tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post312723615178585290..comments2024-03-28T14:52:13.218-05:00Comments on Stonekettle Station: Water Empires: Part OneJim Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11259550121437562338noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-23901369175341042992008-03-11T13:04:00.000-05:002008-03-11T13:04:00.000-05:00John,1) "They" keep trying to relax the clean air ...John,<BR/><BR/>1) "They" keep trying to relax the clean air standard and create loopholes.<BR/><BR/>2) If we can't get cheap oil, you wanna bet on what happens to all those clean air regulations?Random Michelle Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13817444379694818074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-14221301670588174822008-03-11T12:15:00.000-05:002008-03-11T12:15:00.000-05:00Michelle - coal is limited by current clear air co...Michelle - coal is limited by current clear air controls. WVA coal is used becuase it's clean. If fluidized bed boilers could be made economical, you might grab some dirtier coal, but as of now, there's not a lot of expansion that can be done with coal.<BR/><BR/>Not that I'm advocating realxing the clean air standards, mind you.<BR/><BR/>;-)John the Scientisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03467337009577733553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-72166356969935677372008-03-11T09:36:00.000-05:002008-03-11T09:36:00.000-05:00OK, not to rain on the party, but speaking of wate...OK, not to rain on the party, but speaking of water empires, I though your post was going somewhere else initially, and that's the fact that the fresh water supply may become a problem before oil and alternate energy sources.<BR/><BR/>I'm spoiled, because Morgantown gets its water from a river, and we live in a rain shadow, so water has never been an issue here, even when the rest of the state was in drought.<BR/><BR/>But water is a serious problem elsewhere. At one point (maybe still current) Frederick county Maryland had a building restriction because they were building more homes than the water supply could handle (thank you Washington DC).<BR/><BR/>But this isn't a localized problem. Atlanta is draining the aquifer from which it gets it's water. Much of the west is dependent upon the Colorado river, and the water right there are constantly argued over. Aquifers in the Midwest are becoming poisoned by fertilizer runoff from industrial farms...<BR/><BR/>The US is rapidly either running out of water, or poisoning the supply it has.<BR/><BR/>And that doesn't even consider changing rain patterns due to climate change.<BR/><BR/>Yeah, not being able to drive anywhere is going to be a bitch. But not having water to drink is going to be a hell of a lot worse.<BR/><BR/>And FWIW I try to minimize my oil consumption: we have one car, and it's a Toyota Corolla. I try to buy organic products whenever possible (i.e. food not fertilized with oil), I've got reusable grocery bags, I recycle plastic as much as I can, and try to make purchases based upon how recyclable the container is... but it's a drop in the bucket compared to everything else.<BR/><BR/>Reducing oil consumption is going to require more than creating fuel efficient cars. It's also going to require that we change our farming practices (one of the books I'm reading talks about how much oil is used to create a bushel of coal and a pound of meat. It's a very large amount.)<BR/><BR/>In many ways the American economy needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. And I simply don't see that happening.<BR/><BR/>And John, don't forget about coal. They're already leveling the mountains here to provide electricity for parts of the east coast. They push much harder and WV is going to be flat before the end of the century. (/end bitter)Random Michelle Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13817444379694818074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-87408119338323018952008-03-11T01:32:00.000-05:002008-03-11T01:32:00.000-05:00Well option three is our best bet. And shouldn't w...Well option three is our best bet. And shouldn't we be working on bringing the fusion genie out of the bottle?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11689543548254798437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-19031275988720808762008-03-10T18:43:00.000-05:002008-03-10T18:43:00.000-05:00Hey, I'm good. I don't know what the rest of you ...Hey, I'm good. I don't know what the rest of you plebes are going to do...<BR/><BR/>Seriously, though, I've been slowly adopting "save the planet" type activities over the years. We use CFL's, I use cloth grocery sacks, I telecommute 100% of the time...<BR/><BR/>Those are what come to mind immediately.Janiecehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14190655869710465713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-463408153028120032008-03-10T17:41:00.000-05:002008-03-10T17:41:00.000-05:00Janiece, you can have Lake Ontario. It's inconven...Janiece, you can have Lake Ontario. It's inconveniently far away. I'll give you a personal supply from Superior, the cleanest and coldest of the 5 Great Lakes. :)Shawn Powershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15186686711412505957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-66177982137546495742008-03-10T17:34:00.000-05:002008-03-10T17:34:00.000-05:00...and a meeting with a sinister and mysterious ma...