|
|
This topic comprises 5 pages: 1 2 3 4 5
|
|
Author
|
Topic: State of California says: turn off AC on hot days
|
|
|
James Westbrook
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1133
From: Lubbock, Texas, Usa
Registered: Mar 2006
|
posted 07-26-2006 02:37 PM
before the lock gets clamped down on this thread, let me put in my two cents...
If we are such a civilized, intelligent type of species, why have we not solved the electrical and water issues long before they became issues? The nimby thing? I got a place where they could put a huge nuclear power plant. Out here in Lubbock. We are not too populated, and we have a university which specializes in engineering and such...several regions in the southwest can have these power plants installed, and with long distance power lines, the more populous regions will have power.
The water thing...I don't know.
I know my local friends would not like having a nuclear plant out here for the same reasons that Californians don't, but at least I admit that Lubbock ain't pretty, ain't gonna be a tourist destination, ain't got that many natural resources...this is a perfect place for a nuke plant.
And there are plenty of places like us.
| IP: Logged
|
|
Mike Blakesley
Film God
Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99
|
posted 07-26-2006 04:26 PM
Geez, with the way the last few posts are going, is it any wonder that nations can't get along?
The argument over whether people should be expected to conserve or not is dumb. If there is a shortage, you should conserve. It's simple. We had a water shortage here last summer due to a severe heat wave, so the city told everyone to stop watering their lawns. So everyone in town had a brown lawn. If I'd said "DAMMIT, I pay for all the damn water I want so my lawn will be green and the rest of you can go to hell," what kind of a citizen would I be? The city wasn't going to build a new larger water tank because of one severe heat wave.
In heavily populated areas, there's no way to have enough power plants built fast enough to keep up with the demands created by a drought or severe heat wave combined with the growing population...and when you add in the fact that California is also being flooded with illegal immigrants who are pumping out "American" babies as fast as humanly possible, coupled with a government which has to cope with environmentalists who would rather die than have enough power to run their air conditioning, it's no wonder there's a shortage.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
Leo Enticknap
Film God
Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
|
posted 07-26-2006 04:57 PM
I can't help thinking that microgeneration could help here; especially as I once read that around 70% of electricity generated is lost in transmission between the power station and the home. Incidentally, it's estimated that a similar proportion of London's water is lost between the purification plant and the tap, thanks to leaky pipes.
You can now get a wind turbine that will pump out around 1kw in a light breeze to 3kw in a strong wind, which is about the size of a rooftop TV antenna and costs about £2k including installation. A photovoltaic panel which yields 500w in average daylight comes in at around the same. At the moment you can only get this kind of technology if you put the money up front yourself. It's not a magic bullet - we'll still need electricity at night and when there's no wind.
But I wonder if it might be both economically viable and an environmentally good idea to investigate the possibility of, instead of building a new £/$ multi billion gas, coal or nuke power station, for power companies to buy these renewable microgeneration units by the tens of thousand and go around sticking them on their customers' roofs, without any up-front charge? Some of the investment would be recouped by not having to centrally generate the proportion of power they'd now be getting locally - customers would still pay the same per kilowatt hour, whether it was coming from their panel/turbine or down the line from a substation. And a system which offered a combination of central and local generation would surely be more resilient to surges in demand. Power lines blown down by a gale? Your roof-top turbine would still be giving you some power, even if you had to turn some appliances off. Heatwave in progress? The solar panel on your roof would help keep your a/c online. Another benefit would be that bulk orders for panels and turbines would drive the unit cost down, thereby encouraging consumers to buy more of their own units, too.
Am I being naively optimistic here?
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."
Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001
|
posted 07-26-2006 08:49 PM
Wow.
I got into this thread late.
I'm glad I live in Oklahoma and not California. Actually this makes more sense over why I see so many cars with California license plates driving around here in this state.
Oklahoma has a huge surplus in engery. A lot of people think this state is shit and they do it to their own loss. Too bad.
My electric bill for June, even with 100 degree plus days and having to run that AC a lot, was less than $50. Granted I don't live in a huge house (it's only around 1500 square feet). I have friends and family in other states paying four times as much or more for electricity for the same amount of space.
We don't have rolling blackouts here. We don't have natural gas and heating oil shortages here in the winter either.
