Having nothing better to do this morning I thought I would roast The Donald.
A few evenings ago I was channel surfing, something I do a lot of because despite shelling out $80/mo. for a bazillion channels from Dish it’s hard to find anything I haven’t seen before. Whilst I was engaging in my flipping frustration I happened to come across Piers Morgan whom, I guess, has taken over for Larry King. Donald Trump was on so for a lack of anything better I decided stop and watch.
What a self-aggrandizing, self-serving fop this man is. I bet he notified the audience five times about how bright a guy he is. Funny thing, it has been my experience that anyone who has to keep reminding others how sharp they are has some serious doubts about himself. I actually find him a little hard to look at with that ridiculous comb over hairdo. You’ve got to hand it to the The Donald though. Most people who looked so absurd would never be able to be taken seriously. I marvel at how popular and seemingly respected such a buffoon can be.
Piers was asking Trump about his opinion regarding the Republican presidential candidates. Trump had nothing but glowing, loving things to say about them all. When asked about his own aspiration regarding a presidential bid Trump said he would only run if he were sure he could win. I seriously doubt he has any intention of running.
Piers went on to asked Trump what he would do to fix our current economic troubles. Trump launched into a diatribe about the permitting process and how it was nearly impossible to get anything done in this country. I’m inclined to agree with this point of view but gee I wonder why a real estate developer would be so worked up about getting more relaxed permitting?
His next big idea was to promote energy self-sufficiency in this country. He pointed out that the U.S. is the Saudi Arabia of coal and that instead of using it here we ship it off to China. And big oil should be allowed to do its thing, cleanly of course. Once again Trump reminded everyone what a penny he is and noted he had looked into alternative energy knew all about it. He said alternative energy just wasn’t viable. He specifically spoke of solar energy saying that it was ridiculous because it would take thirty years for payback and the panels only last fifteen before they become junk. Let me tell you the man is either intentionally feeding the public misinformation or his is not nearly as bright as he thinks he is.
I know a little something about solar energy as I invested in a system this summer and learned quite a bit about the subject. To say out of hand that the payback is thirty years is misguided. There are many permutations of installations. I would venture to guess that a grid tied system mounted on a roof in Phoenix would be able to do considerably better than that. Costs are coming down all the time. Solar panels today come with a 25-year warranty. Here’s a link to the Sharp panels I purchased. I paid around $600 for them back in May. It looks like today you can get them for $429. Now, you may be able to find solar panels with only a 15-year warranty but that wouldn’t make you very smart would it?
Basically Trump spent the whole interview feathering his own nest. Making nice to all the candidates so no matter, which one wins, he’ll be on the right side. I doubt he will endorse anyone outright until he knows “for sure” who is gong to win in the primary. And, making nice for big business because guess who leases all that square footage he develops.
It’s not the Donald’s fault, really. Donald Trump gets on television because people watch. What baffles me is why people watch. The guy is a snake oil salesman, a master promoter and nothing more. I’ll bet you his hero growing up was P.T. Barnum who so adroitly said, “Every crowd has a silver lining”. OK, so watch the guy for entertainment but for heavens sake don’t mistake his motives. Trump is all about the Donald.
©Kinsey Barnard
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Showing posts with label alternative energy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alternative energy. Show all posts
29 October 2011
20 June 2011
SOLAR ENERGY SERIES - Part II Fukushima Wakes Me Up & A False Start.
All through the winter of 2010/2011 I tried to imagine what life would be like without electricity. For lots of things I could figure out ways to make do. I used water heated on the top of the woodstove to do the dishes and I cooked meals on it too. Well, cooking may be a bit of an exaggeration. Mostly I warmed things up but I did fry and scramble my eggs. But, I proved to myself I could cook on it if necessary.
I went out in ten-degree temperatures and hauled water from the creek. I made a little hauling device with a piece of rope and some carbiners so I could carry two one-gallon jugs across my shoulders. It was pretty tough slogging. No big deal for a couple of gallons of drinking water but hauling any kind of volume would be downright toil. At twenty below, well, I might have to ration the water I had ‘til the weather got better. Koty likes stinky stuff anyway. Actually, I decided I would just bring in snow and let it melt. It would be a slow process as it takes an about ten inches of snow to make one inch of water. On the other hand, time would be something I would have plenty of.
My little experiments led me to believe there were many things I could handle fine but there were two that gave me considerable pause. As mentioned in Part I the days here are quite short. By the winter solstice we’re going on sixteen hours of darkness. Because I live with just my trusty pooch I rely on my computer and television for companionship and diversion particularly in the winter when outside activities are limited. I do much of my photo editing and archiving in the winter months, a task that provides me with unending hours of entertainment and busy work. Without power there would be no computer, no television and no Blue Ray. No nuttin’.
