No wind in my backyard....

["Vincent King" <slavak@bresnan.net>]

Funny, the proponents of nuclear energy are often subjected to the "too

cheap to meter" statement (how long ago did that happen - fifty years,

maybe?).



But many proponents of solar and wind energy make exactly the same mistake

with their outlandish claims of "The sun/wind are free!"  Maybe they are,

but that doesn't mean the process of turning that energy into something we

can use is free.  That doesn't mean that solar or wind power are available

or reliable enough to replace other forms of power generation.  Fits nicely

on a bumper sticker, though.



(In all fairness, people who actually know something about alternative

sources of energy aren't the ones making those claims - it's the uninformed

ones who are primarily just anti-nuclear and who support solar and wind

power as 'noble causes' to battle the nuclear boogey-man.)



I for one would like to see solar and wind power developed IF they don't

have greater drawbacks than the current forms of energy production we use,

but bumper-sticker slogans don't show me anything.  It's not a matter of

philosophy -- whether they are viable methods of power generation depends on

science, engineering, economics, thermodynamics, etc., just like anything

else.  And discussing those issues so that relative comparisons can be made

is fair game, in my book.  It's not as easy as "Nuclear: Bad. Wind: Good."



By the way, it seems a little odd for one of the thousands (?!? we're that

famous?) of 'lurkers' to lash out at a regular contributer in order to

defend Radsafe against off-topic postings.  I think the Radsafe moderator

handles that task quite diplomatically.  I suspect it's more a case of the

hoof of somebody's sacred cow being stepped on.  So, sorry, Mr./Ms.

Himalaya, if that really is your name.



Vincent "Rockies" King

Grand Junction, CO



P.S.

>From Merriam Webster's online dictionary:



Radiation:

1 a : the action or process of radiating b : the process of emitting radiant

energy in the form of waves or particles c (1) : the combined processes of

emission, transmission, and absorption of radiant energy (2) : the transfer

of heat by radiation -- compare CONDUCTION, CONVECTION

2 a : something that is radiated b : energy radiated in the form of waves or

particles



I'm not sure what the 'theoretically correct' definition is, since Mr./Ms.

Himalaya didn't provide it and the hint didn't help at all, but Bob Hearn's

short version, "transfer of energy," doesn't seem like nonsense to me.



VK



----- Original Message ----- 

From: "Mountain Himalaya" <mountain_dog@eudoramail.com>

To: <radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu>

Sent: Wednesday, October 15, 2003 1:20 PM

Subject: Re: We love wind -- or do we?





> Bob Hearn claimed:

>

> >Continue your lurking, Mountain_dog, but don't waste >bandwidth trying to

> >interfere with discussions of energy resouces, recognizing >that the root

of

> >RadSafe is the term radiation - a transfer of energy.

>

> Nonsense. Your definition of radiation is not theoretically correct,

(hint: gamma radiation). Consult your freshman college physics books.

>

> Your line of reasoning is not much better than your definition of

radiation.

>

> I recognize the radsafers right to favor certain political points of

views, to like and dislike certain personalities. I however object to posts

ereflecting these points of views in an alternate energy sources context.

>

> The original post was nothing more than criticizing some personalities in

context of energy production.

>

> Bob: You can also argue against me for not revealing my true identity but

that would be besides the point.

>

> Thank you and Best Regards.

>

>

>



************************************************************************

You are currently subscribed to the Radsafe mailing list. To

unsubscribe, send an e-mail to Majordomo@list.vanderbilt.edu  Put the

text "unsubscribe radsafe" (no quote marks) in the body of the e-mail,

with no subject line. You can view the Radsafe archives at

http://www.vanderbilt.edu/radsafe/