(02-13-2023 04:03 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

(02-13-2023 03:53 PM)markbrindley Wrote:  

(02-13-2023 03:42 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  Considering the significant negative environmental and humane costs of wind and solar, I'd opt not to use them at all, but then, I like animals and not everyone does...Considering the scientific knowlegde available on campus, I'd vote for Nuclear power as the most practical and cleanest, and perhaps we could even sell a few extra watts...

If only there were a university locally with a focus on positive impact from product design...

https://news.rice.edu/news/2021/students...ill-blades

That's nice to know. Thanks for posting that. Wouldn't get rid of the waste, but might reduce how dirty it is a bit. Transport of new blades and turbines to the school would still be polluting, as with all blades, plus turbines need oil and changing oil filters regularly to run (What? You didn't know wind turbines used Oil? Silly rabbit.) The article you quoted discusses chopping the blades up afterwards to make it easier to transport, which is a good idea, but the waste is still there. Insulation, other uses are theorized but not yet known and cost/practicality would also need to be addressed, but good to at least try to do something about the significant man-made pollution and environmental problems from Wind energy. Wonder if they think they'll dig up all the ones already buried by others or just forget them? Another question for another time, perhaps. I'd guess they'd still need to bury the ground up waste in a University landfill somewhere on campus, but that's what I was asking Ham about.

So...that doesn't address the Solar Waste toxins and the millions of Bird Killings, what have you got for those, Mark?

Here's something I found on Solar Waste:

Solar Panel Waste: The Dark Side of Clean Energy

Quote:Tons of solar panels installed in the early 2000s are reaching the end of their lifecycles, posing a serious problem for the industry to contend with. Current solar panel disposal practices are far from being environmentally friendly.

Questions remain about whether their production and waste creates more pollutants than the fossil fuels they aim to replace.

Manufacturing solar panels often requires the use of several noxious chemicals. To add to that, solar panels have an operating lifespan of around 20 to 30 years. Since they were first introduced in the 2000s, literal tons of solar panels are reaching the end of their lifespan. Because it's not easy to properly dispose of the toxic metals inside the solar cells — and there's an overall lack of oversight — it is often cheaper to discard them in landfills or send them to developing countries. As solar panels sit in dumps, the toxic metals they contain can leech out into the environment and possibly pose a public health hazard if they get into the groundwater supply.

My point here, fellas, is not that we can't use some of these alternatives, but they also remind us that most "alternatives" are intermittent and thus unreliable, can't provide anywhere near the enormous power needs to replace even 6-7% of traditional fuels used, pose their own significant environmental problems and costs, and when compared to good, clean natural gas (which seems to be a recent no-no for some odd reason (cough, power-monging, cough, control)) or oil, in many cases are not worth the effort, cost or trouble. Again, I'd be very interested in Nuclear, though, and that would seem more apt to send a futuristic and powerful message of how to overcome the issues...It'd be cool to see a smaller new Nuclear plant on campus and quite a point of pride for our U and a selling point for our engineering program.

Respectfully, Good... Your response is part of the reason why athletics at Rice are struggling. I spoke about CONNECTING ATHLETICS TO THE RESEARCH ASPECTS OF THE UNIVERSITY and you ignore that and act as if Athletics should simply go purchase existing technology. Like what has put us here in the first place, you seem hell bent on looking for obstacles as a reason to do nothing.... or at least to not do what might work.

Research is all about finding dozens of ways that don't work... and although current solar panels and wind turbines can be an issue, there is no reason to think that we would HAVE to use current technology.

The reality is that our stadium is a microcosm of the entire electric grid world. As it is a distance from the University, there is a relatively large expense associated with getting power from the existing grid TO the stadium.... like many places in the world. Also like many places in the world, the power demands of the stadium outstrip the current supply (which is zero in some places). It is the PERFECT potential incubator for alternative enegy generation and storage, especially in that it sits idle in the wind and in full sun for hours each day and weeks each month. With more and more people wanting to live independently and protect themselves from issues with the grid (either temporary or permanent) not to mention many places where there IS no grid... this research has PLENTY of applications, regardless of your political slant.

We were previously working on a paint that collected solar power.... and we paint large portions of the stadium. That is what gave me the original idea... but I don't pretend to be as up to date (or smart) as the numerous engineering students on campus who can come up with much better ideas than I can.

And generation is only part of the question. Another question would be storage. Current battery tech involves rare earth minerals.... but NASA uses mechanical technology... we probably had something to do with that... so there are opportunities with alternative chemistries for standard batteries as well as alternative tech.

And whether you agree or not, guess what sort of technology is currently in vogue for research grants with not only the government, but private industry?

But remember... My goal here isn't really to address the power needs at the stadium. If that were the goal you write a check. The GOAL is to integrate the stadium into the activities of the University... as that makes HRS and the activities there part of our academic pirsuits.... and brings global attention to the University... and athletics.