Read if you are green like me . . .?

Question

if it is so important for us to protect the planet, then why can't we build more alternative energy sources!!??!!

it may be exensive but if we want to live then there SHOULD be a way to build one .

i mean come on

we need an idea

Answer 1

I think we are trying but it is really hard to find something other than gasoline that can work as good.  I think if we used more wind andd water power it would be better.

Answer 2

To change it takes 2 things .  Leaders and those willing to follow .  At this time we have neither !!  Someone must stand up and point the way .  Some one must say this is the way to energy independence .  Then people have to be willing to say " yes we'll try that " .  Unfortunately at this time in our history we have neither the leader or the people willing to change .  Much of the technology is already available and the time to be building tomorrows power generators is now .  Maybe we'll get lucky and some one will lead us into the future before it's to late .

Answer 3

Alternative energy is less about saving the planet, more about preserving our way of life despite loss of fossil fuels. As long as we have the promise of unending fossil fuel, there is no urgency to developing alternative strategies.

Next, we are so antagonistic to nuclear, but it is the only technology we can  put in place within 15 years that would allow an 80% reduction in fossil fuel consumption without severely limiting our wasteful industrial methodology.

That is, if we put in place that much wind power, it would take all of our current wind turbine and tower manufacturing capacity for 50 to 70 years.

Solar generating capacity can not be increased by enough annually to be more than a drop in the bucket, not because we do not have this solution, but because we can not churn them out fast enough.

Hydro... we have used up our prime locations and are on to using up less favourable sites. In our minds hydro should be very low cost, and we rebel at projected costs that exceed the cost of nuclear. But that is what happens when we use those less favoured sites.

We have tidal and wave energy. but the cost is well above nuclear.

Geothermal power plants thus far have been built very small and as a direct result our cost per kWh has been prohibitive, But geothermal in a much larger scale might still be viable. For provision of heat alone, geothermal would be a viable choice.

Passive solar heating is a viable choice where we seek to provide heat only. When we want to provide both electrical and heat, photovoltaic panels can provide both, but we are not able to produce enough with existing plant.

There are lots of problems with using biomass unless we derive our substrate from the oceans.

First among those problems is that we will run out of land to produce food plus biomass.

With rising cost of fossil fuels, there will be an incentive to develop nuclear power plants and all the other alternatives, but environmentalists will be out fighting tooth and nail to stop nuclear.

Saving the planet may have to include extracting a lot of methane (as methane or methane hydrate) in the far north. If this is not extracted and burned, the methane will escape as the arctic ocean thaws. That methane will make all the CO2 in the atmosphere irrelevant.

But because the northern ecosystem is fragile, we will have to fight decades of court battles about the environmental impact of drilling for methane.

People who want to have wind power in their homes will nonetheless be working the NIMBY deal to keep their home situated where wind power would be best. It is like having a major expressway built in the land behind your house... people want to solve the traffic congestion, but only if the expressway is a km away from home.

Next, far too many who want a green world are content to wait for government to do what they could do, individually or as groups.

If you want 10,000 wind turbines each averaging 500 kW of power (nominal 2 MW), then you get together a group of investors to build one, and more investors for more of them. But you do that 1000 times all at once, because if you do it all serially it will take forever. What you have to do very early is build  plants capable of providing the turbines, generators, towers, switching gear, erection equipment, because before you get to tower 5 you will find existing capacity straining.

If you want to put 100,000 solar roofs you first have to build plant to produced 12,000 solar roofs per year.

We may not be able to stop global warming, particularly SEEING HOW SLOWLY WE ARE GETTING GOING. We are likely at or approaching a tipping point beyond which we will not be able to stop it. About all we can do if that is so, is reduce the greenhouse effect as much as possible to limit the maximum temperature we would experience.

The single most urgent task is to get northern methane capture under way before it escapes en mass.

Answer 4

because there is nothing better than gasoline. Every alternative fuel source always has some draw back making it worse than gas. Plus, who doesn't like hearing the sound of revving a cammed V8 with slp loudmouth or a 4-cylinder with apexi catback? We should continue using gas and drill in Alaska. Why? BECAUSE IT WORKS

Why should I go green? THERE IS NO GLOBAL WARMING!!! ITS AN EARTHLY CYCLE!!! at one point, scientists thought we were heading into an ice age. look how that turned out... anyway, I think that I should not go green because trying to go green would only hurt me, not help the environment.

Answer 5

I think we should have a car-free day when everybody in the US only rides a bike or anything but things that runs on gas.

Answer 6

Can you even BELIEVE that there are people out there who DO NOT believe in global warming??? It's completely RIDICULOUS, and I am totally speechless.  There is more evidence out there than I know what to do with and there are SO many dumb people out there who choose to ignore it and prefer to be lazy, believing that this is an "earth cycle." Well, newsflash, you'll be alright, but your grandchildren won't.  Alternative energy is something we should be harnessing but aren't because the human race never takes action until it's too late.  Also, because we have too many dumb politicians out there that will say anything to get into office and then do nothing for our planet.  I agree completely with you, if we want to live and if we want our kids and grandkids to live, we NEED to take action.  Just remember and try your hardest to convince everyone around you of one thing - just one person CAN change the world, and hopefully someday we will.

Answer 7

Don't bother waiting for the gov't to do it for you. We can do it NOW all by ourselves. Here's an idea: eth/meth from switchgrass. 20 gallons of Ethanol and methanol can be extracted from about 200 lbs of biomass. A 2 acre field can keep your car fuelled continuously for free after amortizing the cost of land and equipment over 7 years.

Eth/Meth is the perfect transportation fuel. Hydrogen can't be stored easily, and eth/meth can be used in fuel cells. And a tank of eth/meth is a lot lighter than a bunch of batteries for an EV.

Answer 8

I know  what you mean. This is OUR planet and we should do all that is humanly possible to save our home.Whatever the cost and hardship we might experience.During wars many people die to protect their homeland so what is the difference we only cant see a foe face to face now.

Answer 9

It may not be widely known but many independent sources are working on things such as huge solar plants. It takes time.

One solar plant in NV could power the entire U.S. But it takes serious invetors to back such a plan.

It'll happen. Hopefully before the peak oil crisis.

Answer 10

The ideas are out there. we don't need power plants anymore,or dams for that matter. ( whitch will fail soon).We can replace all of this very easy. and cheap. go to you tube. to see what you can do.

Answer 11

idk but we need to stop global warming RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!! so everyone who is reading this.......GO GREEEEN!help the envireoment! everyone neeeds to help! go to www.thegreenteam.org          to get ideas on how to help the earth!

Gooo Green!