IPCC climate report

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Awrrr
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#2189327 1-Mar-2019 12:06

The thing is, every time some promising new development is mentioned, everyone dives in with all the reasons why it can't possibly work. I thought it might be fun to wonder for a moment, what if it does work?

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TwoSeven

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#2189331 1-Mar-2019 12:14

frankv:
tdgeek:

There are 10,000 sq metres to a hectare

You're quite right. Sorry, had a brain f@rt and thought it was 100 sq m to the hectare

I thought you were just using the value after “No new taxes” had been applied.

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wellygary

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#2189347 1-Mar-2019 12:20

Rikkitic:

The thing is, every time some promising new development is mentioned, everyone dives in with all the reasons why it can't possibly work. I thought it might be fun to wonder for a moment, what if it does work?

I'm not saying it cant work, I'm just saying it ain't happening next week... and when it does it might not be cheap......

When they built the Rance tidal power station in Fance in the 60s , everyone got very excited and forecast that the tidal power was the next best thing, but it didn't happen...

Getting fusion to work is a big step up in physics, ... maybe in the meantime we should look to use the fusion source that we have already

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#2189386 1-Mar-2019 13:10

wellygary:

Rikkitic:

The thing is, every time some promising new development is mentioned, everyone dives in with all the reasons why it can't possibly work. I thought it might be fun to wonder for a moment, what if it does work?

I'm not saying it cant work, I'm just saying it ain't happening next week... and when it does it might not be cheap......

When they built the Rance tidal power station in Fance in the 60s , everyone got very excited and forecast that the tidal power was the next best thing, but it didn't happen...

Getting fusion to work is a big step up in physics, ... maybe in the meantime we should look to use the fusion source that we have already

I have a guy coming round in the weekend to help me look into just that. I expect to go in boots and all, including Powerwall2. I just need to get my creative accounting hat on to try to justify it!

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#2189400 1-Mar-2019 13:33

Let us know how it goes.

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amiga500

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#2189410 1-Mar-2019 14:08

More or less on topic I hope. I wonder if any principal or BoT will be stupid enough to punish or sanction pupils taking part in the 'Climate Strike' taking place in about two weeks?

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GV27

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#2189412 1-Mar-2019 14:09

tdgeek:

I have a guy coming round in the weekend to help me look into just that. I expect to go in boots and all, including Powerwall2. I just need to get my creative accounting hat on to try to justify it!

I would be keen to see how you manage to get it to stack up. I can only make solar work from a civil disaster/resilience POV until I get an EV, but the depreciation cost on solar would be more expensive per km than petrol :(

gzt

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#2189415 1-Mar-2019 14:17

It would be interesting to see what it costs to buy this type of stuff direct from China Effectively goodwill warranty only but we are kind of used to that with AliExpress and so on. Sure, installation and so on is required, but base cost is why it's interesting.

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#2189429 1-Mar-2019 14:41

amiga500:

More or less on topic I hope. I wonder if any principal or BoT will be stupid enough to punish or sanction pupils taking part in the 'Climate Strike' taking place in about two weeks?

As far as I am concerned, anything climate-change related can go here.

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TwoSeven

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#2189523 1-Mar-2019 17:07

wellygary:
Rikkitic:

The thing is, every time some promising new development is mentioned, everyone dives in with all the reasons why it can't possibly work. I thought it might be fun to wonder for a moment, what if it does work?

I'm not saying it cant work, I'm just saying it ain't happening next week... and when it does it might not be cheap......

When they built the Rance tidal power station in Fance in the 60s , everyone got very excited and forecast that the tidal power was the next best thing, but it didn't happen...

I think there are about 20 sites in the UK at the moment. Tidal and wave generation is quite popular.

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Aredwood

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#2189575 1-Mar-2019 18:22

Rikkitic:
The thing is, every time some promising new development is mentioned, everyone dives in with all the reasons why it can't possibly work. I thought it might be fun to wonder for a moment, what if it does work?

I would be extremely happy if it does work. As Fusion energy would literally be the holy grail of energy sources. As you would have the convenience of fossil fuel generation (in that you can build it close to demand, and you can control the output as needed to match the load). Yet no carbon emissions, and no radioactive waste. The fuel source (hydrogen) can be easily produced in the small amounts needed. While the waste product (helium) is both more valuable. And also solves a secondary problem. In that helium is (currently) a non renewable resource.

But we wont know how far away we are from practical fusion energy. Until it is already available.

Just look at the ability to fly as an example. Humans (even in ancient times) would have looked at birds, and thought. Since that bird can fly, surely it would also be possible for a human to also fly. Yet before the first aeroplanes were successfully flown. There were alot of crazy “flying machines” built, none of which actually flew. Despite the beliefs and efforts from those that built them.

Now that the science of powered flight is well understood. Looking back at those flying machines, you can easily tell that those machines wouldn't have even gotten close to being able to fly.

In short, it is good to keep an open mind. But extremely foolish to change laws or write government policies, in the hope that a new technology would appear. EVs have existed for longer than ICE cars have existed for. And they were a serious competitor at the time to horse drawn carriages and the first petrol engines. But the only batteries available were lead acid. And it wasn't until the lithium ion battery was invented, that EVs are now becoming competitive again.

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#2189595 1-Mar-2019 19:24

Aredwood:

But the only batteries available were lead acid. And it wasn't until the lithium ion battery was invented, that EVs are now becoming competitive again.

Not entirely correct, according to what I read just the other day. Even the batteries of that time were sufficient for the needs of that time. Electric cars were considered superior to competitors ICE and steam. What tipped the balance was the invention of the electric (irony) starter, which made ICE cars easier for women in particular.

I would argue, and I'm sure others have, that if even a small portion of the resources devoted to ICE had gone into the development of electric vehicles, they would have been as good or better over the years as the petrol slurpers. If instead of petrol stations covering the landscapes of every country there had been charging and battery replacement stations, electric road trips would have been every bit as viable and enjoyable as the petrol variety. What has made ICE vehicles successful has not been ICE technology, but the development of a wraparound infrastructure devoted to ICE. An electric infrastructure will do exactly the same.

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GV27

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#2189601 1-Mar-2019 19:35

Rikkitic:

If instead of petrol stations covering the landscapes of every country there had been charging and battery replacement stations, electric road trips would have been every bit as viable and enjoyable as the petrol variety.

Gasoline is thousands of times more energy dense than batteries. There's simply no getting around this, it's a question of chemistry.

I'm sure we'll get there one day, but there's simply no way battery-powered vehicles would be on par with ICEs if we just had a few more charging stations. Battery swaps are impractical unless you want a hugely compromised chassis. You can either go the route we've gone down now and get to the Tesla Roadster 2, or you can have swappable batteries, but you can't have both.

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#2189606 1-Mar-2019 19:56

I was thinking of lead-acid and earlier electric vehicles. Those batteries would have been swapable and the cars would have been vastly preferable in cities.

Edit: I take your point about the energy density difference but, again, it isn't about which technology can go furthest between refuelings. It is about which works best for a given set of requirements. I think electric is already nearly there for most practical requirements.

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Hammerer

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#2189714 1-Mar-2019 23:45

I remember the claim that the UK led the world in electric vehicles. The British milk float made up almost the entire fleet - we had at least one locally in the 1960s. They filled the practical need for nearly silent delivery while people slept.

But I wonder if the US had more electric golf carts?

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