[lit-ideas] Re: Portugal opens major solar power plant

Teemu, just saw your post on the website.  Thanks for your response.  I was 
struck that almost 4 tons per household per year seemed like a lot but it is 
probably on the low side.  I sure don't think of myself as emitting 4 tons of 
greenhouse gases per year.  On the other hand, electricity is often generated 
by coal, all the items we use are manufactured using energy, etc. etc., so it 
probably adds up quickly and we never even notice it.  It's a wonder that the 
atmosphere can continue to keep holding the millions of tons of pollution that 
go into the air every day.  Certainly the oceans can't do it anymore.  I'm 
getting discouraged with global warming.  This apparently was the warmest 
winter on record worldwide, but boy, was it cold here after the jet stream and 
El Nino corrected themselves.  

Speaking of greener heating systems, I've explored air and ground source heat 
pumps; exterior wood burning furnaces; solar energy; and propane, either whole 
house or ceramic logs for the fireplace in the living room.  After all that 
exploring, seems like we're stuck with oil.  Each system is either inefficient 
or prohibitive.  A reasonable compromise, although expensive, is an insert to 
the fireplace that burns these things called pellets, made of wood.  Pellets 
come in 40-pound bags so there's no mess.  Before making the investment 
(inserts are over $3,000) and finding out once again that I'm not a pioneer, I 
thought about buying a non insert pellet burner for the fireplace.  It's only 
$259.  Probably though, we're stuck with oil.  What do you sophisticated Finns 
use in Finland to heat your houses?  Is it oil?  I've learned that oil gets the 
most BTU's per whatever the measure is, dollar I guess.


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