Debunking the Debunker: Epic Derailing of a Climate Change Denier
#6 – Myth: Solar power systems are simply unreliable
Insert — Most of this “debunking” is simply made up. Overcast days, heat and battery/inverter replacement are costs embedded in a solar power system. But comparable costs are embedded in any energy production scheme. While coal power is definitely cheap, without the need for plant maintenance it could be cheaper, with that “nightmare” making up about 27 percent of the total cost/kWh of coal-fired electricity. LOW-maintenance is actually a selling point for solar power, one I’ve yet to hear invalidated.
Jumping to conclusion is rarely a good move, especially when one illustrates the illogic of the conclusion in the very evidence one provides for having jumped to it! Here we have an Unknown Conservative Blogger taking a very measured, scientific statement and using it to declare absolutely that “It was all a hoax” in regard to anthropogenic global warming. The facts stated, as clearly said, are for a relatively short time period which is not as significant scientifically as longer periods. We’ve already been using fossil-fuel power for more than a century and, without some serious change, will be using it far into the future. Global Warming is, has, and will continue to be a major reason for concern for global societies. Manipulated “sound bites” used as jumping points for absurd, very unscientific conclusions are the tools of chicanery and should go unheeded.
Posted on August 17th in Solar Information by Dan.
August 18th, 2010 at 9:25 am
I am pro-solar, pro-wind, pro-renewables, pro-energy efficiency, pro-recycling and I am pro-Rush , pro-America . 100% against the enemy fraud King oumgbama, Pelosi, Reid, communism and izlamic supremacy.
I drive a hybrid, a bicycle (when possible) and I am energy efficient to the max. So there ! Another myth busted.
By ignorantly painting the world black and white, you paint yourself into a corner.
BTW, I am not a republican nor a real blind idiot democrat.
August 18th, 2010 at 3:32 pm
We’re not trying to paint the issue B&W at all…just this one example of a single conservative closing his/her eyes to the world. In no way are we saying that all conservatives think or act this way. I am very happy that you’re pro-renewable energy. Despite anyone’s beliefs on climate change, it just makes sense to move toward alternative energy. It cuts down on pollution in the air we all breathe, it reduces our dependency on foreign oil and that finicky group OPEC, takes money that trickles down to extremists in that region away, and is a safer option (no heading miles offshore for drilling or fear of being trapped in a cave with no escape)! Thanks for your input, always appreciated.
August 20th, 2010 at 9:59 am
I posed this comment to the conservative’s blog:
Those pennies you pay per watt of electricity? Those are artificially low. Those prices are kept down by some 70 billion in subsidies to the fossil fuel industries. Most of that money goes to oil, to keep gas prices artificially low (and oil companies profits artificially high).
The subsidies for green energy are minuscule compared to the money this country is hemorrhaging into burning more hydrocarbons. Which is completely unnecessary since we can get all the power we need free from the sun.
August 23rd, 2010 at 3:56 pm
How anyone can proudly state they’re “pro-Rush” is beyond me….
September 6th, 2010 at 9:36 am
This is definitely a sensitive and passionate topic. But for the original article at hand, Taylen’s myth debunkings don’t require global warming to be a reality. They don’t require that we are adding and must offset any percentage of emissions. Preparing against such things is just a nice—nay, _awesome_—side effect of using a cleaner energy.
Forget names, forget political lines, forget any sort of labels. If the end result is power _and_ a cleaner place to live and breathe, even by 1.5% or .75% or 98% or .001%, I’d say we’re doing something right. A lot of somethings.
I posted a longer comment at ol’ no-name’s, but this is the gist of it.
September 6th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
Glad to see the troops rally! Thanks for your help in debunking, fellow solar advocates! Ken, you have an excellent point. The cheap fossil fuels is only because government is footing most of the bill to keep it cheap for everyone. Nim, you nailed the gist of the story. Despite your beliefs on global warming, why not use an energy source that won’t run out until the sun goes out (at which point it won’t matter because it’s taking Earth with it)!