Solar panels drain sun's energy "experts" say

[ggr]

Check out the school's web site ( WIT - Wyoming Institute of Technology).
Look at the menu and select some of the options. I think the humor is hysterical :-D

"To boldly split infinitives that no man has split before!" E-condoms! Mind boggles.

 

[Mookuh]

One thing that has always bugged me, however, are those statements about how the amount of solar energy hitting the earth each day is enough to power x for y years. Well sure, but I would have to think that there would be repercussions if the entire planet were shaded from the sun. :crying:

That's definately worth studying. Likewise, one has to wonder if building millions of wind turbines will have unforeseen impacts on the environment. Some people claim it would slow the rotation of the planet, which seems unlikely, but on the other hand those turbines are taking energy out of the air currents and I'd be surprised if they didn't alter the flow of air etc. somehow.

 

[jerry33]

That's definately worth studying. Likewise, one has to wonder if building millions of wind turbines will have unforeseen impacts on the environment. Some people claim it would slow the rotation of the planet, which seems unlikely, but on the other hand those turbines are taking energy out of the air currents and I'd be surprised if they didn't alter the flow of air etc. somehow.

With global warming that might be a good thing as the hotter the environment the more air movement there is. However, there would have to be a very large number of wind turbines (I'm guessing similar to the number of cars) to have an affect.

 

[Robert.Boston]

Any impact from renewable energy sources should always be followed by the question, "compared to what?" Demand for power should be assumed constant, and then you figure out the impact of producing power one way or some other way. Any global-scale impact from wind is far less than the global-scale impact of fossil-fueled plants.

 

[jhm]

"To boldly split infinitives that no man has split before!" E-condoms! Mind boggles.

If we could harness the power of splitting infinitives, we'd really have a truly renewable energy source. But the question is, how? One possibility is to place electrodes into the muscles of grammatically sensitive individuals, and then systematically expose them to individuals who casually split infinitives in speech. The electrical impulses causing little muscles of grammatically sensitive individuals to contract could then be captured and used to charge a Model S. Putting such a grammatically sensitive individual directly into the back seat of the Model S could also be deployed for extended range. If the splitting of infinitives does not excite a strong enough charge, then you could consider explaining why it's perfectly fine to spell "Terrafactory" with three Rs. That alone should get you an extra 30 miles of range.