The future is dense, walkable cities.

[coati]

The hobbyist scene is already active at the local level, and will increase in intensity as more consumers recognize that they are getting screwed by energy monopolies.

The problem is at the systemic level of grid-dependent industries and high-density consumer populations. Right now, stupid mistakes are being made at the higher level of grid design, because the grid design decisions are being made by private corporations chasing dollars in the most inflated energy markets. This will result less energy resiliency in some states and greater greenhouse gas emissions overall.

R&D, as well as regulation, needs to take place at the grid design level.

 

[coati]

I'm all for herding people into the cities. Means less retards wandering around in my woods.

^^^The inference is that you will be moving to the city.

 

[Comshaw]

Yes. As the survey indicates, bad experiences are causing former riders to feel unsafe. Funny how that works. Here’s how one former rider explains it:

Why even BART superfans like me are falling out of love with riding Bay Area public transit​

“And the increasing prevalence of homelessness, mental health and substance abuse issues on BART has frequently made me feel unsafe. One night, my train ground to a halt for nearly an hour as medical workers and police tried to help a person in crisis who had intentionally entered the tracks.

Car suburbs were a failed experiment from the last century. Forcing people to drive everywhere was great for the oil and car industries, but private cars turned out to be an ecological disaster, not to mention the fact that many American cities were gutted to build car infrastructure. Entire neighborhoods were razed to build highways and parking lots.

The way forward is to redirect public spending on car infrastructure to buses and trains. Convert lanes that are currently used for on-street parking into dedicated bus and bike routes. Bring back streetcars. Impose heavy penalties on careless drivers who kill pedestrians.

It will take decades to undo the damage that the private car has done to American cities, but European and Japanese cities can be used as models for how we can get rid of traffic and make our cities easier to get around in.

Like this?




Comshaw

 

[Bray123]

Anybody would think that no-one has ever jumped from a bridge onto a road, or gone to play in the traffic ever.

 

[AlexBailey]

The hobbyist scene is already active at the local level, and will increase in intensity as more consumers recognize that they are getting screwed by energy monopolies.

The problem is at the systemic level of grid-dependent industries and high-density consumer populations. Right now, stupid mistakes are being made at the higher level of grid design, because the grid design decisions are being made by private corporations chasing dollars in the most inflated energy markets. This will result less energy resiliency in some states and greater greenhouse gas emissions overall.

R&D, as well as regulation, needs to take place at the grid design level.

I just finished reading PG&E’s new general plan. Pacific Gas and Electric is California’s largest utility and one of the largest utilities in the nation.

They project a 70% increase in electrical loads over the next twenty years, mostly due to EVs and they are soliciting R&D from any source to help meet the goal.

They are also desperately trying to repair their public image while increasing grid stability and safety, part of which is creating micro-grids within their distribution and production networks which will focus on infrastructure that will be localized and able to respond to fire danger more effectively.

It’s a huge undertaking but there is a plan for how to meet the safety requirements and power demands of the future. It’s not some nebulous future fantasy, it’s real and in the works.

There is a lot of potential for new technologies and businesses and those businesses who want to keep looking back to the days of petrol will be left behind as they invest in lobbying politicians on their conservative agenda instead of finding new solutions.

 

[coati]

I just finished reading PG&E’s new general plan. Pacific Gas and Electric is California’s largest utility and one of the largest utilities in the nation.

They project a 70% increase in electrical loads over the next twenty years, mostly due to EVs and they are soliciting R&D from any source to help meet the goal.

They are also desperately trying to repair their public image while increasing grid stability and safety, part of which is creating micro-grids within their distribution and production networks which will focus on infrastructure that will be localized and able to respond to fire danger more effectively.

It’s a huge undertaking but there is a plan for how to meet the safety requirements and power demands of the future. It’s not some nebulous future fantasy, it’s real and in the works.

There is a lot of potential for new technologies and businesses and those businesses who want to keep looking back to the days of petrol will be left behind as they invest in lobbying politicians on their conservative agenda instead of finding new solutions.

You may have missed the point I was making. California does not exist as an individual entity. It is great that they are looking out for their own energy resiliency with microgrids and such, but they are causing another problem that extends beyond their boundaries. They are now planning to import huge amounts of electricity from other states, and often without regard to impacts outside of California.

When L.A. Department of Water and Power and other California utilities solicit huge amounts of electricity from out of state on new privately-held transmission lines that trash the states they pass through, that is a problem. California's high electricity rates are driving a mindless rush by the private sector to cash in, without any regard for the consumers and landscapes in other states. In some cases, no analysis has even been conducted on embedded greenhouse gas emissions in these new California-oriented transmission lines, nor of impacts on the energy resiliency of the "pass-through" states.

It is not a simple problem, and it requires system analysis at the national grid level, not just the individual state level.

 

[jaF0]

Pathetic Gripes and Excuses needs to be broken up in many smaller entities.

 

[AlexBailey]

While the grid still exists. It may last a few decades longer in cities, but it won't last forever.

Please explain this idea in more detail.

 

[Lazaran]

Please explain this idea in more detail.

JFC, No.

Not more detail.

 

[AlexBailey]

You may have missed the point I was making. California does not exist as an individual entity. It is great that they are looking out for their own energy resiliency with microgrids and such, but they are causing another problem that extends beyond their boundaries. They are now planning to import huge amounts of electricity from other states, and often without regard to impacts outside of California.

When L.A. Department of Water and Power and other California utilities solicit huge amounts of electricity from out of state on new privately-held transmission lines that trash the states they pass through, that is a problem. California's high electricity rates are driving a mindless rush by the private sector to cash in, without any regard for the consumers and landscapes in other states. In some cases, no analysis has even been conducted on embedded greenhouse gas emissions in these new California-oriented transmission lines, nor of impacts on the energy resiliency of the "pass-through" states.

It is not a simple problem, and it requires system analysis at the national grid level, not just the individual state level.

Other parts of PG&E’s plan are carbon neutrality, large scale localized storage, smart grid management with consumer end interaction.

One of the least utilized ready solutions is thermal energy storage for end users. Heating and cooling systems can be designed to use power when it’s available then store the heat (or cooling) in thermal mass built into the structure.

Also the energy storage in plugged in Electric vehicles can be used to help manage the grid during times of peak demand.

The utilities will probably offer discounted prices for customers who opt to allow the utility to use a portion of their storage or to manage when energy can be drawn for heating and cooling.

It’s a widely known thing that investing first in efficiency is more cost effective than investing in more production.

 

[Dribble]

Don't feel like starting a new thread...but I find environmentalists using spray paint hypocritical...kinda like when they use super glue...like that stuff is healthy for the environment

https://www.dw.com/en/climate-activists-spray-brandenburg-gate-orange/a-66837871

 

[coati]

Other parts of PG&E’s plan are carbon neutrality, large scale localized storage, smart grid management with consumer end interaction.

OK, so you bought PG&E's latest batch of PR.

That still does not respond to my point about high-priced urban electricity markets trashing pass-through states to support urban growth.

I don't believe that the holy hand of the free market is going to solve the climate crisis, no matter how they greenwash their PR campaigns.

 

[TrailerHitch]

Car are fine for moving people around in rural areas. We just need to keep them out of cities where they cause nothing but trouble.

Cars cause nothing but trouble in the city? Really? Maybe you should try to ban them in cities then because that has worked so well with drugs and guns.

 

[BrightShinyGirl]

Cars cause nothing but trouble in the city? Really? Maybe you should try to ban them in cities then because that has worked so well with drugs and guns.

Not ban them. Just redesign streets to prioritize other modes of transit. Convert car lanes into bus and bike lanes. Widen the sidewalks. Eliminate free public parking.

 

[Paul_Chance]

Cars cause nothing but trouble in the city? Really? Maybe you should try to ban them in cities then because that has worked so well with drugs and guns.

LOL - though, it is kind of hard to slip a Toyota into your jacket pocket.

 

[Paul_Chance]

Capitalism isn't going anywhere, so the nature of the beast will continue in a greener future. The life or death of the concept of 15 minute city is going to depend entirely on the invisible hand of capitalism. It's going to depend on millions of people making the decision that their reliance on personal automobiles (gas or EV) has a higher cost to benefit ratio than electing to walk or use public transportation. At the macro level, people have mobility and if they prefer their car to the 15 minute city, they'll just relocate. The challenge to those advocating the 15 minute city is to create such a city so that the average person says "yeah, that is exactly where I want to live and thrive".

 

[Paul_Chance]

Oh, and micro-grids won't make the grid go away. The micro-grid is all about giving more finite point control over the distribution of electricity, not about making the macro-grid go away. It gives the energy companies more control, not less control. Long live the micro-grid.

 

[BrightShinyGirl]

Capitalism isn't going anywhere, so the nature of the beast will continue in a greener future. The life or death of the concept of 15 minute city is going to depend entirely on the invisible hand of capitalism. It's going to depend on millions of people making the decision that their reliance on personal automobiles (gas or EV) has a higher cost to benefit ratio than electing to walk or use public transportation. At the macro level, people have mobility and if they prefer their car to the 15 minute city, they'll just relocate. The challenge to those advocating the 15 minute city is to create such a city so that the average person says "yeah, that is exactly where I want to live and thrive".

We already know people love walkable cities, because most vacation destinations are walkable. People can afford car suburbs only because they're heavily subsidized by the government. If suburban drivers had to bear the real cost of their transit choices, they'd vote with their wallets and move someplace where it's cheaper to get around.

 

[AlexBailey]

Fossil fuels are used to build and maintain the grid. The easy low energy mining has been done, so extracting minerals from less accessible places will cost more energy. And then there's trying to make advanced electronic parts with the smaller amounts of renewable energy. After a storm knocks down some wires, repair crews arriving on horse drawn wagons with hand tools won't have the same repair speed of today's crews with trucks and power tools. Most of the nation's grid is old and barely maintained now.

Lol, okay. So it’s beyond you.

One of PG&E’s problems they stated in the report is how the grid has grown very little over the past several decades and is in need, not only of expansion, but also replacement of a lot of the existing infrastructure.

Electrical emergency equipment will have alternate sources of charging, just like how hospitals have alternate sources of energy in emergency situations.

Also, micro-grids make it so a failure or shutdown is a localized problem, not regional, so areas affected by outages will not be far from places that still have power.

 

[AlexBailey]

Fossil fuels are used to build and maintain the grid. The easy low energy mining has been done, so extracting minerals from less accessible places will cost more energy. And then there's trying to make advanced electronic parts with the smaller amounts of renewable energy. After a storm knocks down some wires, repair crews arriving on horse drawn wagons with hand tools won't have the same repair speed of today's crews with trucks and power tools. Most of the nation's grid is old and barely maintained now.

Also, did you know that a lot of modern mining equipment is electric? Especially anything subterranean because:
* no toxic emissions
* no need for combustion air
* no need for filtering engine air intake
* cooler operation
* higher torque
* more efficient use of energy
* less maintenance

 

[JaxRhapsody]

I don't see Americans giving up personal conveyances.

Some will. Some people drive because they have to. I know people who own cars and only use them for certain things and prefer bicycle.

 

[JaxRhapsody]

Out of sheer curiosity, does anyone not have a car? (Relying primarily on public transit)

Just speaking for my urban world - Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority, California - public transit takes easily three or four times as long to get anywhere, unless everything is on schedule and you time it perfectly, then it only takes twice as long.

I don't. But not by choice, it was totaled in a car wreck. I don't use our shit city buses, I ride a bicycle, or if I'm lucky I can borrow one of my moms SUVs. I hate relying on my bike, honestly.

 

[JaxRhapsody]

Look at most buildings designed before the 1950s. You'll find they are not solid blocks, but rather have many open areas in the center sections. This was so people could open windows and allow air to vent naturally. Warm air rising and all ...

There were a number of reasons they got away from that, but the biggest one was the advent of HVAC systems.

I still use the old way. I open windows upstairs and let warm air rise up and out. I open ground floor windows and doors at night when it's cool to let as much in as possible. Then I close them around 8AM to keep as much in as possible during the warmer day time. Even on 90+ degree dfays, I can avoid using AC until well after noon. Doing that lets me limit AC use to just a few hours a day in the late afternoon and early evening.

My apartment complex was built[at least finished or started] in 1960. Doesn't have HVAC, has radiators and they give you a window a/c, which I rigged up in the kitchen as an exhaust fan. I do what you do, open windows. Paired with the giant oak in the front yard, even if it is hot, it's gonna be hotter outside- not that I mind, anyway, how hot it is. It actually seemed to konk out last time I tried to use it. I need to have them come and get it. I don't even want one unless it doubles as a heater- then I'll have use for one.

 

[AlexBailey]

OK, so you bought PG&E's latest batch of PR.

That still does not respond to my point about high-priced urban electricity markets trashing pass-through states to support urban growth.

I don't believe that the holy hand of the free market is going to solve the climate crisis, no matter how they greenwash their PR campaigns.

Yes, there are many more problems to address, the report I read was an internal document, not a public facing puff piece.

They highlighted over fifty issues that need addressing for a variety of reasons, giving order to priorities.

Grid stability was number one, then safety, then carbon neutrality (because of how climate change contributes to most of the other problems) then pricing, then many more I don’t remember off the top of my head.

A friend from an industry R&D network shared the document with me. The version I read is not available to the public.

 

[JaxRhapsody]

Most of this is pathetic bullshit.

Renewable energy is better all the way around except for those who rely on their business in fossil fuels. There is no downside to making renewables the status quo. And yes, it will take time to develop new technologies that make it more effective and sustainable.

That's not a absolute stop sign to going that direction.....it just means we need to focus more in R&D

The land it can take up.