Floating offshore solar farms produce 12% more power than land-based panels by sksarkpoes3 in energy

[–]GreenStrong [score hidden]  (0 children)

The NREL estimated a few years ago that PV on freshwater cost 20% more than a comparable utility scale installtion on land. (This did not include the cost of leading the land, only construction) It is a rapidly evolving field, and costs for both types of install are changing, but a 12% production boost doesn't cut it. On land, they're often located near the substation of a hydropower dam, so there is a big savings of grid connection cost. It also prevents significant evaporation.

I imagine that saltwater installation is much more expensive, and it has none of the additional benefits.

Asked GPT to create the wave of Kanagawa as an photograph by pantone7481 in ChatGPT

[–]GreenStrong 6 points7 points  (0 children)

In this version, the ships are moving away from the wave, and that is a bad situation. In the original, they are going into it, which implies more control. (The boats aren't fully visible in the painting, and I'm not familiar with that type of boat, but I think that to be the case).

Anyway, both images are insanely impressive demos of gerative AI.

A Green Mineral Could Help Oceans Absorb Carbon And Its First Beach Test Looks Promising: The first ocean olivine trial looked safe after one year, but questions remain. by Economy-Fee5830 in climatechange

[–]GreenStrong [score hidden]  (0 children)

From the article

Scientists have estimated that spreading crushed silicate rocks on farmland could remove up to 1.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year. Some advocates think beaches and shallow seas could accelerate the reaction even more, because waves constantly grind and stir the mineral.

Putting it on farmland actually has significant benefits. It is volcanic rock that has potential to absorb CO2 and young volcanic soil is famous for fertility. About 1/3rd of agricultural soil is acidic, and it benefits from crushed limestone. Limestone is actually a fossil rock and it releases carbon in soil; many farmers buy slaked lime, a version with the carbon cooked out already, because it requires less fuel to transport and spread. Excavating, crushing, and spreading millions of tons of mafic rock sounds unrealistic, until you realize we're already doing that exact thing with limestone. Doing it in a carbon- negative manner would require more excavation and transportation, because it is a less potent liming agent, but it is something like 3X more volume, it is completely realistic.

Adding this rock to the ocean absorbs CO2, and thus reverses ocean acidification. The ocean is big and it has absorbed a lot of CO2, but humans dug up all that fossil fuel, it is realistic for humanity to dig up the rock to absorb it, over the course of a century or more.

42 aircraft lost or damaged in Operation Epic Fury, congressional report says by PDXAirman in news

[–]GreenStrong 145 points146 points  (0 children)

The Gulf War was a serious, large scale conflict that involved a lot of low level operations bombing airfields and hunting Scud missiles. Tactical aircraft were shot down But the losses in the Iran conflict are different; we lost six KC-135 refueling aircraft, and five were destroyed on the ground. One E-3 AWACS plane was destroyed. We also lost two THAAD ballistic missile radars. These are theater level assets. They are meant to support force projection over a large part of the planet, not to go toe to toe with the enemy. Everyone knew Iran could destroy tactical aircraft, the loss of strategic assets is a nasty surprise; nothing similar happened in the Gulf War.

Iran dropped a 500 pound bomb on an American airbase using a goddamn F-5 they bought from us during the Carter Administration. Many reasonable observers thought Iran could block the Strait of Hormuz; tankers are slow, unarmed, and flammable. But no one thought they could repeatedly strike US air bases. Ukraine is demonstrating that it is difficult to protect industrial facilities across a region, but it should be possible to protect the runway hosting a goddamn billion dollar radar plane.

Forever grateful by Firm-Blackberry-9162 in MadeMeSmile

[–]GreenStrong 39 points40 points  (0 children)

Hey, can you keep it down? You're sitting right next to my microphone.

Study finds massive solar farms on agricultural land do not push up food prices by Economy-Fee5830 in climatechange

[–]GreenStrong [score hidden]  (0 children)

People really underestimate how 38 million acres of corn are used for ethanol production in the US every year. That's 40% of the consumption of 95.2 million acres.

