The climate change consensus extends beyond climate scientists

[redpoint5]

I'm saying it's quite possible we don't currently possess the technology to detect in time and avert an incoming meteorite. We don't want to unduly stifle innovation and spend resources experimenting on things that aren't readily apparently useful to us.

Who's watching the Space X launch close to midnight PST?

https://www.cnet.com/news/spacex-cre...light-tonight/

[freebeard]

I will now.

The current thinking is that Oumuamua is a fractal snowflake less dense than Earth's atmosphere

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Oumuamua+fractal+snowflake

We'd eat that for lunch.

[oil pan 4]

The Democrats are getting set to lose the 2020 election just like the 2016 election by making unpopular issues their top issues.
Bernie sanders said yesterday on the useful idiot view that the new green deal doesn't go far enough and it should be the top issue.
That is very unpopular with voters and a guaranteed losing position.

[freebeard]

I passed out before midnight, but Youtube is now showing the 'live' feed (currently at T-37.xx). ??? The scrub bar is all red and if you pause, it skips the correct number of seconds.

I thought I saw the last launch live on the 21st, but then they showed the same launch 'live' on the 27th.

The Democrats are getting set to lose the 2020 election just like the 2016 election by making unpopular issues their top issues.

The difference this time is more people can see it coming.

[redpoint5]

Yeah, I came down with some sort of stomach flu last night and passed out on the couch. I'll see if I can watch the launch now.

[sendler]

I feel that the whole manned base on Mars thing is a complete waste of engineering talent and resources that could be much better spent on trying to build out the replacement for our very soon to be dwindling fossil energy here on Earth. There is no plan(et) B.
.
If we really think that we still have the societal surplus to spend on playing around with offworld humans, the South Pole of the Moon would be just as (in)hospitable as Mars and is much closer.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by sendler

In the meanwhile we have wasted 30 years in the development and rollout of molten fuel Gen4 reactors. Now it is just about too late.

I ran across an article from 2011.At that time the:
*Westinghouse 1,100-MW,AP1000
*General Electric ESBWR
*Areva EPR
*and small,modular,liquid flouride thorium reactors were all in the running.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The NRC had extended operating licenses for 63-units to 60-years,and 19 more were pending.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
US taxpayers had funded 9-years and $9-billion US for development of the Yucca Mountain,Nevada nuclear waste facility.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
22 new Gen III+ US reactors were proposed.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

I doubt it brought down costs more than if they just took that 66 million dollars and built a 50Gw power plant.

A big grid battery isn't going to do anything to produce power to charge electric vehicles that are supposed to be replacing oil powered cars.

I already know I'm incredible, but thank you.

Are they factoring in the difference between the BSFC and BSFCe of ICE and EV respectively?
It makes an enormous difference.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

Where the base rate is 7 cents a kwh it probably will never be economy viable.
If you are paying 5 times that then pretty much anything is viable.

If we consider the difference to the $300-billion climate-related losses for 2018,made by anthropogenic warming,the base rate might look a bit better.
We're looking at $600-trillion in climate-related losses by 2100.
Reducing CO2 any way,and as fast as we can seems prudent.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by sendler

Not to mention mining, refining, and building out 1,00's of TWh of batteries (if there even were that much raw materials).

If you can get Americans like Texas' urban cowboys to stop driving 2-1/2-homes around for a commuter vehicle,we could certainly lower our expectations for how much grid capacity is actually needed.