O/T: 30 days At The Pump

I finally get it Lew, you want gasoline to be $15 per gallon so that alternative energy might be cheaper. As long as it is less than $10 you ain't happy.

As long as gas is being SOLD, Lew isn't happy.

Er, no. No one in their right mind would consider "alternate" energy for wide-scale use.

Here's just one example:

The amount of radiation energy falling on the surface of the earth is about

To power California (50+ GW) with 50% efficient solar collectors, and adjusting for 12 hours of darkness, latitude, clouds, etc., we find we'd need a solar collector farm the size of the Los Angeles basin. About 1200 sq miles.

Can you imagine the cost to install and maintain such a monstrosity?

The only way to improve these numbers is to move the orbit of the earth closer to the sun.

The good news, however, is that residents of Los Angeles would be living in the shade.

"HeyBub" wrote in news:FsqdnRoWM7VeYAHNnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.com:

Aren't a good proportion of the homes in LA simple 1 or 2-story dwellings? Then applying PV shingles or panel collectors could take a lot of that at least there. And the sunnier areas of CA could supply the rainier ones. But I have NOT done the math. And indeed night time is a bummer for PV.

---------------------------------------- "HeyBub" wrote:

-------------------------------------------------- "Han" wrote:

------------------------------------------------- "Alternate energy" is not limited to solar.

Geo-thermal, hydro and wind are also "Alternate energy" sources.

Natural gas as a "bridge" fuel for buses and 18 wheeler fleets for the next 20-30 years is a reality.

The Long Beach/Los Angeles port authority is moving forward with a multi billion $ expansion. Only N/G fueled trucks will be allowed in the port area when completed.

Not only is N/G more cost effective as a motor fuel but air pollution is significantly reduced.

Yes, most of the L/A basin consists of buildings of 3 stories or less.

BTW, the local utility, (Southern California Edison), has a low cost solar package available for customers whose electric bill is $150/month minimum.

SFWIW, almost 20% of SCE's power is already provided by solar with more capacity under construction.

"HeyBub", time to pull your head out of your ass and smell the roses.

Lew

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in news:509d54d8$0$33469 $c3e8da3$ snipped-for-privacy@news.astraweb.com:

Roses? Waht about this flower?

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Try tiny.url

Lew

A major problem with solar is that it is not viable without serious subsidy from the taxpayer. A quick bit of searching will reveal many cases of solar farms laying idle, or providing a small percentage of the power promised.

Google itself has had/is having BIG problems with its solar arrays, as are many countries in the EU, and in the USA solar companies are shutting their doors or moving as soon as the subsidies dry up.

Solar is good for lots of things... generating electricity, unfortunately, doesn't seem to be one of them. The panels are too expensive, and require lots of maintenance while underperforming for a variety of technical problems.

---------------------------------------- Ah yes, the old stink plant.

That works.

Lew

----------------------- Thk's

Lew

Dave Balderstone wrote in news:091120121820024735%dave@N_O_T_T_H_I_Sbalderstone.ca:

I /knew/ PSEG could have done better things than buying and installing all those solar panels on our utility poles.

Upgrading NJ's infrastructure probably would have been more efficient and useful, even if it was just tree trimming.

Don't get PO'ed about this one:

BTW, how close are you to the explosion?

Lew

(sorryfor the duplicate Lew, I'm still learning to use this "newsreader")

On 11/12/2012 11:13 PM, Lew Hodgett wrote: > "Bill" wrote: >

Very close. Actually, my wife and I were concerned about what sounded like gunfire Saturday night--which now I think it may have been transformers blowing. At that time, I turned on "Emergency radio broadcast on the Internet" and heard the call to "send the coroner". I didn't know the reason until I found out about the explosion until the next morning.

There is a lot of charity in the area, and 26 families were affected. It's not like a hurricane or flood where masses are affected--as there are plenty around who can help (like good neighbors). I was touched that one person in the neighborhood put up several families--fed them, etc. The loss of the 2nd grade school teacher, whose home just happened to be adjacent to the explosion, surely will affect a lot of lives.

Bill