Good answer on corn!

Here is an overview of total lifetime energy and greenhouse gas emissions for wind energy:
http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/sustain_lca_wind.html

		Curt

Curt McNamara, M. Eng. P.E.  //  principal electrical engineer | electrical engineering

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-----Original Message-----
From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Pete
Sent: Monday, August 25, 2014 9:03 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [TN] NTC - I believe ... (my credo)

Sorry to dredge this up after it's been quiet for a few weeks, but...

I've been on vacation.  Spent 2 weeks driving around the US of A.  This conversation struck me, because among all of the amazing things things I saw, 2 were rather significant because they seemed un-natural.

Wind farms.  LOTS of wind farms.  Corn.  INSANE amounts of corn.  Both left me with the same thoughts of a wasteful use of resources.

Wind farms.  What did it cost to build them?  Operate them?   Not just in dollars, but in energy, too.  At least half of them, probably more, weren't even spinning regardless of the wind action.  If we had spent those dollars cleaning up toxic chemicals or even Ebola vaccines, we could be saving many lives each day instead of jousting the windmill of maybe reducing global temperatures by a degree in the next 100 years.  Or maybe spend those dollars on research into viable clean energy to replace fossil fuels.

Corn.  No way the country is eating that much corn.  Sure the energy balance for corn-ethanol is getting better (thanks to GMOs - uh-oh!).   But again, is this the BEST use of those resources?   Could we be growing better food in those fields, making fuel from something that has a better energy balance, spending the money more efficiently?

And another point was made that has always made me wonder.  We generate a LOT of heat to make energy.  Has anyone ever studied if that has more effect on climate change than the emissions?

Pete

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