Results: This is Part 3 of a survey on Power Supply. Part 2 was how lobby groups work to eliminate some traditional but outdated power sources and replace them with renewable energy sources. This edition is about better and more realistic renewables.
Published on 06/13/2022
Power generation is big business and big business means powerful lobby groups, backroom deals and resistance to any threats to their profits. We have seen the headlines where environmentalists and others (typically on the left politically) are pursuing the goal of free energy - the assumption that future technology will not be developed by capitalists. This assumption actively slows down the development of "low cost to generate" electricity. I think we should expect to pay the same for electricity regardless of source unless we provide our own free energy. See if you agree.
QUESTIONS
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Comments
1.
1.
The price you pay for goods and services is determined by the marketplace in a free economy and meddling by governments to lower prices, protect jobs, dictate profits and otherwise control the marketplace usually does the opposite - like now for example. How about the price for something basic like a glass of potable water? What is the maximum you will pay? The cheapest source of drinkable water is probably rain water. That's what I drink.
7%
115 votes
I drink water from a well but I have to pay to purify it and/or top up the well.
10%
158 votes
I drink city water from the faucet and pay through taxes or metered usage.
55%
867 votes
I buy purified water in containers from a supplier or store. I have a water cooler at home.
9%
144 votes
I buy bottled water in small plastic bottles and discard or recycle the empties.
37%
581 votes
I drink imported water like Perrier for the perceived benefits and pay a premium price.
4%
56 votes
I live in a location with no clean sources. I pay a lot for my drinking water.
2%
38 votes
I live in a location with no clean sources. I have no money so I drink from the river like the animals do.
2%
27 votes
Other (please specify)
6%
99 votes
Not Applicable
26%
401 votes
- ⁹
- We should pay, but I think it should be based on income
- I have a well and the water is excellent.We can't live without water but electricity is a luxury. I certainly don't want the price to go up either especially now when everything else has gone up.
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 0.86% | 18 | |
| spring water | 0.10% | 2 |
| Refillable gallon jugs thaT YOU REFILL AT GROCERY STORE | 0.05% | 1 |
| I drink water from a well,straight out of the tap! | 0.05% | 1 |
| I have a well | 0.05% | 1 |
| City of Toronto water, either I'm & the tap water into my apartment, am being targeted or this particular neighbourhood (slum) has disgusting water causing all sorts of symptoms, the most common facial pustules, acne, I'm told, in my 60s! | 0.05% | 1 |
| well water | 0.05% | 1 |
| Drink from my faucet | 0.05% | 1 |
| From my well, & I need to do nothing other than drink it. | 0.05% | 1 |
| I filter city water but it’s still not good | 0.05% | 1 |
| filtered water from the refrigerator | 0.05% | 1 |
| city water through the tap into a purification system reverse osmosis | 0.05% | 1 |
| well water no purification needed | 0.05% | 1 |
| I drink free spring water and some bottled spring water. | 0.05% | 1 |
| I also buy water. | 0.05% | 1 |
| from a well - it doesn't require filtration or pufication | 0.05% | 1 |
| I have a well. It is good clean water | 0.05% | 1 |
| water pitcher filtration jug | 0.05% | 1 |
| I drink our well | 0.05% | 1 |
| brita | 0.05% | 1 |
| private spring | 0.05% | 1 |
| well | 0.05% | 1 |
| Live near a spring and buy some at store when I needed | 0.05% | 1 |
| Have a filtering system at home | 0.05% | 1 |
| I use a Brita filter and tap water. | 0.05% | 1 |
| Cook and bathe with well water and drink bottled. | 0.05% | 1 |
| I get my water from a well with natural spring water that I don't have to pay to purify or top up.What kind of well do you have to top up | 0.05% | 1 |
| I drink flavored bottled non sparkling water | 0.05% | 1 |
| Well on site, no chlorine | 0.05% | 1 |
| Drink well water that does not have to be purified | 0.05% | 1 |
| I drink city water from the faucet which my landlord pays for | 0.05% | 1 |
| The whole thing | 0.05% | 1 |
| I have Pur filter | 0.05% | 1 |
| I get my water from a well, and drink it as it comes out of the faucet. | 0.05% | 1 |
| included in my rent | 0.05% | 1 |
| I haul city water that I pay$1 for 400 gallons | 0.05% | 1 |
| I buy Blue Jug water | 0.05% | 1 |
| I use well water and it is fine. | 0.05% | 1 |
| Filtered from fridge | 0.05% | 1 |
