alvdh1's Comments (1475)

“Well Lou,

He happens to be the President of the United States who was elected by the largest majority of Americans since Clinton. The President is our Commander-In -Chief. Since climate change is on the front burner of the Pentagon for dealing with future conflicts, you might be wise to read some of the detailed reports the Pentagon has issued on the subject. Then, perhaps, you will know who in the hell this guy is.”

“If you had taken more biology, you wouldn't be making a fool of yourself on this site. Why don't you present, in detail, the reasons you have for being a denier. It would make a lot moresense than relying on hyperbole. If you presented your case, then we could have a debate on the merits of your position. I have never been able to have an engaged debate that relies soley on hyperbole. Your degree in chemistry was about science. Your torturous words are about picking a fight with nothing to back it up.”

“He doesn't have the heart to run for President.”

“Unless of course, you would prefer to pay 3 cents instead of 1.5 cents for your rooftop solar.”

“It is pretty evident that I fully support solar, but I do not advocate it unless they first address the efficiency with which they use energy. My list of 9 solutions is based on energy efficiency first and alternative energy second. Energy efficiency can reduce your claim of 3 cents to 1.5 cents. why would you advocate your solution without butressing it with energy efficiency as the basis of going solar.

If energy efficiency can eliminate half the panels on your roof, why wouldn't you make that investment first-especially if there are feed-in tarrifs to get paid on for excess capacity going into the grid at 15, 20 or 30 cents per kilowatt hour. Vermont is paying 30 cents per kilowatt hour under their May 2009 feed-in tarrifs. The feed-in tarrifs will pay for the energy efficiency upgrades in two and a half years or less. Read my posts again and then use your imagination to connect the dots.”

“If all nine items are implemented in a meaningful way, we will be on our way to solving our dependence on foreign oil, creating full employment and and curing climate change -while becoming the leader in advanced energy efficiency and alternative energy technology. This program will require between a $150 to $200 billion in private and government investment per year for the next 10 to 15 years.

With the proper incentives such as the current investment tax credits for solar, wind, biomass, geothermal heating and cooling and lighting coupled to an immediate transition to the ISO electric power production model with feed-in tarrifs, we will be able to transition to the new energy and energy efficiency economy with a profit motive as a driving force for implementation.

The profit motive is key to the success of the new economy and can only occur if the ISO model is adopted. The lack of competition in the electricity market is what has gotten America into the dirty power fix. Opening the market to small producers who will actually receive a check, every month for their excess capacity, changes the rigged oligolopy the utilities have enjoyed for far to long.”

“9) Stop deforesting the planet and make the following commitments. Create an international fund to buy the worlds temperate and tropical rainforests to halt the destruction of the largest land based carbon sinks. Launch programs to start restoring the rainforest and plant 5 billion new trees every year worldwide. Unitl CO2 leveles start to decrease significantly. Stop replacing food crops with energy crops.”

“This is a really good contribution that amounts to nothing. CO2feedsPlants has the uncanny ability to generate CO2 with nothing to back it up except hyperbole.”

“7) Create the National Interstate Highway Electrified Highspeed Rail System. This mean building an interstate rail system that follows the interstate highway system so that no right of ways have to be purchased by the government and to goes where people already travel. This system will free us from all imported oil when it is completed. It must be designed with speeds attained by the European Highspeed Rail System in order to offer riders an alternative to air travel.

8) Mandate that all cars be made of high strength composite thermo plastic modular body panels by 2016 in order to reduce vehicle weight while simultaenously increasing the crash strength of vehicles by 12 times the strength of conventional steel cars. This is a game changer for personal transportation because now cars can be designed to go 300 - 500 miles on a battery charge due to weight reduction alone. It also makes fuel cells more competitive as a result of the reduction in the size of the fuel cell required to move a 5 passenger car. For more information on the Hyper Car of the future, watch Amory Lovins MIT Video called: " Winning The Oil Endgame".”

“6) Eliminate the Guaranteed Rate of Return model for investor owned utilities that is utilized in 48 states. This utility structure promotes wasteful power production and energy consumption and eliminates competition in the market. Replace this model with the Independent Service Operator (ISO) model currently used in California.

The ISO owns the grid in California and buys power from all producers at market rates based on supply and demand. Include a strong feed-in tarrif for wind, solar and biomass as California did this past September to jump start the industry. California wisely place a cap on system size to encourage residential and business owners to install systems on their homes and businesses. This means business and residential producers will get paid, beginning in January 2010, for their excess capacity place into the grid, but most of the new power will be consumed where it is produced and thereby reducing grid transmission losses.

Continued below”

“5) Convert existing coal and oil fired power plants to natural gas immediately as a transitional fuel.
Create a 10 percent mandate of power produced by biomass Pyrolosis generated electricity. The plants have to be built in cities and communities as a distributed form of energy. Pyrolosis produces syngas that can be burned directly in a turbine. These plants can operate at a mechanical efficiency approaching 60 percent. The grid loss, due to resistance is vitually eliminated because the power is being distributed locally saving another 10 percent. The byproduct of pyrolosis is biochar.

Biochar changes the carbon cycle to over a thousand years from as little as a few years. It is a fabulous soil amendment that helps soil micro organisms and increases soil water retention properties. A 50 megawatt pryrolosis/biomass power plant will consume approximately 1,000 tons of waste biomass per day and produce 330 tons of biochar per day. This is a carbon negative process due to biochar production. Most biomass power plants today are typical water boilers that operate at a 33 percent efficiency. This isnot the way to go with biomass.

Continued below”

“Geo Engineering is code for maintaining the status quo of wastefully burning fossil fuels. Thinking big is a good idea as long as the big changes include the following.

