Things are great

[triqster]

I'm totally working really hard, but my spirits are very lifted. It has been getting sunnier and warmer and I have broken out of the winter blues. Today it's 16C (61F) already so I'm doing some work so I can go out and play. Already the sun begins to rise around 5.00 and sets at 20.00. (BTW, I'm really getting into using 24 hr time because it's all

Comments

[triqster]

Heh. Well, I haven't seen that particular article but I would want to see the study. The short answer is that it isn't impossible, but I would be suspect until I saw how they did the analysis. A few thoughts on that though because life cycle analysis is getting more headlines now, and justly if you want to really good energy balances.

Some of these life cycle analysis tend to hold "clean" technologies to a higher standard because traditionally the full spectrum of the analysis was never done on the more mature technologies. It is only recently that we are becoming more interested in the total energy efficiency of things ie how much energy is put in, vs how much we get out. The input icludes extraction of raw material, manufacturing, shipping, distribution, lifetime use, and disposal. However it's more recently that all of these factors are considered important, previosuly you might only see the use. As a completely fictious and hopefully funny example it might be like saying that a twinkie is has more net energy benfits than an apple because the twinkie you just need to go to the store down the street to buy, but the apple you waste a lot of energy having to go all the way to the orchard and pick. They are being compared on uneven terms. So in some of these studies you have to be careful that the two things are being compared on the same terms. Because it may show the energy required from ground to disposal in one case and from purchase to disposal in another and then make misleading conclusions.

For instance I would not be surprised (though I don't know if it is the case or not) if the components of a hybrid took more energy to produce than a hummer. This is partly because the automotive industry has many years experience making that as efficient as possible, but hybrids are a new technology forcing the auto industry to make new alliances and designs nd those sytems are not as smooth yet. For the most part I doubt it holds water, but I can't say with certainty.

The other thing that could be considered in these kinds of things is that pollution from a stationarty source is more easily cleaned than from a mobile source. This is because cleaning of exhaust gas can require a lot of technology that doesn't always scale down to a vehicle size. It might either cost lots to make it mobile or not be very good. So pollutants emitted at a factory could be more easily cleaned than from a car. So let's say that the hypothetical hummer and hybrid produced the same, but the hybrid came more from manufacturing and the hummer from use. If you wanted to reduce pollution it would be easier to do for the hybird.
The mass transit could be much better through trains and better ship technology. In a lot of cases the technology is there, but no one wants to pay for it if it isn't required. This would obviously benefit both the hummer and hybrid.
The whole lifecycle analysis stuff is pretty interesting because it's starting to be held to higher standards where like for vehicles people want to see the "well to wheels to death" efficiencies. It's one of the reasons I'm very wary of the whole ethanol craze because the net gains really mean you can't take it too far away from the source without losing it's net benefit, not to mention turning food into fuel has repercussions... One rough estimate of using biomass is that outside of 80 km it doesn't really make sense which means. You start getting negative beenfits outside of 80km from the source. (very approximately since it obviously also depends how you grow it, what you do with it, etc)

As for what I'm going to do... heh... no fucking clue, it worries me slightly. But then I remember I could sell my house and live off that for a little while hahaha. I am interested in policy, but I'm not sure I like dealing with economics enough. I'm also interested in city planning and how to make communities more friendly from a social and green perspective. But then I have been talking with a french guy who interned at the UN and I wonder if it wouldn't be cool to do some projects abroad. I also want to fiddle with shit in a lab... which has been sorely lacking so far. I'm not very good at making contacts though and finding the opportunities. I wanna do something fun that will give me a good experience.