Discussion Forum

---

Quote: The San Francisco Onion

---

Quote: Philbert of Macadamia

"Where some of us in the USA differ with people on the other side of the pond and our stupid environmentalists is that one does not conserve one's way into energy independence." - Once more. The Entropy Law. Learn it. Live it. When you burn fossil fuel, you are releasing stored solar energy in the form of heat. This is in addition to the solar energy already warming us every single day. If one does not conserve one's way into energy independence, one's species perishes.

Each year there are more people and new toys available, even though they are more efficent energy wise, they take added power - The economics of expansion, which is a redundancy.

New sources of clean/nuclear energy (lots of lip service by the left wing loons) have to be developed over periods of time. The pie in the sky overnight wet dreams of far left loons, that currently inhabit Washington DC, will lead to nothing. - Non-polluting fuel cells have been in use in NASA satellites since the '60's. They are not used in automobiles because of right wing loons that want us to use more oil so they can make money hand over fist at the expense of the entire species.

Yes we consume more, but when the US economic engine works it drives the world. These far left loons are going to kill the golden goose. - Economic THEORY is based strictly on expansion. Contraction is seen as bad. Nevertheless, contraction is inevitable, given our finite atmosphere. These far right loons are going to cook our geese, and every other species.

Sorry about the Hyde park soapbox, but it gauls me when I see technology being legislated, not developed. Saving fish have become more important than people! - Okay, possibly the first time for this one. The human body is an individual, true. But is inhabited by many different other organisms, including bacteria. If we are unable to fight off certain bacteria, we get fevers and diarrhea to burn and flush them out. If we cannot, we die. I'm for saving those bacteria, but those bacteria are us, and the Earth is a body. I'm not sure about the fish you mentioned - maybe those are analogous to head lice or something.

I am a scientist. I'm all in favor of developing technology. However, many human beings cannot be trusted to make the right decisions, so we must pass laws carefully, allowing freedom of technological development while still helping to avoid catastrophe.

Hands Across The Oceans.


SFO

---

SFO

Please, dont give me platitudes about Fuel Cells, and entropy, ad nauseum. I was a working Electrical Engineer for 43 years before retiring. I have worked with fuel cells etc. It works on ships and in fixed installations but that big Hydrogen tank to power a portable radio is a tough sell.

Run the numbers and calculate how many windmills it would take to power only the USA electric grid, if one had wind. I get 184,000 windmills vice 300 Nuclear plants.

Please, I don't trust people to make laws who cannot spell entropy, let alone know what it means! It is pervasive: non-doctors making medical laws, non engineers making technical laws, that effect all of us.

For exmple CO2 can be made into a fuel (Carbon Neutral) but the Sierra Club wants to bury it in the Cap and trade bill. This is a dictatorship of activist groups with their own agendas.

Engineering Technology is an evolving process, one does not wake up in the morning with the answer like in the Science laboratory!

Cheers,
Philbert