[Paddlewise] [SPAM] Re: CO2 output

From: Michael Daly <michaeldaly_at_greatlakeskayaker.ca>
Date: Mon, 02 Jul 2007 10:26:02 -0400
Tord Eriksson wrote:

> Oh, is it?! Considering the millions of tons concrete that is needed, and 
> knowing how concrete is made, it sure uses up a lot of energy, 

Making cement means releasing CO2 from limestone.  Worldwide, cement 
manufacturing is a significant source of CO2.  While building a nuke 
consumes a lot of concrete, I don't know how much CO2 results directly 
compared to the use of other fuel for generating electricity.

> But in those days a nuclear power station had a practical life of 20 years,
> now they more like 50, or more! 

In most engineering endeavours, the design life is somewhat shorter than 
the useful life.  The design life of a typical building is only 50 years 
but most can last a lot longer.  Mechanical and electrical systems do 
wear out over the design lifespan and get replaced, but the structure 
just goes on.


> as the losses involved are massive (for instance charging 
> batteries usually involve a 40% loss in the form of heat),

On the plus side, some of the newer technology batteries are reducing 
this to the 20-30% range.

Mike
***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed
here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire
responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author.
Submissions:     PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net
Subscriptions:   PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************
Received on Mon Jul 02 2007 - 07:26:19 PDT

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:31:25 PDT