The Energy Thread

[Jeff Lebowski]

Preach. My biggest problem with the currently proposed solutions by politicians is the huge negative economic costs for almost immeasurable benefits. Innovation, not regulation, has solved our problems in the past, and will solve them in the future. But without a strong economy pumping money into private and public research, innovation is stifled.

This has the potential to make wind and solar even more effective, as those sources could provide the necessary energy to convert the CO2. On a related note, I've wondered why we couldn't reproduce photosynthesis to store carbon, but this technology has the same effect.

Yes. The big problems with winds and solar are: timing and transmission. If you could harness these energy sources to make gas & diesel, wow. Game changer.

[cowboy]

Absolutely. You cannot wreck your economy with overaggressive carbon reductions because it takes a robust economy to facilitate the research and technology required to solve the problem.

Preach. My biggest problem with the currently proposed solutions by politicians is the huge negative economic costs for almost immeasurable benefits. Innovation, not regulation, has solved our problems in the past, and will solve them in the future. But without a strong economy pumping money into private and public research, innovation is stifled.

This has the potential to make wind and solar even more effective, as those sources could provide the necessary energy to convert the CO2. On a related note, I've wondered why we couldn't reproduce photosynthesis to store carbon, but this technology has the same effect.

[PaloAltoCougar]

I hope that that plays out. I really, really do.

Ditto. I re-watched part of the Bill Gates mini-series on Netflix and I remain very impressed by how much he's trying to give back, including this project, among many dozens of others. The guy certainly has his quirks and flaws, but I love that he remains so focused on problem-solving when other magnates might have headed off to a tropical island.

[wuapinmon]

With near-unlimited energy, we could suck CO2 out of the air--and use it to make gasoline (or just sequester it).

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesco.../#775ed4e613cc

I hope that that plays out. I really, really do.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I think it is the only realistic way we will be successful.

Absolutely. You cannot wreck your economy with overaggressive carbon reductions because it takes a robust economy to facilitate the research and technology required to solve the problem.

[snowcat]

Whoa. That is really cool.

I honestly believe we are going to science our way out of this global warming mess. The future is bright.

I think it is the only realistic way we will be successful.

[Jeff Lebowski]

With near-unlimited energy, we could suck CO2 out of the air--and use it to make gasoline (or just sequester it).

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesco.../#775ed4e613cc

Whoa. That is really cool.

I honestly believe we are going to science our way out of this global warming mess. The future is bright.

[Lost Student]

The fewer tons of carbon in the atmosphere, the better. But, gasoline is still amazing and cheap for what it does and will be hard to replace in personal vehicles unless the price is significantly cheaper than internal combustion engines.

With near-unlimited energy, we could suck CO2 out of the air--and use it to make gasoline (or just sequester it).

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesco.../#775ed4e613cc

[wuapinmon]

If we get commercially viable fusion reactors will the climate change problem simply disappear?

The fewer tons of carbon in the atmosphere, the better. But, gasoline is still amazing and cheap for what it does and will be hard to replace in personal vehicles unless the price is significantly cheaper than internal combustion engines.

[Uncle Ted]

If we get commercially viable fusion reactors will the climate change problem simply disappear?

Yeah, how long before we all start running our cars on beer and banana peals out of the trash?

[wapiti]

An interesting summary on the current state of fusion:

https://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/nuc...ower-a-reality





I'm skeptical that there were be commercially viable fusion reactors in the next decade.

If we get commercially viable fusion reactors will the climate change problem simply disappear?

[beefytee]

An interesting summary on the current state of fusion:

https://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/nuc...ower-a-reality

Over the past several years, more than two dozen research groups—impressively staffed and well-funded startups, university programs, and corporate projects—have achieved eye-opening advances in controlled nuclear fusion. They’re building fusion reactors based on radically different designs that challenge the two mainstream approaches, which use either a huge, doughnut-shaped magnetic vessel called a tokamak or enormously powerful lasers.

I'm skeptical that there were be commercially viable fusion reactors in the next decade.

[Uncle Ted]

Utah, don't be like California!

How Rocky Mountain Power is working to avoid mass outages like California
Utah utility company identifies Public Safety Power Shutoff zones

The massive planned power outages plunging millions of California residents into darkness are a wildfire prevention tactic Rocky Mountain Power wants to avoid, but in preparation for a worst-case scenario, the utility company developed a contingency plan over the summer to do just that.
[...]

https://www.deseret.com/utah/2019/11...rJ3-J_WHIUty3A

Take over your power companies and make them state controlled now before it is too late...

California Governor Threatens State Takeover of PG&E
Gavin Newsom says state may intervene if shareholders, bondholders cannot quickly reach a deal to exit bankruptcy

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is threatening a state takeover of PG&E Corp. unless the company exits bankruptcy and dramatically improves the safety of its electric grid before the next wildfire season.
[...]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/califor...-e-11572641749

[creekster]

And the issue doesn't seem to be with local HOAs or suburbs. It seems to be with the high transmission lines in rural areas. HOAs already burying lines but that is more for aesthetics than anything else. If your buried HOA line is connected to a transmission line that has no power, then it doesn't matter if your neighborhood has buried lines.

This was one of the odd things about PG&E's power downs. The first time, at least, they powered down distribution lines but not transmission lines. The knicaid fire, as I understand it, was likely started by a downed transmission line. The decision not to turn off transmission lines makes some sense, as doing so affects the grid in far reaching ways. But if the area is unsafe for distribution lines, I can't see why it would be much or any better for transmission lines.

[Moliere]

To any given HOA it would be.

The problem is a lot more complex than that. There is plenty of culpability to go around, including to the CA leg that mandated PG&E spend a lot of its resources on renewables without allowing it to raise rates enough to pay for spending on maintenance at the same time. PG&E is poorly run but is also restricted from making its own choices.

And the issue doesn't seem to be with local HOAs or suburbs. It seems to be with the high transmission lines in rural areas. HOAs already burying lines but that is more for aesthetics than anything else. If your buried HOA line is connected to a transmission line that has no power, then it doesn't matter if your neighborhood has buried lines.