America - The Official Thread

[Johnnypenso]

Desalination is incredibly energy intensive. Based on average American water consumption, California would have to build another 10 gigawatts of electrical capacity to desalinate all their required water or some lesser amount depending on how much they needed. Desalination is as much as 3 to 10 times more energy intense than conventional fresh water treatment. There is no reliable green energy source that can do that outside of nukes and hydro electric. Either that or you're stuck with coal and natural gas or some combination of the above.

 

[Johnnypenso]

delete

 

[CodeRedR51]

There is no reliable green energy source that can do that outside of nukes and hydro electric.

Bingo. Use flowing water in the process to power the plants.

 

[Dennisch]

Bingo. Use flowing water in the process to power the plants.

But Cali has no water.

 

[Johnnypenso]

Bingo. Use flowing water in the process to power the plants.

As @Dennisch said, where's the water come from?

That only solves the problem of the energy source for desalination being green. You still have to have the money to build the plant and run it and get the energy to the coast where all the salty water is.

 

[Dennisch]

As @Dennisch said, where's the water come from?

That only solves the problem of the energy source for desalination being green. You still have to have the money to build the plant and run it and get the energy to the coast where all the salty water is.

Just you wait and see how much money Cali will make from the herbs. They'll go from 5th biggest economy to 2nd or 3rd.

They will create a year round smoke screen that's usually reserved for when the forests go up in flames.

 

[CodeRedR51]

But Cali has no water.

As @Dennisch said, where's the water come from?

That only solves the problem of the energy source for desalination being green. You still have to have the money to build the plant and run it and get the energy to the coast where all the salty water is.

Use the sea water....

Run it through a series of canals, through a power station, then into the desalinization plant.

 

[Dennisch]

Use the sea water....

Run it through a series of canals, through a power station, then into the desalinization plant.

That's a decent possibility, except for 1 thing. You need gravity to get the water down, and seeing how you need to go below sea-level quite a bit, where would the water go from there? You'll have to install giant pumps to get all that water back up to the surface.

 

[CodeRedR51]

That's a decent possibility, except for 1 thing. You need gravity to get the water down, and seeing how you need to go below sea-level quite a bit, where would the water go from there? You'll have to install giant pumps to get all that water back up to the surface.

Just pump it up there from the beginning. Though that would require even more electricity.

 

[Johnnypenso]

Just pump it up there from the beginning. Though that would require even more electricity.

I'm going to avoid picking the low hanging fruit here but you really need to think that through a little.

 

[CodeRedR51]

I'm going to avoid picking the low hanging fruit here but you really need to think that through a little.

Or fuel, which is a worse idea. Other than that, you lost me.

 

[Johnnypenso]

Or fuel, which is a worse idea. Other than that, you lost me.

The amount of energy it would take to pump the sea water to a higher level to then have it drop into a hydro electric plant will always be greater than the electricity it generates. It's a net loss.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Well there are other ways to generate electricity, so something could be used. If you need water bad enough, you start finding ways around excuses.

 

[GTsail]

The amount of energy it would take to pump the sea water to a higher level to then have it drop into a hydro electric plant will always be greater than the electricity it generates. It's a net loss.

Yeah, it would be a net loss, but it could be done

Here in Massachusetts we have a hydroelectric power plant on Northfield Mountain that pumps water up to the top of the mountain and then runs the water down thru the hydroelectric power plant. I've actually seen the facility because I've skied on the Mountain!

Northfield Mountain Wikipedia

more pictures of the pumps: Northfield Mtn turbines

 

[PeterJB]

Just you wait and see how much money Cali will make from the herbs. They'll go from 5th biggest economy to 2nd or 3rd.

They will create a year round smoke screen that's usually reserved for when the forests go up in flames.

LA will look the same as it already does:

 

[Johnnypenso]

Yeah, it would be a net loss, but it could be done

Here in Massachusetts we have a hydroelectric power plant on Northfield Mountain that pumps water up to the top of the mountain and then runs the water down thru the hydroelectric power plant. I've actually seen the facility because I've skied on the Mountain!

Northfield Mountain Wikipedia

more pictures of the pumps: Northfield Mtn turbines

Different situation altogether. The reservoir is used to balance peak and off peak energy demands. It's essentially a storage facility for energy which is why it makes sense in spite of the energy lost in pumping the water uphill.

Pumping water continously uphill to then in turn flow it downhill to generate more hydro is a net loss of power in continuous use which is what we're talking about, not to mention the doubling of infrastructure cost. It would be cheaper and more efficient to simply generate the electricity and send it where it needs to go for the purpose we are talking about here.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Use the sea water....

Run it through a series of canals, through a power station, then into the desalinization plant.