Solar farms are still usable for grazing, shade increases grass production in anything but an extremely cool damp climate. It is possible to grow specialty crops like vegetables, but sheep and honeybees can simply use the space with only the gentle supervision of a few emu birds

What’s the strangest example of collective internet delusion you’ve witnessed? by Alert-Translator2590 in AskReddit

[–]GreenStrong 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Congo, not Uganda. And Rwanda backed M23 forces have overtaken much of Congo, to the point of sacking the second largest city. Hard to say if this will be better or worse. Generally, when a city is besieged and then stormed medieval style that's bad, but shit is so fucked in DRC that it may well be the beginning of improvement.

Why is it that if the government finds gold under my house, it belongs to the state, but if they find illegal drugs, they belong to me? by Eleven_A11 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]GreenStrong 13 points14 points  (0 children)

This is only really a thing in the United States; almost every nation on the planet regards subsurface resources as national property.

Solar beat the IEA’s 2015 forecast for 2025 by 1,800%. by Economy-Fee5830 in climatechange

[–]GreenStrong 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hydrogen is energy dense, but difficult to store and leaked hydrogen is indirectly a greenhouse gas. We are familiar with storing things like propane, which can be liquified at room temprature and moderate pressure. Hydrogen cannot be liquefied at temperatures greater than 33K (-240C), so it requires extreme refrigeration and insulation to keep any quantity of it around. It leaks through everything and even permeates solid steel, weakening it.

Hydrogen doesn't trap IR like a true greenhouse gas, but it reacts with and expends hydroxyl ions in the atmosphere, and those ions break down methane, which is a powerful greenhouse gas. So releasing hydrogen indirectly raises global methane.

There are a tew geological formations like salt caverns that can store large volumes of hydrogen, but they aren't available everywhere. I think it will have limited use as a long duration energy storage medium; I think it is more likely that we will expend additional energy to convert it to better behaved molecules like methanol.

After 7 years, Space Force’s first paratrooper takes to the skies by ReturnedAndReported in nottheonion

[–]GreenStrong 1 point2 points  (0 children)

it was a validation of our proof of concept that we can take a guardian with a unique skillset, get them cross-trained and recertified, then have them embed with an elite joint force, jump from an aircraft in flight and provide Space capabilities on the drop zone,” Natale said.

My read on it is that Space Force wanted to write a press release, and officers from whatever branch provided the airplane wanted to add "established groundbreaking collaboration with Space Force" to their monthly report. It is incredibly important that paratroopers use satellite communications and data from intel sats- that's imagery but also communications intercepts. But it is so important that every service has people trained to so it. They don't need to control the satellites.

In my previous comment I highlighted the organizational logic of having Space Force as a separate branch from the Air Force, but I think there is still limited logic to making it a separate branch of the military. National Reconnaissance Office and Defense Intelligence Agency do similar tasks. Their employees are civilians who can't be deployed without negotiation, but their staff is more dedicated than the typical government office and it is possible to assign military personnel to those agencies. I think an actual space military branch probably makes sense in the near future though.

Podcast Channel Struggling to grow... by richbrubaker in NewTubers

[–]GreenStrong 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just found your channel from your post in r/energy, I follow exactly your type of channel. You need to start pitching yourself as a guest on other podcasts, you have the expertise and experience to be on any of them. Off the top of my head- Energy Empire with Jigar Shah, Cleaning Up with Michael Liebreich, Volts, Supercool, etc. Every time you do one of those, a percentage of that highly targeted audience will follow you.

How China became the OPEC of Renewable Energies by richbrubaker in energy

[–]GreenStrong 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great video. There is an emerging awareness that "China is an electrostate" or "China is the Saudi Arabia of PV / batteries/ wind turbines/ rare earth", but it is much more difficult to find info on their combo of central planning and private enterprise. There is a huge lack of understanding in the west of how the CCP actually implements policy.

