun is shining and when its not.
I think places with a population density similar to Manhattan a public transportation system makes sense. The problem is Manhattan is probably the only place in the US with that kind of population density. Most of our other cities have spread out rather than up.
Doesn't matter -- most people consider all the uses they want from a vehicle when they buy it. If it won't support the weekend trips to the lake towing the boat they have to get a second vehicle that will. Probably 90% of people don't drive more than 50 miles a day and could use a pure electric car for those puposes but wouldn't get one because it would require a second vehicle for other uses, and that they cannot afford.
Granted there are solutions to this like flexcars etc. But most people don't want to put up with the, possibly imagined, inconvienence that would be engendered by those solutions.
Thats not totally true -- if you are mostly charging at night when total use is below your local capacity then your local generator will increase production to meet your demand.
It normally goes without saying that Democrats will spend less than Republicans.
What? Did you get that backwards? I agree that republicans have lost a LOT of thier small government luster over the last 8 years but democrats still want to outspend them.
Slashdot Mirror
I remember when plastic bags first came into stores, that it was an environmental issue rather than a cost savings measure. We were told to save the trees, use plastic bags.
Course I looked out on the internet, but I can't find any reference to this. Does anyone else remember it that way, or is my memory just faulty?
Can I get some of those meds too so I can play 110% of the time? /duck
Nah they are more likely to hound you in a frustratingly kind way to join
Well if you are the playable undead race you don't have to cook thier remains you just eat their remains for a quick health boost.
If they haven't released its a pretty effective way to communicate your utter disregard for them.
The offline skill training is one of my least favorite features of Eve. Since it absolutely guarantees that since I didn't get in at the beginning the I can never "catch up"
I don't think anyone at all would argue with you on that, the problem is grouping CO2 in there. CO2 exists naturally in the environment. CO2 is not a pollutant, it is a requirement for life. The amount of CO2 that humans emit is dwarfed by the naturally occuring CO2.
How can you consider that definitive proof? Hansen's data set is skewed to support his theories. Notice how it doesn't seem to agree with the other temperature records out there. Thats because Hansen has built into his system factors for changing the raw data based on his conclusions. Try using one of the satellite records where the data hasn't been fiddled with and you get a trend that is very different from what Hansen is predicting, still warming, but not nearly as fast, and maybe changing.
If the difference between Hansen's numbers and three other temperature records isn't enough to convince you something is screwy with his data then check out all the issues with his temperature stations over at Wattsupwiththat
How do you handle online transactions would each person have to have biometric equipment attached to thier computer?
California already does a bunch of geothermal power. This sounds like a good place for another.
Do you live life backwards? or timetravel? :)
Because you aren't changing their salaries. You are paying them a partial salary for the duration of the budget crisis and then back paying them all that remains.
What do you do about health insurance payments -- what if their current options cost more that they are being paid.
Do their 401K deductions and the resulting match go into their account now?
There are a bunch of questions that come up when you start dealing with HR issues. Nothing is ever simple there.
Don't get me wrong I support Arnold's effort to cut state spending to try and lower their defecit. But this might be more difficult to implement than it might seem at first glance.
Actually I think he is saying that we shouldn't be painting all police with the same brush and deal with each individual as an individual!
I agree -- definitely an interesting read. One part that I particularly disagree with is.
It seems to me where they say that they only rarely experience times where there isn't wind at any site that if you are a power company and you are going out a couple hours a month because there is no wind at any site you won't be a power company for long. So your back up ends up being equal to your demand at any time it might go away, in other words your back up needs to be equal to your base and peak. No savings there.
I have heard of plans to do things like hook the wind turbine up and use the generated power to electrolize water and use the hydrogen to run a fuel cell of some kind, and in this way you store, like you said, about a days worth of electricity at each turbine. There are probably lots of other plans like pumping water etc for storing the electricity mechanically or chemically. What I haven't seen is any kind of cost analysis of those kinds of storage systems vs having all those electrical plants as back up.
Another issue that I see with wind turbines spread all over the place is the cost of running power lines all over the place, and the cost of power loss through long transmission distances.
Perhaps the best use for wind power that I have heard is to generate hydrogen for vehicle fuels. Then you aren't generating for immediate use like you are with electricity so periodic down times aren't as big an issue.
Anyway interesting reading -- thanks for the link
Iceland does have the advantage of being probably the ideal place in the world for geothermal power too. I'm a big geothermal fan but in all fairness you have to acknowledge Icelands natural bonus in this case.
Untill we can get some kind of electrical storage system other than batteries, electric and wind are non starters. Yes they could deliver the wattage but when??
Decentralized solar IMO would shine most in hot water generation.
Until we get better energy storage solutions both wind and solar are not good for base load because you can't control when the sun is going to shine or the wind is going to blow.
Geothermal has the ability to assume base load and so for now is the only renewable source feasible for large scale.
Now granted there are people working on the energy storage issues but until there is a working solution wind and solar can't really be used for base load. I read something interesting about them being used for Hydrogen generation which would replace transport fuels, but Hydrogen storage is almost as problematic as electric.
Is that the same models that have been wrong about the number and severity of hurricanes for the last 3 years?
No its not a troll. Wrong though. Until electrical storage technologies advance to where PV can actually be usefull we require nuclear or coal to provide a base load capability. Solar and wind simply cannot provide the constant generating capability required for technology. And nuclear waste reprocessing is a proven technology, see France, which make nuclear a viable option until we get capacitors or something in place to be able to balance load between when the sun is shining and when its not.
I agree but after my son dragged me to this one I have to admit I enjoyed the way this one portrays the Joker.
I think places with a population density similar to Manhattan a public transportation system makes sense. The problem is Manhattan is probably the only place in the US with that kind of population density. Most of our other cities have spread out rather than up.
Doesn't matter -- most people consider all the uses they want from a vehicle when they buy it. If it won't support the weekend trips to the lake towing the boat they have to get a second vehicle that will. Probably 90% of people don't drive more than 50 miles a day and could use a pure electric car for those puposes but wouldn't get one because it would require a second vehicle for other uses, and that they cannot afford.
Granted there are solutions to this like flexcars etc. But most people don't want to put up with the, possibly imagined, inconvienence that would be engendered by those solutions.
Can you point me to a link that sells me a solar rig for $1000 that will charge my car for me at night when I'm home? Oh wait ...
Thats not totally true -- if you are mostly charging at night when total use is below your local capacity then your local generator will increase production to meet your demand.
What? Did you get that backwards? I agree that republicans have lost a LOT of thier small government luster over the last 8 years but democrats still want to outspend them.
Cool Aid Drinker