Oi! Lots of thoughts.... A) I applaud anyone who can commute via their Rivendell. Unfortunately for me, it's 40 mi from driveway to parking lot one way... I just can't commute by bike. I do carpool; so, four of us make the trip together, instead of each of us in four automobiles. (And whilst the obvious reply might be to either move to closer to work, or change to a job closer to home, neither of those ideas work: I don't want to live near where I work, and there's not as good of a job near home. Maybe one day, but, not at this time.)
B) I concur w/ Robert Z, wind/solar can't handle the load until some great extraordinary development in battery technology comes along. However, I would like to make a comment along the lines of using the non-renewable resources: petroleum has far greater uses than being put into gas tanks, IMHO. Medicines that are petrochemical-based, lubricants, etc. (bicycle tires!); it's a shame that so much is used as fuel, instead of conserved for its other uses. Coal, is going to remain the baseload power source for the forseeable future in this country; half the electricity in the US is derived from such; unless we give up big-screen TV's, air-conditioning, electric heat, ipods, eliminate electric cars instead of having more of them, etc., the demand for coal will only rise. Yes, nuclear would be the only real alternative to coal for electricity, but politics will have to shift significantly first. Even if all electricity was produced through methods other than coal, though, coal would still be in demand for steel production (converted into coke), as chemical basestocks (the same way petrochemicals are), etc. (Disclosure: I'm a coal reclamation geologist, FWIW...) Think of it this way: our steel Rivendells: steel is an alloy of iron and carbon, the carbon is from coke, which is produced from coal. Without coal, we wouldn't have our Rivendells... C) I encourage recycling; we need less going into landfills. But even if you recycle nothing else, recycle aluminum (cans, non- Rivendell bicycles, Land Rovers, etc). The amount of electricity needed in the electrolysis process to convert bauxite into metallic aluminum is immense; so much electricity is saved simply by keeping the aluminum already made in the loop. D) Hope this doesn't step on toes, come across as preachy, etc. Not intended to; I realize internet musings often don't convey the visual/ audible nuances that we intend to be inferred.... -L -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
