D&C GLug - Home Page

[ Date Index ] [ Thread Index ] [ <= Previous by date / thread ] [ Next by date / thread => ]

Re: [LUG] OT: Wind Turbines [WAS: Data Centres]

 

David Brook wrote:
> 
> Worldwide relience on wind turbines WILL dramatically affect world wide  air 
> currents and hence weather patterns - even local balances could potentially 
> be upset.  Removal of enough energy from the atmospheric currents to make a 
> significant contribution to world energy is bound to have an effect.  This 
> would have a major climatic/environmental effect.

I doubt it. Just calculate the energy in weather systems.

> Tidal power and wave power likewise - you cannot extract energy without 
> affecting the balance of the original system.

Tidal power is drawn from the orbital energy of the moon/earth system. I
think the original barrier in France has a measurable impact on the
earths rotations, but this is because we can measure time with
incredible precision, not because a few million such barrier would make
much difference.

> Probably the best option is growing crops for burning - a 'renewable' which 
> doesn't seem to be much in vogue.  

It pushes up the price of arable land, and makes food more expensive, or
destroys forest instead. There are reasons we don't all have a log fire
to keep us warm in the winter given that at some point the UK was almost
entirely forested (there were only a few tens of thousands of people in
the UK then), this is the position we've effectively move from...

> Whether man made co2 is an issue or not, I find it amazing that this is the 
> only greenhouse gas on which our great leaders are focussed - there are many 
> others - but they are probably less emotive

Our political leaders are focused on methane, it is just the press that
has a CO2 only attitude. However I think persuading the Orient to stop
growing rice, or the West to stop eating beef, if going to be more
challenging than the benefits produced by taxing aviation fuel.

-- 
The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG
http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list
FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/linux_adm/list-faq.html