Why not just keep running nuclear power? The risk is so minimal that I question the fear people have...other than media blowing up the issue in Japan after 2012 Tsunami.

Where would you actually put a sea water run hydro dam? I guess you could try off the coast some how, that'd be a feat of engineering. But I don't see any possibility of that happening to the hoover dam, also even if it could there is the issue of how ecology would massively shift more so than it already had.

 

[TenEightyOne]

Just pump it up there from the beginning. Though that would require even more electricity.

It's far easier to just build the energy conversion devices where the water already is. That way you don't have to move any water, it's all done by the moon.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Are water restrictions a thing in California and other similarly dry states? Here in South Australia water restrictions have been in place for years, they include restrictions on what times we can water gardens and lawns via sprinklers, hosing down your driveway and the method which you wash your car.

Is being conservative with water even considered, like turning the tap off while you brush your teeth, shorter showers, etc.

 

[McLaren]

California is a lot bigger mess then people think it is. If they did succeed, and they lost the water they've been stealing from other states for years, southern Cali would burn/dry up.

I'm sure there's several states that would do fine as countries though. Not a whole lot different in size then European countries, some quite a bit larger. Alaska and Texas come to mind, they would make a mint selling oil.

It's a fun theory, but I think it'd be a nightmare for us as citizens. DFW is also a major central hub in the US; not sure how that would that work out if it was considered its own independent province.

LA will look the same as it already does:

But it'll smell like weed 24/7.

 

[PeterJB]

But it'll smell like weed 24/7.

It will smell the same as it already does too.

 

[McLaren]

It will smell the same as it already does too.

From my experience, weed likes to overpower anything when it comes to smell. It's why it's absolutely, so easy to identify & makes you go, "HEY! Who's smokin' a fat one here at the game?"

 

[nk4e]

Will it beat the Siracha smell?
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-sriracha-may-move-ln-20140416-story.html

 

[Sanji Himura]

Are water restrictions a thing in California and other similarly dry states? Here in South Australia water restrictions have been in place for years, they include restrictions on what times we can water gardens and lawns via sprinklers, hosing down your driveway and the method which you wash your car.

Is being conservative with water even considered, like turning the tap off while you brush your teeth, shorter showers, etc.

Depends on the state. Here in Texas, water restrictions are usually put in place by municipalities and or counties, but never by the state itself. Though on the other hand, the only entity that has water rights here in Texas is the state, so overall it is a zero sum game.

 

[Liquid]

How popular was Hillary Clinton during her time as the First Lady and what was the public perception of her?

It's curiosity. I'm wondering if, what and how much has changed.

 

[Dotini]

How popular was Hillary Clinton during her time as the First Lady and what was the public perception of her?

It's curiosity. I'm wondering if, what and how much has changed.

Prior to the Clinton terms, previous First Ladies had primarily been wives and mothers in the background, with some exceptions such as Eleanor Roosevelt who took up particular social justice concerns. Hillary broke new ground with her involvement in policy matters, almost from stem to stern. Her "Hillarycare" was a spectacular disaster. And her defense of her husband during his impeachment over Oval Office blowjobs was, uh, embarrassing.

Public perception was mixed, as you might imagine. Males and conservatives thought she was pushy, a bad joke. Progressive activists and feminists I'm sure thought otherwise. For better or worse, she did change the unelected "office" of First Lady. Before it was a nothingburger. Now it's pot luck.

 

[ryzno]

US Army Corp of Engineers: Dakota Pipeline to be re-routed
http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/04/politics/dakota-access-pipeline/index.html

 

[Tornado]

How popular was Hillary Clinton during her time as the First Lady and what was the public perception of her?

It's curiosity. I'm wondering if, what and how much has changed.

It didn't really start turning against her until she ran for Senate before Bill was even out, but even before then it was posited that even the stuff she was doing as first lady (including coming to Bill's defense during the impeachment attempt) was so she could launch her own run for President at some point. There was a rather pointed joke about it in Die Hard With a Vengeance, all the way in 1995.

 

[Sanji Himura]

A bit of a local story, but Dallas Attorney Brian Loncar has passed away today. Though they aren't saying anything on the record, the family has said that Loncar died due to a heart attack. This is a tragedy since his youngest daughter committed suicide the week before.

 

[PeterJB]

I've been reading up a lot on politics recently,especially around the election. I'm feel that I don't really with any political party, whether that be UK or US. I'm very much socially conservative but I'm fiscally liberal and take a progressive stance on the environment and domestic policy and a conservative one on immigration. America seems to be a real melting pot in terms of political ideology in the way that doesn't happen in the very centrist-heavy UK. Is there a word to describe someone who is socially conservative but fiscally liberal? (i.e. the complete opposite of libertarianism)