Fox News Claims Solar Won't Work in America Because It's Not Sunny Like Germany

Originally posted by Skittle


Atleast you are the number 1 exporter of violence, bombing, death and lies. That alone should make you proud.l

You forgot BBQ sauce.

The US kicks butt in BBQ sauce.

Talk about leaving you scratching your head.

The USA has less sun than Germany?

wow.

Living in Miami Florida I can say with some certainty that we have a butt load of sun.
All year round.

I live in Scotland and i am seeing more and more people installing solar pannels on their roof, and if solar power can work in Scotland, it can work anywhere.

Scotland has a reputation for cloudiness and this is most notable during its relatively short winter days. The maximum amount of sunshine in a calendar month was 329 hours in Tiree in May 1946 and again in May 1975 while the minimum, a mere 36 minutes, was recorded at Cape Wrath in the Highlands in January 1983.

Source

reply to post by anton74


well that certainly explains my sub burn LOL

Fox news does it again.
This just stinks of desperation to me, they know they're fighting a losing battle, but hey they're Fair & Balanced and unfortunately enough of their viewers will not question anything they say - Cos they saw it on TV.

AND/OR:
Its just 24 hour rolling propaganda.

Sorry OP, I know you said you didn't want to turn this into a Fox bashing thread, but do we actually need to debate the benefits of solar?

Complete nonsense, but if the fox viewers want to believe it and keep paying the electric company outrageous fees while the rest of us switch to cheap clean solar, then that`s the price they pay for being a fox viewer.

reply to post by f4rwest


I am absolutely stunned by this comment. How can one actually try to degrade someone for bringing evidence to the table when an "uneducated" Harvard graduate makes completely false statements?

ETA: I was going to add a bit of info linking fox news to the fossil fuel industry but its almost noon here in the states so I've run out of daylight :-P

reply to post by Blarneystoner


Germany gets just over one thousand, five hundred hours of sunshine per year. Thats a little less than sixty four days per year, and are the unlikely leaders in the field at the moment.

The state in the US that gets the least days of sunshine on average, would be Michigan, at seventy one days. So, realistically, there does not appear to be any validity to the claim that the USA could not benifit from solar initiatives.

Nevada, Florida...I have never even been to the States, but those are two States which I know get a fair whack of the warm, bright stuff during the passage of a year. It makes no sense that the USA would be less able to take advantage of a resource which is, for the purposes of humanity, practically unlimited, than Germany, which is not known for being a particularly hot or sunny place.

Faux made this thread into Germany Vs America!..

Round 1: who gets more sunshine? GO!

reply to post by luciddream


Hehe...

As you know, this is not about competition, but about finding out, what the true, and honest reasoning is behind the statements made against solar energy by Fox. I suspect that the reason they are not into the idea of a clean, cheap source of energy, is because too many of the owners and shareholders of the company are oil fans.

reply to post by TrueBrit


Of course, America is a business!

Going to green energy would be loss to the oil companies, they want to hold monopoly as much as they can and make much money as possible before they lose their hand on oil.

And news corporation gets paid to disinfo, and people will eat it up, even stupid comment like "America don't get no sun, so use oil!"

Solar power is about to get a lot cheaper and easier. I ran into this a few months ago:

www.designboom.com...

I've read further that these cones can supply huge amounts of electricity. They have a 1 meter square footprint. I would just need two fo them for my 2,150 square foot house. I think they may market them at between $500 and $600!! I wish I could find that link, but I was shocked. If they do indeed start selling these for $600, I'm buying two of them.

Here's the company website: v3solar.com...

Here's a video with more details:

www.youtube.com...

I signed up for thier mailing list. I want to know when they start selling these things!

reply to post by davjan4


Awesome.... that's just the kind of info I was hoping this thread would produce.

Thanks!

reply to post by Blarneystoner


You do realize that producing the tech for solar and wind also produces a crapload of toxins as well, don’t you? I'm all for green energy if it can be made cheaply, reliable and efficient, and we are getting there, slowly but surely. But there is still a long road to slog.

The energy created by wind and solar is stored in batteries, which are quite toxic to the environment themselves.

While wind may be good for coastal areas and solar for deserts, the rest of us will have to depend upon Gas, Petrol, Coal, Nuclear and Hydro. Proven though polluting technologies.

Then we also have those who do not want solar and windfarms in their backyard. They have a tendency to take up a lot of space, yaknow?

Originally posted by TDawgRex
reply to post by Blarneystoner

 

You do realize that producing the tech for solar and wind also produces a crapload of toxins as well, don’t you? I'm all for green energy if it can be made cheaply, reliable and efficient, and we are getting there, slowly but surely. But there is still a long road to slog.

