How do you want your Electricity to be Produced?

[500channelsurfer]

Trump has recently rallied against windmills. Yet he has not provided a proposal for an alternative electricity production method to produce the quantity of electricity these proposed windmills would produce. Electricity demand is forecast to increase. Therefore electricity generation facilities will have to be built.

Whether or not one believes in global warming, coal and fossil fuel-generated electricity is polluting. If you go near any coal or fossil fuel power plant, the smoke irritates lungs, produces sediment in the air, is polluting. Air pollution is not good. 

Renewables such as windmills have their downsides. Windmills are indeed ugly as Trump says. They kill birds. Solar panels can be installed on roofs and have fewer drawbacks, but do of course include the drawback of being unreliable as they are dependent on the weather and time of day. Hydro power has the most positives but also drawbacks such as flooding land and being available only where powerful rivers can be dammed.

Nuclear (fission) power may be the best option where renewables are not accepted or less feasible. When designed and maintained properly, a nuclear plant is very efficient and produces very little pollution. The issue of handling nuclear waste requires strong government regulation to ensure it does not contaminate productive areas where future generations will live and farm. Are governments trustworthy of properly disposing of nuclear waste?

Are large investments in nuclear fusion research worthy, as this form of electricity production is unproven as viable? Would these funds be better put to use by retooling buildings and homes with better insulation, heat pumps and solar panels to reduce energy demand?

[herbie]

No he's invented "clean coal", a form that's like soap that doesn't blacken your lungs, it scrubs them clean. And you can get an honourable 21st century job mining it in some scab state.

After all wind turbines probably kill almost as many birds as the ones crashing into the Trump Towers' windows.

[User]

7 hours ago, herbie said:

No he's invented "clean coal", a form that's like soap that doesn't blacken your lungs, it scrubs them clean. And you can get an honourable 21st century job mining it in some scab state.

After all wind turbines probably kill almost as many birds as the ones crashing into the Trump Towers' windows.

What do you care?

Your country just ships the coal to China and you get to pretend like you are saving the planet because you use Wind Turbines while they burn your coal for you. 

[herbie]

Yep, our own Maple MAGAt Alberta Premier wants to ship even more. Gucky oil, coal. She's cleaning up Alberta as quick as she can to get rid of it. Not because someone wants to buy it.

Edited February 26 by herbie

[herbie]

Ever heard of run-of-river, wind turbines, solar farms, wind turbines, geothermal, SMRs or tidal generation? Or even converting old plants to natural gas for the interim transition? 
Incentives to encourage the use of new power efficient products?
Recycling aluminum?

Or is all that too 'woke' for you 1890s mindset?

[User]

11 minutes ago, herbie said:

Ever heard of run-of-river, wind turbines, solar farms, wind turbines, geothermal, SMRs or tidal generation? Or even converting old plants to natural gas for the interim transition? 
Incentives to encourage the use of new power efficient products?
Recycling aluminum?

Or is all that too 'woke' for you 1890s mindset?

1890’s mindset… 

That is what you call your love for China burning all your coal for you? 

[herbie]

WTF does CHina have to do with this conversation?
You're not even capable of anything other than bellowing MAGA talking points.

[User]

13 minutes ago, herbie said:

WTF does CHina have to do with this conversation?
You're not even capable of anything other than bellowing MAGA talking points.

LOL, thread title is literally about how you want your electricity produced. 

Me: You want yours produced by shipping coal to china while pretending you are saving the planet because they are burning it for you

You: DURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR 

[Goober National]

On 2/25/2026 at 1:03 AM, 500channelsurfer said:

Trump has recently rallied against windmills.

Was he tilting against them as well?

Nuclear waist is poison for thousands of years. So no, governments are not trustworthy to take care of it. There is no way, other than to bury it in a hole and hope it never comes up again.

And as for fusion, let Spock know when you get it going. He needs it for the warp drives.

 

[michaeldooglas]

I like solar energy, which does not harm our planet.

[500channelsurfer]

Nuclear waste has to be buried extremely deeply in bedrock or beyond, where geological movement is minimal. There is a danger that governments could cheap out in its disposal. This is why international organizations and agreements on nuclear are important. They help spread information about nuclear and allow countries or blocks to pressure countries that are into nuclear in a dangerous way, to better handle their nuclear.

Nuclear is still currently our best option (least of evils). Remember that manufacturing of solar components requires fossil resources, and that solar cannot provide enough power to fully fulfill electric grid requirements reliably. Solar is an excellent supplementary energy source, but might not be appropriate for primary.

Edited March 31 by 500channelsurfer