Jump to content

Solar panels suck up all the energy from the sun


Recommended Posts

So I am reading the news and I am stunned that people actually believe that this could actually happen. Really? This is what you actually believe?

http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/us-town-rejects-solar-panels-amid-fears-they-suck-up-all-the-energy-from-the-sun/ar-BBnx0yG

Oh well I guess the company will have to go somewhere else to get their sunshine :)

Your laugh for the day :lol:

Link to post
Share on other sites

I bet there's fewer birds though...

-Gregg

In California they have solar power stations consisting of arrays of mirrors reflecting and focusing sunlight on a central boiler, the steam created by the intensified sunlight drives a turbine. One unforeseen consequence is that birds flying through the reflected sunlight burst into flame and die. I heard a discussion about this on NPR.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Something tells me if you follow the money on this one you'll find the real reason.

Yup. The article makes it sound like the whole town is a bunch of nuts that believe that. They quote one couple that has some rather unorthodox thoughts and that is the headline of the story. It's likely more to it than that.

Bill

Link to post
Share on other sites

In California they have solar power stations consisting of arrays of mirrors reflecting and focusing sunlight on a central boiler, the steam created by the intensified sunlight drives a turbine. One unforeseen consequence is that birds flying through the reflected sunlight burst into flame and die. I heard a discussion about this on NPR.

You can feed the homeless at the same time then.

Link to post
Share on other sites

From the above article "...We contacted the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald and spoke to author Keith Hoggard about the article and its unexpected reach. He confirmed that The Independent's take was mostly accurate"...ah yes, "mostly accurate" is good enough I guess for todays media :blink:.

Cheers!

EDIT: I had a thought after I clicked "Submit". If an article in todays media (take your pick of any of them) can be deemed "mostly accurate" then could it not also be cited as largely inaccurate? Glass half empty or half full kind of thing...

Edited by Don
Link to post
Share on other sites

In the Philippines.....electrical rates are higher than N America.......pay back time on a solar system is 3 years. The panels have a projected life of 20 years.....so it's a no brainer. Solar systems are getting cheaper and cheaper and China is now a big producer of Solar panels. More and more electrical grids permit you to sell excess daytime solar energy back to the grid at a reduced rate.....plus many have higher rates in the daytime and lower rates at night. So when you are at work....your solar panels could be generating power for the power grid all day at higher rates and pumping it into the grid for a credit on your power bill.

It is quite amusing to see your electric meter running backwards. I've heard...you could supply the electrical needs of the planet by covering an area the size of France with solar panels.

Now...sit back and ponder....what does the average family spend the bulk of their money on?.....energy. Be it gas for the car....electricity for the house or food for yourself......it is all energy and all of it comes from the sun in one way or another. Solar power systems gives you the ability to push back at the various power companies that are pulling money out of your pocket each month. As electrical raters go higher.....you will see more and more solar panels in North America.

Link to post
Share on other sites

There was certainly lots of stupidity on display at that meeting, but there are legitimate concerns about turning a town into a solar plant. A solar power plant is passive, requires almost zero maintenance, and sends all its money directly out of town. That would help the larger region, but it doesn't provide for the people in the immediate location.

We already have large areas of the nation covered in solar energy collection fields. They are called farms. Young families have been fleeing farmland for years because efficiency gains in farming means there's little work. Solar fields are even more efficient than that.

Link to post
Share on other sites

IMHO, "mostly accurate" is the best we can possibly hope for...

And that is a pretty sad state of affairs when you really get down to it, especially with the masses of sheep out there that think/believe everything on TV is true and real without question. Hey if Kim and/or Kanye say it's true...

:cheers:

Link to post
Share on other sites
If an article in todays media (take your pick of any of them) can be deemed "mostly accurate" then could it not also be cited as largely inaccurate? Glass half empty or half full kind of thing...

Well, no. "Mostly" anything implies more than 50%, generally a lot more. "Largely" anything implies much the same. That adds up to more than 100%. Only the media itself thinks it can get away with that sort of thing.

Link to post
Share on other sites

It's funny what people decide to reject, question, or adopt outright.

There is nothing wrong with stupid questions, provided that once the answer and evidence line up its probably time to let it go.

And its not unique to the south or the Carolinas you can find stupid, ignorant, and biased people everywhere. Having lived in California I got to experience the flip side of the same silly coin. Bring up nuclear power and watch the same kind of dumb come up, yet we are going to make fun of these people...

I've had people tell me that wind power "pays for itself" and "doesn't affect the environment" aND is "maintenance free" (this would make it the most effective energy ever created and harnessed by man-- no cost, no maint, neutral environmental affect --a true revolution) Along with all kinds of whoppers that don't hold up to a basic Google search.

I had someone else told me that "nuclear power was like an IRA terrorist," always plotting to be right once, while the plant operators had to be right all the time. Yep. Nuclear power is actively plotting to kill humans to create terror... just like your car-- MUHAHAHAHA!!

Its easy to blame the media for this and I will on this one too. but the bottom line is people are very poor with critical thinking and trade offs, and the media are really good at taking advantage of this

Edited by TaiidanTomcat
Link to post
Share on other sites

Let me guess - everybody in town wears a tinfoil hat!

:woot.gif::rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Well, no. "Mostly" anything implies more than 50%, generally a lot more. "Largely" anything implies much the same. That adds up to more than 100%. Only the media itself thinks it can get away with that sort of thing.

Saaaaay what!!!....surely you jest sir...the media surely isn't guilty of that kind of logic :whistle:

Link to post
Share on other sites

I wonder if they're amongst the same people who believe that the Charlie Brown Christmas Special was aired with 'Christian content' warnings... http://www.snopes.com/charlie-brown-christmas-christian-content-warnings/

Sometimes I wonder if those whackjobs might be right, and building a wall around America wouldn't be a bad idea... but then I remember that time when in Hungary a fundraiser was started (and raised a lot of money - into someone's pocket) to free the slave girl in a Mexican soap opera that was being shown there at the time, and I realise that it's not just America, but the whole world that's getting stupider by the day.

Link to post
Share on other sites

IMHO, "mostly accurate" is the best we can possibly hope for...

In reality, a story could be 100% accurate and still be completely misleading and even harmful. You could write a story with a headline, "Pilot Sneezes and Airline Crashes Killing All On Board". That could be a completely 100% accurate headline but has little to do with what caused a plane crash. Much the same as the story in question. There was a meeting, the city council did vote down allowing the solar farm, and there were people there with absurd questions and concerns. All might be 100% factual. But that doesn't mean that has anything to do with why the city voted against the solar farm. It might, but there's not enough information given in the story to merit the headline IMHO.

Bill

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...