286 comments on DrumBeat: March 27, 2008
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286 comments on DrumBeat: March 27, 2008
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GAIA Host Collective
another example of bad politics trumping good engineering.
What would be a mechanism that could change this ?
Do you really want a mechanism to trump that little iota of local control - even if it is likely only exercised as a veto?
I have seen, more than once, where it's turned out to be very wise that a homeowner has had really BIG rocks, posts, etc around their house. It's to keep the cars from trying their best to go right through. What are known as "big ass" boulders, posts, etc have saved many lives, for those engaging in the practice of sitting in their living room, sleeping, etc in an environment where out-of-control cars are far more of a danger - even in your house! - than earthquakes, terrorist attack, lightning, meteors, or any of the other BS people in suburbia worry about.
Nice to hear the driver wasn't badly hurt, now maybe he'll consider the wise alternative, the bus.
Do you really want mob control of our infrastructure?
I think a better idea would be to put 'breakers' on the lines that supply the lower voltage lines. Maybe when they keep popping their breakers they will learn that their infrastructure needs to be upgraded.
I was watching the Charlie Ross show yesterday with the head of Shell America on it. He was saying that the pipelines in the Northeast haven't been upgraded in 30 years. (He also said we haven't build a new refinery in 30 years which is know is technically correct but we have done massive upgrades to the ones we have)
No new refineries in 30 years, and specifically the last seven, is the best economic and political evidence of peak oil.
If the oil majors really wanted and needed a new refinery, they would have seen a historic opportunity to push it though the Bush administration.
299 days, 1 hour and 56 minutes is simply not enough time, the door is closed.
It's the best evidence that we had massive overinvestment in refineries 1970s and 1980s and when the oil bubble collapsed it didn't make sense to build refineries.
Th US has a trading system in place for sulphur dioxide emission. This trading system has a tendency to favor existing installations over new build installations. So 'repairing' or 'refitting' an existing intsllation is chaeper than building a new one if one wants more capacity. And before you ask, refineries are major sulphur emitters.
Interesting tie to this - On the watt podcast #75 they discuss how the coal power plant reduction happened.
Lower heat content, lower sulfur coal was shipped in VS using 'local' higher heat, higher sulfur coal.
Thus lower sulfur emitted, higher CO2 emissions.
WHEEE!
Now I'll bet they wish they installed scrubbers (or whatever it is that captures the sulfur), and had "waste" sulfur to sell. Last I heard it was something like $900/ton.
No new refineries in 30 years? Existing refineries have been expanded as this is less costly than applying for environmental permits to build new ones. New refineries were being built overseas also. If you believe in peak oil you will find that a time is coming when there will be enough refineries, but not enough oil to refine.
Hello Rainsong,
Good points--I agree, but also without FFs, there additionally won't be much recovered sulfur for processing I-NPK and all the other critical uses of sulfur and sulfuric acid [not much is mined anymore]:
Powerpoint PDF on Sulphur:
http://www.choa.ab.ca/documents/Apr12TL-ppt.ppt
Recall that Gazprom wants to raise sulfur prices Sevenfold in 2008:
http://www.meed.com/petrochemicals/news/2008/02/maaden_to_dominate_ferti...
-------------------------
...Costs in Russia, a key rival, are set to escalate dramatically, with Gazprom set to raise sulphur prices more than sevenfold in 2008. Maaden, in contrast, will have access to cheap local sulphur.
"Maaden's sulphur will be cheaper than most," says Barrie Bain, director of Fertecon, a UK-based fertiliser consultancy. "But the phosphate rock will be expensive compared with Morocco and US producers who have their own rock. It depends on how Maaden accounts for the capital cost."
----------------------------
The postPeak battle to be a price-maker vs a price-taker is on! If I was an FF-exporter: I could further juice my profits by removing the sulphur first to later sell to constrained importers at a high profit. Why let the importing refineries make the sulfur bucks$$ when they refine the crude?
