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Andreas

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Posts posted by Andreas

    Vote early, and....

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    Almost as funny as Biden throwing a hissy fit after someone finally asks the Dem ticket some hardball questions - and to then have the media cut-off for the rest of the campaign for doing such. Should be interesting to see how the media is controlled and manipulated in an Obama Presidency (ala "Fairness Doctrine").

    But yes, register and vote often, ACORN is counting on it! ;)

    Fox News.

    WSJ.

    Just two liberal media outlets who covered up everything that was wrong about Obama's campaign only to help him get elected.

    But never let the facts get in the way of a weak excuse.

    All the best

    Andreas

    0

    Al Gore can suck it

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    There it is, right there, in a nutshell...

    Afraid not. It was a case of the US farm lobby spotting a perfect new opportunity to feast on the public trough. US ethanol subsidies have nothing to do with the environment. They are about buying farming votes, dressed up either as:

    a) National security improvement (if you are a right-thinking, honest-to-God, stout patriot) or

    B) Environmental improvement (if you are a weak-willed, fifth-columnist, passport-holding, limp-wristed, atheist, Sierra Club member, multi-lingual liberal scum)

    Either way, the farmers and the agriculture industry in the US are laughing all the way to the bank.

    All the best

    Andreas

    0

    Heavyweight physics prof weighs into climate/energy scrap

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    This may seem crazy, but maybe the reason why there was a push for nuclear energy was because of the need for weapons materials during the cold war.

    Now, the only possible way for the nuclear companies to exist is to take money from taxpayers. The bankers from London and New York won't touch nuclear for good reasons.

    Bankers only touch renewables because there is tax-payers money thrown at them. The only reason a wind or solar industry exists on any meaningful scale are government subsidies, and the effect on investment is most visible in the USA.

    Bankers don't touch coal these days either. Large-scale utility energy projects are nowadays often balance-sheet financed, either directly, or by raising money against the balance-sheet, as opposed to against the project.

    In the US nuclear was created not so much by tax handouts but by elected regulatory commissioners allowing the investment money to be clawed back from rate-payers at no risk and a reasonable return. The situation was similar in many European countries.

    All the best

    Andreas

    0

    Heavyweight physics prof weighs into climate/energy scrap

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    Oshkosh truck makes stuff mainly for the military, so I'd imagine the cost and manufacturing capabilities were good enough for the DOD.

    Which means it is probably unaffordable for anyone who is not spending taxpayer's money.

    By your logic, one has to applaud Lockheed for being able to produce the F-22, which is technologically far advanced over the Airbus 320, and wonder what that says about Lockheed's technological abilities compared to Airbus.

    All the best

    Andreas

    0

    Heavyweight physics prof weighs into climate/energy scrap

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    Central Europeans face a shortage of electricity for a couple of years from 2009 due to the closing of old Soviet reactors - see http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Central_Europe_fuels_demands_for_European_nuclear_revival_999.html

    Now for the facts on this one:

    Lithuania is not Central Europe. Central Europe as a whole does not face electricity shortages. Hungary has a problem that has nothing to do with nuclear shutdown, but with them messing up their energy market. Bulgaria had to shut down four units at Kozloduj, and that creates serious problems in Southeastern Europe, not in Central Europe, and it does so now, not from 2009. But these countries now complaining about the shortages is a bit silly - they knew for years they had to shut these plants down, and did bugger all to deal with it.

    My sympathy is strictly limited. Also note that I fail to see how this is relevant to the question at hand - new nuclear build to replace these units would be nuclear replacing nuclear. Not nuclear replacing gas, and they certainly won't build wind to replace them.

    All the best

    Andreas

    0

    Heavyweight physics prof weighs into climate/energy scrap

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    Saw an item today while surfing FT. you know what which said that the U.S., based on best available info, has surpassed Germany to become the world's leading producer of wind-generated power. Doubtless, the huge Texas wind power initiative will further cement that position. Big story on this at MSNBC online.

    Regards,

    John Kettler

    If the tax credit stays I think there is little doubt the US can surpass Germany this year or next.

    Here's the article: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/45827516-5767-11dd-916c-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

    One should put that into context however. The US is a 4,300 TWh economy, Germany is a 620 TWh economy. So while the absolute number will become bigger than the German number, the share of production is still much less.

    Edit: having said all that, in terms of production, not installed capacity, I would not be surprised if the US were not already ahead of Germany. The economics of windpower (i.e. the average load-factor) is an awful lot better in the US than it is in Germany.

    All the best

    Andreas

    0

    Heavyweight physics prof weighs into climate/energy scrap

    in General Discussion Forum

    Posted

    I don't see how you can say that nuclear can reduce forward gas dependance but not current - certainly there are commercial and infrastructure issues in place' date=' but to say it can't happen as you can is surely seriously closed-minded.[/quote']

    No, it is not close-minded, it is a sign that I know what I am talking about. Are you interested in point-scoring, or in understanding? At the moment it looks like the former, and that is why you get acerbic replies. Once I get the impression that you are interested in a serious discussion, I'd consider spending more time on explaining things to you.

    Your continued googling up of facts that are well known to me and that may or may not be relevant is not going to change that.

    You trying to teach me about European energy matters is like me trying to teach you about aircraft maintenance. You can accept that or not. I really don't care.

    All the best

    Andreas

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