Some good points on the subject of accountability, a ski/climate artwork that says it all, and in the "Just how stupid can you get" department...
Every once in a while I get the urge to try something I think is pretty stupid and I’m sure I’m not alone in this.
For instance, take the all-electric sailboat as an example. At first glance, it makes sense. I’d love to get rid of fossil fuels aboard “So It Goes”. The idea of being able to generate all the required energy with solar is the stuff of dreams I’ve had for decades.
I follow just about everything I can get on various schemes and tech that makes the idea of an all-electric boat doable.
The problem I keep running into is that a lot of the folks doing the all-electric boat gig keep their actual power use compared to power harvested information to themselves. Add in sorting your way through various instruments, refrigeration, stoves, inverters, watermakers, washing machines, appliances, and other bits of electrical draw consume in the real world.
Concerning efficiency of devices, there is very little information available. Electrical systems suffer from the ‘death of a thousand cuts’ syndrome, where a system that should work fails when a surplus of minor losses combine and result in unplanned for loads which can cause failure.
Which is a roundabout way saying that what I'd like is a whole lot more information and some serious studies on how, for instance, a modern electric stove would compare to either an alcohol, kerosene, diesel, or propane stove. The same goes for pretty much any system that one is considering to add or replace with an electric alternative. Anybody seen such a beast?
Some more thoughts on electrical systems soonish...
Listening to David Byrne and Yo Le Tengo cover a Yoko Ono song
So it goes...
