“Sustainably” basically only means fossil fuels aren’t burnt as a consumable to actually generate the electricity. Solar panels have a standard lifespan of around 25 years, and then what, recycle?
“The longevity of these panels, the way they’re put together and how they make them make it inherently difficult to, to use a term, de-manufacture,” said Mark Robards, director of special projects for ECS Refining, one of the largest electronics recyclers in the U.S. The panels are torn apart mechanically and broken down with acids to separate out the crystalline silicon, the semiconducting material used by most photovoltaic manufacturers. Heat systems are used to burn up the adhesives that bind them to their armatures, and acidic hydro-metallurgical systems are used to separate precious metals."
The author of that letter may have doctorate in electrical engineering but he ignores some factors. A commercial power plant converts natural gas into electricity quite efficiently. One need only put ones hand above a pot over a gas flame on a stove to understand how much heat is lost in the process. My guess is that more energy is lost boiling that water on a gas cooktop. Electricity heats water with little wasted energy. Of course, some of the energy from the powerplant is lost to ohmic loses in transmission but that can vary widely depending on how far one is from the generating station and the voltage of the transmission line. I would have to see some actual numbers before believing his assertion.
Recycling of non-fossil fuel generating systems is in its infancy. Rare earth metals are 100% recoverable. The claim that solar energy increases greenhouse gas emissions sounds like fossil fuel industry nonsense to me.
I used to use the term “drank the Kool-Aid”. I stopped using it upon reading a letter to the LA Times that pointed out that the Jim Jones massacre is fairly recent and in using the term, one might be unwittingly causing pain to someone who had lost a loved one to Jim Jones.
OK, but don’t you think it’s a foolish bet to assume the recycling will become good any time soon?
ScienceDirect and this study’s four authors are hardly shills for Big Oil. If you click on the links to the authors, you can see they’re pretty much environmentalists.
A propane torch may char food more quickly than a gas burner does, but in my experience a torch doesn’t impart the smoky flavor that leaving the food directly on the gas burner for a few minutes does.
I saw my great grandmother commanding my grandmother and her sisters to operate a wood stove. Within a few years, wood stoves disappeared, and liquid gas appeared. When gas lines came in, coal/wood was replaced by natural gas for heating for nearly everyone–but not cooking. Half of the sisters switched to natural gas, half switched to electric. That’s the world I grew up in.
In the present (already)–and in the near future–gas lines will not always be provided like when natural gas usage began years ago–not even for heat. New developments will have mostly electrical kitchens–with some induction.
If you’re committed to a gas solution, there always will be one available–but probably not ever at the price you’ve been used to paying.
I did a quick check and came to the same conclusion. My argument with them is that they are looking at the current situation, not what it is likely to be in 25 years. Furthermore, it is not clear to me that photovoltaic solar arrays are the best solution. Wind energy appears to have more promise, at least at enterprise scale. In my humble opinion–I am a physicist by training for whatever that is worth–is the real solution to clean energy is “all of the above.” Solar makes the most sense at the residential level particularly in areas the rely on air conditioning. But above all, we need to rethink our entire approach to power generation. The economies of scale that work with fossil fuels do not necessarily apply to renewables. A distributed system would seem to be more practical, and as a side benefit, more robust.
With all due respect that’s an irrelevant counterfactual.
That would be like asking “would you switch to induction if electricity was 10x the cost of gas”?
The point is, currently, the price of electricity is not quadruple the price of gas; it is (depending on your region) comparable or even pari passu with the the price of gas.
If one is making a price argument for induction over gas, the argument really fails and even if it doesn’t is largely geography dependent.
If one is making an environment argument for induction over gas, the argument is, at best, a mixed bag depending on the aperture of your point of view.
Many times presenting alternatives will shut down the other points of view because the alternatives simply show the fallacy or untenable position of the “other points of view”.
Another problem I’ve experienced with torches vs stovetops is food tasting like gasoline. This has mostly happened at sushi bars. Here’s an explanation.
If you know what the situation will be in 25 years, I’d like to know. You fight this war with the army you have today.
I think large-scale power storage is a missing link. Losing power at night, when the turbines are becalmed, and reservoirs fall low aren’t good arguments for sustainable at this point. Maybe a more efficient method for extracting and storing hydrogen?
As a physicist, what do you think of: (a) the neighborhood solid-state fission reactors; and (b) fusion generation? Tidal stations? Deep well heatpumps?
+1 on the hikers. I buy Merrell. My new pair breathe like no other shoe. LOVE them. Still I always save older pairs for when I cut wood.
I very much miss gas and plan on switching over when I can get new cabinets, etc. Hoping after my son graduates I can call my Amish buddy to build and install hickory cabinets. Got the glass top electric right now. I grew up with coils, so I don’t mind it. Just liked gas better.
Our local public university noticed how popular HuHot was getting, so they created a similar experience. Stainless disc 10 inchers. Just like HuHot, you go through a line, snap up the veg, meat and sauce(s) and into that 10 inch over induction. College kids were lined up to the door waiting for it at lunch. I might buy one for my camper. Prolly not the Control Freak, but a decent $80-$100.
