The government has been perverting the market for generations. If nuclear or fossil fuel plants had to have liability insurance for the damage they cause, they would go out of business. Similarly here in Australia a massive amount of subsidies are provided to the fossil fuel industries by way of infrastructure grants (roads, ports, railways etc) and exemption from taxes such as the diesel excise levy.

By all means make it a level playing field. But on both sides of the fence.

I chose not to accept any subsidies for my solar installation for two reasons. One, I wanted to do it all myself, but more importantly the subsidy is in the form of a renewable energy credit which is bought by a polluting company so they can pretend to be generating green energy, which they then recover by charging more for this 'green energy' that is nothing of the sort.

Earlier this year I installed 32 x 230 AH Winston Lithium Ion Batteries that have a specification of 3000 cycles at depth of discharge of 80% and 5000 cycles at DOD of 70%. So far they are working wonderfully.

Depending on the temperature, the voltage starts to drop as you go beyond 90% so the above figures should be what you are designing for anyway.

Sure they are expensive, but if they last as long as the specifications say I won't have to replace them for 15 years. Over that time period I think they were cost competitive with Lead Acid, especially since they can be cycled so much more aggressively.

As an aside I note that the trend in solar installations is to over-specify the panels to give you full recharge on cloudy days, which removes the need for power storage for anything other than sundown to sunup. This massively reduces the amount of battery you need (I planned around 3 days of reduced input before having to get my generator going).

An ancient muslim scholar from around the 11th century (forget the guys name) noted that in general the ruling classes (in his case of city states) come from the country where they have their own power base. After seizing power they get settled in the city and turn their backs on the power base and go corrupt and soft and self serving after a few generations and cease to have the attributes that put them there. But there is always another ruling class with an external power base to take over.

Sounds pretty much like our own current situation. All over the world governments no longer represent the will of the people. In some places this results in countries falling apart (Moldova, Georgia, Serbia, Ukraine, Libya, Sudan, Ethiopia and possibly the UK and Spain) or becoming increasingly disillusioned by their government and increasingly propagandised by the media (just about everyone else).

Sounds like a bare metal format is needed to me too. And maybe time to welcome robot or alien overlords. Can't be worse than the current mob.

For starters I don't drive a multi-ton death machine unless your multiplier is less than 2.

I would contend that it is not possible to drive for any length of time and still have 100% of your focus on the road. Even if it were, I would further contend that the vast majority of people who are on the roads are not doing so. The relative safety of the roads would appear to contradict your statement.

I also ride motorbikes, and agree that compared with a car you are hyper-aware. Probably because you feel like you are in the environment rather than in a metal box, but even then once you start riding any distance you start thinking about the beer at the end of the journey, or the shopping you need to do, or feeding the cat or whatever.

Welcome to the world of protest. Where people being upset at something enough to take action there will always be people inconvenienced by said action.

It is called free speech. Please feel free to continue and we will do likewise.

Hey, I came here looking for witty comments about how the beta sux. Please stay on topic or I will have to mod you irrelevant.

Dunno where you dug up the straw man from. I never mentioned taxes. Or health care. Or micromanagement of their lives.

I just said they were fat because they want to be, and that impacts other people. I don't want to lord it over them. I just want them to keep their lard arses out of my space, stop blaming society for a problem of their own making and stop expecting other people to feel sorry for them or give them special consideration.

Fog lights: A driver is only permitted to use fog lights if driving in fog, mist or other atmospheric condition that restricts visibility.

If you are lucky they will pull you over and give you a friendly ticking off. If they need to fill their quota they will book you.

A quick google shows that the same applies to Ireland and the same advice is also in the UK highway code.

Or suppose the idea of speed traps is to raise revenue for the relevant municipality.

Personally I can't trust a police officer, full stop. The people I know who are coppers (extended family) are arrogant fucks who think they know better than everyone else. In my personal interactions with the police they have harassed rather than helped me, even when I have been the victim of a crime. And no, I have never been in prison or convicted of any crime.

The police are there to protect the rich, not to uniformly apply clear regulations for the protection of all.

On topic, the reason most of us flash other road users when we see speed traps is that we recognise them as unjust. I would say the majority of people break the law every time they get in the car, because the speed limits are constantly changing and our focus is elsewhere.

In Australia you are only allowed to use fog lights in fog. You could flash your normal headlights though if you are not a motorbike which have them on all the time.

If it is not competitive why are the Saudis (and other gulf states) investing so much money in it? After all, they have cheap oil to burn...

http://au.ibtimes.com/articles...

I think you will find PV would be a hell of a lot more competitive if governments did not subsidise alternatives - nuclear and hydro by indemnifying against disaster, fossil fuels by subsidising infrastructure (and in Australia by exempting them from diesal fuel tax) and not requiring mining companies to rectify sites after they have trashed them.

FFS you can see the damage that shale oil mining is causing in Alberta from space.

Because no one has demonstrated a commercially viable fusion reactor yet? Good enough reason?

I would also be prepared to bet that it is indemnified from compensation if something nasty where to happen. So add in the cost of insurance as well if you want to do a fair comparison.

Wish I had some mod points today.

Being fat is not a condition.It is a lifestyle choice that has impacts on others.Just the same as someone who smokes, doesn't shower, or doesn't clean their teeth.

I have sat next to quite a few fat people in my time on long haul flights.