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OldSarg
Junior Member
USA
148 Posts |
 Posted - 07/28/2010 : 5:01:13 PM
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I traveled to a wedding in White County Indiana this last weekend. Just two years ago I layed in the grass with my son and counted Hawks, Falcons, Vultures and Geese. This time I did not see ONE! Not ONE raptor not even ONE goose! There were no pheasants, no ducks. There are numerous ponds, creeks and lakes but no birds.
I did see what looked like over 200 of those gigantic wind generators. Are we killing nature in our quest to save it? Do the wind generators really save us any energy? I was told the cost to generate 1 kilowatt of power from a wind generator was 12.5 cents but coal was 4 cents. Does any of this make sense? |
"My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength." - Michael Jordan |
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buckeyenut
Senior Member
USA
3735 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2010 : 5:18:13 PM
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They must have moved here! I've seen an over abundance of both hawks and falcons in my backyard and vultures just down the road plus had to wait the other day for mama duck and her babies to cross the road. The duck crossing signs are up for a reason! 
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Bretland
Senior Member
1803 Posts |
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cmsquare
Senior Member
USA
3160 Posts |
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Posted - 07/28/2010 : 6:03:21 PM
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| They must have disappeared into thin air with no trace whatsoever just like the billions of gallons of oil that was pumped into the gulf. |
"I brought it back, not cm"
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blueblood
Senior Member
USA
3820 Posts |
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Posted - 07/28/2010 : 6:08:13 PM
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quote:
[i]Originally posted by cmsquare[/i]
[br] just like the billions of gallons of oil that was pumped into the gulf.
We need to open up the spigot to achieve this number. Do you work for McDonald's?   |
You are who you are, because you choose to be that way |
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OldSarg
Junior Member
USA
148 Posts |
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Posted - 07/28/2010 : 6:10:20 PM
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| Bretland~ wow! Maybe we should call them "bird beaters". I should have walked the grounds to see if I could see any birds on the ground under the blades. If that many birds are killed bats must be decimated by these things. |
"My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength." - Michael Jordan |
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Houndog
Senior Member
USA
2679 Posts |
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Posted - 07/28/2010 : 6:14:55 PM
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I think we should put one up next to the New Old IGA to get rid of the Canadian Geese as evidenced in Bnuts photo.
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Doc
Advanced Member
USA
8414 Posts |
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Posted - 07/28/2010 : 6:18:34 PM
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No kidding! The Klingons retired them from service by the 2350s due to faulty plasma coils, which were components of the cloaking systems.
Everyone knows that.
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Matt_Steele
Average Member
1193 Posts |
Posted - 07/28/2010 : 6:39:17 PM
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If we cared about the livelihood of birds that much and not tried to insinuate some sort of yay coal, boo wind argument, there are many things we could do. Such as eliminate towers that carry electrical lines. Esp the ones that blink (so planes avoid them). Those things destroy birds.
http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr191/psw_gtr191_1051-1064_manville.pdf
snippet from the paper:
Communication
towers may kill from 4-50 million birds per year. Collisions
with power transmission and distribution lines
may kill anywhere from hundreds of thousands to 175
million birds annually, and power lines electrocute tens
to hundreds of thousands more birds annually, but
these utilities are poorly monitored for both strikes and
electrocutions. More than 15,000 wind turbines may
kill 40,000 or more birds annually nationwide, the majority
in California.
Now if you we want to move from the aww poor birdies argument and discuss wind energy in general, I agree that at the moment it's inefficient. But how inefficient were we at drawing power from coal when we first started using that? Efficiency and better use strategies takes time to develop. That said, I'm not a big fan of wind energy myself (at least not in its present form). I'm a much bigger fan of trying to develop solar energy (or geothermal).
Regardless, bottom line is that humans will impact the environment no matter what we do. Therefore we should strive to find solutions and energy sources that impact the environment the least. Despite its cost, wind energy harms the environment way less than coal. I hope we continue to look for ways to move away from coal energy towards less harmful sources. |
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OldSarg
Junior Member
USA
148 Posts |
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Posted - 07/28/2010 : 6:53:59 PM
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| I too like the geothermal way. I also am a big fan of nuclear power. I don't know if it is a fact but I read the other day that ALL of the nuclear waste produced to date would fit inside a normal high school gym. If that were true it sure would change a lot of peoples feelings about nuclear power. |
"My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength." - Michael Jordan |
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cmsquare
Senior Member
USA
3160 Posts |
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Posted - 07/28/2010 : 8:41:43 PM
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many of our nuclear facilities are nearing the end of their operational life span and will soon be off line.
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"I brought it back, not cm"
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MFD50
Junior Member
USA
293 Posts |
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Posted - 07/28/2010 : 10:29:09 PM
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quote:
[i]Originally posted by OldSarg[/i]
[br]I too like the geothermal way. I also am a big fan of nuclear power. I don't know if it is a fact but I read the other day that ALL of the nuclear waste produced to date would fit inside a normal high school gym. If that were true it sure would change a lot of peoples feelings about nuclear power.
