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11/21/2008 10:57:43 PM
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topic:
Assumptions in "Energy Crisis /Redux/"
7ony
Posts 4
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The windmill towers cause a selective process that sparks an evolution of birds with an enhanced intelligence...
edited by 7ony on 11/21/2008
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11/21/2008 10:08:55 PM
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topic:
Assumptions in "Energy Crisis /Redux/"
Alastair
Posts 183
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jcjr wrote:
Here is a silly question-- Hopefully MUCH sillier than a fellow in 1905 asking, "But what will happen in the future if there are untold millions of gasoline-powered automobiles?"
He was probably told "it'll be a lot cleaner - can you imagine how much horse, er, manure there'd be if those were all horses and carts?"
But yes, I'd imagine some local effects, probably more than the effects of trees vs scrub, the windmills I've seen are pretty tall.
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11/21/2008 9:01:35 PM
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topic:
Assumptions in "Energy Crisis /Redux/"
Tom Ligon
Posts 431
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Wind farms all over the place will definitely have effects.
In West Virginia, they are putting turbines on ridges that stand more or less perpendicular to the wind. I live downwind of such a ridge, and can tell you the strong winds make a phenomenon called "rotors". These are basically mild horizontal tornados, which come down the mountain lilke a rolling pin. I hear one coming, and know the wind will shortly reverse from downhill to uphill as it passes. When they hit the valley, they can do damage, downing trees, removing roofs, etc. Lining the ridge with turbines will rob some of that energy, but will probably also introduce a different swirl. There may be less rotors, but they may also be different.
Lessening wind near the surface would probably reduce evaporation and the movement of spores, pollen, and seeds. This could actually benefit agriculture, but might be to the detriment of wild plants.
Accompanying rotors, you will often see lenticular clouds, which form in standing waves which are like the "hydraulics" in rapids, extending downwind of the ridge for up to hundreds of miles. These probably trigger other clouds. Lessening their strength probably will have an effect.
The bird kill issue is overblown. One of the first wind farms was put right on a migration route thru a mountain pass, and the blades moved close to the ground. New turbines are mounted higher, and they're supposed to survey the migration routes and stay off them. Still, put enough of the things out there and they must have some effect on wildlife. From what my hunter buddies tell me, though, they don't see much effect, and the animals they see become quickly accustomed to them. Possibly a few species will be spooked (I can see mountain lions as a candidate).
Frankly, I think it won't happen. I honestly think wind power will eventually largely flop. A few prime locations will do OK, but the capital costs of building them (and the long-distance grid needed to make them economical) and the maintenance costs will far out-strip the value of the intermittent power produced. Then they will dismantle the duds, and the NIMBYs who fought tooth and nail against them will complain that someone took away the graceful old thing that has become a part of their landscape.
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11/21/2008 8:32:34 PM
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topic:
Assumptions in "Energy Crisis /Redux/"
jcjr
Posts 43
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Here is a silly question-- Hopefully MUCH sillier than a fellow in 1905 asking, "But what will happen in the future if there are untold millions of gasoline-powered automobiles?"
If we install wind farms in a big way-- Wind towers on every ridge and wind-swept plain-- Extracting lots of energy which otherwise would 'go to waste'.
Is there much chance that wind energy which 'goes to waste' actually performs essential as-yet-unknown functions?
Could vast wind farms possibly alter weather patterns? Do trees and vegetation somehow need to be blown about by the wind in order to stay healthy? Could there be even more obscure 'hidden' useful function of low-altitude wind scouring the landcape?
Am not being luddite or superstitious. Tis probably not a problem. Just wondering if anyone has bothered to seriously ask or answer the question? Hopefully insure that future folks don't shake their heads and remark, "It should have been obvious that building a zillion wind farms would wreck the environment even worse than coal power plants!"
edited by jcjr on 11/21/2008
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11/21/2008 8:14:39 PM
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topic:
I forgot the SASE
Bill Gleason
Posts 233
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I've gone the letter-sized SASE route of late; hopefully, whatever isn't bought is recycled. If nothing else, when I check the mail and see my own lettering on the envelope it's pretty clear that judgement day has come. Rather an interesting metaphor that.
