This is an observation that I thought of putting in comments but decided to post instead. Something we need to keep in mind: industrial capability is downstream from energy production, intensive energy production. Military might is downstream from industrial production.
Solar power and wind power are fine for particular niches but they do not provide reliable, intensive energy which is what is needed for heavy industry. They might someday but that is not the case today. Today the potential sources for the energy required for heavy industry are coal, oil, gas, and nuclear. All things considered I think that nuclear is the best choice. In preemptive response to criticism of the expense of nuclear energy, a considerable portion of the cost of nuclear consists of legal and regulatory expenses. Those could be addressed with appropriate legislation.
Until the environmental cult is broken and marginalized, we will continue to shut down reliable energy sources like coal, and we will continue to deindustrialize.
At some point, the neocon’s will realize that their dreams of empire are dead, because the US cannot support a modern military. Then they might try to kill the environmental cult. Good luck.
Right now, we cannot support the navy we do have–that is the meaning of delayed maintenance. And we are not going to build 100 or more NGAD fighters. Even the Russians build more ships, and modern ships, than we do. And Chinese ship building, actual and planned, is horrifying.
PS. I had a PhD in environmental engineering, and I was a licensed environmental engineer (PE). I taught environmental engineering and science for 37 years, 35 at a major research university. When I started, environmental engineering (then sanitary or public health engineering) was a state and local affair, and it was a profession. Starting around 1965, the federal government tool over all environmental regulation and control (delegating some to the states), and gradually the whole field became politicized. In the end, I could not tell fact from fiction.
Did anything happen at Love Canal? Possibly not. If something did happen, the local government and school board did it. Rashomon on stilts and steroids.
I cant figure out why electricity coming from a solar plant is inferior to that coming from a coal plant. Both should be equally usable. Intermittency is an issue but as we see in Europe, Australia and other countries heavily using solar and wind, you can cover that with some redundancy and batteries. Since I dont think you follow the tech at all Battery tech is improving pretty rapidly along with decreasing costs.
For quite a while we still be best off with a some of each plan but solar and wind are turning out to be cheapest. Will have to see how the small nukes do if and when they get built. We have just a few now, and that includes the rest of the world, not just the US.
Steve
Because solar does not provide the level of energy density that coal does and we are unable to transport electricity efficiently across distances at the efficiency of onsite-produced energy. @bob sykes do you have anything to add to that?
I just read comments at Althouse that seemed to claim that there is a transmission problem with with inverted DC versus “rotational” AC.
I do.
Hey Steve, how many steel mills or chemical refineries or injection molders or mining operations or cement plants or agricultural dryers or….do you know of that run on wind mills in Europe?
Yes. It’s all about energy density.
I totally get that you may need to use coal or gas for stuff like making steel. However, in the processes where you are using electricity I fail to see why electricity generated from fossil fuel would be superior to electricity from a solar panel just because it was more energy dense.
Steve
Dave Schuler: we are unable to transport electricity efficiently across distances at the efficiency of onsite-produced energy.
China’s UHVDC system (1,100 KV, 12,000 MW, 10% loss) transmits power a distance of 3,000 km (2,000 miles) across China, from Changj to Guquan. Of course, we can’t expect backward countries such as the US to match China’s technological prowess.
The new system design reduces the probability of outages, and seamlessly integrates their rapidly expanding inventory of green energy. Changji Hui Prefecture, while still reliant on coal, is a center of green energy development, including a 600 MW wind farm, a 400 MW photovoltaic station, and storage for 1 million kWh of electricity.
Wonder what they will come up with next?!
Z: storage for 1 million kWh of electricity.
Oops. That should be 1.2 million kW (not kWh). The pumped storage system has an annual power generation of 2.41 billion kWh.
“This could be addressed with appropriate legislation.”
LOLZ
Does Congress do that anymore?
Welcome back, Icepick. We’ve missed you. I hope you are well.
We’re doing well enough. Somethings good, some less so, but overall well. Hopefully for you and yours, too, and even most of the old gang.
Electricity is electricity, steve. That’s not the issue. Rather, its how much reliable electricity can you produce economically. I have no issue with augmenting total production with wind or solar. But you can’t get there from here on those, and its only getting worse (AI).
Energy density is key because you don’t want half the earth covered with solar panels and wind mills.
@Icepick
I am happy to know you are alright. I have missed you. How is your daughter doing? More importantly, is the “bumper eating” dog still chasing the neighborhood kids onto the roof?
The daughter is now in her mid teens and I’m pleased with her growth as a person. Quite happy we had her!
The bumper eating dogs are long gone. Eventually they attacked someone in the neighborhood, were taken, then one returned (!!), then that one was eventually taken away by the landlord because it appeared to be starving to death. The owner would be shortly thereafter be arrested and convicted of another violent felony, which by statute meant a minimum of five years in a state prison. But by judge he was out for time served, which was 58 _days_ iirc. So much for statute! Also not much for beating his father damn near to death with some blunt object.
The neighbor kid wouldn’t remember that I had done him a good turn and pulled a gun on me a couple of years later for … bringing his house mail that had been incorrectly delivered to my house. Fortunately by that point I was used to having the police point guns at me (repeated(!!) cases of mistaken identity, including once when I had an AR-25 pointed at me because in broad daylight my very white ass looked exactly like the very black suspect who was on a rampage killing or attempting to kill cops) so I stayed calm, explained that it was mail for his mom, and he let me go.
Still stuck here for reasons, but hoping to move in the next year – if we can find any place affordable that’s where we want to live. Finances have improved considerably, but no where near as much as decent housing.
Anyhow, how’re you doing? I’m surprised to see mostly the same old crew in the comments!
@Icepick
It seems like things are better, and I am glad your daughter is doing well. It seemed like she helped your sanity, during that dark time. I am mostly a cold-hearted bastard, but I am drawn to persons who are suffering.
I am on the government dole. Between my mind and my hands, I am pretty much useless, but with VA disability and SSDI, I am scraping-by. (PTSD and Essential Tremors make working close to impossible, and they both feed off each other, negatively.) Not working sucks, but you already know that.
Because it is hard to write, I only add short comments that are not too hard to defend. With AI Chat, everybody is an expert on everything. If you have been lurking, you already know, but if not, you will soon learn.
It seems like you still have the “Icepick edge”, but you may be a little less rough around the edges. A few others have softened, and you may notice a tone change.
Most of the old-timers are still around, but with a few exceptions, they do not comment as much.