61–70 of 353 posts
I find it so weird that UK citizens have often just sort of passively chosen to be poor. Like they still had food rationing for years after WW2. Is there some sort of cultural blind spot which prevents them from understanding that there are better ways to do things?
To be fair the UK was completely broke and responsible for feeding half of Europe.
Third option not discussed: have the military leverage its existing nuclear reactor competency to build a fleet of nationalized nuclear power generation stations. I'm not saying that they should tile the island with submarine-scale reactors, I'm saying that their supply chain for building those knows how to build nuclear power stations. The only thing which makes this prospect expensive, is the lack of political will…
On one level, your idea is being followed. Rolls-Royce build the UK submarine reactors and are working on developing small modular reactors [1] for civilian use. A big difference though is that UK (and US) submarine reactors use enriched uranium, SMRs won't. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_SMR
I addressed that difference in my second sentence. The technological competence is to a large degree transferable, the specific designs are not.
And yes, something like the SMR is exactly what I'm talking about, as long as it comes with enough commitment and momentum to actually do the job.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The new builds are made of brick and block, and are indeed insulated really well. It's the millions of older houses, particularly Victorian ones, that are made of brick, are not usually insulated well, and are often intentionally draughty.
What would the reason for being intentionally draughty be? The only thing I can think of is if they were burning candles/gas lamps to improve air quality?
The average US household uses 10,000 kWh annually ~833 kWh per month. So I'm guessing most Americans reading the article and looking at the interactive graph are thinking either: this is very cheap or very expensive, depending on whether they are assuming it's monthly or annual.
In the US the average price for 3100 kWh in California would be $1062 which is among the highest in the continental US. So right in line with GB.
In New York it would be $710. Florida it would be $454.
So it's high, but not as eye-watering as it seemed to me initially.
Commercial energy broker here - the only 2 'real' costs in your price are the wholesale and supplier costs. Choose suppliers that offer a fully-fixed electricity contract, so that made up variable costs such as distribution, network, etc are all factored into the unit rate that the supplier charges you for your contract. Avoid smart meters at all costs. Renewable / green contracts are always a lot more expensive than…
Variable rate smart billing can be amazing if you have the right setup though! Eg. An electric car that can do V2G with the following; Power to the grid when Rate > Y and carCharge > 50% Charge the car when Rate There's various posts on electric car groups where people have the above setup and pull in ridiculous profits. Your typical electric car can output power for a very long time during the ridiculous 10000% pric…
Hopefully you noticed that spike in prices ahead of time!
Is 906 GBP (~1100 USD) typical for a household? That seems outrageously high.
Third option not discussed: have the military leverage its existing nuclear reactor competency to build a fleet of nationalized nuclear power generation stations. I'm not saying that they should tile the island with submarine-scale reactors, I'm saying that their supply chain for building those knows how to build nuclear power stations. The only thing which makes this prospect expensive, is the lack of political will…
I know that at some point in tbe last few years, oil and gas companies invested in uranium mines so they could continue their game of "you base your entire civilization on the stuff that only we can dig out of the ground, so pay up." That was the same time these comments started appearing all over the internet. Also, I don't want another Chernobyl next to me house, so those reactors had better be properly made, there…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The new builds are made of brick and block, and are indeed insulated really well. It's the millions of older houses, particularly Victorian ones, that are made of brick, are not usually insulated well, and are often intentionally draughty.
What would the reason for being intentionally draughty be? The only thing I can think of is if they were burning candles/gas lamps to improve air quality?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Did PG&E cause the fire? They are legally obligated to serve those customers. It would be safer if they simply didn’t do that no? Wait till you read the facts behind this $41m bailout for 20 homes in one of the richest burbs of LA: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-10-29/feds-to-... You could argue that nobody should be living in a place guaranteed to be destroyed, whether by landslides or wildfires, but…
> Did PG&E cause the fire? Yes. As I recall it, the fire was caused by downed lines that were energized during a dry spell, and the reason the lines were downed was due to negligence around maintaining the C-Hooks holding their high voltage transmission lines. PG&E knew that they needed to be replaced every so often, had a policy that dictated when they needed to be replaced, and then ignored that policy which ultima…
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/new-images-of-pge-...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Did PG&E cause the fire? They are legally obligated to serve those customers. It would be safer if they simply didn’t do that no? Wait till you read the facts behind this $41m bailout for 20 homes in one of the richest burbs of LA: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-10-29/feds-to-... You could argue that nobody should be living in a place guaranteed to be destroyed, whether by landslides or wildfires, but…
> This buyout program provides a viable pathway forward for our most vulnerable community members > Hong estimates that his home would have been worth about $3.6 million two years ago Yeah, this person who was able to afford a $3.6M home sure sounds like "our most vulnerable" people. He needs a bailout for making a poor decision on buying that house in a place prone to landslides. Not the hungry kids in our schools w…