06.18.08
Posted in 2¢, Energy at 17:05 by RjZ
While discussing the the benefits of offshore wind instead of oil,
In One Ear… Out the other writes “This means the decommissioning of many harmful coal plants along the coast who have the added problem of having to ship in coal.”
Would that that were true. Planting off shore wind turbines doesn’t mean we get to shut down coal–unless everyone agrees to finally turn off extra lights, keep the air conditioner off, and maybe stop having children. Power requirements are increasing and while wind is going to play a part in our future energy mix, hopefully a growing part, it won’t be as simple as the author hopes.
While we’re at it, have an aerial look at Rawhide Power Plant in Fort Collins, Colorado.
View Larger Map
In the center of that scene you can make out their boiler and pollution control equipment (look for the shadow of the stack). There’s the cooling lake, and then the coal yard on the top. In the upper right are four gas-fired combustion turbines used to meet peak load requirements. The power station is rated at 270 MW and can put out up to 285 or more. It’s a middle size power plant. Almost half of the 1400 north American plants are this size or smaller and the rest range to as much as 1300 MW or more.
Now let’s compare to Solar Two.
View Larger Map
This is one of the largest solar thermal plants in the world. It’s inactive now but the technology is being commercialized at Solar Tres in Spain. Nice looking set of concentrator mirrors and, this is on the same scale, you can see that it takes up a bit less space. Unfortunately Solar Two is only rated at 10.5 MW of power (back when it was in service). You’d need nearly 30 of them to do what average ol’ Rawhide does.
Wind is more powerful off shore than it is inland. Still, Texas has some of the best wind in the nation. And it’s home to the worlds largest wind farm Horse Hollow Energy Station.
View Larger Map
Horse Hollow puts out considerably more power than Solar two and almost three times the juice of Rawhide at 735 MW; but only when the wind is blowing full speed. Rawhide runs all day–and all night, of course, but Horse Hollow is admirable just the same. Horse Hollow also occupies 47,000 acres. The portion I’ve linked to is the same scale as the other two pictures, but only a tiny section of the farm. Then there’s the distribution lines to get that power to some place useful.
To be fair, we’d really have to include the size of the mine that feeds coal to Rawhide, and maybe even the train tracks that feed it, but, as I’ve mentioned before, coal is pretty energy dense and the result is, even with all the infrastructure included, fossil fuel plants don’t take up as much room as wind and solar, and while many say we’ve got plenty of space, they always clam up when it’s their back yard we’re talking about.
The point of this exercise isn’t to say wind and solar are bad, but rather to make people aware that there are other trade offs; some as simple as where are we’re going to find all the land. I think Out the Other Ear may have a great question for McCain and others about thinking further outside the box than simply repealing off-shore drilling prohibition, but, alas, it doesn’t mean we’re likely to get to turn off those coal plants any time soon.
48 Views Permalink
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
Loading ...
06.08.08
Posted in 2¢ at 18:35 by RjZ
Hilary Clinton announced on Saturday, “Although we weren’t able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it’s got about 18 million cracks in it.” The Washington Post thinks that was part of her best speech yet and muses what things would have been like had she played this card, the fact that she’s a woman, earlier in the campaign.
The question really is, was Ms. Clinton not selected as the Democratic nominee because she is a woman, as she implies here, or could it also be that she wasn’t the best candidate? Is it possible that Mr. Obama’s message of change spoke to a few more than Clinton’s concept of hitting the ground running? I can’t know if, in fact, she lost the nomination because she is a woman, but given the number of relative number of women in her audience, it might as easily be claimed that she got as far because she is a woman. And that’s just great! I think it’d be great to have a woman in the oval office. It’s just that my desire for a woman president doesn’t motivate me to simply choose the first one who comes close. The notion is about as ridiculous as voting for Obama because he is black (as, no doubt, many will).
Clinton’s speech, far from being a high point of her campaign, is cop out that I hope the next woman candidate is confident enough to avoid.
62 Views Permalink
(no ratings yet, click a sqaure to vote) Loading ...
05.16.08
Posted in 2¢ at 12:50 by RjZ
That’s what politicians used to promise in the old days. They’ve gotten a bit more extravagant nowadays. Check John McCain’s latest commercial here. If you’ve got time, read the speech, then come back and see my version.
My fellow Americans, I want you to know what the United States, and the world, will look like after I am president for four years. I know that I’ll have to work with those lazy bums in congress to really make all this happen, but I am pretty sure I can make it happen. Here’s how things will look:
The world’s super powers, terrorists, and developing nations each finally conclude: ‘yeah, we really can just get along.’ World Peace. Hooray!
