NationStates Jolt Archive

Hello, I'd like to ask a important question, even though it's related to my Science Term Paper. But the guestion is, In your mind what is the best logical way of Generating Electricity.

Befor answering pease consider these things:
-should be logical, and sensable
-Your method should be somewhat enviomentaly safe(need for it)

With that added, which is the best way of generating electricty?

Thanks

On what scale?

Right off, I'd say generating static electricity is by far the easiest, saffest & most inexpensive solution.. But it won't power your car.

On what scale?

Right off, I'd say generating static electricity is by far the easiest, saffest & most inexpensive solution.. But it won't power your car.

On a Global Scale. Basicly what you view to be the best way to get electricity.

The full spectrum of sustainable energy sources, ideally.

More realistically, nuclear power, to be phased out as quickly as possible with the above.

If you want something concrete, you'll have to be more specific. Otherwise www.wikipedia.org is a good place to start looking for info.

Solar power is increasingly more cost effective with advancements in technology, manafacture and efficiency. So I would think that it could be a useful way to generate power down south in the tropic, and in areas that get a significant amount of sunshine. Otherwise wind turbine, hydroelectric, tide generators, deep sea generators (forget the name of them,, they just put a 'farm' of them off the coast of europe somewhere not too long ago) all have pro's and cons.
mh

Giant mutant hamster on a giant wheel with Exxon execs dangled just in front of the hamster to keep him running.

Oil since its cheap, used everywhere and is very environmentally friendly for a fossil fuel

Of course if you have the spare cash alternatives are good but its never practical for your regular Joe nation to invest in

On a Global Scale. Basicly what you view to be the best way to get electricity.
Currently I would have to say nuclear ... (Thats assuming a good storage faculity is invested in or we find an efficent way to dispose of waste (Such as launching it into a solar capture orbit))

Solar power is increasingly more cost effective with advancements in technology, manafacture and efficiency. So I would think that it could be a useful way to generate power down south in the tropic, and in areas that get a significant amount of sunshine. Otherwise wind turbine, hydroelectric, tide generators, deep sea generators (forget the name of them,, they just put a 'farm' of them off the coast of europe somewhere not too long ago) all have pro's and cons.
mh


Yeah, Denmark I think..a Wind Farm In the ocean

Hello, I'd like to ask a important question, even though it's related to my Science Term Paper. But the guestion is, In your mind what is the best logical way of Generating Electricity.

Befor answering pease consider these things:
-should be logical, and sensable
-Your method should be somewhat enviomentaly safe(need for it)

With that added, which is the best way of generating electricty?

Thanks
I think you would want to use Bible power! LET GOD GIVE US THE ELECTRICITY WE NEED! *Sarcasm*

Fan Dancing

I think you would want to use Bible power!

Hrmmmm .... how much energy is generated as a Bible burns? How many Bibles are there in the world? You may be on to something here ....

Fusion, once they figure out how to do it.

I think you would want to use Bible power! LET GOD GIVE US THE ELECTRICITY WE NEED! *Sarcasm*Hah! I noticed he's yet to respond to his BIBLE POWER thread.

Nuclear fission with waste launched into space (already been said but oh well, I like to feel clever :D).

Nuclear fusion, once it's been sorted (again already been said but oh well).

Hydrogen power. Did a presentation on that and it's the actual nuts, evergy wise. Needs some development to become more cost-effective, but then thinking only about profits is what got us into this whole oil/global warming mess in the first place.

And of course renewable sources like wind, tidal, hydro, solar etc are cool too.

Potatoes.

Hrmmmm .... how much energy is generated as a Bible burns? How many Bibles are there in the world? You may be on to something here ....

Unfortunately bibles aren't a renewable resource. We need Jesus back. If he can turn water into wine, he can turn it into oil...Heck, skip the oil, he'll turn it into pure energy.

Oil since its cheap, used everywhere and is very environmentally friendly for a fossil fuel
Oil is becoming less cheap, and it won't last for ever. Nuclear power isn't that bad, the recent rememberance of Chernobyl has brought back the fear of the 70s and 80s, but its a viable, clean source of energy that we have NOW. Fusion would be nice, but as noted, they have yet to figure it out.

Solar energy works great in some areas (deserts, areas usually covered by high pressure), but in many parts of the world (like my home state Michigan) there are too many clouds to really make this efficient. Wind power is could be more efficient, and again, only works in areas of sufficient constant windiness. They also work well to relieve the landscape of flat lands, such as Iowa : )

Denmark's underwater wind farm is truly innovative. Ideas like this should be cultivated.

In sum, a form of renewable energy is ideal. Nevertheless, complete conversion is unrealistic at this moment due to the construction costs and output inefficiencies of these forms.

Unfortunately bibles aren't a renewable resource. We need Jesus back. If he can turn water into wine, he can turn it into oil...Heck, skip the oil, he'll turn it into pure energy.As an added bonus, we can burn the twit & use the heat for a small turbine :D

Nuclear.
One teaspoon of low purity Yellowcake can power the whole of france for one week. Thats quite impressive.

Nuclear.
One teaspoon of low purity Yellowcake can power the whole of france for one week. Thats quite impressive.
Damn straight...if it's true.

For the moment, nuclear. Once we get fusion up and running though, it would replace nuclear.

If people can pray for cheaper gas prices, they can pray for electricity too.

Maybe we should force the Amish to do it. :D

Hello, I'd like to ask a important question, even though it's related to my Science Term Paper. But the guestion is, In your mind what is the best logical way of Generating Electricity.

Befor answering pease consider these things:
-should be logical, and sensable
-Your method should be somewhat enviomentaly safe(need for it)

With that added, which is the best way of generating electricty?

