[va-richmond-general] alternate energy sources, Bluebird question

    Solar can be done less drastically. Individual homes can have their own
solar heating panels, as can cars, businesses, etc... There doesn't have to
be a solar "bank" as with wind turbines or a factory as with coal or nuclear
power. Negative views without alternatives or solutions does not help.
Hydrogen may have problems, but that doesn't mean we should give up on it.
The US, as a whole, has a lot of problems, but that doesn't mean we should
hand the keys to the White House over to Castro. Last I heard about
hydrogen, the conversion process is done in the car.
    The use/production of soybeans won't starve anybody. Many farmers in
this country are paid NOT to grow food (or certain foods) so that prices
will remain high. If every farmer grew all the food (s)he wanted to without
government interference, we could easily solve much of the world's hunger
problems. Imagine if half the ranches in the country started raising soy
beans instead of cattle - or even 1/4. Every tobacco farmer could grow soy
beans and not have any effect on hunger. How many farmers grow corn for
ethanol? Let them grow soy beans, instead. Yet another method of farming
that wouldn't affect food crops.  Then have every farmer set aside a small
portion of their land for soy beans. This would dramatically increase the
production of soy beans, overall, so that some could be used for food and
some for fuel. Tear down non-functioning oil factories or coal factories, as
well as nuclear power plants, change the land over to farming, and then grow
soy beans. Instead of  building more strip malls (how many Circuit City's
does one need in a 20 miles radius? There are four within 20 miles of me -
two within five), how about using the land as farm land to grow soy beans?
You get the idea. Granted, these things would take a lot of time, but
they'll take even MORE time if something isn't done NOW - the longer you
wait, the longer it takes. Should we wait until there is an actual emergency
(as in "The Day after Tomorrow," for example)? I believe Dr. King said, "The
time is always right to do what is right."
    Now, just so this isn't all environmental debate, I did have some
interesting bird sightings/hearings: A Northern Bobwhite continues to call
from the field behind our "learning cottage" at school. A male Eastern
Bluebird greeted me from the top of the flagpole as I came into work on
Friday. His nest box is just a few feet away. It's very beat up and reminds
me of the condemned houses near VCU. Doesn't seem to bother him, though.
Haven't seen any juveniles yet. There were eggs in there about three weeks
ago, but I haven't looked recently. I couldn't say with any degree of
certainty when they were laid, but sometime in late April would be my guess.
Anyone know how long it takes between the laying of the first egg and the
fledging of the first juvenile?

Michael Shapiro
Short Pump

PS - Thanks to all who told me that my messages were getting through. Can't
understand why **I** can't see them. Oh, well.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim Blowers" <jimvb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2005 9:15 PM
Subject: [va-richmond-general] Re: my posts


> I got your message, Michael. I quoted both your messages to show that. I
> have the same problem with some but not all of my listserves, namely
> that I don't get my own messages back.
>
> Solar seems the way to go in the future, but it means putting down an
> area of solar panels as great as what our road network now covers. Wind
> means throwing up millions of wind turbines; we already have problems
> with cell phone towers. Hydrogen has many problems and seems to depend
> on solar or wind to get the hydrogen to use as fuel. Soybeans and other
> crops means starving people, as we cut drastically the amount of the
> crop needed for food. None of these are easy, and I suspect an ever
> changing mix of fuel sources is what we will use in the future.
>
> Jim Blowers
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: va-richmond-general-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:va-richmond-general-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Michael
> Shapiro
> Sent: Thursday, 2005 May 26 18:31
> To: Richmond listserv
> Subject: [va-richmond-general] my posts
>
>
> Someone PLEASE tell me if my posts are getting through!! For some
> reason, I don't get my own posts. I've asked this several times and no
> one has ever answered, which makes me think they aren't getting through.
> Are they? Michael Shapiro sc.tanager@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Short Pump You are
> subscribed to VA-Richmond-General. To unsubscribe, send email to
> va-richmond-general-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the
> Subject field. To adjust other settings (vacation, digest, etc.) please
> visit, http://www.freelists.org/list/va-richmond-general.
>
> The biggest problem with nuclear energy - aside from plants being
> terrorist targets - is what to do with the waste.
> Solar is a viable, renewable energy source that will last as long as the
> Sun does - about another 10 billion years or so. Water has also been
> discussed as a fuel source (burning the oxygen and releasing the
> hydrogen - or is it the other way around?), and soy beans are currently
> being discussed as an energy/fuel source.
> If more money were given to organizations researching alternative energy
> and fuel sources, I'm sure other things could be found that no one has
> yet dreamed up. Putting up structures that kill flying wildlife is
> absurd (by the way, many cell phone towers kill birds, as well).
>
>
>
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visit, http://www.freelists.org/list/va-richmond-general.
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