I am also an avid reader. I conducted my own blackouts in order to experiment with lighting. I fired up my oil lamps and candles an whilst the effect was romantic I could tell that an extended period with only this kind of lighting would begin to wear on my eyes and mind. I’m amazed that everyone wasn’t blind from reading by oil lamp and candles in the days before electricity. Trying to read for long periods by such dim light was not a pleasant thought. I even put my headgear camp light on to read. It works but about one or two nights of it and reading starts losing its allure.
So, as I experimented and pondered life in the dark I started seeing myself as the feminine version of Jack Nicholson in The Shining. I think I’m a pretty hearty gal but I honestly don’t think I could maintain my sanity for more than a couple of weeks under these conditions. It would make solitary confinement look like spring break at the Ritz. Bottom line; without electricity in winter I would really be in a pretty tough situation.
On March 11, 2011 we learned of the 9.0 Earthquake at Fukushima. The earthquake and ensuing tsunami were bad enough but the real shag nasty story was the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear plant. The earthquake and tsunami were local tragedies but the nuclear plant situation blew right into my backyard and presumably fell right on my pointy little head.
I have to admit that throughout my life I have been ambivalent as regards nuclear energy. I honestly had no opinion one way or another. As I followed the Fukushima incident and learned more about nuclear energy and spent fuel rods, I began thinking nuclear was a truly unenlightened way for humans to meet their energy needs. The more I thought about it the more I thought about solar energy, so clean, so natural, so sensible and the more I warmed to the idea of a solar energy system.
Since moving to Montana wilderness I have begun saying I would like my tombstone to read, “She left no trace.” Finding a way to use solar energy I decided was one more way I could remain true to my life goal. Solar was a way I could reduce my footprint upon the planet just a tiny bit more. Before I knew it I was on a mission to figure out how to make solar energy a part of my life.
Right off the bat there were obstacles. Living in rural Montana one has to be willing to live with the fact that getting things done often isn’t easy. First, I looked locally for a solar installer but the only one we had had moved south because there just wasn’t enough business. Next I tried down in the Flathead. I could only find one company down there and it was in Whitefish.
I called the company in Whitefish and two guys came out and we discussed the possibilities. They assured me that there was enough light in winter to get solar power. They also went on and on about the 30% Federal tax credit and the money I would save on my electric bill. First of all I would do the project with or without the tax credit and the amount of money I would save, that’s just baloney. Everything I have read says solar costs at least twice as much as what I pay my electric co-op which is $.06/kWh. I tried to make it clear I was not particularly interested in the economics of the project. I was most interested in having my basic needs met in the event of a prolonged power outage, particularly in winter. Don’t get me wrong. I’ll be tickled pink to get the credit but it wasn’t a selling point for me and I got sick to death of hearing about it. The guy clearly never took a selling 101 because he never listened to a thing I said. And, I found that very frustrating.
Shortly after their visit they sent proposals for a 1.4 kW system $24,078 and a 2.7 kW system $30,000. Getting twice as much power generation for only an additional 25% outlay seemed a no-brainer. I had no idea how these quotes stacked up. Anyway you sliced it the cost was steep. But, then there was the 30% tax credit, which would most assuredly help.
A little Internet research turned up all kinds of numbers, as far as what a system would cost. I thought I would also check out the component makes and models to see how others reviewed them. The parts they would be using did pass muster but I also found out the Whitefish guys were using a heavy hand when it came to marking up the parts. Whilst checking out the products I came across Simpleray a solar supplier and checked up on some of the component prices. I saw the Whitefish guys were marking things up 40 to 50%, which seemed a bit steep.
By this time, however, I was really game to construct a solar power system. So, I asked the guys to come up again to discuss exactly how the system would be laid out. At that time I realized they had some ideas that would not gel with mine so I basically told them how I wanted the layout to be and all they had to do was tell me if it was feasible.
After agreeing to the layout we went in the house to discuss business. I mentioned about the pricing I had found on the Internet and they agreed to knock a little off some of the components. Meanwhile, I had become convinced even a 2.7 kW system wouldn’t give me more than a kilowatt-hour per day in winter leaving me about a five kilowatt-hour shortfall. The solution to that concern was a backup generator. A propane generator was added to the system and the 2.7 kW generation plant was now estimated at $37,214.
