November 09, 2002
From the desk of Jane Galt:Question of the Day My
Question of the Day
My favorite thing about this site is that I get to ask my readers to answer questions for me that they know more about than I do.
So here's my question today, for the scientists and engineers out there: assume that we do, in fact, convert to renewable energy sources -- solar and wind.
Are the weather effects of sucking all that energy out of the climate system better or worse than the weather effects of burning fossil fuels?
Posted by Jane Galt at November 9, 2002 04:46 PM | TrackBack | Technorati inbound linksNot a scientist or an engineer, but even if you could scale the technology that large, messing with the albedeo over such an area as would be needed can't be good. Steve Den Beste over at denbeste.nu (Aka, USS Clueless) posted the details on what an industrially useful size planetside solar array would be like. As I recall, it worked out to being many miles wide, and long enough to reach from San Francisco to Sacramento. Wind power is too erratic to be a primary source for anything other than a cabin in the woods. (But, at least it can be boot-strapped from a junked car & some PVC pipe, unlike solar cells...)
Posted by: Cybrludite on November 13, 2002 09:21 PMThe amount we might remove from the system is picayune compared to what the sun pumps in to the system.
Posted by: Jim Satterfield on November 16, 2002 12:27 AMComments are Closed.