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Comment Re:Nice, if true. (Score 1) 50

We would be lucky to be able to make something that extracts 1% of the energy from this reactor That's because its heat is 1000000C. At 300C we can extract over 50% (up to 60% for a very efficient plant). But that's because we have materials that can handle 300C but there is nothing we know of that can handle 1000000C. I have no idea where you got the 25% number from, that's about half what it is in practice. For a fusion reactor however, we have no idea but achieving 1% would be a miracle. Most fission reactors make 2x the heat as electricity. 2GW of heat and 1GW of power is a pretty standard size for a powerplant.

Submission + - 750 MW PG&E Battery On Fire in California (apnews.com)

sfcat writes: Hundreds of people were ordered to evacuate and part of Highway 1 in Northern California was closed when a major fire erupted Thursday afternoon at one of the world’s largest battery storage plants.

As the fire sent up towering flames and black smoke and showed no sign of easing by Thursday night, about 1,500 people were instructed to leave Moss Landing and the Elkhorn Slough area, The Mercury News reported.

The Moss Landing Power Plant, located about 77 miles (about 124 kilometers) south of San Francisco, is owned by Texas-company Vistra Energy and contains tens of thousands of lithium batteries. The batteries are important for storing electricity from such renewable energy sources as solar energy, but if they go up in flames the blazes can be extremely difficult to put out.

“There’s no way to sugar coat it. This is a disaster, is what it is,” Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church told KSBW-TV. But he said he did not expect the fire to spread beyond the concrete building it was enclosed in.

Comment Re:Here in the UK (Score 1) 150

One, stone isn't a great building material. Sure its still standing, but you wouldn't want to live in it. Second, there are tons of building regulations in the US and especially in a place like this. There isn't much that can withstand the kind of heat a forest fire makes. It isn't like the fires in a city, they are much bigger and more intense. There are several causes of this fire, one is climate change, another is not putting in the effort to clear brush. Building out of stone wouldn't have made much of a difference. The remaining structure isn't livable even if it is still standing.

Comment Re:Why don't all rich in LA have roof sprinklers? (Score 4, Insightful) 150

The insurance companies pulled out of this neighborhood about 6 months ago. All policies were cancelled. They said the state wouldn't let them raise the premiums to a level required to offset the risk. Before you say, greedy insurance companies, 1) they were right, and 2) if they did write these policies, the rest of us end up subsidizing their much more expensive homes. Just though everyone should know this before piling on about insurance.

Comment Re:Needs to be a cooperative effort (Score 1) 136

Straight to Godwin's law, huh? You lose.

That's not Godwin's law. Godwin's law is when you call one side of the argument (or whoever you are arguing with) Hitler. This is using that as an example of something silly. But thank you for showing everyone that you don't actually understand Godwin's law. Now turn in your Internet pass at the door as you leave.

Comment Re:Needs to be a cooperative effort (Score 1) 136

Its also shifting blame in a really disingenuous way. The idea that big tech companies are doing something comparable to tobacco companies is pretty rich. Well, this person who wrote this article breaths air. Hitler breathed air. Therefore this author is responsible for the holocaust. See how silly that is. This is an ideologically temper tantrum from someone who is mad about the outcome of an election. Are all the folks who work in big tech angels, no of course not. But does getting folks to argue on the Internet, really cause the same harm as AGW or tobacco companies? That's a really hard argument to make. Especially since those Internet discussions really only impact the chattering class and not normies nor actual public policy.

Comment Re:Not going to survive court challange (Score 1) 164

Its also ex-post facto. Why is that important. Because after I pass my air tax, you own me your lifetime earnings. Also, everything is illegal because at the time you do something, you don't know if I'm going to ban it in the future. So everything is illegal. That's why we don't allow ex-post facto laws.

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