geosynchronous’s Recent Comments

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  Where's the proof?

  Zonbu says that their service is highly energy efficient, and they have a comparison of their device to a typical desktop PC here but their comparison only includes the device itself!  This is hardly a fair comparison when Zonbu requires you to keep most/all of your data and programs on their servers.  They also don't say whether the "standard PC" counts the monitor or not.  

  Your living room may be using less energy, but they have a room full of servers somewhere to keep up.  I wouldn't believe their claims until they have evidence that your OVERALL energy use is significantly lessened.  It may be true, but they may also be overstating their case significantly.On Hard to say, but Zonbu has clearly done its homework posted 2 years, 4 months ago 20 Responses

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  Eventually 7%?

  I'd say that's not a very clear reading of what the articles say.  That 7% of US electric supply number comes from the US Department of Energy projections.  These are notoriously ill-equipped to show the effects of policy changes... they are more of a straight-line extrapolation of what we do today.  I.e. instead of actually looking at what we think might happen (likely policy changes and their effect), they are much more likely to simply use (barely-modified) historic trends to guess at the future.  This does NOT accurately represent the change we will almost certainly see as states and the federal government move further and further toward renewable power requirements and climate change regulations.  Are you willing to assume that there is zero chance that the US will move in the next 15 years to aggressively reduce the risk of dangerous climate change?  

  These projections do just that, which is why I do not consider them credible.

  Furthermore, the argument that wind cannot provide more than 20% of the power on the electric grid is a weak one, similarly based on a "we haven't seen it yet, so it can't be done" mentality.  Grid operators are in fact smart people who are devising innovations of their own to deal with increasing portions of intermittent renewables connected to their systems.  Look to Europe for guidance here.

  The key here is not the findings coming out of the study, but the assumptions going into it.  If those assumptions allowed leeway for a little more realistic range of possible futures, they would be more trustworthy... and more inspiring.On Current Events posted 2 years, 6 months ago 1 Response

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  Does sound like NIMBY

  It's not clear to me that anybody has identified anything threatening about this plant.  In general, this kind of waste disposal is quite positive, yielding a useful compost, and using a process that is significantly better than other options in terms of its climate change impact.  As to why it's proposed out in the middle of nowhere... probably because the land is cheap enough to build a sprawling industrial facility on.  It sounds to me like somebody's trying to make a story here where there isn't one.On Don't Make Her Bust Out That Bustier posted 2 years, 8 months ago 4 Responses

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  Push back!

  Where's Moveon getting a zillion people to tell Obama that this is a dumb idea?  Or our friends in the big green organizations?  This is an important time to make sure that Obama's walk is as good as his talk.  Everybody likes him, but if we want to keep liking him when he's running for president, then we'd better make sure that he doesn't think our votes are automatic.

  In other words, I think that putting the pressure on right now is at least as important as it is later as the spotlight on him gets even brighter.  It gives him (A) and idea that "dirty hippies" don't automatically think he's god (even if most things he says do make us swoon) and (B) it does this while he still has the chance to change his position without be a flip-flopper.

  Don't wait until this idea gets a lot of airtime to point out that it's a problem.  Let's nip it in the bud.On With new energy-focused bills, Stevens delights enviros and Obama disappoints posted 2 years, 10 months ago 14 Responses

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  Energy balance = red herring

  Thank you to Julia Olmstead for the introduction to the concept of energy balance in biofuels.  I suggest not focusing too strongly on this, though.  Whether or not a biofuel uses slightly more or slightly less fossil energy to grow, process and distribute than just burning the fossil fuel in the first place is certainly interesting.  

  However as an energy engineer, the larger question for me is: if we're not even sure if its impact is positive or negative, then how much of our time and money is it worth?  If going to all the trouble of making corn-based ethanol yields only a 10% reduction in fossil fuel use (and concommitant environmental, political, and economic risks) then why not throw our weight behind something else? We could be spending our scarce dollars on supply options that payback the fossil energy used to make them many times over, rather than only coming out ahead by a few percent.

  Or with the same amount of investment (especially counting the vast subsidies to corn farming) we could be getting (for instance) much more efficient vehicles, reducing carbon emissions, oil imports, etc without using up sizeable portions of our land, water, soil, and other valuable resources.

  The most recent studies (e.g. Dan Kammen's work at UC Berkeley) have suggested that yes, using corn-based ethanol in your car emits a wee bit less global warming pollution than just burning gasoline.  Kammen's group then goes on to point out that ethanol can be much more beneficial if made from cellulosic sources.  Again, this points out that with the limited funds we have to spend on improving our energy outlook, we should spend them carefully on the things that get us the most benefit for our buck.  Compared to the other options out there, corn-based ethanol does not fit that description.On Find out which cars can run on ethanol and biodiesel posted 2 years, 11 months ago 13 Responses