Interesting talk by MIT prof on energy usage and alternative energy

[Locut0s]

Sort of like a TED talk:

http://vimeo.com/8194089

 

[disappoint]

Using solar to split water and then use a hydrogen fuel cell to store it. You DO realize the coal burning power plants we have now are much cheaper then this right? I love how this guy gives no details on how much all this would cost. He puts "need cheap" next to the PV panels and I about died laughing.

Thank you for this oh so revolutionary idea to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using solar panels for your SOURCE of energy.

 

[Sea Moose]

All aboard the fail boat!

 

[Locut0s]

Using solar to split water and then use a hydrogen fuel cell to store it. You DO realize the coal burning power plants we have now are much cheaper then this right? I love how this guy gives no details on how much all this would cost. He puts "need cheap" next to the PV panels and I about died laughing.

Thank you for this oh so revolutionary idea to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using solar panels for your SOURCE of energy.

His point is that coal is no longer and option moving forwards because of its environmental impact. Human made photosynthesis holds the potential to be a solution. He in fact makes it very clear that there is much work left to be done and that this is just the research path he feels we should be headed down.

 

[Locut0s]

All aboard the fail boat!

It's not about current solutions but a talk about where we should be headed in the future in terms of basic research. Yes it's perhaps overly optimistic which he himself sort of jokingly admits but it's a direction that holds enormous potential. He's trying to inspire people the head in this direction, he things those in the audience should devote their future research in this direction. It's not a talk about solutions that work right this instant. It's a very interesting and well delivered talk. He's an MIT prof not someone working in the energy industry so it's a talk about the big picture and the future of energy research.

 

[Hacp]

His point is that coal is no longer and option moving forwards because of its environmental impact. Human made photosynthesis holds the potential to be a solution. He in fact makes it very clear that there is much work left to be done and that this is just the research path he feels we should be headed down.

What environmental impact? You mean "climate change"? I guess it exists... The grafted data proves it!!!!!!

 

[Zebo]

Use it or lose it. Energy wars will take care of most of his worries. Think about it. Kill a few billion or send them to stone age problem solved. I got idea who...


Who knows maybe the elites will decide to launch them all come out with their families out of their 100 year underground shelters to Eden and start over. Problem solved.

 

[Lonyo]

What environmental impact? You mean "climate change"? I guess it exists... The grafted data proves it!!!!!!

Yeah, clearly the only environmental impact of coal is global warming.
Lets ignore the damage to the water system, the particulates in the air which can impact health (especially in developing countries), and those small coal mine things.

None of that has any environmental impact.

That's not to say that solar power has zero environmental impact, but saying "oh well global warming might not be real so coal isn't environmentally damaging" is idiotic.

 

[Zebo]

There is nothing "optimistic" about this except his research bank account from Federal Funding. He's selling to idiots (congress) after all. A few volts in yields a few volts out..basic thermodynamics. It doesn't matter what the energy carrier is, hydrogen, batteries, etc he will never power a car off a roof of solar cells like he's describing.

See my war/Armageddon theory for real problem solving.

 

[Hacp]

Yeah, clearly the only environmental impact of coal is global warming.
Lets ignore the damage to the water system, the particulates in the air which can impact health (especially in developing countries), and those small coal mine things.

None of that has any environmental impact.

That's not to say that solar power has zero environmental impact, but saying "oh well global warming might not be real so coal isn't environmentally damaging" is idiotic.

Modern plants usually have scrubbers that get rid of the real pollution. Coal is a cheap efficient resource and we thankfully have plenty of it in the US.

 

[WizKid408]

I hear we can generate enough power for much of the U.S if we filled the entire Mohave desert with a parabolic trough. This would be clean power from the sun. We could use the trough to split hygrogen from oxygen, and store the hygrogen. So during winter when the sun is low we still have power from the hygrogen.

 

[Zebo]

"filled the entire Mohave desert with a parabolic trough" think about how tall that would be, materials, cost, & how wouldn't mass collapse on itself? Nice dream though.

 

[WizKid408]

"filled the entire Mohave desert with a parabolic trough" think about how tall that would be, materials, cost, & how wouldn't mass collapse on itself? Nice dream though.

A parabolic trough isn't very tall. This is what it would look like:

Imagine the whole desert filled with these. While not cheap, we shouldn't considerer cost. Cost is a luxury, cleanness is a necessity.

 

[ichy]

Modern plants usually have scrubbers that get rid of the real pollution. Coal is a cheap efficient resource and we thankfully have plenty of it in the US.

I suggest you read about some of the horrible things the coal mining industry has done to part of states like West Virginia. I'm no environmental extremist, but even I can understand that dynamiting mountain tops is a bad idea.

IMO nuclear power is a much more realistic alternative to coal. We often poke fun at the French for being wimps, but they're much more rational about the benefit of nukes than we've ever been.

 

[God Mode]

nuclear power plants on manmade asteroids

 

[DesiPower]

All aboard the fail boat!

ROFL... This

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Its said that the only ideas seem to be on energy production and yet little attempt to address the backend consumption problem. No, I am not a treehugger and I am not talking about putting away all of your electronic toys, but rather the problem with energy consumption to control one's living and work environments.

For instance, home construction and insulation requirements are based on dang near 40 year old policies. We did nothing, really, to prevent new home construction methods since the early 1970's oil crunch, continued to do nothing in the 1980's and 1990's, and are continuing to do nothing now.

There are plenty of spray-on foam products that are a lot better than using fiberglass batts and cellulose, and the foam products have been around since WWII. Its not a luxury, just something builders are too lazy to use and too many ignorant homeowners and business owners too clueless to consider.

If you think of your environment as not being particularly expensive to implement, try determining what its like by not using AC in August and compare electric bills for the August and September months, and then repeat for January and February. You might just be surprised at how much energy goes into making you feel comfortable.

 

[sdifox]

if we can setup space solar farm, that would block a good portion of sunlight, thus alleviate global warming!

This is infallible!

 

[Zebo]

A parabolic trough isn't very tall. This is what it would look like:

Imagine the whole desert filled with these. While not cheap, we shouldn't considerer cost. Cost is a luxury, cleanness is a necessity.

Ah I see. When you said "a" it read as a single trough the size of Mojave!!

 

[Kadarin]

Who knows maybe the elites will decide to launch them all come out with their families out of their 100 year underground shelters to Eden and start over. Problem solved.

With Vault-Tec you can live a better life, underground!

 

[disappoint]

A parabolic trough isn't very tall. This is what it would look like:

Imagine the whole desert filled with these. While not cheap, we shouldn't considerer cost. Cost is a luxury, cleanness is a necessity.

Actually that's only part of what it would look like. Those aren't PV panels, they are mirrors. They concentrate the light energy onto a tower where water is heated to steam to turn a turbine and which generates electricity. Actually cheaper and more efficient than photovoltaics. But yes there IS a tower and if you tried to build one the size of the Mojave desert, that tower would be tall. Towering tower is towering. Here's an example of a tower but much smaller than one would be for the size of the whole Mojave desert: