Correction, Mother Earth
TRIES to correct the balance.
As to scanning humongus nearly fifty year old newspaper articles and posting them as proof, I read that the Martians landed and now half of the female population are bearing their children
When you want to prove something make the statement and back it up with proof, like this,
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Quoted from here ...
http://www.globalpublicmedia.com/heinberg_museletter190
The advantages of internal combustion engines are such that a diesel locomotive uses only one-fifth the energy (in kilocalories) that a coal-powered steam engine needs to pull the same train. Moreover, oil-burning systems generally require less attention and burn cleaner than solid-fuel systems, as anyone will attest who grew up with a coal furnace in the basement. As a result, oil and gas generate from 1.3 to 2.45 times the amount of economic value per kilocalorie that coal does.
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The use of steam locomotives goes a lot further than just the coal, with diesel if the loco is required at 6am the crew will sign on at 5:50am check and start the loco and be ready to go at 6am, with steam someone has to light then tend the fire until it is up to working pressure, can't remember just how many hours it takes but its a lot more than 10min :hehe:
Then there is the transport of the fuel, diesel loco's use a lot less tonnage of fuel per ton/mile than steam, so coal has to be distributed in a lot more places than diesel, a diesel will easily do 500 miles on a tankful, steam can only dream of that distance between fuel stops, so that means more infrastructure and workers to support the steam loco's.
With electric power a lot of people forget (or do not know) the impact that generating that power can have on the environment, nice clean hydro-power, but Hydro means flooding a valley
and what about down river, a lot of rivers have an ecology that depends on regular flooding and/or drying up to survive, but a dam for hydro-power stops this and instead makes a steady flow (for reference google the Murray River in Australia).
Wind and solar power, what about those nice balmy summer nights, no wind, no sun, no power.
In my opinion
REPEAT my opinion, nuclear power is the cleanest, safest* practical power that is available at this time.
* yes safest, nuclear power generation has only had two accidents, Long Island with no injuries and Chernobyl, yes a lot of people died and were radiated, but how many people have died in coal mines or by the pollution that burning coal generates, not only that but coal fired power stations release the natural radiation that is in coal, don't believe that one, then find a study of the higher incidence of cancer around coal fired power stations.
Now where did I put that step ladder so I can get of this soapbox :hehe: :hehe:
Cheers David