As for California, most of the cities there are contradictions in existence, especially Los Angeles. Southern California is dry, desert country that grows little if anything naturally. Just about all natural resources are imported. It does not surprise me at all when California has rolling blackouts and punishingly high cost utility bills.
The reason for this is many millions of people there are just bent to chase after some status symbol of living in California, paying an extreme premium to be in a certain location with somewhat decent scenery.
IMHO, the smartest folks in California have already been selling out and leaving.
quote: Anslem Rayburn
Well,since I'm the one that posted about the 45 minute shower thing
Exactly why would it require a man to take a shower lasting 45 minutes?
I can understand Sybil Danning and a few other tasty ladies from some "women in prison" B-movie from the 1980's taking a long, hot steamy shower. But that's about it.
My average shower lasts 5 to 10 minutes, if even that. If it's taking any longer, maybe I thought about some attractive lady and needed to jerk off a hot load. Hehe.
Perhaps I might be able to understand some lady taking a bath for 45 minutes or even longer. There's all that Calgon sprinkling and pummice stone scrubbing on foot calluses, not to mention all the body oil stuff afterward. Let's not forget the movie-style candle lighting and other girly shit to drag out the whole experience.
However...
I did take one shower that lasted longer than 45 minutes. It was at some hotel in Tulsa. I was so screwed up drunk after a big party that I pulled my still clothed carcass into the bathtub, got the shower going and then woke up hours later in the morning with people banging on the door to see if I was still alive.
Now that's how you spend more than 45 minutes in the shower!
quote: James Westbrook
If we are such a civilized, intelligent type of species, why have we not solved the electrical and water issues long before they became issues? The nimby thing?
Nope.
It's more of the "I'm going to do whatever the hell I want even if it costs you money" kind of thing.
Look at our culture that still champions filthy cigarette smoking as being cool, or pigging out on lots of artery clogging shit. "Your health insurance premiums are going up or being cancelled over it, well fuck you!" That IS our public's attitude. There is no way to deny it.
Basically American culture says you are a butt fucking pussy if you want to eat healthy and live a responsible lifestyle. The macho culture will want to sledge-hammer you in the teeth over it. Irresponsible use of natural resources goes hand in hand with this. There's lots of gay jokes about guys who drive hybrids or conserve energy or just try to live healthy. If you care about yourself, other people and especially the environment you are a pansy. That is the message.
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ron Yost
Master Film Handler
Posts: 344
From: Paso Robles, CA
Registered: Aug 2003
|
posted 07-26-2006 09:23 PM
Mike B. and Bruce H. have pretty much nailed our power problem.
Stupid deregulation in the 90's (ex-Gov. Pete Wilson, politicians of both parties, and their industry cronies) was/is indeed the main reason we're in the fix we're in. There's plenty of 'documentation' of the history (and effects) of this fiasco on the web. We're really just now feeling the full effects of this disaster in wrong-headed thinking. (We aren't the only state that jumped on the 'deregulation bandwagon' of the time.)
Basically, everyone in the know was betting on imported power -always- being cheaper to buy elsewhere than the cost of building new generating capacity within California. (Even if they could get it approved .. nearly impossible here, as has been said .. NIMBY) Bsssst .. WRONG!
The power companies (stockholders) sure didn't want to foot the bill for new capacity. Or for much of anything. They also wanted out of any stockholder-liability for decommissioning their aging generation facilities (passing the costs to ratepayers, instead), and only wanted to keep the lucrative distribution end. They've pretty much gotten their wish. ![[Mad]](mad.gif) ![[fu]](graemlins/fu.gif)
Since then, they've drastically cut their workforces (especially PG&E, which is also in bankruptcy, further 'insulating' it from liability), not invested in distribution upgrades as they should have, etc., etc.
The population has rapidly increased. People seem to demand HUGE over-sized (energy-wasting) housing. There are more engergy-wasting toys being plugged-in every day. The list of woes goes on.
There's LOTS more to all of this. I have a headache just thinking about it. ![[beer]](graemlins/beer.gif) time! At least it's a little cooler today!
Ron Yost
| IP: Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
All times are Central (GMT -6:00)
|
This topic comprises 5 pages: 1 2 3 4 5
|
Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM
6.3.1.2
The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion
and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.
|
Home
![[Cool]](cool.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic