South Africa’s Base Load Addiction
South Africa finds itself at a complicated crossroads of its energy development, and the direction many signals point towards forces … Continue reading South Africa’s Base Load Addiction
Tag: Fossil Fuels
Wisdom of African Mega Energy Development?
If Africa desires to “rise”, the knowledge and technologies to assist the journey are waiting in the wings to help them achieve flight under their own energy. Continue reading Wisdom of African Mega Energy Development?
Wind pulling a fast one on us?
I recently responded to a post on LinkedIn in the “Energy Innovation by Statoil” group about wind turbines being “unappealing” visually within the discussion brought about by a completely wide-open question “How do you feel about wind farms?”
If you would like to share, shortlink here… http://wp.me/pfF9G-ak
Obviously, that is a subjective question, setting the stage for far ranging arguments lacking substantiated reasoning. This being akin to the common misunderstanding of billowing exhaust plumes at power plants thought to be laden with green house gases, pollution and toxic chemicals. The reality being, most of the visible “offenses” are waste heat removal through water evaporation cooling, not the invisible fossil fuel combustion effluent as commonly believed.
It was also stated, wind farms can be the cause of drought, which initially caught me off guard as I have lived and breathed water issues the past 20 years and it is a major determinant in my self assessed classification as “A Westerner”. Water is in our blood, both figuratively and literally. A transplant, to the western US, can be easily identified based on their lack of understanding and comprehension of where their water comes from and exactly how precious it is to maintaining our lifestyles. “Water Wars” are not just some future post apocalyptic scenario, they have been fought for over a century here in the United States.
Participate in My European Energy Adventure, August 6 to November 4th
Shortlink: http://wp.me/pfF9G-ad
I will be traveling around Europe for 3 months starting August 6th. So it is not all “fun and games”, I plan to dedicate substantial time to a personal project focused on energy supply and need, Europe as a case study.
It centers around a theory linking the successes [and shortcomings] in the transition towards more balanced energy portfolios; including renewable sources, as fueled by a home grown cultural “energy awareness”.
This may seem a “no-brainer” to Europeans experiencing it, however it is a significant departure from the realities present in the US and struggling to be realized around the globe.
I also see commonalities in regional scarcities experienced historically throughout the EU, as significant limitations & realities to developing/under developed nations worldwide.
Continue reading “Participate in My European Energy Adventure, August 6 to November 4th”
Ending Energy Ignorance – Part II
Shortlink – http://wp.me/pfF9G-9g
In “Ending Energy Ignorance – Part I” I introduced us to my primary concern, the general ignorance or apathy of the U.S. populace in understanding energy on the basic levels. You do not have to take my word for it alone, the famous oilman and land speculator, T. Boone Pickens has claimed the same for years, and outside his Picken’s Plan there are no other national figures championing for a greater awareness of energy understanding.
Years ago, I was in full agreement of his message, in particular I was in love with the potential of wind energy and it was one of his key selling points. But a grain of salt was required. Extremely successful or not, T. Boone’s reputation was not established in philanthropy.
In order for us to forge forward, we need to look at our past. It does us no good dissecting the mistakes and ills of the past, the results are with us today. However, understanding our history and what lead us to the problems we are facing today, is key to minimizing those short comings in the future. Hind sight is twenty-twenty, and we would be wise to learn from it.
How did we get here?
In the U.S., the abundance of domestic coal has made it the de facto “King of the Castle” for electricity production, doubling nuclear energy’s consistent 20 per cent national production since the 80’s.
Ending Energy Ignorance – Part I
Shortlink – http://wp.me/pfF9G-8R
I would like to discuss, what is generally considered my open opposition to “Solar”, in particular its primary and growing implementation in the United States. “Solar” is often the buzzword for PV (photo voltaic), which is the generation of electricity through capturing part of the sun’s electromagnetic radiation reaching the Earth’s surface.
This discussion cannot occur, unless we all understand and agree upon the basic fundamentals of energy, specifically electricity as it pertains to our energy collection, distribution and consumption needs. “Solar” on almost all accepted premises has a leaning towards electricity production, hence the need to understand where we are currently with electricity generation, portability and uses.
Author’s note: Please excuse ongoing design & content changes, I’m composing this as I go. ~Hans 7/21/14
Hans' World Travels 2.0 & Beyond 