I agree that NASA does research, but what portion of their government-controlled budget is devoted to solar? Now a days it seems like most spacecraft are made with off-the-shelf parts to keep costs down instead of there being a lot of R&D.
The "quick return" is the "attitude" I was alluding to. It's a short versus long term view. Let's make money quick, even if it wrecks the planet. Lawmakers will decide not to invest in alternative energy as long as they are stockholders and board members of oil companies and auto manufacturers. As far as efficiency, I suspect it could be vastly improved by technologies and methods not yet envisioned and definitely not budgeted for. Sierra, well they're Sierra. A respectable organization, no doubt, but maybe fanatical in some cases. Tom C. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kent Gittings" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2001 7:27 AM Subject: RE: OT ot OT Re: SUV's - was: Illegal Street Photography? > Actually the reason is business. Without a guaranteed quick return only the > solar energy companies like Solarex can make a profit off the stuff. And > don't think that pouring more R & D dollars will get the efficiency much > over the low percentage conversions now available. NASA pays for extensive > research and engineering projects in that area as space is still the number > one priority for it. > Not to mention the Sierra Club would most likely sue to keep all the solar > panels from covering all the acreage you would need to make it work. Fusion > would be a better solution so instead of trying to harness a small > percentage of the sun's fusion it would be better just to do it here. Would > save the large areas we'd have to chop down to cover with solar panels. > My vote is to get all the commuters off the road into some kind of mass > transit so those of us who enjoy high performance driving can have the roads > all to ourselves. > Kent Gittings - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
