Oil in America

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

I agree with most of this. I am not sure coal gasification will ever be much help. I think coal is best utilized for power generation. We need better plug-in hybrids and Chevy-Volt type cars to take advantage of electricity produced from all sources, including coal. I also think we need to start building lots of nuclear plants ASAP.

I like Venkman's ideas, and agree with the nuclear plant idea, but how can we ever get it past a Democratically controlled Congress?

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by Archaea

I like Venkman's ideas, and agree with the nuclear plant idea, but how can we ever get it past a Democratically controlled Congress?

I think the prospect of $10 per gallon of gas changes how people feel about a lot of things. Dramatically.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

I think the prospect of $10 per gallon of gas changes how people feel about a lot of things. Dramatically.

I have absolutely no faith in Republicans to do a thing as sensible as proposed by Venkman and by you. I have even less faith in national Democrats, given their death grip on the throats by environmental groups.

Nuclear energy has made sense for a very long time, but I don't see it being feasible under the current regulatory climate.

How long does it take to build a nuclear power plant? Ten years?

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by Archaea

I have absolutely no faith in Republicans to do a thing as sensible as proposed by Venkman and by you. I have even less faith in national Democrats, given their death grip on the throats by environmental groups.

Nuclear energy has made sense for a very long time, but I don't see it being feasible under the current regulatory climate.

How long does it take to build a nuclear power plant? Ten years?

Yeah, but you are the official board pessimist.

[Brian]

Originally Posted by Archaea

Nuclear energy has made sense for a very long time, but I don't see it being feasible under the current regulatory climate.

I just got my first "AC running 24/7" electric bill. $135.
I love the TVA's nuke plants.

Sad that idiots have so much power and influence.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

Yeah, but you are the official board pessimist.

My view is the correct one; everybody else is just deluded.

[Cali Coug]

Perhaps this is already in the works and/or already available, but I always wonder why we don't have flexible solar panels that come in the shape of roof shingles. They need to be flexible so you can walk on your roof and fix various other things up there (swamp cooler/AC unit, etc), and would need a bit of texture so you don't slide off and die, but that doesn't seem impossible to me. Imagine how much less power we would need to ship via the national grid if homes were largely self-sufficient? We would still connect them to the national grid, but the national grid would operate as a supplement only.

The sun is our best energy source. It will never go away, and if it does we won't need electricity.

[Cali Coug]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

I think the prospect of $10 per gallon of gas changes how people feel about a lot of things. Dramatically.

I think the high gas prices may turn out to be a net positive for the country. People have shelved real energy reform for far too long, despite the experiences of the late '70's.

[Indy Coug]

Originally Posted by Cali Coug

Perhaps this is already in the works and/or already available, but I always wonder why we don't have flexible solar panels that come in the shape of roof shingles. They need to be flexible so you can walk on your roof and fix various other things up there (swamp cooler/AC unit, etc), and would need a bit of texture so you don't slide off and die, but that doesn't seem impossible to me. Imagine how much less power we would need to ship via the national grid if homes were largely self-sufficient? We would still connect them to the national grid, but the national grid would operate as a supplement only.

The sun is our best energy source. It will never go away, and if it does we won't need electricity.

What do you think the cost of roofing with that would compare to normal shingles? How much cost would it be to have them all wired together as a network? How reliable would they be? Would they break easily or need replacing frequently?

I agree about solar energy and other alternative sources of energy, but there are a lot of pragmatic barriers.

[Indy Coug]

Originally Posted by Cali Coug

I think the high gas prices may turn out to be a net positive for the country. People have shelved real energy reform for far too long, despite the experiences of the late '70's.

Agreed