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David Attenborough....
Comments
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I think we may well need a lot more wind turbines and some breezy weather to produce enough energy to fill the void when oil runs out.
"As an island, the UK is well placed to benefit from offshore wind farms. Although any country with a coastline is able to take advantage of the stronger, winds over the sea. Because of the relatively shallow waters and strong winds across a large swath of the North Sea. Britain is uniquely positioned to take advantage of off shore wind energy."
Also:
"Obviously wind doesn’t blow all the time – wind power availability is greater during the winter than at other times of the year and is on average stronger during the day than overnight. This means that wind power delivers around two and a half times as much electricity during periods of high electricity demand as during low demand periods.
Wind speeds are increasingly forecastable and averaged out across the country, the fluctuation is much less than for one farm. This means that while the output from one wind farm might dip as the wind subsides, the wind will still be blowing somewhere else, and the larger the nationwide network of wind farms, the smaller the variations in electricity generation. This has produced far fewer problems for electricity grid management than some predicted. "
I'm sure someone will mention costs:
"Generating electricity from the wind makes economic as well as environmental sense. The costs of onshore wind energy fell fourfold in the 1980s, and halved again in the 1990s through a combination of innovation and economies of scale.
As world fossil fuel prices rise and become more volatile as reserves diminish, wind power can help insulate the economy and individuals from those price shocks. For example, the cost of electricity from gas turbine plants in the UK has almost doubled since 2006."
As I said, though conveniently ignored, "Not a complete solution, but a step in the right direction and at a time before oil starts to run out."0 -
Harry_Boyle wrote: »
A further 2.5 gigawatts of wind capacity, which is connected to local and regional electricity networks
This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com0 -
Harry_Boyle wrote: »As I said, though conveniently ignored, "Not a complete solution, but a step in the right direction and at a time before oil starts to run out."
I did spot that. It was not ignored, conveniently or otherwise.
I merely responded with the point that the amount of energy required to power our vehicles is massive.
I`ve said before that it suprises me that it has taken so long for fuel efficiency to become a concern for car manufacturers and consumers. The longer we can make oil reserves last, the better our chances of coming up with a suitable replacement for the energy we produce from oil.30 Year Challenge : To be 30 years older. Equity : Don't know, don't care much. Savings : That's asking for ridicule.0 -
Harry_Boyle wrote: »Do you personally have a tablet? Do you update your phone/PC/tablet every 19 months?
Is the entire planet?
Come now, let's not start building strawmen in order to win arguments. We're better than that.
I think something like 1.5 billion mobile phones are manufactured each year.
I suspect that a large number of those are simply "vanity" sales.
Seems to me that is a lot of energy/raw materials being used that could easily be saved.30 Year Challenge : To be 30 years older. Equity : Don't know, don't care much. Savings : That's asking for ridicule.0 -
I did spot that. It was not ignored, conveniently or otherwise.
I merely responded with the point that the amount of energy required to power our vehicles is massive.
I`ve said before that it suprises me that it has taken so long for fuel efficiency to become a concern for car manufacturers and consumers. The longer we can make oil reserves last, the better our chances of coming up with a suitable replacement for the energy we produce from oil.
I agree, but the more expensive fossil fuel gets, the more incentive there is for us to find alternatives. That can eiter be in creating more energy efficient vehicles / devices or using new power sources.
Just to reconnect with the original post. If we just stand-still and do no more developments then the evolution of energy efficient devices will end, which helps no one.
Like it or not, it costs money to carry out the R&D for more energy efficient products. Consumer electronics supplies the revenue to allow the development of better battery technology, more energy efficient electronics and smaller components. The drive to build a mobile phone or tablet PC that holds a charge for a day and fits in your pocket might seem spurious and unimportant, but they are the driving force behind research and have a huge impact on other areas such as medicine.
A lot of the same technology that allows a mobile phone to fit in your pocket is also used to make smaller and more reliable pace makers (for example).0 -
Harry_Boyle wrote: »Do you personally have a tablet? Do you update your phone/PC/tablet every 19 months?
Is the entire planet?
Come now, let's not start building strawmen in order to win arguments. We're better than that.
Not me personally no. I don't have a need for one and am not an early, nearly early adopter or even on time for that matter.
We are a family of four. Daughter has a Nexus 7. Wife and two adult children have all just renewed their phones, on 24 month renewal of contract to windows phones. I have picked up the wife's old android nothing wrong with it.
We do have 3 PCs and a laptop. The best PC is the oldest with XP.
At a family level I do, endeavor to, slow down the consumption but it has become endemic in society.
A lot of upgrades and renwals are vanity, self gratification and manufacturer driven. Apple being a prime example of commercial racketeering - only chosen because it is concentrated and not diverse like other platforms and systems. As they say other products and manufacturers are available."If you act like an illiterate man, your learning will never stop... Being uneducated, you have no fear of the future.".....
"big business is parasitic, like a mosquito, whereas I prefer the lighter touch, like that of a butterfly. "A butterfly can suck honey from the flower without damaging it," "Arunachalam Muruganantham0 -
Mishaps, Breakdowns and Accidents
After the industry's recent boom years, wind power providers and experts are now concerned. The facilities may not be as reliable and durable as producers claim. Indeed, with thousands of mishaps, breakdowns and accidents having been reported in recent years, the difficulties seem to be mounting. Gearboxes hiding inside the casings perched on top of the towering masts have short shelf lives, often crapping out before even five years is up. In some cases, fractures form along the rotors, or even in the foundation, after only limited operation. Short circuits or overheated propellers have been known to cause fires. All this despite manufacturers' promises that the turbines would last at least 20 years.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/wuthering-heights-the-dangers-of-wind-power-a-500902.html
They help but at a cost.
I wonder how many would have got off the ground without subsidy?"If you act like an illiterate man, your learning will never stop... Being uneducated, you have no fear of the future.".....
"big business is parasitic, like a mosquito, whereas I prefer the lighter touch, like that of a butterfly. "A butterfly can suck honey from the flower without damaging it," "Arunachalam Muruganantham0 -
Jesus. Do you know what, even if you're right, what are you going to do? Your life seems to revolve around finding things to upset yourself over, how do you ever expect to be happy? You can't change it so go with it.
You're like a massive vacuum that sucks the life and fun out of everything it comes near.
What is the point of a post like that ? Just taking a pop at someone for the sake of it, making no attempt to address the points made.No-one would remember the Good Samaritan if he'd only had good intentions. He had money as well.
The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money.
Margaret Thatcher0 -
I thought fracking was the saviour of the world?'Just think for a moment what a prospect that is. A single market without barriers visible or invisible giving you direct and unhindered access to the purchasing power of over 300 million of the worlds wealthiest and most prosperous people' Margaret Thatcher0
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Harry_Boyle wrote: »A lot of the same technology that allows a mobile phone to fit in your pocket is also used to make smaller and more reliable pace makers (for example).
Yes, I am aware of that.
A lot of Formula 1 technology filters down into the cars we drive. The difference is, only a few Formula 1 cars are built and used.
Do we really need to manufacture billions of mobile phones, so that pacemakers can be made smaller and more reliable ?30 Year Challenge : To be 30 years older. Equity : Don't know, don't care much. Savings : That's asking for ridicule.0
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