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The Lewis Windfarm (again)

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FourWinds F
FourWinds Apr 23, 2008 05:44:14
Replying to Hob

Hob wrote:
Personally, I like the idea of wave/tidal power.
The problem is that whatever 'natural' route is taken for power you are sucking energy from the ecosystem. That can't be good! There's the recent example I read about somewhere in Switzerland where a geo-thermal plant cooled the rock around it down so much that it caused earth tremours. They had to shut it down.

If you suck loads of energy from the oceans or the wind what is the greater effect on things like the gulf stream? Kill the gulf stream and The British Isles will be like Scandinavia.

H Hob
Hob Apr 23, 2008 23:33:32
Replying to FourWinds

I know what you mean. When it's scaled up, stuff has a tendency to go wonky.

Here's a possible thing. But even if solar capture worked, by the time it was implemented on a large enough scale to replace fossil stuff, the albedo of the planet would be screwed, thus affecting global climate. Though I suppose some kind of balance could be worked out by painting large tracts of the planet a darker colour.

Oh, and not forgetting the dolmens, they'd have to be painted darker too.

P PMM
PMM Apr 24, 2008 11:02:50
Replying to FourWinds

FourWinds wrote:
Hob wrote:
Personally, I like the idea of wave/tidal power.
The problem is that whatever 'natural' route is taken for power you are sucking energy from the ecosystem. That can't be good! There's the recent example I read about somewhere in Switzerland where a geo-thermal plant cooled the rock around it down so much that it caused earth tremours. They had to shut it down.

If you suck loads of energy from the oceans or the wind what is the greater effect on things like the gulf stream? Kill the gulf stream and The British Isles will be like Scandinavia.

But the problem is that we've been taking hydrocarbons from the ground, and turning them into energy, which then disperses into the ecosystem.

If we take energy directly, woudn't that eventually help to cool things down?