Sub's Alternative Energy Thread

[N Crestway]

There is also the human population bomb to consider, which by itself produces a lot of environmental degradation which leads to climate disasters, not that that should deter us from developing and adopting clean energy. With 8 going on 9 billion people on earth, the alternatives like, for instance, wood substituted for concrete become problematic unless in the end we are going to build everything with mud brick. The positive here is that humanity is pushing ahead with the development of new technologies which may provide alternatives in the future. But even if we follow and utilize the new technological developments we are still going to need carbon based products which likely come from fossil fuels.

[SubGod22]

Your problem is that you only focus on the extremists. If we get competitive clean energy here it doesn't matter what China and India do. I don't give a **** about the climate change debate. If tech improves and is competitive and we find cleaner ways to produce energy, we have cleaner air and water here. Smog becomes less of an issue in the cities. The problems asthma cause diminish.

Again, there are a lot of people trying to do it for the right reasons. And even some of them that believe climate change is a major issue can help push and improve upon clean tech that pushes us in the right direction.

And you apparently missed the part where I've always said that I support an all of the above approach and you can move away from fossil fuels until clean tech is competitive and efficient. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't be striving to get away from fossil fuels as much as possible. Nuclear is the best short term solution while people work to improve upon solar, wind, hydro, thermal, hydrogen and whatever else is out there.

I've also posted in the past of certain businesses and communities doing non energy related things to try and clean up the air in their communities. I remember one that used moss of some sort on the outside of buildings. That helped clean some of the air and helped with noise pollution. Others have been utilizing rooftops of structures to plant trees and such, which also helps the avian community.

Focus less on Al Gore and John Kerry and more on the people putting in real work to improve clean tech and where that can potentially lead us.

[Shockm]

Al Gore has made over $300Million by spreading his climate alarmism. As he rails on about boiling oceans and rain bombs, his green investment firm is paying him $2 Million a month. How can you believe him?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-George-W.html

[Shockm]

But no one is honest. You can’t have clean energy without supporting fossil fuel energy. There had to be a combination. Also, until they get Asia, China and India to buy into clean energy, success cannot be the result. You are buying into false success, and a “pie in the sky”. Anyone who buys into that will also buy into Davos.

[SubGod22]

You do realize that there are a lot of non-elites that are working on cleaner and more efficient energies right? Not everyone in that industry is an alarmist like Gore and Kerry and are simply in it to make the world a cleaner place. Do we really object to cleaner energy if it's reasonably priced and efficient? Some seem to be anti anything clean because they can't separate the actual industry with the wealthy simply trying to profit off of scare tactics.

I have a long history on this board of taking an all of the above approach to energy, with a large focus on nuclear because it's clean and efficient and we can do that now while working on making others better.

Are people in the clean energy industry looking to make money? Of course they are. You're a shitty business person if you don't have profit in mind. But the only way to really get there is to be better than what we have already, or at least close to it. Some people will absolutely be willing to pay a little more for cleaner options. There's nothing wrong with that. Hell, that's what oil and gas is in business for. Though they're also some of the leaders in researching and trying to develop alternative sources to power the future.

I wish the media would focus less on the scare tactic blowhards and more on the actual tech and development. That's why I enjoy a couple of the sites I pull things from. Most are generally research oriented companies/individuals looking to make a positive difference. It's a lot like cancer research and such, where a lot of time and money goes into trying to find the little things that make a huge difference and can be of value to the public. The encouraging thing is there really is a lot of tech out there that shows potential value on a larger scale. Some may end up being more regionally based due to climate conditions and that's alright.

[Shockm]

After reading about the wealthy Elites comments and rants (like John Kerry, and Al Gore) at Davos Switzerland(many of whom have mansions on Ocean shores, which according to them will be underwater by 2030 and all fly charter jets), I don’t trust anything they say regarding the technologies that we are about to discover. These Elites could care less about the poor and middle classes. After all, they are going to be our Saviors.

