Renewable Energy Discussion thread

[redtrummy]

For years I have been of the opinion that the human world population has to reduce. In quite a few western countries populations are falling, somehow the young to old ratio 'has to be managed'. A phrase one of my old managers used to dish out when he had no idea what to do, and usually did nothing.

[Dave20046]

Originally Posted by Seeker

There now follows a Gloom Report, be warned...

It takes between 200 and 400 years to make 1 cm of topsoil. It takes 3000 years to make it fertile.https://expandusceramics.com/qa/how-...h-of-soil.html

Soil is becoming less fertile because of over farming and the demand for increasing productivity. https://www.bbc.com/future/bespoke/f...ng-from-farms/
Lincolnshire produces about 20% of UK food but I don't seem to see any fields been laid "fallow" any more - it used to be a requirement (but isn't now).

To compensate for low fertility, extra fertilizers are needed. The run off from the excess gets into the water supply and can cause blue baby syndrome (caused by excess nitrogen). In rivers and in the sea the excess fertilizers cause algae blooms - these take out the oxygen from the water and kill anything living in it. Some of these blooms are toxic, most are irritants.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmful_algal_bloom

and the delightfully named seasnot:
https://www.theguardian.com/environm...global-heating.

So over use of pesticides is a problem but so is over use of fertilizers.

(please collect your anti-depressants on your way out)

When I said about my concern for fertilizers, it was more about ingesting the chemicals from them, as a human. This is a whole different area of concern!

[Bibio]

i dont get why people think that they are ingesting chemicals buy eating produce made with fertilisers. a plant is full of chemicals which are mostly metals. the plant would use the exact same chemicals from soil. the only difference is that chemical fertilisers are more readily available to the plants, this in turn can benefit farmers by increasing yields. a plant will only take the nutrients it needs to grow.

pretty much every single strawberry you buy now is made using chemical fertilisers.

yes runoff into rivers can be a problem but the next time you wash the dishes or clean the toilet or wash clothes you are putting more phosphates and chemicals into the water than any farm fertiliser would with runoff.

[Bibio]

why are we talking about food crops.....ROFL... we get a bit distracted easily...

[Dave20046]

Originally Posted by Bibio

i dont get why people think that they are ingesting chemicals buy eating produce made with fertilisers. a plant is full of chemicals which are mostly metals. the plant would use the exact same chemicals from soil. the only difference is that chemical fertilisers are more readily available to the plants, this in turn can benefit farmers by increasing yields. a plant will only take the nutrients it needs to grow.

pretty much every single strawberry you buy now is made using chemical fertilisers.

yes runoff into rivers can be a problem but the next time you wash the dishes or clean the toilet or wash clothes you are putting more phosphates and chemicals into the water than any farm fertiliser would with runoff.

Again, I'm not talking about fertilisers. I'm talking about the literal poison they spray the crops with to kill insects . I wash fruit and veg I buy but it still irks me.

** just noticed on my last post I said fertilizers... I meant insecticides.

why we talking about this shiz

Because this is the greeny veggy tree hugger thread

[SV650rules]

It is not just EV charging, the drive for 'all electric' homes will drive energy consumption up as well.




Wind today 4% of grid demand, and it has been there many times this past 12 months, at one time a few months ago it never went above 6% for nearly 7 weeks. Solar pretty much disappears altogether between October and March in UK, even in midsummer it only gives about 9 hours of useful input to grid. The trouble with renewables is they are at the whim of nature, are unreliable and normally give most power when it is needed the least. Airsource heatpumps will give you over 3:1 return per KW if ambient is 35degC, but when it is below 10degC they give about 1.5x ( electricity is 4x as expensive as gas so add the cost of the system £10K to the larger radiators and larger pipework required say another £10K and the fact that during colder weather it is more expensive to run then you have a system where you have increased your costs and will never pay back the initial cost ).

[Bibio]

why do you think the power companies and the Gov are so hell bent on getting everyone on smart meters.. its not for your convenience its for them.. sorry sir/madam you have reached your daily limit so we are now going cut your electricity off or you can make a one off payment at extortionate rates to keep it on.

do you honestly think that the Gov will take a hit on fuel duty and vat when we are forced to go electric?... ermm no so a unit of electric will cost £1.50 instead of 15p?

the future is bleak, the future is black. fuk the poor.