tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866539167088476135.post8593758120756594310..comments2010-09-23T12:05:46.121-07:00Comments on Blog de Santiago: Sustainable Energy for ChileMiguelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00310339547030966241noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866539167088476135.post-14715084443782890692010-07-21T12:31:03.783-07:002010-07-21T12:31:03.783-07:00I would love to do some hiking... the only problem...I would love to do some hiking... the only problem is that it's winter here... but I might still do it, haven't discarded the idea. I think the problem is not really that hydro isn't good, hydro is great. In places like Niagara falls, you can exploit the topography of the falls and get energy very efficiently. When you make a dam though, there are bigger environmental impacts. And it's not like the environmentalists want to export their energy problems on to oil extracting countries because they want their landscapes unharmed, they're just suggesting that there are other ways of producing energy in their own country that can have less of a footprint on the environment. I agree with you on solar thermal... using some stirling engines seems like such a good idea, plus with thermos like containers, you can theoretically keep producing energy at night. Photovoltaics are not that efficient, and the impacts of making them may be higher than what is sustainable... but who knows,what if someone discovers something...Miguelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00310339547030966241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866539167088476135.post-9498048573364695722010-07-16T00:30:41.822-07:002010-07-16T00:30:41.822-07:00Man you gotta do some hiking out there. Efforts sh...Man you gotta do some hiking out there. Efforts should be made to reduce impacts, and it can be done, but hydro is many time more cost effective then, wind, tidal or solar. With good project planning they should be able to minimize impact on the ecosystem and even create new habitat. It's not really fair to export the environmental problems of oil extraction to other countries so that the view isn't ruined in Chile. For the desert check out Solar One, Two and Tres (in Nevada and Spain). The tech is still in development but its solar thermal power generation way cooler then PV. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Solar_Project#Solar_One)Jasper Boychukhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02281776050492981030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866539167088476135.post-25601310553594146092010-07-15T17:48:15.307-07:002010-07-15T17:48:15.307-07:00Whoa! I didn't know that, but Oh man, is there...Whoa! I didn't know that, but Oh man, is there ever fallout about Pinochet's regime... Just yesterday, we had some very opinionated people over and we spent hours discussing politics... Now I understand why people say; don't speak about religion and politics!Miguelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00310339547030966241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866539167088476135.post-40781202095179164682010-07-15T09:29:51.259-07:002010-07-15T09:29:51.259-07:00I did a little poking around and interestingly the...I did a little poking around and interestingly the land was made private under the military regime of Pinochet. Incredible that there continues to be serious fall out from his dictatorship.iLarissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01504546091758185000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866539167088476135.post-29671415157704764972010-07-14T23:51:52.507-07:002010-07-14T23:51:52.507-07:00It's definitely a concern. There are many envi...It's definitely a concern. There are many environmental assessments that this project bypassed, and a lot of environmental impacts that haven't been addressed. Even though hydro electricity projects are good in terms of efficiency, I think that when a dam is involved, there are disturbances in the natural flow of water that can severely destroy ecosystems in the area, and should be studied to make a decision.Miguelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00310339547030966241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1866539167088476135.post-6108530546241095832010-07-14T13:50:32.129-07:002010-07-14T13:50:32.129-07:00We're fighting a similar project here in Brazi...We're fighting a similar project here in Brazil, the Xingú dam project. One of the main concerns is that many ecosystems and native settlements on the edges of the river would be flooded, whereas downstream the seasonal tides would be interrupted.<br /><br />Is this also a concern for the Chilean project?Lee Angoldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12735391091599963495noreply@blogger.com