Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Undertoad
Let's be fair R. 358 MW from Cromby, of which I was thankfully unaware, and 2400 MW from Limerick... probably nets out to the Cellar's non-peak-usage sources being about 87% nuclear, 13% coal/oil/gas. I regret the error.
|
Except that all 358 MW from Cromby and the power from Montgomery County Recycling center must be consumed first before Richmond, Schuylkill, Delaware, Eddystone, DRMI, Eagle Point, Camden Paper, Limerick, Burlington, Croyden, US Steel, and Mercer take up UTs load. Those other fossil fuel plants that would also contribute alongside Limerick were conveniently forgotten (if distance is a criteria). So now we have a number still somewhere at 20% nuclear.
Limerick power is provided through Cromby. Limerick only provides UT's power when Cromby is overloaded. That based upon distance as the criteria.
However electricity is more fungible. Therefore the chart at the start of this thread is more relevant. About 20% of UT's electricity from the grid is nuclear. Most of his electricity - by far the dominant amount - is fossil fuel. His nearest plants in all directions are not nuclear. His nearest electricity sources are all fossil fuel plants. His grid only provides 20% of its electricity from nuclear.
The point is that UT speculated only based upon an observation. He saw Limerick. He ignored the much closer Cromby. He then assumed all his electricity is nuclear by pretending those closer fossil fuel plants did not exist. And he did not first get the numbers. Again, he ignores a long list of power plants so as to claim Limerick as the primary electric source. Now we are getting to my point.
Selective reasoning. No numbers means the conclusion is based upon junk science reasoning. Then claiming only Limerick and Cromby exist in his neighborhood is another classic propaganda technique - half truths by omission of facts. These are Rush Limbaugh techniques.
Provided up top were real world numbers. About 20% of UTs electricity is from nuclear. He previously declared it was 100% because he did not obtain numbers, only made a quick observation (saw Limerick), and ignored other more relevant facts (such as the existence of Cromby and Montgomery County Recycling). By not learning the numbers up front AND by ignoring other relevant facts, UT presented personal speculation as fact.
UT is not the isolated example. Most of us did same to justify an illegal and unnecessary invasion of Iraq. History teaches that most of us will later deny we really supported that unjustified invasion. UT is only being used as an example of how so many of us think. We don't first demand irrefutable facts AND we often only listen to facts presented in a politically correct manner. Too many rationalize selectively - dominated by emotion rather than a quest for the numbers. Too often, we ignore the numbers so that eyes will not glaze over.
UT made a spectacular and erroneous assumption because he did not first learn the numbers - and other factors such as how the grid is wired. He did what so many of us do to become victims of the Rush Limbaugh types.
One trend that so often amazed me is how many call themselves computer experts and yet don't even know how electricity works. Or how many believe Listerine does something only because of television half-truths and how it feels in the mouth. We fix things by 'shotgunning' and then declare we know why the failure happened. We rationalize just as UT did to declare all his electricity as nuclear. No research. No numbers. Somehow we just know. That is what UT did when he declared his electricity as 100% nuclear and when he declared his electricity as 87% nuclear. Too often, we all do this junk science reasoning - which is why Rush Limbaugh types are so powerfully influential.