Cons of Wind Energy
Wind is highly variable. Wind speed varies by numerous factors, including weather, location and season, so not all places are appropriate for wind energy. At Inn Serendipity, we rarely overproduce electricity during the summer months. Equipment requires a sizeable upfront investment, depending on the size of system selected. To meet the needs of a modest hobby farm, like ours (after energy conservation and efficiency efforts have been exhausted), a 10 kW system that costs $40,000 to $70,000 would be needed to become a net producer of electricity on an annual basis. Evaluating projected wind-system output is difficult due to variability of turbine design and production conditions. “Wind turbines are not created equally,” Hippensteel says. “Some require considerably more maintenance and service than others.” Living with a renewable energy system demands a more energy-mindful way of living. After any big storm, we check our inverters in much the same way that our farmer neighbors check on their animals. State or municipal zoning laws may result in expensive hearings or possibly prevent you from erecting a tower of sufficient height. NIMBYism: Some neighbors may voice objections to the sight or sound of a swishing turbine. While possible harm may be done to birds, research studies, such as one by the National Wind Coordinating Committee, have found that collisions with windows in buildings and vehicles, capture by outdoor cats, as well as poisoning due to chemicals cause far more avian fatalities than encounters with residential wind systems. Depending on location, securing capable technicians or service workers for possible repair or maintenance can add significant costs to owning a system.
William B on 03 Mar 14"SAN FRANCISCO - 3-D printing, used to construct everything from art to toys to spare parts for the space station, may one day produce human organs at a hospital near you. click image to enlarge A 3-D printed prosthetic nose and ear are displayed at an industry show in London in November. The technology may eventually help reduce organ shortages. Bloomberg News photo by Chris Ratcliffe Select images available for purchase in the Maine Today Photo Store The 20-year-old technology uses liquid materials that become hard as they print out three-dimensional objects in layers, based on a digital model. Current medical uses are in dentistry, for hard-material crowns, caps and bridges, as well as prosthetics. Last year, a 3-D printer was used to create a structure from moldable polymer that replaced more than 75 percent of a patient's skull. Now, Organovo Holdings Inc. is using 3-D printers to create living tissue that may one day look and act like a human liver, able to cleanse the body of toxins. Drugmakers and cosmetic companies already plan to use 3-D printed human tissue to test new products. Eventually, the technology may help reduce organ shortages and cut transplant rejections as patients receive new organs constructed from their own cells. "3-D printing is like a new tool set," said Organovo Chief Executive Officer Keith Murphy. "You can make a living tissue you can grow outside the body. That's the core of our technology. How can you be smart about doing that?" Organovo already is preparing to sell strips of liver tissue to drugmakers this year to be used to test toxicity of potential treatments, Murphy said in a telephone interview. The San Diego-based company's five- and 10-year goals are first to use a patient's own cells to print tissue strips that can be used to patch failing organs, and finally to be able to create entire new organs. The first 3-D printer was produced in 1992. Since then, a variety of materials have been used as the t