[SubGod22]

Interesting concept. I'm sure more research/testing will be done on this.

Researchers Harness Sunlight to Produce Both Power and Food - Using Light to Improve Each Harvest

Scientists working in techno-agriculture have found that by covering crops with canopies of translucent solar panels, they can separate the light which generates energy from the light that leads to photosynthesis in plants.

This not only means a farmer could generate solar energy and crops at the same time, but better crops, and more energy than could be achieved with the two operations separately.

Different-colored light from our sun impacts biology on Earth in different ways. The blue spectrum of sunlight for example is what life uses to detect daytime, and is a trigger for major hormonal shifts in animals and plants from active to inactive behaviors.

Red light on the other end is preferentially what plants use to turn carbon dioxide into sugars. Red light isn’t as hot as blue light, and plants exposed to growing conditions with red light spectra show less heat stress than those exposed to blue light. Blue light on the other hand is what is needed to generate solar power in any meaningful way.

With this in mind, associate professor Majdi Abou Najm from the Univ. of California, Davis, tested organic solar panels made from translucent material that absorb the blue light to generate electricity, but allow the red light with its longer wavelengths to pass through to the crops below.

At the UC Davis Agricultural Experiment Station, Abou Najm and his team planted three different plots of processing tomatoes, a common central valley California crop, under a canopy of selective red light, another of selective blue, and a third uncovered plot.

[SubGod22]

Another step towards more efficient and reliable hydrogen production.

A Big Step Towards Hydrogen Fuel Out of Thin Air - Just Like a Plant

A device that can harvest water from the air and provide hydrogen fuel—entirely powered by solar energy—has been a long-held dream of scientists, but it’s now close to fulfillment.

Chemical engineer Kevin Sivula and his team have made a significant step towards bringing this vision closer to reality by developing an ingenious yet simple system.

It combines semiconductor-based technology with novel electrodes that have two key characteristics: they are porous, to maximize contact with water in the air; and transparent, to maximize sunlight exposure of the semiconductor coating.

When the device is simply exposed to sunlight, it takes water from the air and produces hydrogen gas, which can then be injected into trucks, trains, or planes with hydrogen fuel cell batteries for green combustion.

In their research for renewable fossil-free fuels, engineers at the Federal Polytechnic School at Lausanne, in collaboration with Toyota Motor Europe, took inspiration from the way plants are able to convert sunlight into chemical energy using carbon dioxide from the air.

A plant essentially harvests carbon dioxide and water from its environment, and with the extra boost of energy from sunlight, can transform these molecules into sugars and starches, a process known as photosynthesis.

“Developing our prototype device was challenging since transparent gas-diffusion electrodes have not been previously demonstrated, and we had to develop new procedures for each step,” said Marina Caretti, lead author of the work.

[ShauXTyme]

I find this to be a lot of BS!!

[SubGod22]

British Company Develops First Tractor in the World to be Completely Powered by Cow Dung

New Holland’s brand new tractor runs on liquified methane, allowing farmers to decrease their emissions and save money on expensive diesel.

But that isn’t the only reason it’s more efficient, as the company says the fuel can easily be produced by methane from cow pies, allowing for a more circular economic model in the most circular of industries.

The pioneering 270hp tractor is claimed to be a match for the performance of standard diesel-powered versions. The groundbreaking machine was developed by British company Bennamann, which has been researching and developing biomethane production for over a decade.

Waste byproducts from a herd as small as 100 cows are turned into a fuel called fugitive methane in a biomethane storage unit based on the farm.

A cryogenic tank fitted on the tractor keeps the methane in liquid form at -162 degrees°C giving the vehicle as much power as a diesel but with significant emission savings.

It was put through its paces during a pilot run on a farm in Cornwall where carbon dioxide emissions were slashed from 2,500 metric tons to 500 metric tons in just a year.

I do know that Shell has a few facilities under construction, with many more planned, that are to capture the methane from cow pies. I know there's a facility in Western Kansas and a couple in Idaho for sure being built. I'm guessing they're doing it for a similar reason as they believe there can and will be a market for this sort of thing.

