Paths of Disharmony

[atpatp]

I am currently reading Paths of Disharmony on my nook color. I just read something so outlandish and ridiculous that I had to find this forum and vent! Not to give away the plot or anything, but coal? Are you freling kidding me? Freling Coal. Coal power plants. On Andor. In the 24 century. COAL!Jeez, I hope this was not demanded by the publishers as some sort of global warming awareness crap. Even with Borg devastation, Andor being one of the founding members of the Federation, I would think they would be one of the most advanced civilizations. As such the power plants on Andor should be way past coal, or whatever lame word the author made up for it. Earth is a utopia, so is Andor, the power plants should be fourth or fifth generation fuel fusion plants. Completely radiation free. And yet...frel. I stopped reading, after the bad taste passes, I hope the author gives a plausible reason for this. Solar power!? Arghh....Pfftt.

 

[Dancing Doctor]

Considering the amount of devastation that the Borg wrought on Andor, it's entirely plausible that they had to go back to an outdated form of power supply, especially since using coal for power is quick and dirty.

Plus, considering the Andorians reproductive and genetic problems, and with the aforementioned Borg devasation, I'm sure environmental concerns are the least of their problems.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Earth is a utopia, so is Andor

Canonically, we've only seen the polar region subterranean caverns of Andor in the 22nd century, but that didn't resemble a utopia to me. What makes you so sure it's a utopia in the 24th century?

I just did a quick skim of the electronic file I have here and it says, "... the noprila mineral, similar in many respects to the coal used for energy production on Earth for centuries.... 'Vayith also went to great lengths to argue that the elimination of waste products created by the noprila would, over time, be beneficial to the environment.'"

Beneficial waste products. Now that does not sound like 21st century coal to me.

 

[GalaxyClass1701]

You do realize that we in 2011 have clean burning coal plants that are 99% clean burning?

 

[Therin of Andor]

You do realize that we in 2011 have clean burning coal plants that are 99% clean burning?

Sounds good to me. They must be expensive.

 

[GalaxyClass1701]

You do realize that we in 2011 have clean burning coal plants that are 99% clean burning?

Sounds good to me. They must be expensive.

I'm sure they are I think there is one about an hour west of where I live. But maybe Andor is not a able to use Geothermal and have to use a combo of a lot of things to keep the lights on.

 

[Christopher]

^Hard to believe a moon of a Jovian wouldn't have geothermal power. Tidal interactions with the Jovian and the other moons would tend to produce lots of internal heat.

 

[GalaxyClass1701]

^Hard to believe a moon of a Jovian wouldn't have geothermal power. Tidal interactions with the Jovian and the other moons would tend to produce lots of internal heat.

You are right I always forget Andor or is it Andoria is a Jovian moon? But that doesnt mean it can still be taped for Geothermal maybe there is something different with this planet.

Also as mentioned before don't forget the pounding the planet took from the Borg maybe Geothermal just isn't feasible?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

'Vayith also went to great lengths to argue that the elimination of waste products created by the noprila would, over time, be beneficial to the environment.'"

Beneficial waste products. Now that does not sound like 21st century coal to me.

Doesn't that sentence say that it's the elimination of waste products (not the products themselves) which would be beneficial?

 

[Dancing Doctor]

^Hard to believe a moon of a Jovian wouldn't have geothermal power. Tidal interactions with the Jovian and the other moons would tend to produce lots of internal heat.

You are right I always forget Andor or is it Andoria is a Jovian moon? But that doesnt mean it can still be taped for Geothermal maybe there is something different with this planet.

Also as mentioned before don't forget the pounding the planet took from the Borg maybe Geothermal just isn't feasible?

Or it could be feasible, but the Andorian government doesn't have the time to build the facilities and receptors to tap into it.

 

[Christopher]

You are right I always forget Andor or is it Andoria is a Jovian moon? But that doesnt mean it can still be taped for Geothermal maybe there is something different with this planet.

Depends on its orbital distance, I suppose. The closer it is, the more the tidal heating. When I worked up an Andorian calendar for DTI: Watching the Clock, I assumed Andor(ia) was the innermost of three large moons. But that's just background development that doesn't actually get mentioned in the novel.

Also as mentioned before don't forget the pounding the planet took from the Borg maybe Geothermal just isn't feasible?

One would think just the opposite would be the case, since a heavy bombardment would make things hotter.

 

[GalaxyClass1701]

You are right I always forget Andor or is it Andoria is a Jovian moon? But that doesnt mean it can still be taped for Geothermal maybe there is something different with this planet.

Depends on its orbital distance, I suppose. The closer it is, the more the tidal heating. When I worked up an Andorian calendar for DTI: Watching the Clock, I assumed Andor(ia) was the innermost of three large moons. But that's just background development that doesn't actually get mentioned in the novel.