Thanks to my policies, we befriended aliens who’d been watching out planet for decades. They have traded in their anal probes and are sharing advanced technology to solve our energy problems. Hooray!
With all the money we’re saving by not fighting any new wars (remember, World Peace), public school teachers are finally paid enough to attract and keep the finest educators. Smarter kids are developing new flying cars that emit zero greenhouse gases. Hooray.
FHM magazine’s sexiest woman of 2008 realized I am irresistible and started flirting with me on my blog. All the attention was embarrassing so I had to block her.
Yup, my fellow Americans, that’s the way it’s gonnal be in four years after I am elected president. Clearly, my vision for America is much better than that McCain fellow, so, vote for me, won’t you?
I figure if a world of wishful thinking will work for McCain, then it ought to work for me. And, if you’re reading this, Ms. Fox, don’t worry, I won’t block your comments.
61 Views Permalink
(no ratings yet, click a sqaure to vote)
Loading ...
05.09.08
Posted in 2¢ at 8:12 by RjZ
What an amazing little device. With the processing power of an eighties era mainframe, and a multi-billion dollar satellite system backing it up, this new wrist mounted fitness coach is going to propel me to new heights!
When I moved to hiking and rock climbing Mecca: Boulder, Colorado, I promptly realized that, if I was going to take advantage of it all, I was going to need some work. After living just above sea-level for a few years, I picked up running so that I could manage the hiking at altitude. Eventually I found hobbies that didn’t hurt so much but after not one but two sprained ankles last year (maybe the new plan wasn’t so good after all) and an unmistakeable sign of age: a back problem, it had been a while since I’d actually pretended to do any exercise.
This season, I started early and was feeling pretty good about myself. My pace on a local 10 K trail was slowly improving and was already pretty admirable. I was starting to think maybe I might be able to keep up with, maybe, someone else; or, even pass someone on a trail sometime. Alright, that last part is just wishful thinking, but running supposedly releases all these endorphins, so that’s my excuse.
Gadget lust and a 40% off sale at the local outdoor store were just the gentle nudge I needed for me to pick up a nifty little GPS watch that could track my pace, heart rate, elevation, calories, distance, location, and maybe leading economic indicators. You’re thinking silly toy. I prefer to think of it as inspiring technology.
So I strapped on the heart rate monitor, cinched up the wrist strap and hit the trail. Things didn’t start out so well. It seems the smart-ass little computer insisted that my pace wasn’t exactly as fast I had thought it was. Maybe I was a bit tired after the bike-ride the day before. (Did I mention that crazy watch told me I was about to die during the ride? It warned me that my “heart rate was too high.” It wasn’t for once; I was coasting downhill and the monitor lost contact somehow.)
Huffing and puffing along, the nagging little wristwatch suddenly squeaked “it’s a been a mile!” A mile? that’s it? I’ve been running for a while already it must have been more than a mile. Doesn’t matter, I’ll check it all out on the computer when I get back. Just keep running. I pass by the trail sign which claims I’ve gone 2.4 miles, but this moronic ‘fitness computer’ seems to think I’ve passed just two.
On my way back and my legs are getting stiff but for some reason, this lying piece of silicrap on my wrist seems to think that was only five miles, instead over six like the nice sign said. I finished the run. It wasn’t my best run, slower than usual (the damn watch made sure I didn’t forget that!) But the real problem is that my race worth pace wasn’t looking so impressive. If this path really is five miles instead of six, then running it in under an hour isn’t all that big of a deal.
When I got homе, I plugged the lying bastard GPS into the computer to investigate. 5.1 miles. I uploaded the data to another program. 5.1 miles. There it is. I’d been living a lie. Sweet delicious lie where I am fast and athletic. Six miles in under fifty minutes is pretty good. Five miles in the same time isn’t. How is this going to inspire me? No wonder it was on sale! Stupid evil technology. Mean, rotten, GPS wristwatch says all the panting is for nothing and I’ll never get faster. The watch lies I tell you, it lies.
99 Views Permalink
(no ratings yet, click a sqaure to vote)
Loading ...
04.11.08
Posted in 2¢ at 15:06 by RjZ
I got asked again the other day why I don’t eat meat. I am really tired of answering the question, but it’s hard to link to your blog in real-life. It’s a completely reasonably question, but I really don’t want to get into the discussion. As time goes by, I no longer real off my story about the three reasons people typical stop eating meat (animal welfare, health, or environment.) I assume that, thanks to PETA, animal welfare gets the most attention and is what motivates people to ask me with such curiosity.