1) Completely retrofit exisiting buildings, houses, streetlights and outdoor lighting with energy efficient LED lighting. Lighting consumes 23 percent of all electricity produced. Energy savings could be equal to 65-70 percent of 23 percent consumed by lighting.

2) Mandate new energy star standards for appliances and electronic devices and replace all exisitng devices with new super efficient appliances and electronic devices that do not consume phantom energy. Energy consumed is approximately 20 percent of all electricity produced. Savings could be 40 to 50 percent.

3) Set new home and building construction standards to the Platinum Leed Certification level so that we don't lose ground on new structures. Offer incentives to induce people to build or retrofit to these energy effficient and sustainable structures.

4) Replace all existing home and business HVAC systems with geothermal heating and cooling where pracitcal. Not all residential, commercial and government buildings have adequate available land to install the underground circulation systems, but most do. Total energy consumed is approximately 14 percent and savings could be 30 - 40 percent.

Continued below”

“As a famous golfer's wife, did she yell four after swinging the club?”

“Not for radiation disasters they don't. You have little understanding of radiation induced cancers and genetic diseases associated with man made radiation. You have little ot no understanding of radiaoactive waste and to say that radioactive waste is safe indicates the insanity of the nuclear fanatics promoting the technology. I am astounded at your ignorance of the subject of waste sttorage. You need to study the the Richland Washington Hanford Nuclear reservation to see how utterly misinformed you are regarding storage of rad. waste.”

“I couldn't reply to your post below. Cesium and strontium require little shielding, but that isn't the concern with either of these radio isotopes. Uptake is the concern. Cesium behaves chemically similar to potasium and strontium behaves like calcium. the body can't distinguish between the two. So it is the movement of thse isotopoes through the food chain that is of concern.”

“Another one line response right out of the talking points manual you got from the nuclear power industry. Who lies? What is your source to verify they lie and what are they specifically lying about? If you don't believe something, it must be a lie. I don't believe a word you say because you don't cite any sources. Why bother when you are only capable of one or two line thoughts.”

“It is nice that you omit details at every post which might explain why you never offer any detail. Pu-239 has a half life of 24,000 years. It is an alpha emitter that cannot penetrate the skin. If inhaled or ingested, it emits neutron bullets that can cause havoc at the cellular level. Go read wikipedia or better yet, Dr. Gofmans analysis of these neutron bullets. I will wait while you consult your nuclear industry talking points manual and come back with a one or two word response.”

“IMAGO,

It appears that you just make it up as you go. It is easier than reading about what the French are really doing with all of their radioactive crap. Go read the March 23, 2009 Alternet Article about the French nuclear program disaster. Then come back here and tell us how you plan to revise your post.

Let us know how dumping 110,000,000 gallons of radioactive waste into the English Channel from the La Hague Reprocessing plant is the same as burying it deep under ground. Perhaps you will share with us how the French plan to restore the fishing grounds contaminated from the dumping and when they plan to re-open the beaches to swimmer in the area. You might also explain why they have buried radioactive waste under parking lots at French Ski resorts. Lastly, we would all like to know why they have built two hospitals in Nigeria to care for the sick and dying uranium miners and their families. We are anxiously awaiting your return with all of your new found knowledge of how the French favor profits over poisoned power.”

“What credentials do you have to judge whether Dr. Gofman is right or wrong? Are you a doctor? Dr Helen Caldicott is a doctor. Dr. Gofman was pro nuclear and a great friend of Dr. Glenn Seaborg when he was hired by him and the AEC to do his research at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. When he provided empirical evidence contrary to the AEC official line of clean, safe and too cheap to meter, Seaborg unleashed the entire scienctific and industry community against his friend and buried Gofman's 7 year study.”

“Dr. Helen Caldicott has made more contributions to improving the quality of life through educating people about the dangers of the nuclear fuel cycle than you are willing to give her credit for in your typical no attention to detail one line reponses. If you want to discredit her knowledge and understanding of nuclear issues, then you best come up with something more than give us a break.

I doubt you are capable of it - having gotten every ounce of your information on the subject from the talking points manual generated by the nuclear and utility industry who have only managed to survive by the socializing the costs and privatizing the profits model on the backs of taxpayers and ratepayers.”

“Calpines micro turbines burn gas in the turbine and directly spin the 3 and 5 phase generators. There is no water use or fuss with grid transmission losses.
You can, however, use heat exchangers to heat water from the turbine combustion for spave heating. But you knew that already. Whoops, I didn't read your post all of the way through. It turns out you are wrong again.”

“Does this mean that you relied on Cliff notes to get through college so that you didn't have to read the books. 250 words is hardly a wall of text.”

“I don't know. Does forcing 45,000 survivors to imigrate to other regions of safety mean not much harm. I would like to ask the dead how they feel about not much harm, but I don't know how to communicate with the dead.”

“The thing you pro nukers don't understand is radioactive decay.

Cesium-137: Half Life 29 years, the number of half Lives to become innocuous is 10 half Lives. Total storage time = 2,900 years

Strontium-90: Half Life = 30 years X 10 = 3,000 years

Plutonium-239: Half Life = 24,000 years X 10 = 240,000 years

The bulk of the heat generated from fission decay products comes from Cesium and Strontium.

I guess your perspective on radioactive waste doesn't require the same detail you demand for designing stuff such as understanding the bit about requiring 10 half lives to become innocuous. It's tough being an expert on everything nuclear.”

“You guys can design anything you want that on the surface might be an engineering marvel. You will never be able to eliminate the human element who has an amazing ability to take an enegineering work of art and turn it into a castrophy waiting to happen. There is not a single piece of human designed equipment that has been designed to be human proof.

When it comes to nuclear power and its associated infrastructure, there is an established record of the human element inadvertantly overriding the safety features designed into the technolgy.”