For the fuel rods that may be true. But they need separation from each other to keep from going critical. Also the amount of nuclear waste made from the weapons manufacture, medical, and engineering instruments adds to the volume. There were several train box car loads that came through here a few years ago from Mound Manufacturing in Miamisburg on their way to the nuclear plant in Savannah, Georgia. From there they were to be shipped to Nevada, or Utah to be buried in an old salt mine for the next 50,000 years. However they say the salt mine will eventually collapse upon the drums and casks entombing them. I wonder if they will stay intact or create another 'Superfund' site? |
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buck35
Senior Member
4169 Posts |
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Posted - 07/28/2010 : 10:49:32 PM
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Doc where did you find that picture of Urso?  |
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biglaw
Junior Member
473 Posts |
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Posted - 07/28/2010 : 11:08:54 PM
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| Maybe they all flew to Monroe to go to Hustler. |
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michellem
Junior Member
255 Posts |
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Posted - 07/28/2010 : 11:13:28 PM
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Buck, I have to admit, I thought the same thing  |
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blueblood
Senior Member
USA
3820 Posts |
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Posted - 07/29/2010 : 09:06:55 AM
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quote:
[i]Originally posted by MFD50[/i]
[br]quote:
[i]Originally posted by OldSarg[/i]
[br]I too like the geothermal way. I also am a big fan of nuclear power. I don't know if it is a fact but I read the other day that ALL of the nuclear waste produced to date would fit inside a normal high school gym. If that were true it sure would change a lot of peoples feelings about nuclear power.
For the fuel rods that may be true. But they need separation from each other to keep from going critical. Also the amount of nuclear waste made from the weapons manufacture, medical, and engineering instruments adds to the volume. There were several train box car loads that came through here a few years ago from Mound Manufacturing in Miamisburg on their way to the nuclear plant in Savannah, Georgia. From there they were to be shipped to Nevada, or Utah to be buried in an old salt mine for the next 50,000 years. However they say the salt mine will eventually collapse upon the drums and casks entombing them. I wonder if they will stay intact or create another 'Superfund' site?
We spent billions on Yucca Mt. nuclear storage to store the spent rods, and nuclear materials, and when it was ready to go, Barry cancelled it, effectively, strangling and stifling this future technology! Sound familiar?   
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0201/Nuclear-waste-storage-in-limbo-as-Obama-axes-Yucca-Mountain-funds |
You are who you are, because you choose to be that way |
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MFD50
Junior Member
USA
293 Posts |
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Posted - 07/29/2010 : 10:09:00 AM
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| Well isn't that something Obama axes the budget for the storage site but puts in more funding for the nuclear program which will create more waste. What a waste! |
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cmcarney
Junior Member
172 Posts |
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Posted - 07/30/2010 : 11:58:28 AM
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The reason so much waste is created was because a law was passed that said you can only use the rods once before they had to be disposed of since Ur turns to Pu. However, technology has been so advanced that the reusable Ur (96%) could be taken from the rods and only dispose of the Pu... but since our country is run by politicians instead of scientists this will probably not happen here like it does in the UK and France.
New generation reactors are very efficient. Many countries get much of their power from nuclear. It is asinine that we do not. |
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Tom B
Senior Member
4819 Posts |
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Posted - 07/30/2010 : 12:42:48 PM
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quote:
[i]Originally posted by MFD50[/i]
[br] From there they were to be shipped to Nevada, or Utah to be buried in an old salt mine for the next 50,000 years. However they say the salt mine will eventually collapse upon the drums and casks entombing them. I wonder if they will stay intact or create another 'Superfund' site?
The salt dome's "collapse" is a desired feature of the salt formation. It literally walls off the materials, confining them into a geologic feature that has been stable for literally millions of years.
As for another post about reprocessing nuclear fuel, reactor fuel is "spent" when only about 1% of the U235 in it is consumed. There are many reasons to pull it out then, but specifically included is that while uranium fission is well controlled by insertion or removal of neutron rods, fission of its daughter radioactive products is not. The percentage of these grows with each uranium atom that is split. So they have to remove the bundles and put them in cooling pools. These could be reprocessed, reclaiming 99% of usable fuel.
The restrictions against reprocessing were put in place to prevent nuclear weapons proliferation, by discouraging widespread technology that would permit isolation of plutonium. That dates from the 50's and as has been shown in North Korea, China, India, Pakistan, and now Iran, is just so much wishful thinking.
Japan is now using mixed fuel reactors that include plutonium as fuel. We led the world in this technology, providing a useful purpose for what otherwise would be waste, but Jimmy Carter canceled the program. |
Tom Birdwell
tombirdwell@aol.com
(513) 539-7411
Feel free to call or email |
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Bretland
Senior Member
1803 Posts |
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Posted - 07/30/2010 : 1:52:40 PM
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| just another great thing that Jimmy Careeer did.........................:( |
"There are 10 types of people in this world. Those who understand binary, and those that don't." |
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OldSarg
Junior Member
USA
148 Posts |
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Posted - 07/30/2010 : 2:03:10 PM
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| Tom~ I learn something everytime I read on of your posts! Thanks. |
"My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength." - Michael Jordan |
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No More Birds of Prey