Thanks

Solar power...you can put thoose solar pannels anywhere .e.g. on your car, on your house ect. Yer solar power is the way foward!!!! :)

Hello, I'd like to ask a important question, even though it's related to my Science Term Paper. But the guestion is, In your mind what is the best logical way of Generating Electricity.

Befor answering pease consider these things:
-should be logical, and sensable
-Your method should be somewhat enviomentaly safe(need for it)

With that added, which is the best way of generating electricty?

Thanks

For generating large amounts of electrical power, I think nuclear reactors are the best way to go. They have proven to be a relatively safe, environmentally friendly, and inexpensive way to generate power. In all the years of operation, there has been only one minor accident and one major accident.

For generating smaller amounts of electricity in areas where there is a fair amount of wind, I think windmills are the way to go. I read somewhere on the web there is a company that makes a windmill with a relatively low tower designed for home use. It is however a little on the expensive side and takes 10 years to pay for itself.

Good luck with your term paper.

Genetically engineered algae that produce methane from solar energy. Don't laugh, there's some guy in California doing it. The obstacle is increasing the efficiency of the algae to make it profitable.

Oil since its cheap, used everywhere and is very environmentally friendly for a fossil fuel

Of course if you have the spare cash alternatives are good but its never practical for your regular Joe nation to invest in

Oil is cheap? Have you checked the price of a barrel of oil lately? Cheap compared to what? :confused:

Oil is cheap? Have you checked the price of a barrel of oil lately? Cheap compared to what? :confused:
Bottled water. Have you checked the price on that? And it doesn't even generate electricity! All it does is make you pee!

Oil is becoming less cheap, and it won't last for ever.

Sure it's not gonna work, but hypothetically, if you had a choice of what to use out of the things we've got, I'd say oil, just because it works...Technically, I'd want to be powered by a black hole. Realistically, nuclear for now.

Ooh, I know. Lots of people on bicycles that generate electricity when you turn the pedals! Renewable, eco-friendly...

Ooh, I know. Lots of people on bicycles that generate electricity when you turn the pedals! Renewable, eco-friendly...
lol.

Oil is becoming less cheap, and it won't last for ever.

but it’s the only option for your run of the mill Earth nation since renewable power plants like nuclear are very expensive and even wind power takes up huge amounts of land think along the lines of Brazil why would switching to renewable power be a good option for a country where land is ideally conserved and the average wealth is too low for pricey solar plants

Biomass. I'm quite surprised that nobody's mentioned it yet.

Biomass is stuff like rubbish and the unwanted bit of crops (corn stalk or whatever) that would be burnt in an incinerator, or let in landfill site, but that could be used to create eco-friendly power.

And it's renewable.

Either that, or basically cover the whole of Africa in solar panels, whilst moving everyone off the land (other than maintainance personnel, obviously) and housing them in areas where more people are actually needed. Renewable energy that could probably facilitate the whole planet's needs, along with windfarms (offshore windfarms are great, Orkney and Denmark show what turbines can do out at sea).

Bottled water. Have you checked the price on that? And it doesn't even generate electricity! All it does is make you pee!

:p You are so right. And what about milk? Maybe we can run our cars off milk or water. :D

Actually, an idea I like is having solar panels on people's roofs. Each roof would only have to generate enough electricity for the house it sat on top of, and you wouldn't need to be connected to any grid.

Actually, an idea I like is having solar panels on people's roofs. Each roof would only have to generate enough electricity for the house it sat on top of, and you wouldn't need to be connected to any grid.

You still need to be connected to the grid so you will have electricity on the days when there is no sun, or you have snow on your roof. My neighbors had solar panels on their roof. I'm not sure if they were using them for electrictiy or hot water. In any cas they had them removed about a month ago.

Ooh, I know. Lots of people on bicycles that generate electricity when you turn the pedals! Renewable, eco-friendly...

Ah, but in the long term they require oil to keep on working :P

Ah, but in the long term they require oil to keep on working :P

Too true.

I'd say renewable energy in general is the best way, with emphasis on solar, geothermal, and wind power right now and tidal/fuel cells in the near future.

With the development of distributed generation systems as well as the falling cost/improvement in solar panel technology a lot of those issues are being resolved fairly quickly. Don't forget flow batteries/fuel cells, which are going to see huge growth in the next few years as a replacement for natural gas power as peak stabilizers.

Also, more often than not, when there's no sun there is wind and/or waves since the cloudy days often have something to do with weather patterns. These technologies usually have to be bundled for their benefits to be maximized.Solar's the way to go, along with wind, geothermal, tidal,
hydropower, and all of the other renewables.

Fossil fuel power is simply being rendered obsolete as well as costly and polluting while renewables are advancing by leaps and bounds, are becoming constantly cheaper and more efficient, and don't pollute. Even better, their manufacturing process can be self contained by using renewable energy to make the turbines, solar panels, and constructing the plants.

Every day, the Earth recieves more energy from the sun than has been produced by burning fossil fuels since the beginning of recorded history. And that's just solar, not including any of the other energy sources or alternative fuels. All we need to do is work on making the technology cheaper and more efficient as well as continue to provide support for it and it will continue to grow exponentially, maybe even surpassing fossil fuels in a decade.

Ah, but in the long term they require oil to keep on working :P

Biofuels...better than oil and cleaner to boot. Or we could make that oil from coal, but why do that when there are better alternatives already?

And that's just solar, not including any of the other energy sources or alternative fuels.
But oil is solar, and there is only one other source, and people don't like it :(
Unless they develop fussion and zero-point energy or something like that. But doesn't seem likely in the short term.

Maybe some of you would benefit from having a gander at the newly proposed EU energy plan. It's an interesting read, and not very ambitious at all - yet the goal it sets is energy independence by 2050 for all of EU.