I was told that in order to go ahead with the project I would need to fork over $32,000 up front. I was stunned. The amount was equal to nearly 90% of the total cost. I let it go for the time being. I asked if they had some kind of contract and was told they would e-mail the contract to me. When I got the contract I took one look and immediately got that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. There was no mention of a contract price just the initial, upfront payment amount. In theory, there was no limit as to what the project could cost.
All things considered I knew it would be unwise to go ahead with this company. At this point they had completely lost my trust. I learned long ago, when something doesn’t feel right I just have to back away and I did. I was pretty despondent because I had no idea how I was going to get my project done.
Stay tuned for Part III as I accidentally become my own general contractor.
©Kinsey Barnard
I went out in ten-degree temperatures and hauled water from the creek. I made a little hauling device with a piece of rope and some carbiners so I could carry two one-gallon jugs across my shoulders. It was pretty tough slogging. No big deal for a couple of gallons of drinking water but hauling any kind of volume would be downright toil. At twenty below, well, I might have to ration the water I had ‘til the weather got better. Koty likes stinky stuff anyway. Actually, I decided I would just bring in snow and let it melt. It would be a slow process as it takes an about ten inches of snow to make one inch of water. On the other hand, time would be something I would have plenty of.
 |
| Koty "assisting" with water hauling experiment. |
My little experiments led me to believe there were many things I could handle fine but there were two that gave me considerable pause. As mentioned in Part I the days here are quite short. By the winter solstice we’re going on sixteen hours of darkness. Because I live with just my trusty pooch I rely on my computer and television for companionship and diversion particularly in the winter when outside activities are limited. I do much of my photo editing and archiving in the winter months, a task that provides me with unending hours of entertainment and busy work. Without power there would be no computer, no television and no Blue Ray. No nuttin’.
I am also an avid reader. I conducted my own blackouts in order to experiment with lighting. I fired up my oil lamps and candles an whilst the effect was romantic I could tell that an extended period with only this kind of lighting would begin to wear on my eyes and mind. I’m amazed that everyone wasn’t blind from reading by oil lamp and candles in the days before electricity. Trying to read for long periods by such dim light was not a pleasant thought. I even put my headgear camp light on to read. It works but about one or two nights of it and reading starts losing its allure.
So, as I experimented and pondered life in the dark I started seeing myself as the feminine version of Jack Nicholson in The Shining. I think I’m a pretty hearty gal but I honestly don’t think I could maintain my sanity for more than a couple of weeks under these conditions. It would make solitary confinement look like spring break at the Ritz. Bottom line; without electricity in winter I would really be in a pretty tough situation.
On March 11, 2011 we learned of the 9.0 Earthquake at Fukushima. The earthquake and ensuing tsunami were bad enough but the real shag nasty story was the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear plant. The earthquake and tsunami were local tragedies but the nuclear plant situation blew right into my backyard and presumably fell right on my pointy little head.
I have to admit that throughout my life I have been ambivalent as regards nuclear energy. I honestly had no opinion one way or another. As I followed the Fukushima incident and learned more about nuclear energy and spent fuel rods, I began thinking nuclear was a truly unenlightened way for humans to meet their energy needs. The more I thought about it the more I thought about solar energy, so clean, so natural, so sensible and the more I warmed to the idea of a solar energy system.
Since moving to Montana wilderness I have begun saying I would like my tombstone to read, “She left no trace.” Finding a way to use solar energy I decided was one more way I could remain true to my life goal. Solar was a way I could reduce my footprint upon the planet just a tiny bit more. Before I knew it I was on a mission to figure out how to make solar energy a part of my life.
Right off the bat there were obstacles. Living in rural Montana one has to be willing to live with the fact that getting things done often isn’t easy. First, I looked locally for a solar installer but the only one we had had moved south because there just wasn’t enough business. Next I tried down in the Flathead. I could only find one company down there and it was in Whitefish.
I called the company in Whitefish and two guys came out and we discussed the possibilities. They assured me that there was enough light in winter to get solar power. They also went on and on about the 30% Federal tax credit and the money I would save on my electric bill. First of all I would do the project with or without the tax credit and the amount of money I would save, that’s just baloney. Everything I have read says solar costs at least twice as much as what I pay my electric co-op which is $.06/kWh. I tried to make it clear I was not particularly interested in the economics of the project. I was most interested in having my basic needs met in the event of a prolonged power outage, particularly in winter. Don’t get me wrong. I’ll be tickled pink to get the credit but it wasn’t a selling point for me and I got sick to death of hearing about it. The guy clearly never took a selling 101 because he never listened to a thing I said. And, I found that very frustrating.
