{WTF} What is the downside of increasing renewable energy?

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BCbudinTO
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{WTF} What is the downside of increasing renewable energy?

Post by BCbudinTO »

I'm not sure I get why anyone would oppose a proposal to increase the amount of renewable nonimported energy your country has at its disposal.
Some of the most outspoken opponents to the national renewable energy standard have been lawmakers and utilities from the Southeast, who argue the region does not have the wind and other renewable energy sources needed to meet the national mandates.

Marchant Wentworth of the Union of Concerned Scientists said that the exemptions and other provisions amount to a "backdoor way of reducing the requirement." He said when all the fine print is taken into account, the Senate proposal may require as little as 8 or 9 percent renewable energy and the House version only slightly more.

Mark Sinclair, whose Clean Energy States Alliance works with state renewable energy programs, maintains that the congressional mandates "are very weak and really will not require any additional renewables beyond what states already are doing."

Sinclair cites an analysis by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory that says the national mandates being considered by lawmakers would in some cases result in less renewable energy being used by 2030 than what is anticipated under existing state requirements and from incentives from Obama's economic recovery program.

"It will be meaningless. It's just a gesture," says Sinclair of the bills before the House and Senate.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 525D88.DTL

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{WTF} What is the downside of increasing renewable energy?

Post by JapanFreak »

It sounds like they are against the mandate on grounds that it will result in less renewable energy.

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{WTF} What is the downside of increasing renewable energy?

Post by ben ttech »

they oppose the proposal on the grounds that it will force expense on infrastructural changes WHICH will take away from the production of renewable energy as they see it...

their forgetting that distribution is just as vital as production...
their lamenting the losses with the infrastructure will take away from the piecemeal approach their 'statistics' use to compare the status quo from the public policy driven system their oppsed to...
"disaster is the mother of necessity" rSin

JapanFreak

{WTF} What is the downside of increasing renewable energy?

Post by JapanFreak »

I don't know shit about this stuff but don't they just have to hook up to the grid?

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{WTF} What is the downside of increasing renewable energy?

Post by ben ttech »

not presently...
we have a centralize production infrastructure which makes simple 'plugging' in a tedious nightmare...

renewable energy as a social imperative means distributed production... which needs a whole other configuration of the grid SO that "just plugging in" is quick easy and safe...

as opposed to the fiasco it is now... which the fossil fuel burners are MORE than happy to remain in fact as long as possible...
"disaster is the mother of necessity" rSin

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{WTF} What is the downside of increasing renewable energy?

Post by Chester »

Downside to renewable energy?

Environmentally, there isn't much downside. Tidal basin disruptions, hydro dams, windmills everywhere, cropland dedicated to fuel production.....

Economically, there are some issues. Currently most renewable energy costs more. And the government (meaning everyone who foots the government tax bills) is subsidizing renewable energy to make it competitive. Thus fiscally aware lawmakers have a valid objection when the US dollar is on the verge of collapse.


:cool:
If you want government to intervene domestically, you’re a liberal.
If you want government to intervene overseas, you’re a conservative.
If you want government to intervene everywhere, you’re a moderate.
If you don’t want government to intervene anywhere, you’re an extremist. :facepalm:

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{WTF} What is the downside of increasing renewable energy?

Post by ben ttech »

what a deceit filled reply...

no renewable activist are proposing anything but tearing dams down...
not to mention you have to build sea walls to affect tidal basins...



your INVENTING fake antagonists here...
a tactic reserved for when the REAL debate is lost...
"disaster is the mother of necessity" rSin

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{WTF} What is the downside of increasing renewable energy?

Post by Dick Hertz »

If you are talking bio diesel, the downside is that corn will become too expensive to eat when it's value as a fuel rises. That in turn will affect millions of people.

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{WTF} What is the downside of increasing renewable energy?

Post by BCbudinTO »

Chester wrote:Downside to renewable energy?

Environmentally, there isn't much downside. Tidal basin disruptions, hydro dams, windmills everywhere, cropland dedicated to fuel production.....
Tidal basin disruptions? I'm not sure how that would occur even with large scale tidal power plants.

hydro dams admittedly do have some envirnmental impact but I think its probably less than an equivalent hydrocarbon energy plant.

Windmills everywhere? I'm not sure where you're goign with that. I've heard the concerns about them "killing birds" but that seems a bit of a weak reason.
Economically, there are some issues. Currently most renewable energy costs more.
I agree it does curently cost more but by investing in it we can bring the cost down by advancments in technology. Also I think that the idea of trading short term money savings for long term environmental impact/energy independence is unsound.
And the government (meaning everyone who foots the government tax bills) is subsidizing renewable energy to make it competitive. Thus fiscally aware lawmakers have a valid objection when the US dollar is on the verge of collapse.
But they supported the subsidization of the intentional crisis in banking(one of the major causes of the weak US dollar) and failing automotive industries(failing due to poor practices) without hesitation, why should smopething that might have an upside for the average american not be examined and funded?


:cool:[/quote]

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{WTF} What is the downside of increasing renewable energy?

Post by WhiteHotAfterburner »

BCbudinTO wrote:
Chester wrote:Downside to renewable energy?

Environmentally, there isn't much downside. Tidal basin disruptions, hydro dams, windmills everywhere, cropland dedicated to fuel production.....
Tidal basin disruptions? I'm not sure how that would occur even with large scale tidal power plants.

hydro dams admittedly do have some envirnmental impact but I think its probably less than an equivalent hydrocarbon energy plant.

Windmills everywhere? I'm not sure where you're goign with that. I've heard the concerns about them "killing birds" but that seems a bit of a weak reason.
Economically, there are some issues. Currently most renewable energy costs more.
I agree it does curently cost more but by investing in it we can bring the cost down by advancments in technology. Also I think that the idea of trading short term money savings for long term environmental impact/energy independence is unsound.
And the government (meaning everyone who foots the government tax bills) is subsidizing renewable energy to make it competitive. Thus fiscally aware lawmakers have a valid objection when the US dollar is on the verge of collapse.
But they supported the subsidization of the intentional crisis in banking(one of the major causes of the weak US dollar) and failing automotive industries(failing due to poor practices) without hesitation, why should smopething that might have an upside for the average american not be examined and funded?


:cool:

Funding you say?...

$2.5 Billion Spent, 'Almost' No Alternative Health Remedies Work
Thursday, June 11, 2009


We have important work going on, BC :oops:

:dunno: :grin:,
WHAB

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