<I>...and a meeting with a sinister and mysterious man in an alley or library along the way</I><BR/><BR/>And obviously this alley should be somewhere in Manhattan. :D<BR/><BR/>Funnily enough I've been thinking about the same problem, albeit on a smaller scale. That is, my scale. Is there a way for me as a consumer to cut my dependence on oil? Can I figure out alternate means of transportation that don't require so much of it, yet still gets me where I need to go as quickly and conveniently? I know people who go everywhere on bike, but that's highly unlikely to be a realistic option for me. I've been pondering whether to trade in my car for a Prius - that would at least get me in the right direction. I also know people who have solar panels and find them so effective for their own uses that they have energy left over to send to the power company, who gives them monetary credits. <BR/><BR/>Like with Shawn, there's been a blog post brewing in the back of my mind about all this, though it wasn't going to bubble up to the surface as soon. Basically the key concept is something I learned in <I>Starcraft:</I> If you can't break through the front door, go around back. If we're in a lose-lose situation with regards to continuing to use oil, it's time to stop and do something else.<BR/><BR/>Looking forward to Part II.MWThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09446603415730525882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-29875536878728649002008-03-10T17:33:00.000-05:002008-03-10T17:33:00.000-05:00Shawn, I should be good, right? Right?Please note...Shawn, I should be good, right? <EM>Right?</EM><BR/><BR/>Please note that the jam has <EM>not yet</EM> left my custody...Janiecehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14190655869710465713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-40281574401111776502008-03-10T14:50:00.000-05:002008-03-10T14:50:00.000-05:00You left out the fourth option, Jim: if we take al...You left out the fourth option, Jim: if we take all of the bowls you've made (you may need to recover some of them, possibly having an exciting car chase and a meeting with a sinister and mysterious man in an alley or library along the way), assemble them in the proper sequence, and decode the symbols, we can discover the greys' method for extracting usable energy from the zero-point vacuum. That's why they've been planting these symbols in your brain, Jim, so that you can show us how to end the human species' dependence on all fuels. Which will lead to an end to war and a formal invitation to join the Galactic Nexus.<BR/><BR/>Sorry. How could I resist? The more serious response is that we are likely to go through the three alternatives you mention <I>in order</I>, like someone going through an abbreviated version of Kubler-Ross' stages of death acceptance. We'll remain in denial, fight a few wars, and stumble into some kind of solution out of necessity and accident (possibly while going through step two, since war frequently provokes innovation--and no, that's not the "good" thing about war).<BR/><BR/>Sorry. I think I'm still jet-lagged from the time change and my cynicism is dialed to "11." I look forward to seeing what you have to offer, Jim.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18275812152895151542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-36378031685339625382008-03-10T14:26:00.000-05:002008-03-10T14:26:00.000-05:00I know an engineer who was working on the concept ...I know an engineer who was working on the concept of a water distribution network similar to the one that handles electricity and natural gas. The governor of Michigan was approached about pipelines to the Lake.<BR/><BR/>His response was "the only way Lake Michigan water is leaving this state is in beer cans".<BR/><BR/>I'll be very interested in your post Jim, because as far as I can see, no alternative source can account for enough power to make even a 5% contribution to the total energy budget. None except for Nu-cu-lar, and the NIMBYs have blocked that one but good.<BR/><BR/>It's time to give the Sierra Club a uranium enema.John the Scientisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03467337009577733553noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-52138475360674744752008-03-10T13:33:00.000-05:002008-03-10T13:33:00.000-05:00First, the snark. I live in Michigan, so when the...First, the snark. I live in Michigan, so when the water empire begins -- I'll be your <I>freshwater king</I>. You may begin sending tithes and offerings now.<BR/><BR/>Secondly, you beat me to the blog post by a short margin. Mine was (and might still) focus largely on what your part 2 will be.<BR/><BR/>The coolest news I've heard in the recent past? <A HREF="http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4251491.html" REL="nofollow">That Tata motors will possibly be shipping to the US next year!</A> Will it happen? Who knows, but you can bet that's where my greenbacks will be going. I'm milking along our current minivan, just waiting for something smarter to come into play.<BR/><BR/>I'm looking forward to your next post. :)Shawn Powershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15186686711412505957noreply@blogger.com