TaxationIsTheft on Nostr: Posted for those that won’t click on links: I'm still amazed at how the unicorn ...
Posted for those that won’t click on links:
I'm still amazed at how the unicorn fart theory of energy production people simply will not accept reality. Energy density, transmission, storage, none of it will penetrate their skulls. The convos tend to go like this:
Solar and wind produce intermittently and we have no storage capacity for when the sun isn't shining and the wind isn't blowing.
BUT FREE AND RENEWABLE ENERGY WILL SAVE GAIA!
Exactly how will people be able to heat/cool their homes, refrigerate/cook their food without electricity?
THE PLANET IS BOILING AND WE MUST SAVE IT.
Even if every car were magically to become electric overnight, the grid would not be able to generate/transmit enough power to charge those vehicles. Rolling blackouts would become common and substation and other components would start to fail more frequently as they became overworked/overheated/overloaded.
THE GRID WILL DO WHATEVER ITS GOING TO DO WE MUST STOP BURNING FOSSIL FUELS WITHIN DAYS TO SAVE THE PLANET.
=============================
If we revamped our entire economy to start building solar panels/farms and wind turbines/farms, it would take us 25-30 years to be able to generate the electricity we need NOW. For the record, it seems unlikely that our energy needs will decrease during that time. And by that time, the solar panels put online today would need replacing. Which brings me to another point: exactly where are we going to get the solar panels? China? The amount needed will be staggering and you should know that the manufacture of said panels requires a lot of rare earth materials. And they aren't called "rare" ironically. This completely ignores the concrete, steel, and other equipment needed for generation and transmission. Also, for this to work, some magical storage mechanism that can be mass produced, cheaply and quickly, will have to be handwaved into existence.
I really wish there were some easy answers. There aren't. There are only tradeoffs until/unless we get some brand new energy breakthrough like, say, fusion, which has been only 10-15 years away for the last 50 years or so. People should accept this reality.
Why yes, I am pro-nuclear. Duh. And yes, I think the SMRs and advanced reactors, especially breeders, are the answer. Or maybe thorium reactors because that would mean that we would have enough energy for probably a thousand years or more. Oddly, many of the unicorn fart generation people oppose nuclear. I do see that changing now somewhat and hopefully that change will continue. Or it won't and the insane screeching will never end.
I'm still amazed at how the unicorn fart theory of energy production people simply will not accept reality. Energy density, transmission, storage, none of it will penetrate their skulls. The convos tend to go like this:
Solar and wind produce intermittently and we have no storage capacity for when the sun isn't shining and the wind isn't blowing.
BUT FREE AND RENEWABLE ENERGY WILL SAVE GAIA!
Exactly how will people be able to heat/cool their homes, refrigerate/cook their food without electricity?
THE PLANET IS BOILING AND WE MUST SAVE IT.
Even if every car were magically to become electric overnight, the grid would not be able to generate/transmit enough power to charge those vehicles. Rolling blackouts would become common and substation and other components would start to fail more frequently as they became overworked/overheated/overloaded.
THE GRID WILL DO WHATEVER ITS GOING TO DO WE MUST STOP BURNING FOSSIL FUELS WITHIN DAYS TO SAVE THE PLANET.
=============================
If we revamped our entire economy to start building solar panels/farms and wind turbines/farms, it would take us 25-30 years to be able to generate the electricity we need NOW. For the record, it seems unlikely that our energy needs will decrease during that time. And by that time, the solar panels put online today would need replacing. Which brings me to another point: exactly where are we going to get the solar panels? China? The amount needed will be staggering and you should know that the manufacture of said panels requires a lot of rare earth materials. And they aren't called "rare" ironically. This completely ignores the concrete, steel, and other equipment needed for generation and transmission. Also, for this to work, some magical storage mechanism that can be mass produced, cheaply and quickly, will have to be handwaved into existence.
I really wish there were some easy answers. There aren't. There are only tradeoffs until/unless we get some brand new energy breakthrough like, say, fusion, which has been only 10-15 years away for the last 50 years or so. People should accept this reality.
Why yes, I am pro-nuclear. Duh. And yes, I think the SMRs and advanced reactors, especially breeders, are the answer. Or maybe thorium reactors because that would mean that we would have enough energy for probably a thousand years or more. Oddly, many of the unicorn fart generation people oppose nuclear. I do see that changing now somewhat and hopefully that change will continue. Or it won't and the insane screeching will never end.