496,805 square kilometers of solar panels would power the Earth

[Ward Fowler]

Sue? Granted, my legal knowledge is not good, so please correct me if I'm wrong here, but I thought you had to have suffered damages yourself to sue? Are they sueing on behalf of the wildlife?

There are no lawsuits as of yet, but the threat is there.
http://www.salon.com/env/feature/2009/01/22/desert_tortoises/

The tortoise and the sun
It's a showdown among environmentalists out West, where proposed solar-energy plants threaten the desert ecosystem.

Some environmentalists are saying that the desert tortoise, and the desert ecosystem as a whole, would be threatened by these solar plants. Lawsuits become a problem because the desert tortoise is on the endangered species list. Right now they are putting pressure on the federal government not to put solar thermal plants on federal land in the Mojave. If the feds don't acquiesce then the lawsuits will start flying.

 

[JustAFriend]

Dont forget that solar cells are less than 20% efficient and their manufacture involves some of the most dirty and TOXIC chemicals known. They also degrade over 20 years.

If you want solar power, start thinking about taking apart some asteroids to put a band of solar power sats between the Earth and Venus, then beam the power back.

The surface of the Earth is NOT the place for solar power....

 

[Plecostomus]

No.

Start thinking about how to take the wind out of the sails of objectors and protesters. Yes the process is wonderful we all get a say and we all get our part in The Process but enough of this happy horse-shit.

We can't conserve what we don't have. We need generation capacity here in the USA, we can't keep buying it from Canada and Mexico.

Plain and simple, sometimes the rare over-specialized unique species has to move aside so we can go on as a nation. I'm all for conservation and protecting the environment but not at the expense of progress.

We've taken ourselves out of the world market as far as industrial capacity, everything is either outsourced to a country with fewer environmental restrictions or is on it's way to being outsourced. We can't drill for oil here at home because someone somewhere is concerned that the Red Speckled Flying Horn Toad (which only lives in one creek in Whoomahooset Alaska) might have it's population decimated.

Enough is enough. Problem isn't the people protesting or the process that allows us to protest... we need judges reviewing these cases that put the good of the Nation ahead of the good of a frog or turtle.

 

[Ward Fowler]

^ You get the rarely received DOUBLE CORRECTAMUNDO for that post.

 

[Alpha Romeo]

I like this idea.

In Australia we have vast, open spaces that dwarf Spain. We could take care of our own needs and a lot of SE Asia no problem.

If those figures are correct, Spain could certainly power most if not all of Europe. The US has plenty of deserts. Vast swathes of Siberia are empty. And so on. And think about the Sahara...

Those vast open spaces are not empty but are fragile ecosystems teeming with life. I bet if you tried to cover them with solar panels many conservationists would complain.

Which is why we should put them on the moon and beam the energy back.

 

[Plecostomus]

^ You get the rarely received DOUBLE CORRECTAMUNDO for that post.

Damn it I'm addicted now.

 

[Ward Fowler]

^ You get the rarely received DOUBLE CORRECTAMUNDO for that post.

Damn it I'm addicted now.

That's bad news. There's no where to go from there. The Triple Correctamundo, although theoretically possible, is considered to be highly dangerous. No one in their right mind would attempt such an unspeakable thing.

 

[Plecostomus]

Oh my... I cannot feel my legs... I can taste sounds.... smell colors, hear scents... It's full of stars... MJ?! Is that you? Home? You are taking me... home?

 

[Ward Fowler]

Oh my... I cannot feel my legs... I can taste sounds.... smell colors, hear scents... It's full of stars... MJ?! Is that you? Home? You are taking me... home?

 

[Roshi]

Master/Blaster sez: "Let's use our shit!"

 

[bigdaddy]

It should be law that every house has a thing of solar panels.

However a huge area of them, or windmills, is a horrible idea, actually one huge windmill is a stupid idea.

However if we are going to do it I suggest the southern part of the USA, they are living under a rock anyways.

 

[Plecostomus]

It should be law that every house has a thing of solar panels.

That and a windmill. Maintained by the power company.

You use the product generated during the day/windy periods and you sell into the grid at night. If everyone does it we're looking at a massive amount of power fed into the grid, and if we mandate this on all new-build homes we're looking at a way to curb if not contain the rampant ever-growing demand for power.

 

[RoJoHen]

We need scalable solutions not knee-jerk silver-bullets that sound impressive.

Boring!

 

[JuanBolio]

Build 'em in orbit or on the moon, and microwave the energy back here.

 

[T'Girl]

Washington state was going to built a test series of wind mills, half dozen or so. Rim of the columbia river gorge, where the wind just howls. Had to stop because the site was the breeding spot for a type of maggot.

There is always a way!

Drill in northern Alaska, dam a dozen big rivers build breeder reactors, solar power satelites, thousands of windmills, tidal energy, convicts on treadmills, burn sugar cane, geothermal generator in Yellowstone,

For god's sake build something.


T'Girl

 

[Plecostomus]

There is always a way!

Drill in northern Alaska, dam a dozen big rivers build breeder reactors, solar power satelites, thousands of windmills, tidal energy, convicts on treadmills, burn sugar cane, geothermal generator in Yellowstone,

For god's sake build something.


T'Girl

Can I get an AMEN?

Ward will be by shortly with your triple-Fonz-Thumbs Up award. I'd issue it but I'm in rehab, can't risk falling off the wagon again.

 

[Ward Fowler]

There is always a way!

Drill in northern Alaska, dam a dozen big rivers build breeder reactors, solar power satelites, thousands of windmills, tidal energy, convicts on treadmills, burn sugar cane, geothermal generator in Yellowstone,

For god's sake build something.


T'Girl

Can I get an AMEN?

Ward will be by shortly with your triple-Fonz-Thumbs Up award. I'd issue it but I'm in rehab, can't risk falling off the wagon again.

Plec, you are CORRECTAMUNDO.

 

[bigdaddy]

We should build them in orbit so we can block the sun out and save the planet from global warming that is caused by the planet!

 

[T'Girl]

.

.


We should build a massive shield in orbit to block the harmful energy from the earth that is destroying the sun.


.

.

 

[Australis]

We should build a massive shield in orbit to block the harmful energy from the earth that is destroying the sun.

Assuming this was deliberate, someone actually proposed the opposite, orbiting.millions of panes of glass in a stationary solar orbit to shield the Earth. Would have cost trillions. Great example of stupid science.

While I'm not sure about breeder reactors and drilling in Alaska, I have zero problem with wind or tidal farms. Enough of these and sun farms will eventually cross the boundary from not enough to enough. We just have to have the will to do it and be prepared to spend the money on it.

But the dependence on oil HAS to stop. If only for the reason that it's unwise to have all the eggs in one basket and held up to the demands of a small clique of nations. The other advantage of renewable energy generation is that it can be more easily disseminated to third world countries and help them get up off their knees too.

We're always going to need oils, if only for lubrication and plastics, but let's try to cut back from transport and energy.