Posted on 11/10/2007 8:23:32 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Maybe someone could splain something to me. I live in a TVA zone where all our electricity comes from a hydro-electric dam. So, if I shut off more lights, a barrel of water stays in the lake? Does LA and NYC get their power from burning unleaded or what? If saving electricity is so important, why is it $.06 per KWH?
Nothing stops anyone from setting up an offshore server and doing it that way, or doing email lists which aren’t out in the open. Technology will find a way.
You gotta love the story at the top center: “Why we can’t beat the Soviets.” Traitors always.
What’s even more ludicrous about the PR stunt is that it accomplished nothing tangible... zero, zip, zilch. Costas said it wasn’t going to change the world to turn off the studio lights for the evening, but it was a small part. In other words, if all of you “little people” will only sacrifice the world will be better.
Phooey.
Costas gave his message behind half a dozen candles, as though burning candles was morally superior to burning kilowatt hours. Guess which emits more CO2 (although that’s not really a problem, but that’s a whole separate issue), candles or a few lights?
Next, the entire fradulent exercise took place in the evening, when the power is base load. Someone can correct me if I’m wrong, but power generation involves base load and peaking power. Base load power comes from big nuke, coal, and hydro power sources. It cannot be easily ramped up and down. So, base load is set to cover the minimum demand over a 24 hour period. When a million air conditioners kick in during the afternoon, the extra demand is met with peaking plants.
Peaking plants are often combined cycle combustion turbines, which are relatively cheap to build and burn oil or gas. You can ramp them up and ramp them down.
Cut afternoon air conditioning use and combustion turbines can be throttled back. Cut evening lighting use in a TV studio and the base load plants still burn energy. For NBC to make a tangible difference, the lights would need to be permanently cut. An evening’s cut is not really any reduction because the base load plant is still pumping out kWhs.
Of course, this is not entirely accurate today. Because of NIMBY and environmental zealots, utilities find it difficult and risky to build base load generation capacity, so some have turned to turbines as part of their base load. The risk is less and if oil and gas jumps, the public utility commission lets them pass the premium along to the rate base, increasing regulated profits. Too bad if electricity prices are higher than necessary as long as the regulated utility profits are secure and the greenies don’t have to put up with more coal plants, nuke plants, and the snail darters are safe.
Again, someone can correct me if I’m wrong, but the point is NBC’s meaningless act was truly meaningless. It was ALL symbolism and ZERO substance, making it the perfect metaphor for the entire environmental movement.
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