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And yet we have a president promising to bring back coal. If only our population could elect leaders who will keep up with the outstanding technology the US sci

And yet we have a president promising to bring back coal. If only our population could elect leaders who will keep up with the outstanding technology the US scientific community (really the global scientific community) produces. EDIT: It would be nice if folks down voting could leave a comment so I could learn what the objection is. I saw no mention in other comments about this specific challenge that America faces in terms of growing renewable energy installations.

sctb 9y ago
We started with the topic of the price of wind energy, and now we're into generic political controversy with no steps in-between. Do you see how that takes us from a concrete discussion into tedious flamewar territory? The guidelines ask us not to do that, and also not to complain about voting. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- tchaffee 9y ago
  I wasn't complaining about the voting. I'm fine with getting my comments downvoted as long as I can learn why. Without an explanation it might take me a lot time to guess what I did wrong and to improve. Isn't it better for the entire community if I improve my comments quickly? > Do you see how that takes us from a concrete discussion into tedious flamewar territory? If current US politics weren't relevant to the future of renewable energy, then sure. I thought it was a relevant concern. What I wrote isn't a political opinion, it's a fact. I have read the guidelines and I do try to be careful about posting stuff that's purely a political opinion. Thanks for your comment, it was helpful even if I don't agree 100%. At least I now know which of the guidelines you think I was not following.
mchannon 9y ago
There's a lot of metallurgical coal necessary for the construction of certain high-grade steels, such as those you'd find in wind turbines. Similarly, try and make a PV solar cell without coal in the value chain. You can't (I can). Arguably, some coal jobs are green jobs. The thermal coal industry, long on the ropes, and not at all green, has not been recovering.
- jabl 9y ago
  > There's a lot of metallurgical coal necessary for the construction of certain high-grade steels, such as those you'd find in wind turbines. Sure. Though I don't see how that should preclude getting rid of coal for power and heat generation?
- Something1234 9y ago
  > Similarly, try and make a PV solar cell without coal in the value chain. You can't (I can). What do you mean by "(I can)"?
  - mchannon 9y ago
    Patent-pending technology. Email me for details.
- hwillis 9y ago
  Steel does not require coke (which can also be made from things other than coal): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_reduced_iron https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_reduced_iron Steel is <2% of US coal consumption, too. It's basically irrelevant to coal as a pollution or economic issue. Any resource that uses coal can be replaced by a renewable source. Coal is just a carbon source, and carbon is one of the most accessible elements. Producing very pure carbon from biomaterials produces energy and is very similar to the production of coke from coal. It's very economical and the only reason it isn't used is because coal is so insanely cheap.
savanaly 9y ago
I downvote every comment that complains about being downvoted, for what it's worth. Let the chips fall where they may, the place to discuss why something is or isn't downvoted is somewhere else, never in the replies to a comment that's purportedly about something substantial.
- tchaffee 9y ago
  Downvote away. I'm more interested in learning than I am in internet points. And thank you for your comment explaining your downvote.

sctb 9y ago

We started with the topic of the price of wind energy, and now we're into generic political controversy with no steps in-between. Do you see how that takes us from a concrete discussion into tedious flamewar territory? The guidelines ask us not to do that, and also not to complain about voting. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

tchaffee 9y ago
I wasn't complaining about the voting. I'm fine with getting my comments downvoted as long as I can learn why. Without an explanation it might take me a lot time to guess what I did wrong and to improve. Isn't it better for the entire community if I improve my comments quickly? > Do you see how that takes us from a concrete discussion into tedious flamewar territory? If current US politics weren't relevant to the future of renewable energy, then sure. I thought it was a relevant concern. What I wrote isn't a political opinion, it's a fact. I have read the guidelines and I do try to be careful about posting stuff that's purely a political opinion. Thanks for your comment, it was helpful even if I don't agree 100%. At least I now know which of the guidelines you think I was not following.

mchannon 9y ago

There's a lot of metallurgical coal necessary for the construction of certain high-grade steels, such as those you'd find in wind turbines. Similarly, try and make a PV solar cell without coal in the value chain. You can't (I can). Arguably, some coal jobs are green jobs. The thermal coal industry, long on the ropes, and not at all green, has not been recovering.

jabl 9y ago
> There's a lot of metallurgical coal necessary for the construction of certain high-grade steels, such as those you'd find in wind turbines. Sure. Though I don't see how that should preclude getting rid of coal for power and heat generation?
Something1234 9y ago
> Similarly, try and make a PV solar cell without coal in the value chain. You can't (I can). What do you mean by "(I can)"?
- mchannon 9y ago
  Patent-pending technology. Email me for details.
hwillis 9y ago
Steel does not require coke (which can also be made from things other than coal): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_reduced_iron https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_reduced_iron Steel is <2% of US coal consumption, too. It's basically irrelevant to coal as a pollution or economic issue. Any resource that uses coal can be replaced by a renewable source. Coal is just a carbon source, and carbon is one of the most accessible elements. Producing very pure carbon from biomaterials produces energy and is very similar to the production of coke from coal. It's very economical and the only reason it isn't used is because coal is so insanely cheap.

savanaly 9y ago

I downvote every comment that complains about being downvoted, for what it's worth. Let the chips fall where they may, the place to discuss why something is or isn't downvoted is somewhere else, never in the replies to a comment that's purportedly about something substantial.

tchaffee 9y ago
Downvote away. I'm more interested in learning than I am in internet points. And thank you for your comment explaining your downvote.