No... I didn't realize. Please provide a source for your claim.

The energy created by wind and solar is stored in batteries, which are quite toxic to the environment themselves.

More toxic than spent nuclear fuel rods? ..or can betteries be recycled. Oh... whaddaya know... they can be recycled.

While wind may be good for coastal areas and solar for deserts, the rest of us will have to depend upon Gas, Petrol, Coal, Nuclear and Hydro. Proven though polluting technologies.

...are you saying there's no wind or sun anywhere else but coastal areas? Wait... do you write copy for Fox News or are you an independant dis-info agent?

I drive past one of the largest wind farms in the country on my way to New Mexico every Spring. It's in the middle of the desert. You should research before spouting off... makes you look... well.... ignorant.

Then we also have those who do not want solar and windfarms in their backyard. They have a tendency to take up a lot of space, yaknow?

No... I don't know.... But I do know that I have dozens of Petrochemical refineries in my backyard and they have a tendancy to blow up now and then.... not to mention that they stink to high heaven!!

Is that all you got bro? 'cause that was pretty weak milk toast....

Originally posted by TDawgRex
reply to post by Blarneystoner

 

You do realize that producing the tech for solar and wind also produces a crapload of toxins as well, don’t you? I'm all for green energy if it can be made cheaply, reliable and efficient, and we are getting there, slowly but surely. But there is still a long road to slog.

Once a panel has been buit, it is good for a hell of a long time, and is not a disposable resource like the coal and oil burned by powerstations. That means that even if the uptake on this tech was incredible, the total waste and ecological impact would be much less than that caused by use of and production of fossil fuels.

The energy created by wind and solar is stored in batteries, which are quite toxic to the environment themselves.

As other posters may have pointed out, batteries can be recycled, and battery technology is getting better all the time, meaning that they last longer, and can be charged more often. Again, they do not have anywhere near as bad an impact as burning oil does, as long as they are responsibly dealt with, once thier usefulness comes to an end. This compared with a gallon of oil, or ten kilos of coal, which are not similarly recycleable... No brainer.

While wind may be good for coastal areas and solar for deserts, the rest of us will have to depend upon Gas, Petrol, Coal, Nuclear and Hydro. Proven though polluting technologies.

Wind is just as good in a desert, in the middle of a wide plain, or up the side of a mountain. Anywhere wind blows often and strong, you could place a windfarm.

Then we also have those who do not want solar and windfarms in their backyard. They have a tendency to take up a lot of space, yaknow?

Oh really? Oil drilling platforms can cause ecological devastation to one entire side of a nations coastal regions. Fracking could potentially render vast areas utterly UNIHABITABLE if the worst concerns over its use are proven by time. As other posters have mentioned, the fumes from refinery installations, STINK to high heaven, and are likely as not bad for not only the ecology of the area in which they are active, but bad for the people who live under the cloud of crap they produce.

Clean, cheap energy is not only preferable, but necessary if the financial problems faced by the west are to end, and thats not even considering how much better it will be for the planet and the people not to suck so much petrochemical backwash when they breathe the air.

Originally posted by snowspirit
If a person gets some sun, the power not being used at that time, gets stored in the batteries.

I don't know very much about it, because the cost to run a house is in the tens of thousands to set up. Once it's set up, you just have to be smart about your consumption.

If it wasn't so expensive to set up, I would know more about it, because I would be using it.
Canada is definitely sunny enough, there are lots of people up here off the grid.

The gas/oil/electric companies don't want to lose all their customers, so the price of solar and geothermal remain too high for most people to afford.

One word for the cost of doing it, DIY!

www.abovetopsecret.com...
Greenpowerscience has a lot of videos to introduce this idea.

FOX = BIG OIL
BIG OIL= anything they gotta say to keep you buying it.

reply to post by Unity_99


I think that its fair enough to say that, but some of the people who would benifit most from this technology are not capable of making either the outlay to get set up, or the mobility or skills base, to fit them on thier own. It is the poor who would benifit most from having reduced bills, and/or selling energy back to the grid.

I think that governments should support solar initiatives for the benifit of all citizens, but with particular attention to those who CANNOT achieve a solar solution through thier own means for whatever reason.

reply to post by Danbones
I have "rejuvenated" many lawn tractor batteries using the same procedure.
As far as solar panels go, a lot of the new "Thin Film technology" ones make better use of the near infrared and UV spectrums and actually can generate ample power on cloudy days.

More info: Thin Film Solar Technology