| I boil water and keep in fridge | 0.05% | 1 |
| I drink from springs on my property | 0.05% | 1 |
| Filtered tap water | 0.05% | 1 |
| I purchase water in gallon jugs and put one in the fridge. Less to recyle that way and can reuse them around the house for other things. | 0.05% | 1 |
| I use tap water filtered in a Brita pitcher. | 0.05% | 1 |
| Water from a well; you just clean with bleach twice/year | 0.05% | 1 |
| well water,no purification needed | 0.05% | 1 |
| I have two cistern that I fill with city water for a reasonable price | 0.05% | 1 |
| BRITA water pitcher | 0.05% | 1 |
| I have a well and neither have to purify it nor top it up. | 0.05% | 1 |
| use a filter on faucet | 0.05% | 1 |
| Boil my water | 0.05% | 1 |
| I use a tabletop water purifier to filter my tap water. | 0.05% | 1 |
| Tap water | 0.05% | 1 |
| Well water, all free | 0.05% | 1 |
| Buy bottled water in gallon containers | 0.05% | 1 |
| I drink Park water which is Allright but I have a filtering system as well. | 0.05% | 1 |
| Y | 0.05% | 1 |
| filtered | 0.05% | 1 |
| I drink filtered city water from the faucet but it's not separately metered so I never see a bill. | 0.05% | 1 |
| drink water at home from my tap cleac very good water | 0.05% | 1 |
| I drink water from a well and do not pay to purify it and/or top up the well. | 0.05% | 1 |
| I used the large jugs that go on water coolers for my drinking water | 0.05% | 1 |
| I use Brita water filters | 0.05% | 1 |
| plain well water | 0.05% | 1 |
| Included in my rent, which is geared of course, to water usage by the complex. | 0.05% | 1 |
| I filter the city water. | 0.05% | 1 |
| I have my own well and it is good, clean water - no filtering or purifying needed | 0.05% | 1 |
| I drink plain well water. | 0.05% | 1 |
| I have an under-sink water purifier | 0.05% | 1 |
| I drink city from the faucet and live in an apartment. Also, buy bottled water during the summer. | 0.05% | 1 |
| I buy a lot of water myself. Love ice water.l might have to switch to rain water | 0.05% | 1 |
| Monthly, I take 30-40 jugs I’ve recycled and visit a local spring, fill them, let them set for a few days for multiple uses. | 0.05% | 1 |
| We also drink well water in an area where purification is not an issue due to it’s remote and rural location. | 0.05% | 1 |
| City water from faucet which is included in my rent and put it in frig to get cold | 0.05% | 1 |
| I have a well and drink tap water | 0.05% | 1 |
| I buy purified water from a local spring and refill store-bought bottles, I don't have a water cooler at home, just 16 refillable bottles which I keep in crates and refill bi-weekly for 50 cents per gallon. | 0.05% | 1 |
| Filter | 0.05% | 1 |
| My water is free from the tiwn uncluded in my rent | 0.05% | 1 |
| City water | 0.05% | 1 |
| I have my own well and drink from that | 0.05% | 1 |
| well on my land | 0.05% | 1 |
2.
2.
As you can see in Q1 Even the price of water is subject to supply and demand. Now imagine you are the CEO of a large power corporation. The demand for your product is going up, the cheap sources of power generation like coal are being eliminated. If you replace those forms of generation with new and cheaper technology the public will expect you to provide it for lower than it current sells for because it comes from renewables (ignoring the capital cost to install them). The government seems to like wind and solar power generation and will subsidize investment in those technologies. If you have a publicly traded company shareholders expect you to maintain profits and if you are a crown corporation (in Canada) you have even fewer options. What will you do? Increase prices as high as you can get away with.
9%
139 votes
Introduce rolling blackouts at peak times.
8%
129 votes
Invest hugely in wind and solar even though it is costly, inefficient and unreliable.
16%
257 votes
Lobby to retain carbon rich power generation methods.
13%
200 votes
Select nuclear fission generation rather than invest in fusion technology because you need the power now and fusion research runs at the pace of government.
10%
160 votes
Try to undermine the environmentalists and position them as fanatical kooks because they are perceived as a threat to the bottom line.
7%
115 votes
Try to undermine those with left wing views and position them as fanatical kooks because they see profit as a dirty word You need profits in order to invest in new technologies and maintain current ones (and your job)
8%
131 votes
Throw free enterprise out the window, give away your product for free and do so until your equipment no longer works then go out of business.
5%
72 votes
Other (please specify)
3%
49 votes
Not Applicable
72%
1127 votes
- no
- Sure. You're not thinking outside the box.
