Petrol from fresh air

So what you're saying is.......they've finally found a way to tax fresh air? :mrgreen:
 
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I think as individuals, we do our best to conserve energy, otherwise we know we will be wasting our own money.

The reality is the complete opposite. People only 'save' when 'not saving' hurts.

I think we are both saying the same thing.

I don't think so. Yours reads that we know when we waste and take action. Reality suggests we walk out with the TV on, leave taps running, leave the engine running when in heavy traffic etc.

My premise is that unless these practices are sufficiently penalized -or the option removed by technology/government regulation etc- they will continue unabated as it's only a few pence 'wasted' here and there...
 
big-all wrote

why are we so inefficient
Because people eat too much meat.

University of Chicago wrote
Going vegetarian is 50% more effective than switching to a hybrid car in reducing greenhouse emissions.

It takes, on average, 28 calories of fossil fuel energy to produce 1 calorie of meat protein for human consumption, [whereas] it takes only 3.3 calories of fossil- fuel energy to produce 1 calorie of protein from grain for human consumption.
David Pimentel, Cornell University
 
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We all know about Chernobyl, but that disaster happened because of a sub-standard Russian system.

More recently in people's minds are the events at Fukushima. Most of them don't realise that , here in the UK we don't have earthquakes that register 9.5 on the Richter scale, or suffer from tsunami's that would destroy Skegness . ;) ;) ;)


Sorry JJ but you're wrong :eek:

http://www.burnham-on-sea.com/1607-flood.shtml

And how many power stations would have been affected if it happens again??? :confused:
 
You'd hope that any future power stations built near the coast would have their back up generators sited a lot higher than the ones at fukushima were.
 
How about we all reduce our wasteful energy consumption...

Just a thought... ;)

and it's a thought that is blindingly obvious .
Nuclear isn't the answer on its own nor are renewables without a reduction in consumption.
Where were all the nuclear power stations 50 years ago and how many are there now and has it solved the energy crisis? We need to try and rid ourselves of this addiction to electricity. The only real answer is for the future to be just a bit darker, cooler and slower.

Where were the nuclear power stations 50 years ago? They weren't anywhere. Instead, we burnt millions of tons of coal. Our masters in Brussels, however, have told us to stop!

Also, of course, 50 years ago there weren't as many of us. Birth control! That's the answer.
 
JBR, birthcontrol is not required as we are already on a slippery downhill path, i refer only to the indigenous peoples of this country, not the immi's that have saturated our island over the last few years from the east :evil:
 
JBR, birthcontrol is not required as we are already on a slippery downhill path, i refer only to the indigenous peoples of this country, not the immi's that have saturated our island over the last few years from the east :evil:

I agree, but that's another problem. It could, of course, be very easily overcome if we had the political will. At the moment our hands are tied because we are obliged to (or choose to) follow the orders we receive from Brussels. The sooner we get out the better.

Sorry to deviate from the thread topic, but I believe it is inevitable that we will eventually leave the EU. It's just a matter of how much damage is done to the country in the meantime.
 
I believe the future will be nuclear fusion. But that won't be for probably 25 or 30 years so we will need something to bridge the gap. If we want certainty of supply the only way to achieve that is nuclear fission. Petrol from hydrogen is really an energy battery. OK if you have vast over production.
 
JBR said:
Where were the nuclear power stations 50 years ago? They weren't anywhere. Instead, we burnt millions of tons of coal. Our masters in Brussels, however, have told us to stop!

The first nuclear power stations were built for the sole purpose of making first plutonium and then tritium. Those magnox reactors were cooking pots in which U238 and lithium were stewed in a neutron soup. The waste heat could be used to generate a little electricity, thereby making the things politically acceptable. ;) ;) ;)

Oddly enough though, the magnox reactor design, although inefficient as a source of steam, has proved itself to be both reliable and safe. On the other hand spent fuel remains a problem and the very stuff that they were built to make has become a major headache. :oops: :oops: :oops:

But never mind. The reactors of the future will be doughnut shaped - and they'll solve the helium shortage too. :cool: :cool: :cool: Edit: jeds got there first!
 
JBR said:
Where were the nuclear power stations 50 years ago? They weren't anywhere. Instead, we burnt millions of tons of coal. Our masters in Brussels, however, have told us to stop!

The first nuclear power stations were built for the sole purpose of making first plutonium and then tritium. Those magnox reactors were cooking pots in which U238 and lithium were stewed in a neutron soup. The waste heat could be used to generate a little electricity, thereby making the things politically acceptable. ;) ;) ;)

Oddly enough though, the magnox reactor design, although inefficient as a source of steam, has proved itself to be both reliable and safe. On the other hand spent fuel remains a problem and the very stuff that they were built to make has become a major headache. :oops: :oops: :oops:

But never mind. The reactors of the future will be doughnut shaped - and they'll solve the helium shortage too. :cool: :cool: :cool: Edit: jeds got there first!

I agree, but the Magnox reactors are pretty old hat now. More recent reactor types are also reliable and safe, provided current safety measures are maintained. And yes, like it or not, nuclear energy generation only came about due to the requirement to produce weapons grade uranium and plutonium.

I do hope that nuclear fusion as an energy source will be achieved but, in the meantime, nuclear fission is the only way in my opinion.
 
Thorium reactors are the way to go. They are a lot safer than uranium. I could have one in the back garden according to this http://www.thorium.tv/en/thorium_reactor/thorium_reactor_1.php[/QUOTE]

Prime example of the flawed thinking so prevalent in todays world.
There's an energy crisis looming so simply generate more and more :rolleyes: . Thorium reactors might be safe and so on and we could all end up with one in the back garden but then we'd only fill our homes full of yet more electronic crap and would still end up with another energy crisis looming. Thorium PLUS reduced consumption maybe.
We were promised cheap almost limitless energy with nuclear in thefirst place but that soon disappeared, not to mention there are reports that the nuclear fuel is becoming increasingly harder to get.
 
Prime example of the flawed thinking so prevalent in todays world.
There's an energy crisis looming so simply generate more and more :rolleyes: . Thorium reactors might be safe and so on and we could all end up with one in the back garden but then we'd only fill our homes full of yet more electronic crap and would still end up with another energy crisis looming. Thorium PLUS reduced consumption maybe.
We were promised cheap almost limitless energy with nuclear in thefirst place but that soon disappeared, not to mention there are reports that the nuclear fuel is becoming increasingly harder to get.

Then give everyone a quota. I actually wrote to the energy minister a couple of years ago proposing that and that the government set the tariff, anything above the limit is game for excessive charging. There's nothing in the Energy Acts that says the government can't do it (and yes I did read them both and the amendments) making it a priority for people to conserve energy. I also suggested safety nets for those in rent housing with bad insulation, putting the emphasis on it costing the energy companies, not the tax payers to get it sorted and that there could additional allowances for elderly people (no need for winter fuel allowance) and some concessions for listed building where it is not possible to upgrade. I had a lukewarm response. Might try again with the current incumbent or go straight to the top.

Thorium is in plentiful supply around the world http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf62.html
 
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