They can’t, after all, imagine why I wouldn’t eat an animal since humans clearly have fangs. (This somewhat silly argument was part of that recent inquiry. Humans are hardly evolved to eat meat, what with those side-to-side grinding teeth, and long intestines etc., but you can learn more about that elsewhere). Thing is, the environment has always been the biggest reason for me and with all the recent attention on it, it’s much easier to justify.
This weirdness from the New York Times blog says we might have to eat fake meat, and I don’t mean saiten, in the not so distant future. That ought to scare a few more people my way.
76 Views Permalink
(no ratings yet, click a sqaure to vote)
Loading ...
03.24.08
Posted in 2¢ at 16:06 by RjZ
Here, read this:
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
It’s the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights.
OK. Now read this:
the activities protected by the Second Amendment “are not limited to militia service, nor is an individual’s enjoyment of the right contingent upon his or her continued intermittent enrollment in the militia.”
Basically, the question at hand is whether the ‘right to bear arms’ is an individual one or group privilege. For decades the Supreme has held that it is a group right. That makes sense to me when you actually take the time to read the Second Amendment. (It’s not that long, is it?)
In Washington D.C.’s case, the Federal Appeals Court, however, decided that their feelings on the rights to bear arms trumped their ability to read the constitution and interpret it. Hey, I agree with them! I too, believe there ought to be a law protecting the right to individually bear arms. It’s just not what it says in the constitution says. In short, these were classic activist judges. They want a different law than what is on the books and instead of waiting for legislators to write one, they just change the interpretation of the ones we already have.
Isn’t that what ‘liberal’ judges are usually up to? The Surpreme Court now takes on the case. What do you think is going to happen?
73 Views Permalink
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
Loading ...
02.23.08
Posted in 2¢ at 12:23 by RjZ
It was such an attractive argument that I am glad there may be some truth to it after all. In this post, I pointed out how the media is quick to jump on an uncorroborated story, simply to sell newspapers (or banner clicks). Well, finally there is some supporting evidence from a Purdue University study linking artificial sweeteners to fat rats. I may wait to savor the sweet delicious irony for a bit more evidence than one study, but CBS, FOX and company can write about it all over again.
96 Views Permalink
(no ratings yet, click a sqaure to vote)
Loading ...
02.21.08
Posted in 2¢ at 8:36 by RjZ
There is a lot of talk in the media these days about the death of professional media. Amateur journalists (aka bloggers—hey, maybe even me!) are affecting the news and, the dwindling staffs of professional journalists are decrying the state of reporting and warning us that we better keep buying newspapers if we want real news.
Meanwhile CNN reports: “Texans leaning toward McCain in November.” Texas, birthplace of President Bush, has voted republican every presidential election since 1980. What a surprise that they’re leaning toward McCain this time around.
CNN is a 24 hour news channel with a web site as well. It’s hard to keep coming up with news all the time—poor CNN. But let’s face it, reporting the obvious isn’t helping the dwindling ratings of conventional news outlets.
75 Views Permalink
(no ratings yet, click a sqaure to vote)
Loading ...
02.12.08
Posted in 2¢ at 16:22 by RjZ
“Couldn’t it be said, if somebody wanted to…that I am secretly supporting McCain, because I secretly do want him to win, but I know full well that if I come out and endorse him, he’s cooked?”
Rush’s telling us now that the only reason he doesn’t directly endorse McCain for U.S. president is because moderates and liberals would never vote for him if he did since they hate Rush so much.
We’re supposed to believe this genius strategic mind? Even if we do, what are we left with? Don’t listen to what I actually say, dear listeners. You need to read between the lines this time. But not that other time, when I meant it. Or didn’t….where’s the secret decoder ring that enables us folks who are not in the club to know whether we should listen to what Rush says, or listen to the opposite?
70 Views Permalink
(no ratings yet, click a sqaure to vote)
Loading ...
02.07.08
Posted in 2¢ at 13:36 by RjZ
CNN.com reports that “Romney suspends presidential campaign,” whatever that’s supposed to mean. Really, how is “suspending” not the same as “backing out” of the U. S. presidential race? Is he assuming that 71 year old McCain really is on deaths door and he can step back in before the republican convention?
Funnier, though is his comment: “In this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.” Because, obviously, if a republican doesn’t win, the terrorists will have won.
63 Views Permalink
(no ratings yet, click a sqaure to vote)
Loading ...
« Previous entries