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53 comments on I guess this is discourse...? (or Levitt of Freakonomics on today's Maass piece)

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Engineer-Poet on August 21, 2005 - 7:49pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
We have these little things called "wind" and "sun".  Supposedly, "wind" is good for up to 72 terawatts worldwide and costs about $300 per peak watt, and "sun" may soon (as in 2-3 years) be as cheap at $2 per peak watt.

That's electric, not thermal.

There are some things you need chemical stuff for, but with enough electric or thermal energy you can make it from other things.  I fail to see why we have to get used to "a world of less" instead of a world of "more from that other thing".

We didn't run out of light when depletion of whales led to "peak spermaceti", either.

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Anonymous (not verified) on August 22, 2005 - 8:21am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

$300 per peak watt? No, it's somewhat better than that: ^_^;

WindPower.org places it at " 1,000 Dollars per Kilowatt Average" That's about $1 per watt

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Engineer-Poet on August 22, 2005 - 9:13pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Sorry, I meant $300 per peak kilowatt.  Thanks for catching that, and get yourself an account so you can have a real name!
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Anonymous (not verified) on August 24, 2005 - 8:33am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
I fail to see why we have to get used to "a world of less" instead of a world of "more from that other thing".


Either the present world equates cost to value or it does not.

Either the present world has a lower cost associated with oil in the near past or not.

If the world equates money to value, and oil has been priced cheap VS other power sources, then are not consumer goods set at a lower price when oil is abnormally cheap?

Your "vision" (wishfull thinking really) is that economic growth and more goods will exist with MORE economically expensive energy.

So, please explain how, when long-long-term renewables like oil/coal become priced like short term renewables (wind,solar,hydro,1 growing season or less crop mass) how consumer goods are going to be the same or less priced than when oil was abnormally cheap?

I'm sure everyone is awaiting your wis-dum.
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53 comments on I guess this is discourse...? (or Levitt of Freakonomics on today's Maass piece)

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