Shortly after their visit they sent proposals for a 1.4 kW system $24,078 and a 2.7 kW system $30,000. Getting twice as much power generation for only an additional 25% outlay seemed a no-brainer. I had no idea how these quotes stacked up. Anyway you sliced it the cost was steep. But, then there was the 30% tax credit, which would most assuredly help.
A little Internet research turned up all kinds of numbers, as far as what a system would cost. I thought I would also check out the component makes and models to see how others reviewed them. The parts they would be using did pass muster but I also found out the Whitefish guys were using a heavy hand when it came to marking up the parts. Whilst checking out the products I came across Simpleray a solar supplier and checked up on some of the component prices. I saw the Whitefish guys were marking things up 40 to 50%, which seemed a bit steep.
By this time, however, I was really game to construct a solar power system. So, I asked the guys to come up again to discuss exactly how the system would be laid out. At that time I realized they had some ideas that would not gel with mine so I basically told them how I wanted the layout to be and all they had to do was tell me if it was feasible.
After agreeing to the layout we went in the house to discuss business. I mentioned about the pricing I had found on the Internet and they agreed to knock a little off some of the components. Meanwhile, I had become convinced even a 2.7 kW system wouldn’t give me more than a kilowatt-hour per day in winter leaving me about a five kilowatt-hour shortfall. The solution to that concern was a backup generator. A propane generator was added to the system and the 2.7 kW generation plant was now estimated at $37,214.
I was told that in order to go ahead with the project I would need to fork over $32,000 up front. I was stunned. The amount was equal to nearly 90% of the total cost. I let it go for the time being. I asked if they had some kind of contract and was told they would e-mail the contract to me. When I got the contract I took one look and immediately got that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. There was no mention of a contract price just the initial, upfront payment amount. In theory, there was no limit as to what the project could cost.
All things considered I knew it would be unwise to go ahead with this company. At this point they had completely lost my trust. I learned long ago, when something doesn’t feel right I just have to back away and I did. I was pretty despondent because I had no idea how I was going to get my project done.
Stay tuned for Part III as I accidentally become my own general contractor.
©Kinsey Barnard
09 June 2011
SOLAR ENERGY SERIES - Part I The Journey Begins and Fizzles
A number of people, upon learning of my interest in constructing a solar electrical system for my home, have asked that I let them know how it is all going. I thought I'd just include the story here for those who are interested. I don’t know how many parts there will be to this series because I'm literally in the middle of the project. The "parts" will be interspersed with my regular posts as they develop and I have time to put things down in writing. This first part is how I came to be doing an alternative energy project.
About eighteen months ago I started to wonder how I might get along if for some unknown reason we had a complete grid failure which might last for a prolonged period of time. The world, somehow, seems not to be as predictable as it once was. The economic, political and social landscape seems uncertain and I sense that things could happen in the future for which there is no precedence in my lifetime, 1949 to the present.
Where I live we have an electric co-op and the company is very much a part of the community. Most often when I have expressed my concerns about a grid failure the response has been “Oh, Lincoln Electric would never let that happen”. For some reason it isn’t even on people's radar that something could happen that would be beyond the co-op’s control. It seems almost universal that people have a blind faith that someone can and will always bail them out if trouble strikes. Call me a doubting Thomas but I don't believe it for a minute and I am too much of a control freak to leave my fate in the hands of others.
As regular readers know, I live in the far north of northwest Montana very near the Canadian border in the Kootenai National Forest. As I tried to imagine life without electricity I concluded that if it were to happen in the summer it would be no problem at all. I could carry water from my spring and I can’t stay awake until it’s dark. Spring and fall would be a little more challenging. But, winter, now that would be a real challenge, sixteen of darkness, no lights, no videos, no computer and just Koty to keep me company.
The days are extremely short and extremely cold. The cold I could handle as I heat my home 100% with a wood stove. Carrying water from the spring at ten below is another matter. In a power outage my house well wouldn’t pump and that’s what I would have to do, carry water in buckets. It is possible to put a manual pump handle on your well and pump the water by hand. Only trouble is, the well can only be so deep and mine is way beyond the limit.
So, I started to think about having an alternate source of energy available in case of emergency. My first idea was to have a generator. I even went so far as to trade one of my photographs for a nearly new 8,000 kW Rigid gasoline generator. It wasn’t until after I had gotten the thing that I began to consider its limitations. The two main limitations being the generator runs through an eight-gallon tank of gasoline in eleven hours at 50% load and gasoline storage issues.