Bob Shaw in Phx,Az Are Humans Smarter than Yeast?
Recall my often posted phrase:
Sitting in the dark is pure luxury compared to starvation.
Another way to rephrase it is:
Taking away a person's gasoline or electro-juice just pisses them off, but take away their food or their NPK-ability to grow food--now your talking CONTROL.
Consider how easy it was to control Tadeusz Borowski, #119198:
http://dieoff.com/page226.htm
---------------------------------
THIS WAY FOR THE GAS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
....Around here whoever has grub, has power.
---------------------------------
The new standard for local utility distribution voltage is 27,600 Volts (27.6 kV). Most utilities are upgrading to this voltage.
Old systems have a real mix; 13.8 4.4 etc. Line losses are proportional to the square of the line current. Double the current, quadruple the line losses. Upgrading a distribution system is not an easy task. That entails replacement of thousands of poles, lightning arrestors, transformers, autoreclosures, SCADA switches.
Distribution systems already have "breakers" installed throughout to protect equipment. They are in the form of substation circuit breakers, distribution line autoreclosures, and fusing at customer step-down transformers.
C'mon, where's the free marketeers ?
Shoot the Bastards in the Head............But seriously Sheeple, in the coming Fast Future, the politicians will stand and Fiddle while Rome burns. Listen to what is being said in the current Pigfest for the White House....
BZ
Hi RBM,
I confess I'm a bit torn by this. One of the things that very much attracted me to this street were the mature trees and the very dense canopy that stretches across the winding roadway. That said, the city is planning to install sidewalks so many of these trees will be removed, or at least the ones along my portion -- I expect the more affluent homeowners further down the road will be "spared".
Cheers,
Paul
The trees are worth more than the power lines or the sidewalks.
Hi Twilight,
I tend to agree. Whilst I appreciate the importance of pedestrian safety, I would hate to see trees lost to make way for a sidewalk. In terms of trimming for power lines, I just don't know; I guess it would depend on how much of the canopy would be affected.
With respect to democracy in action, it's more likely that one or two voices are being heard. Perhaps I’m too cynical, but I'm thinking one may be the guy with the 10,000 sq. ft. "guest house" equipped with a three story waterfall (I kid you not). BTW, wealth does not guarantee good taste... that place is butt ugly.
Cheers,
Paul
Got a picture for us to laugh at?
Hi free,
This Google map is out of date (a lot more has happened since then), but it's the property with the multiple boat slips. This person owns all of the homes at the tip of this land except for one (a little old lady refuses to sell), as well as the island where he maintains a second guest house.
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&num=10&lr=&as_fi...
If time permits I'll take a picture from across the basin later today. Of course, you probably won't be able to make out the "His and Her" Hummers.
Cheers,
Paul
IS burying (as in digging down) an upgraded power service an (expensive) option?
Pete
Hi Pete,
Sadly, prohibitively expensive (solid bedrock) and trenching would mean digging up a portion of the driveway and cutting through a retailing wall. If money were no object....
[My insurance company just reminded me of my $500.00 deductable....] :-(
Cheers,
Paul
Yeesh! Talk about excess. Must be Dick Cheney's secret hideout (and thus the owner is his secret identity).
Hi Free,
As promised, a picture of said house taken from across the Basin (believe me, the front side is no less flattering... =:-O
Note the roofline of the building to the immediate right of the power pole with the matching roof tile that transitions to glass.... that would be a three story "tiny some'em" he built on top of what appears to be gravel fill in the Google shot. From all accounts, this is still very much a "work-in-progress", so we're told there's a lot more yet to come.
See: http://www.datafilehost.com/download-fab6ce28.html
Best hopes for more cute little Cape Cods.
Cheers,
Paul
Too big for chickens and too small for cows, eh? I agree, tasteless and ugly. No offense to barns intended.
Don't worry, if barns are offended, they're offended by that house, not your comments.
Yuk - trees are more beautiful than that too. Even ugly trees.