Also as mentioned before don't forget the pounding the planet took from the Borg maybe Geothermal just isn't feasible?

One would think just the opposite would be the case, since a heavy bombardment would make things hotter.

But the planet is a mess and so are the people they might not have the abbility to do geothermal the planet is basically in ruins and the entire government had to be replaced.

 

[BillJ]

You are right I always forget Andor or is it Andoria is a Jovian moon? But that doesnt mean it can still be taped for Geothermal maybe there is something different with this planet.

Depends on its orbital distance, I suppose. The closer it is, the more the tidal heating. When I worked up an Andorian calendar for DTI: Watching the Clock, I assumed Andor(ia) was the innermost of three large moons. But that's just background development that doesn't actually get mentioned in the novel.

Also as mentioned before don't forget the pounding the planet took from the Borg maybe Geothermal just isn't feasible?

One would think just the opposite would be the case, since a heavy bombardment would make things hotter.

But the planet is a mess and so are the people they might not have the abbility to do geothermal the planet is basically in ruins and the entire government had to be replaced.

I can't believe that it would be that difficult to get geothermal up and running with replicator technology. You have to dig in to get the 'coal' and transport it to the facilities that burn it. Seems like a much more complex process.

 

[GalaxyClass1701]

Depends on its orbital distance, I suppose. The closer it is, the more the tidal heating. When I worked up an Andorian calendar for DTI: Watching the Clock, I assumed Andor(ia) was the innermost of three large moons. But that's just background development that doesn't actually get mentioned in the novel.


One would think just the opposite would be the case, since a heavy bombardment would make things hotter.

But the planet is a mess and so are the people they might not have the abbility to do geothermal the planet is basically in ruins and the entire government had to be replaced.

I can't believe that it w be that difficult to get geothermal up and running with replicator technology. You have to dig in to get the 'coal' and transport it to the facilities that burn it. Seems like a much more complex process.

Andor might need all it's replicator power just to feed it's people. Starfleet is spread so thin the really can't rely on them for help.

Geothermal tapping might be routine in the 24th century under ideal circumstances but the Federation and Andor are far from that.

It would be much easier to mine for coal. They will do thus until they are back on their feet they they can worry about alternate energy sources.

Also a whole chapter takes place in a Solar power plant so they are not only burning coal,

 

[Deranged Nasat]

On the geothermal issue, it's been confirmed that Andorian civilizaton draws on geothermal power extensively; indeed, that this was an essential part of their development as a civilization.

 

[GalaxyClass1701]

On the geothermal issue, it's been confirmed that Andorian civilizaton draws on geothermal power extensively; indeed, that this was an essential part of their development as a civilization.

Was a key part no it might not be. Japans key was Nuclear however for the time being they are going to have to switch.

 

[Christopher]

It would be much easier to mine for coal.

Why? If there are abundant geothermal sources already available to be tapped, why would that be harder than mining? They both involve digging holes in the ground, but geothermal sources can be closer to the surface, like geysers and hotsprings.

Was a key part no it might not be. Japans key was Nuclear however for the time being they are going to have to switch.

No, they aren't. Of the nearly 60 operating nuclear reactors in Japan, only four (all at the same power plant) have had any major problems as a result of the earthquake and tsunami (though a few more had minor malfunctions or breakdowns that were quickly fixed). And those four were antiquated reactors with questionable safety design. Some newer reactors even closer to the epicenter were essentially unharmed.

So well over 90 percent of Japan's nuclear power infrastructure is still operating just fine as we speak, and there's no valid reason to change that. Especially when the country is going to need to draw on those energy reserves to help it rebuild after the real disaster, the quake/tsunami.

 

[GalaxyClass1701]

You are correct about Japan but if your planet is in shambles it's a lot easier to get some coal out of the ground and burn it Tha repair or create new geothermal plants. There is no denying that.

 

[BillJ]

You are correct about Japan but if your planet is in shambles it's a lot easier to get some coal out of the ground and burn it Tha repair or create new geothermal plants. There is no denying that.

There is a reason to question it. Wouldn't alot of the infrastructure still be in place for the delivery of geothermal energy?

 

[Dancing Doctor]

You are correct about Japan but if your planet is in shambles it's a lot easier to get some coal out of the ground and burn it Tha repair or create new geothermal plants. There is no denying that.

There is a reason to question it. Wouldn't alot of the infrastructure still be in place for the delivery of geothermal energy?

Depends on how widespread the damage done by the Borg is, whether or not the sources of geothermal energy were concentrated in a few particular areas or spread out all across the planet, how well maintained the infrastructure is, etc.

Or, in short, there's not enough information really one way or the other.