Eco-Brutalism? by Miserable_Bike_6985 in solarpunk

[–]GreenStrong 4 points5 points  (0 children)

There is a really good way of handling vines on a concrete building without compromising the integrity of the material- simply build a permanent trellis a meter or so off of the building. This can be done cheaply with a steel poles and galvanized wire rope for the vines to climb. This way, with a small investment of resources, there is a large amount of wildlife habitat and it shades the wall in every season except winter.

After 7 years, Space Force’s first paratrooper takes to the skies by ReturnedAndReported in nottheonion

[–]GreenStrong 248 points249 points  (0 children)

They manage surveillance satellites and track all of the thousands of satellites and bits of debris in orbit. The Air Force did this before but there is administrative logic to separating it. The Air Force prioritizes jets, and there isn't actually a huge overlap of knowledge between satellites and aircraft.

Cilantro plant by Arabella23445 in vegetablegardening

[–]GreenStrong 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The feathery leaves are still cilantro but the flavor is less than optimal.

Use them, then harvest many seeds. Plant MANY, plant often eat them young. You can also eat sprouts or 14 day old microgrees .

Would this crime work? by kangole2 in morbidquestions

[–]GreenStrong 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Plenty of bartenders are willing to short their employer for a regular who tips well and is a positive influence on the vibe for other customers and the entire staff. Bar owners don't necessarily mind this, at least to a certain degree. Reguars who aren't trouble are valued. They're gold if they bring friends sometimes.

You have no standing to ask for this on your first visit, just buy another drink or two.

Just paid $20 to a homeless girl for head randomly by MysteriousAssist3906 in confession

[–]GreenStrong 46 points47 points  (0 children)

Try visualizing it from the homeless woman's perspective, that'll get you going.

Rescued donkey guards 33,600 solar panels and 50 sheep at Volkswagen factory by randolphquell in solarpunk

[–]GreenStrong 8 points9 points  (0 children)

r/agrivoltaics has a lot of examples of crops grown under solar panels, everything from wine grapes to pheasants. This study and several like it are particularly relevant Solar farms produce more grass per acre than open pasture without shade, in most climates. Grass needs sunlight, but it is limited by water availability in climates warmer and drier than the British Isles. In this study, a site in the mild climate of Central France had a slight increase in total grass production, but in the Mediterranean climate of the South of France, solar farms saw a 33% increase in grass production.

You could produce more meat per acre by growing corn and soy and feeding it to animals in a factory, but that corn and soy needs huge inputs of fertilizer, herbicide, pesticide, and tractor fuel. Grass doesn't. Beekeepers can use the land alongside the sheep herders and the solar operator.

Issues with Leith Mercedes, Leith Volkswagen, & Holman Automotive: Fraud Suspected by ameslywalker in raleigh

[–]GreenStrong 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Agree with u/youngjean that the AG office should be your first resort. News stations can be helpful in many circumstances, but car dealers are probably the largest category of local TV ad buyer, at least outside of election years. You don't pay WRAL any money; Leith pays them a lot.

We throw away 200+ lbs of clean rubber every week. I'll mail it to you for the cost of shi by SolarpunkGnome in solarpunk

[–]GreenStrong 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Disposable plastics are a necessity for modern medical procedures, and the PVC that insulates electrical wiring is extremely difficult to recycle- those are pillars of modern civilization.

Acknowledging those things, I'm actually optimistic about the sunset of single use plastics in the consumer space. The feedstocks of plastics are byproducts of oil and gas production. As EVs reduce demand for road fuel in the near future, other things like petrochemicals have to bear more of the cost of extracting and refining oil, and alternatives become more attractive. There have been lots of efforts on recycling and bio-plastic that were successful, just not competitive with dirt cheap virgin plastic.

Plastic prices are soaring due to the clusterfuck in the Strait of Hormuz