Electricity
The Price Of Non-Nuclear Energy: 3,000 Lives Per Day
03/22/11 04:29
Never before have the costs of energy been so starkly illustrated in the period of a few months. The Deepwater Horizon gulf oil spill disaster, The Middle East riots to overturn petrodictators fueled by billions of dollars of oil payments, Massey Energy’s coal mining disaster and now Fukushima.
As in the past, many wrongly now want nuclear power, which supplies 20% of US electricity, unplugged. To be sure, some nuclear plants, such as those fueled by plutonium, are past their lifespans, or in dangerous places like earthquake faults should be closed, but eliminating nuclear is a mistake.
About the same number of people die every day from conventional energy than have died from nuclear power in its 60 year history according to the World Health Organization. About 3,000 people per day die by producing and burning conventional fuels. Conveniently for the oil & coal industry, most die silently one by one from cancer or other diseases from vehicle and (chiefly coal) powerplant emissions of lead, mercury, NOx, sulfur and other nasties. About 10 people per day die in coal mining accidents. Tens of thousands more are imprisoned, abused or die at the hands of petrodictators such as Qaddafi, Amedinajhad or the Saudi princes. 1,000,000 deaths per year. Over 30 million deaths since Three Mile Island. Read More...
As in the past, many wrongly now want nuclear power, which supplies 20% of US electricity, unplugged. To be sure, some nuclear plants, such as those fueled by plutonium, are past their lifespans, or in dangerous places like earthquake faults should be closed, but eliminating nuclear is a mistake.
About the same number of people die every day from conventional energy than have died from nuclear power in its 60 year history according to the World Health Organization. About 3,000 people per day die by producing and burning conventional fuels. Conveniently for the oil & coal industry, most die silently one by one from cancer or other diseases from vehicle and (chiefly coal) powerplant emissions of lead, mercury, NOx, sulfur and other nasties. About 10 people per day die in coal mining accidents. Tens of thousands more are imprisoned, abused or die at the hands of petrodictators such as Qaddafi, Amedinajhad or the Saudi princes. 1,000,000 deaths per year. Over 30 million deaths since Three Mile Island. Read More...
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PCs, TVs & phones mean 200 more powerplants
05/13/09 18:25
The International Energy Agency tells us today that the ever-growing electrical thirst from our proliferating PCs, cell-phones, TVs and iPods is wiping out efficiency gains in lighting, heating and elsewhere.
How bad is the problem? The IEA suggests the worldwide growth in digi-gadgets will consume more power than all of the U.S. and Japan by 2030 unless we put our “stuff” on a diet. That’s the equivalent of 200 giant new power plants.
We can easily stop our PCs and devices from contributing today (and cut our utility bills too.) Click to read how...Read More...
Beijing: Indoor Smog - An Export Industry
12/08/08 18:08
Until yesterday, I had never seen indoor smog... Below is the vast Norman-Foster designed arrival hall at Beijing’s new airport - its soaring roof supported by dozens of chimney-like columns fading away into the coal smoke in the distance...
As we drove downtown in one of Beijing’s ubiquitous minibuses, visibility decreased to about 1km as you can see from (click below to continue)Read More...
As we drove downtown in one of Beijing’s ubiquitous minibuses, visibility decreased to about 1km as you can see from (click below to continue)Read More...
Recycling Energy on a massive scale
05/23/08 09:11
Companies like Recycled Energy Development are leading a “recycled energy” revolution. Recycled energy means turning waste heat from factories like steel mills and oil refineries into electricity. Countries like Denmark get over 50% of their electric power this way, but we get only 8% of our electricity this way...Read More...A Tale of Two Cities: Cutting 30% in 3 days...
05/06/08 08:06
Over the past few weeks, people in Juneau, Alaska, have cut their power use by an astounding 30 percent after an avalanche cut hydro power forcing them to pay 200% more for electricity from diesel generators. And they have kept power usage down even after electricity prices came down. They've turned down thermostats, unplugged appliances and switched to fluorescent bulbs. Meanwhile in Hawaii...Read More...Pull the plug on your PC or Home Theater
01/26/08 16:44
Looks like a surge protector power strip, right? It is, but the aptly-named Smart Strip has a big difference...Read More...A Tale of Two Cities: EnergyVille vs. ElectroCity
09/10/07 06:38
Chevron's EnergyVille online game about how to power a city is a clever marketing ploy. As Chevron self-interestedly points out "we recognize the world needs all the energy we can develop in every potential form." Energyville players... Read More...
Radical Remaking Of Utilities...
08/25/07 20:33
WHAT IF...
You were an electric or gas utility whose profitability was regulated by the Public Utility Commission? (almost all are) and face regulatory, demand and fuel cost challenges?
• Permitting and building new power plants got more difficult and costly every year...
• Fuel costs rose and became more unpredictable each year and customers reacted by reducing power consumption...
• The business risk of carbon cap & trade or carbon taxes was growing each year...
What if you already had the names, addresses and billing information of 100% of hundreds of thousands of consumer and business customers concentrated in one region... Read More...
You were an electric or gas utility whose profitability was regulated by the Public Utility Commission? (almost all are) and face regulatory, demand and fuel cost challenges?
• Permitting and building new power plants got more difficult and costly every year...
• Fuel costs rose and became more unpredictable each year and customers reacted by reducing power consumption...
• The business risk of carbon cap & trade or carbon taxes was growing each year...
What if you already had the names, addresses and billing information of 100% of hundreds of thousands of consumer and business customers concentrated in one region... Read More...