- Most likely not
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 1.44% | 18 | |
| none of the above | 0.16% | 2 |
| Not sure | 0.16% | 2 |
| not going to read long surveys like this | 0.08% | 1 |
| invest in development to find ways to use less energy | 0.08% | 1 |
| Decrease prices so that people can afford and companies make a profit too. | 0.08% | 1 |
| I live in an area where there is a drinking water,so I buy. | 0.08% | 1 |
| This is a biased and loaded question. All power generation has costs. Investing in renewables is sensible because thaey are just that: renewaable. Once coal and fossil fuels are gone, what do you do? | 0.08% | 1 |
| Invest in/start company dealing in nuclear, hydro, petroleum | 0.08% | 1 |
| Increase prices moderately | 0.08% | 1 |
| Wind and solar is "costly, inefficient and unreliable"? I don't agree with your premise at all. | 0.08% | 1 |
| Really, your taxes are going to be that exorbitant? | 0.08% | 1 |
| I have no idea what I would do. There are so many parts to this puzzle that I cannot see a recognizable solution to the problem. | 0.08% | 1 |
| In 2012 systematically moved to only energy star appliances, 2014 upgraded windows doors, 2016 upgraded insulation, 2018 systematically moved to LED lighting, 2020, 2022 upgraded heating system from 70% to thermopumps at 97% so I cut energy bill 62% | 0.08% | 1 |
| The whole thing | 0.08% | 1 |
| Not sure.. | 0.08% | 1 |
| I have no idea. A brain/mind for business is something that eludes me. | 0.08% | 1 |
| Lower my price will give a bigger demand for it, so instead of making a larger profit on less of a profit on one sale...You`ll make the same or a larger profit off of more multiple sales and in the end the cost to individual buyers is cheaper (bette | 0.08% | 1 |
| Unsure | 0.08% | 1 |
| I don't understand what you are asking. | 0.08% | 1 |
| Some have accomplished "off the grid" access to electric energy. That is the way to the future. | 0.08% | 1 |
| I have a feeling the answer is much more complex than those provided above. | 0.08% | 1 |
| idk | 0.08% | 1 |
| Remove the incorrect assumptions, such as paying for water. | 0.08% | 1 |
| I don't know | 0.08% | 1 |
| I would invest in new smaller solar panels | 0.08% | 1 |
| Y | 0.08% | 1 |
| How should I know? | 0.08% | 1 |
| the same thing I am doing now | 0.08% | 1 |
| Invest in research to find other sustainable, eco friendly alternatives. | 0.08% | 1 |
3.
3.
You may have gathered by now I am not a fan of big government, big business, big religion and I'm not a fan of big new energy supply sources such as entire mountain valleys filled with huge wind turbines or huge fields of solar panels. These require huge factories, huge investments and a huge amount of resources. I am however a big fan of small scale solutions, many of which come from the ingenuity of people in 3rd world countries. The solution to the climate change question could very well be the small contributions made by millions of people that don't put one dime into the coffers of big corporations but when combined can have a huge impact . If you want cheap and (almost) free energy perhaps you will have to do it yourself - feel free to agree or disagree - and here are some examples. If you no longer had access to cheap energy how inventive could you be? A light source using a used plastic bottle that allows kids to study and use education to improve their country. Also, if combined with a solar patio light it can provide a more secure neighbourhood after dark https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5YQ4t5apPM
21%
329 votes
Hydrogen power from the electrolysis of urine. Electrolysis at lower voltage than pure water using small solar power. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKfMWtJIgcs&ab_channel=AbayomiAdisa
16%
258 votes
Power from a perpetual motion machine. Ancient technology that is still valid. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBxGdt9ev7M&ab_channel=PraveenMohan
25%
386 votes
Other (please specify)
3%
53 votes
Not Applicable
79%
1231 votes
- Yes
- I have solar powered chargers for just that situation. They'll run my phone and my portable evaporative cooler as well as some small lamps.
- I doubt it.
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 2.14% | 22 | |
| not sure | 0.19% | 2 |
| I'm not an inventive person. | 0.10% | 1 |
| Make a small wind turbine connected to an electric motor to generate power and store it in a battery | 0.10% | 1 |
| Biomass to Biogas: methane from sewage and/or agricultural waste. | 0.10% | 1 |
| The whole thing | 0.10% | 1 |
| Solar powered generator | 0.10% | 1 |
| Intelligent lighting system turns off lights when room empty, cold water laundry. | 0.10% | 1 |
| I have no idea | 0.10% | 1 |
| I don't know | 0.10% | 1 |
| Unfortunately, I am left to the mercy of the inventive to solve my problems but I can hunt | 0.10% | 1 |
| IDK, esp, since I've never heard about the above things though briefly, seem very interesting. | 0.10% | 1 |
| who knows ! | 0.10% | 1 |
| really dislike surveys that each question is a tome | 0.10% | 1 |
| windmills, not the huge wind turbines, but like the dutch have | 0.10% | 1 |
| Electrolysis from water | 0.10% | 1 |
| solar power | 0.10% | 1 |
| I would do nothing! | 0.10% | 1 |
| perpetual motion doesn't exist, mate | 0.10% | 1 |
| I really don't worry about that...Hydro-Quebec And do not drive. | 0.10% | 1 |
| no | 0.10% | 1 |
| Home solar panels if enough of them can provide for support in times of power failures. | 0.10% | 1 |
| oscillator | 0.10% | 1 |
| candles | 0.10% | 1 |
| generator | 0.10% | 1 |
| Smaller nuclear power that can be placed in grids that can power entire cities. | 0.10% | 1 |
| I'd probably just panic | 0.10% | 1 |
| I'm really tired of this. | 0.10% | 1 |
| Wave power | 0.10% | 1 |
| Y | 0.10% | 1 |
| Build a wind generator and small solar system with stuff I have. | 0.10% | 1 |
COMMENTS