[SubGod22]

Using plastic waste to fuel the future?

Company Unveils Designer Hypercar that Runs on Fuel Made from Plastic

An Italian motor company has unveiled a supercar that will run on garbage.

Italian supercars tend towards the polluting side of the spectrum of manufacturing, with massive 12 cylinder engines that care little for miles per gallon.

Bertone are known for iconic designs such as the sharply angled “Italian Wedge” shape of the Lamborghini Countach, but their new GB110 is the first high performance car that will be supplied with fuel made out of plastic waste.

The limited edition run of 33 vehicles has been launched to mark Bertone’s 110th anniversary.

Bertone has not released a price tag for the car, but says it will be “akin to a piece of art,” and allow potential owners to choose a series of modifications to suit “unique tastes and identity.”

Jean-Franck Ricci, CEO of Bertone, says they “have partnered with the company Select Fuel which has developed a patented technology to convert polycarbonate materials into renewable fuel.”

“We believe that de-pollution will require different solutions with combinations of technologies,” Ricci said.

[SubGod22]

These 5 U.S. States Are Repaving Roads This Year With Unrecyclable Plastic Waste: The Results Are Impressive

Headache-inducing plastic waste such as printer cartridges and plastic bags are being turned into aggregate material for asphalt road mixtures around the country.

Plastic roads have built up a head of scientific steam recently, with scientists and regulators seeing roads as a decent place to reutilize plastic that is difficult to recycle in a cost-effective manner.

Pilot programs are ongoing in Missouri, Pennsylvania, Virginia, California, and Hawai’i, with transportation regulators monitoring performance and durability of the roads, and environmental regulators on the lookout for potential microplastic contamination.

All in all plastic roads could be a big part of future societies, as the programs all show good results, and for the moment at least, no microplastic pollutant runoffs in several states.

Last year GNN reported that a stretch of Australian highway was completed with millions of used facemasks, while another in America has taken to adding shredded tires.

A stretch of road in Hawai’i between Kilaha Street and the beginning of Fort Weaver Road near Cormorant Avenue is testing a recycled polymer mixture in its asphalt that contains the equivalent of 150,000 water bottles.

Another positive way to reuse rather than toss out. I've seen places in the past that have used tires and diapers as products used for paving roads.

[Shockm]

Wind energy is not enough: Winter storms show renewables alone can’t power Kansas

On Dec. 22, the 14-state region of the Southwest Power Pool — which includes Kansas and metropolitan Kansas City — experienced the highest winter electric demand in history. That day, demand in our region exceeded the previous highest winter electric demand on record by 8%. The peak winter electric demand increased from the highest recorded level of 43,661 megawatts on Feb. 15, 2021, to a level of 47,127 megawatts this month on Dec. 22 — an increase of 8%. To meet that 47,127-megawatt demand, about 17,000 were provided by wind energy. About 28,000 were provided by coal and natural gas fired electric generation, and about 2,000 were provided by nuclear generation. This Dec. 25,the weather became warmer, with an electric demand of 34,482 megawatts. However, wind availability decreased to 3,061 megawatts of the total demand, with coal and natural gas fired electric generation providing 27,585 and nuclear energy providing about 2,000. To those who advocate that our region should generate electric energy only from renewables such as wind and solar, I would respond that it is both impossible and impractical to do so.

https://www.kansas.com/opinion/guest...270474322.html

[wufan]

I'm close to Nashville, TN right now and it's 5 degrees outside. It's ridiculously cold outside and then I remember that there is actually a country north of the USA that thinks global warming is an issue lmao. You'd think they'd want warmer weather and shorter winters.

Everyone wants that! Not everyone knows that though.

[The Truth]

I'm close to Nashville, TN right now and it's 5 degrees outside. It's ridiculously cold outside and then I remember that there is actually a country north of the USA that thinks global warming is an issue lmao. You'd think they'd want warmer weather and shorter winters.