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11/21/2008 7:40:18 PM
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topic:
Assumptions in "Energy Crisis /Redux/"
Tom Ligon
Posts 431
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PC, Sounds like you'll be busy this weekend writing that story!
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11/21/2008 7:11:06 PM
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topic:
I Dare Ya
pc
Posts 719
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A paid AOL account *or* a free AIM account. We use a chat room accessible to either.
Some have entered using different chat software, but I'm no expert.
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11/21/2008 7:09:40 PM
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topic:
Assumptions in "Energy Crisis /Redux/"
pc
Posts 719
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Okay!
We need some heavy tinkering in the biosciences.
Create an arboreal system using 'natural' wires, and something in addition to sap-sugars. Trees that grow with sockets at the base of the trunk.
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11/21/2008 7:02:50 PM
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topic:
Survival Gear - Evacuation Orders
pc
Posts 719
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jcjr, there are several species of red cedar used in landscaping. Ask a nurseryman what's best for your local climate.
Another fast-growing deciduous tree is alder, if there's a lot of moisture in the soil.
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11/21/2008 6:58:18 PM
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topic:
I forgot the SASE
pc
Posts 719
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I try to include one, or even a big and small one if it's a lot of pages.
Don't tell anybody, but the NYC post office often fails to cancel the stamps. A bit of careful snipping and . . . 
Once I sent an envelope then realized I'd forgot to affix the stamp. Duh! A sort of SANSE.
So I sent another one, with a little note, right away. The editor matched them up and did use it.
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11/21/2008 5:39:56 PM
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topic:
I forgot the SASE
Dee-Bow
Posts 3
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affirmative on the e-mail being on the manuscript. should i bother sending a SASE at this point? i'm thinking not.
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11/21/2008 5:34:10 PM
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topic:
I forgot the SASE
Alastair
Posts 183
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Is your email address on the MS?
As far as getting the manuscript back, I don't bother. I just include a #10 SASE for the cheque, er, rejection slip, and mark the MS "disposable". Saves on postage. Sheila Williams at Asimov's included the first page of my MS with a rejection letter I just got from her, I don't know if that's standard - it wasn't a while back. (I include the name of the story on the SASE just so I know when I get it back what story was being rejected, if it isn't obvious from the contents.)
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11/21/2008 5:31:28 PM
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topic:
I forgot the SASE
Dee-Bow
Posts 3
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i honestly don't care about the manuscript coming back to me. i am concerned i that i somehow insulted the editorial staff by foregoing the SASE and will never get a sale/rejection response at all. so i will get a yea/nea response without a SASE?
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11/21/2008 4:48:25 PM
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topic:
I forgot the SASE
Tom Ligon
Posts 431
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Don't sweat it. It means you don't get the manuscript back. In days gone by, the manuscript was expensive ... you might have paid a typist several cents a word to type it. These days the cost of the paper probably does not equal the cost of the postage, so you're not losing much.
In fact, I continue to send a SASE, and I have not gotten manuscripts back the last few submissions (which produced sales). It may be Analog no longer returns manuscripts after publication. I used to get a kick out of seeing the markups, typically including Stan's little summary quip, in his handwriting.
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11/21/2008 3:17:20 PM
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topic:
I forgot the SASE
Dee-Bow
Posts 3
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am i screwed? advice?
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11/21/2008 1:54:46 PM
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topic:
Assumptions in "Energy Crisis /Redux/"
Alastair
Posts 183
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7ony wrote:
I do think we'll start seeing the panels on the flat rooftops of supermarkets, discount stores, and businesses. Small entrepreneurial power companies will lease the rooftops, install, maintain, and provide supplemental daytime electricity on longterm contracts to the businesses below.
