saunafool (97.73)

7 Comments – Post Your Own

#1) On July 08, 2008 at 5:27 PM, wrote:

The use of wind energy has come a long way because of improved designs and increased cost competitveness.  Also, we need to get the cost of solar energy down (and subsidize needed improvements in design and production methods) so that its use can become simply part of building codes, paarticularly in the southwest.  Another advantage of point-of-use electricity generation is fewer transmission lines.  However, we need to put a lot nore emphasis on conservation. Western European countries enjoy a very high standard of living while consuming about half the energy we use. The best power plant is the one avoided.  We have a long way to go in this area, which would have an immediate effect in reducing power demand, polution, energy costs and so on.  Also, I am an unappologetic, tree hugging environmentalist.  Which means that I am a strong supporter of increased use of nuclear energy.  It has virtually no carbon footprint and newly certified designs have more passive safety features than older designs (this means far less chance for human error).  Of course there are a number of important issues that need to be addressed, such as waste disposal, which is more of a political, rather than technical, problem. also, a recent UN suggestion that uranium enrichment and fuel production be centrallized and provided to countries as a finished (and returnable) product merits consideration from a non-proliferation perspective.  Nuclear facility costs are also getting competitive, particularly when compared to coal plants that would actually comply with the clean air act or when compared to coal sequestration designs, which are very expensive and unproven for long-term effectivenses.  Even longer term, we need to increase (offshore) domestic oil and gas production.  Remember when hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans from the Gulf of Mexico, the offshore oil rigs were undamaged, thanks to greatly improved designs, construction methods and operating procedures.  I would rather produce oil here and tax it to fund development of alternative fuels, instead of paying hundreds of billions of dollars to countries that fund terrorism.  We also need to kill the corn-based ethanol program as soon as possible.  Talk about a political mega bribe to the farmers for votes!  Grain prices have soared worldwide (as well as grain-fed meat prices). Growing corn also requires massive amounts of water.  We need to switch to other sources such as wood chip wastes from the lumber industry, switchgrass (essentially a weed that needs very little water) and other substitutes-but not corn. Finally, abandon the idea of a carbon cap trading system, which would become a hugely expensive bureaucratic nightmare (think Homeland Security).  An effective, more direct, and cheaper alternative is to institute a direct carbon tax, with a portion of the revenues to assist lower income families and to support research and commercialization of alternative energy sources.  However, to repeat what I said earlier, the quickest way to reduce energy use and cost, as well as our carbon footprint is to change our attitudes about conservation.  The effect is immediate, no technical breakthroughs are needed, money is saved, your health is improved, and you will just feel better about yourself.

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#2) On July 08, 2008 at 6:27 PM, Tastylunch (99.59) wrote:

I agree 100%. thanks for the links sauna

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#3) On July 14, 2008 at 5:41 PM, CharlieBombay (29.55) wrote:

gctaf.pk, best play on wind turbines.  # 5 in global share and taking share monthly.  best financials too, except for the conglomerates: ge and siemens.  better than vestas and clipper.

bwen.ob, best U.S. wind play and currently beaten down.  These guys are the do all of the dirty work for wind farms, transport, maintenance, etc...  One of the only pure plays in the U.S.  It looks like they are getting ready to list their stock. 

 

i went to the global wind conference in houston.  everyone there was so amazed at how much the conference grew in just one year.  not even comparable.  this is taking off and wall street hasn't really caught on yet.

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#4) On July 22, 2008 at 11:50 AM, RavenManiac1968 (67.75) wrote:

sorry but I'm pretty new to this - what is bwen.ob and gctaf.pk?

 I've already invested in GE and thought about investing in BP. I'd like to find out more about other solar and wind energy companies. Does anyone have a good place for me to start?

 Thanks!

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#5) On July 29, 2008 at 5:00 PM, JakilaTheHun (99.93) wrote:

I'm not sure I agree with the above poster on nuclear.  At one time, I was more of a proponent of nuclear, but the problem with nuclear is that it still requires a ton of resources and uses more water than even coal-powered plants.  I'd rather see wind, solar, and geothermal pop up more and more in the next few decades before possibly considering building up more nuclear capacity. 

I'll have to look into GCTAF.  I'm invested in Western Wind right now (WND.V or WNDEF.PK) and think if anyone succeeds in turning a profit by operating wind farms, it will be them. 

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#6) On August 02, 2008 at 9:13 AM, Upnatem (76.95) wrote:

Can you put a wind turbine on your car?  Get your heads out of the clouds.  The rest of the world is building nuclear plants for their energy, and we do nothing but worry about an owl's habitat.  France is already 50% nuclear, and even the Middle East is building plants.  We cannot grow the economy with conservation.  We owe it to our kids and grandkids to drill NOW!   We have more oil in the US than in all of the Middle East.  We need to build refineries and start drilling to become independent.  It will probably take 20 to 50 years to develop a true alternative fuel.  We need resources to bridge the gap between our needs now and that alternative fuel.  Solar, and wind aren't the answer.

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#7) On October 10, 2008 at 12:12 PM, PlanetPiggyBank (48.42) wrote:

I have to step in and strongly disagree with Upnatem. The US has nowhere near as much oil proved reserves as the Middle East, Canada, or Venezuela. I work in the oil industry, have a degree in resource economics, and have previous experience with state government working with energy. Additionaly refineries may be needed to prevent massive supply disruptions, but drilling in the US would have little effect on oil prices or supply. Producing and consuming only strengthens our dependence on oil, and delays the inevitable (likely creating an even harder fall a few decades from now). We owe it to our grandchildren to find an alternative.

 As far as putting a wind turbine on your car--the idea for transportation is that eventually we will need to have electricity based cars, whether that comes in the form of straight plug in electrics, hydrogen fuel cell, or some other technology, the base electricity will come from the electric grid. Thus, wind, solar, hydro, possibly some nuclear, will provide the energy to drive your car. 

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