I set about trying to figure out how I could get the Rigid generator to meet my needs. By my personal definition an extended outage would be one that lasted more than a week and I want a power source that could get me through at least a month just to be safe. In your run of the mill power outage eleven hours would get you through. To power you through and extended outage would require a lot of gasoline storage and storing gasoline in this climate is problematical. Gas has a tendency to go stale very quickly at any temperature and is highly combustible. I went as far as trying to locate a two hundred gallon tank, which I thought, if I were very careful could get me through a month. I had no luck.
I also contacted a local electrical company to see what was involved in connecting the generator to my house panel. It would have cost under a thousand dollars to connect the generator but there those nagging gasoline consumption and storage problems. The electrician suggested that a propane generator would be a better solution. And, of course he just happened to be an Onan authorized dealer. He wrote me a proposal that was close to $9,000. I thought wow that’s a lot of dough!
I briefly looked into solar but I kept hearing it would never work in this climate and at this latitude, too short days and too little sunshine in winter. I liked the thought of solar but I pretty much wrote it off as impractical for my location and conditions.
At this point I was beginning to lose interest in the whole idea. Before long it was fall and time for an extended photography shoot at Yellowstone. By the time I returned from the shoot it was time to turn my attention to getting the ranch ready for winter and all thoughts of emergency power went the way of the dodo bird.
©Kinsey Barnard
About eighteen months ago I started to wonder how I might get along if for some unknown reason we had a complete grid failure which might last for a prolonged period of time. The world, somehow, seems not to be as predictable as it once was. The economic, political and social landscape seems uncertain and I sense that things could happen in the future for which there is no precedence in my lifetime, 1949 to the present.
Where I live we have an electric co-op and the company is very much a part of the community. Most often when I have expressed my concerns about a grid failure the response has been “Oh, Lincoln Electric would never let that happen”. For some reason it isn’t even on people's radar that something could happen that would be beyond the co-op’s control. It seems almost universal that people have a blind faith that someone can and will always bail them out if trouble strikes. Call me a doubting Thomas but I don't believe it for a minute and I am too much of a control freak to leave my fate in the hands of others.
As regular readers know, I live in the far north of northwest Montana very near the Canadian border in the Kootenai National Forest. As I tried to imagine life without electricity I concluded that if it were to happen in the summer it would be no problem at all. I could carry water from my spring and I can’t stay awake until it’s dark. Spring and fall would be a little more challenging. But, winter, now that would be a real challenge, sixteen of darkness, no lights, no videos, no computer and just Koty to keep me company.
The days are extremely short and extremely cold. The cold I could handle as I heat my home 100% with a wood stove. Carrying water from the spring at ten below is another matter. In a power outage my house well wouldn’t pump and that’s what I would have to do, carry water in buckets. It is possible to put a manual pump handle on your well and pump the water by hand. Only trouble is, the well can only be so deep and mine is way beyond the limit.
So, I started to think about having an alternate source of energy available in case of emergency. My first idea was to have a generator. I even went so far as to trade one of my photographs for a nearly new 8,000 kW Rigid gasoline generator. It wasn’t until after I had gotten the thing that I began to consider its limitations. The two main limitations being the generator runs through an eight-gallon tank of gasoline in eleven hours at 50% load and gasoline storage issues.
I set about trying to figure out how I could get the Rigid generator to meet my needs. By my personal definition an extended outage would be one that lasted more than a week and I want a power source that could get me through at least a month just to be safe. In your run of the mill power outage eleven hours would get you through. To power you through and extended outage would require a lot of gasoline storage and storing gasoline in this climate is problematical. Gas has a tendency to go stale very quickly at any temperature and is highly combustible. I went as far as trying to locate a two hundred gallon tank, which I thought, if I were very careful could get me through a month. I had no luck.
I also contacted a local electrical company to see what was involved in connecting the generator to my house panel. It would have cost under a thousand dollars to connect the generator but there those nagging gasoline consumption and storage problems. The electrician suggested that a propane generator would be a better solution. And, of course he just happened to be an Onan authorized dealer. He wrote me a proposal that was close to $9,000. I thought wow that’s a lot of dough!
I briefly looked into solar but I kept hearing it would never work in this climate and at this latitude, too short days and too little sunshine in winter. I liked the thought of solar but I pretty much wrote it off as impractical for my location and conditions.
At this point I was beginning to lose interest in the whole idea. Before long it was fall and time for an extended photography shoot at Yellowstone. By the time I returned from the shoot it was time to turn my attention to getting the ranch ready for winter and all thoughts of emergency power went the way of the dodo bird.
©Kinsey Barnard
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