The state of Colorado has been mounting solar panels on parts of the roof of the capitol building for a couple of weeks now, and plans to extend it to other government buildings (I think the governor's mansion already has them). They'll only cover a fraction of the energy needs, of course, and the panels on the Capitol in particular are more of an experiment because they have mostly just a western exposure.
Still, with over 300 days of sunshine a year (330? something like that), solar has always been, if not popular, at least used here more than I've seen it elsewhere. More for solar water heating than electricity, but I've seen a lot of small-scale use of that too.
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11/21/2008 1:28:25 PM
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topic:
I Dare Ya
John Thiel
Posts 428
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I've managed to check it out. From the archives, it seems to be an authors' chat kind of setup.
I'd actually like to field questions about Surprising Stories. But do you need a paid AOL account to be a "speaker"?
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11/21/2008 10:32:28 AM
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topic:
Assumptions in "Energy Crisis /Redux/"
7ony
Posts 4
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A major problem with large-scale wind power generation is the lack of transmission lines and who should pay for building them. Typically, the best places for wind utilizations aren't close to the power grid.
The wind turbines are problematic, too. Noisy maintenance hogs, they are hard on flying birds and unpopular with neighbors. In his book, T. Boon Pickens wrote he didn't want any wind turbines on his property, so I guess he'd qualify as a NIMBY even though he is in the business.
I've been looking at solar for years and have yet to come close to justify buying a system for the house. I also wonder at the panel durability. Will they survive a serious hail storm? We seem to get at least one of those every decade. I do have four Chinese-made 25 watt panels I've been playing with. I can save more energy by turning off our kitchen lights when it's unoccupied.
I hope that the new 'energy conscious' Congress comes through with decent tax credits for domestic makers and buyers of alternate energy products. Maybe we'll get tax credits for fusion developers as well.
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11/21/2008 10:18:19 AM
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topic:
Assumptions in "Energy Crisis /Redux/"
jcjr
Posts 43
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Yes, Xantrex and Trace Engineering stuff is nice. There is the old brand name StatPower, which seems to have been replaced by Xantrex, but dunno the corporate history. Maybe StatPower and Trace merged? Or perhaps all those names were forever the property of the same company? Dunno.
I have an older StatPower 40 amp three stage charger that works fantastic with 400 AH glassmat battery bank and a TruPower inverter, for a 'long term' 600 watt UPS for the puters. It ain't exactly portable, in spite of having wheels (grin). Have a newer Xantrax 'long term' UPS in the bedroom. I like em. Those gadgets are marked on the chassis, "Designed in Canada, Assembled in China".
As said earlier, Chinese are fine folks. I just worry that the new 'energy-conscious' congress is gonna pass energy law which causes zillions of shipping containers solar/wind equipment coming from China (along with all the compact flourescent lightbulbs mandated by congress), while USA industrial workers get laid off en masse and go fighting for those really good jobs flipping burgers. I despair that they would have enough sense to write a law that could encourage USA auto or steel workers to manufacture solar panels, wind generators, charge controllers, inverters.
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11/21/2008 8:19:44 AM
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topic:
Survival Gear - Evacuation Orders
Steve Rynas
Posts 17
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pc wrote:
At the cabin, we have some solar, a generator (needed intermittently for the well pump), kerosene lamps including
I am glad to see the reference to solar and a generator. I have a solar/battery setup for my hamradio equipment. To a degree, I have been wondering about having a 12Volt system for part part of the house. I did install a 12 volt light in the garage so that I can get the generator setup. You can get 12 volt equipment from stores that sell marine products. We have a (110v and 220v) generator for the house.
A while back QST (ARRL) had a magizine article on being setup for an emergency. I was surprised that the article never mentioned having a solar/battery setup to run the radio equipment. A benefit of solar over a generator is that you won't have to worry about running out of gas.
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