Re: [asa] Psychology, technology, & the sugar-substitute brouhaha

I am forwarding this comment from Ruth:

Begin forwarded message:

> Thanks. Interesting discussion. Merv's right in part; our owning
> a Prius makes us sometimes more likely to make small trips when we
> should wait and combine.
>
> But:
>
>> Realistically, the choices for energy at our current consumption
>> levels is only between dirty choices (all). Solar would be (is)
>> clean, but can't satiate our energy demand in any substantial
>> way. So I don't see oil and solar in any real competition with
>> each other; they are simply different markets -- solar being
>> useful to get rid of battery necessity on small items or prevent
>> power companies from having to run lines to remote communications
>> switching devices -- solar shines in those niches. But when when
>> we fill our tanks with gas & want to power large vehicles at high
>> speeds, solar won't cut it. So we choose between gasoline (or
>> maybe ethanol) or for an electric car, coal, or nuclear. These
>> are all dirty in their own way -- nuclear in a slightly different
>> way.
>>
>
> I beg to differ. Wind energy (5 cents/kWh) now is on a par with
> natural gas. New wind costs the same per kWh as new coal (cost of
> construction of new plant, depreciated over operating lifetime,
> allowing for maintenance, not including carbon taxes); depreciated
> wind costs much less than depreciated coal. (Only, there's very
> little depreciated wind in the US, since most of it has been
> installed only recently.)
>
> Solar energy, at 10 cents/kWh, IS competitive with other sources in
> high-cost environments: CA, HI, Japan. Europe, with green-friendly
> regulation.
>
> Finally, the least expensive clean energy is CONSERVATION--which is
> as green as it gets. I suppose the choice not to drive is
> conservation in action. And Merv is correct, I suspect, that if/
> when we reach the stage of plentiful clean energy, we will likely
> use it as profligately as we have used fossil fuels for the last
> century.
>
> Feel free to forward to ASA if it fits discussion.
>
> Ruth

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Received on Wed Feb 13 19:55:07 2008