Green Energy

World Energy and Population

Although the article was discredited even by it's own author, I thought it was still a very interesting attempt to quantify the world's carrying capacity of human beings by energy consumption. I found it quite flawed even before the author turned on it (which was a very refreshing act of true intellectual integrity). In the end he was trying something which is more or less impossible for a single person (or even many people) to do. Much like a perfect climate model, the factors are far too numerous to take on.

However, it doesn't stop the paper from presenting a lot of interesting data in one place, and making some very scary conclusions. Personally I think the market forces will prove more efficient in solving the energy crisis than anyone ever imagined. Whether we can stop global warming is another story, but there are just too many possibilities for how to get energy for some alternatives to take hold and be successful. I'm personally rooting for fusion and solar to save the day. Ethanol is for suckers.

One of his graphs:

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One Kilometer of These Could Provide As Much Energy as All The World's Oil in 1 Year!

I say we make one!


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New Micropower Source- The Windbelt

Really brilliant idea for developing nations. Maybe I'll get one to recharge my phone in the desert.

windbelt


Excerpt:

If you’ve ever put a blade of grass between your thumbs and blown, you’re already aware of the force that drives Shawn Frayne’s ingenious Windbelt. A small amount of air passing over a thin strip of material can create frequencies that translate into sound waves or, in the Windbelt’s case, energy.Frayne’s device consists of a flat, taut membrane that flutters within its housing as air passes through it. At each end of the membrane are magnets that oscillate between metal coils as the band flutters, effectively creating an electric charge. According to the 28-year-old Frayne, prototypes of the Windbelt have generated 40 milliwatts in 10-mph slivers of wind, making his device 10 to 30 times as efficient as the best microturbines.


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Salt Water as Fuel?

This is one of the most exciting green energy discoveries of all time. I really hope this works out to be a net positive of energy after the energy expended to separate the hydrogen from the water. Then I'll just tank up my car in the ocean and roll up the coast.

Excerpt:

So, Mr. Kanzius said, he put sea water in a test tube, then trained his machine on it, producing an unexpected spark. In time he and laboratory owners struck a match and ignited the water, which continued burning as long as it remained in the radio-frequency field.


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What Could We Buy for the Price of the War?

So, instead of killing 600,000 people, what else could the U.S. do with the money? A lot it turns out. 30% of American's energy usage could have been converted to renewable sources, they could have gotten universal health care, or a lot of other things. This article lays it out quite well. I can't imagine that the amount of oil they get from this war could possibly be worth more than a lifetime of renewable energy. And it certainly isn't worth the cost in human lives.


WarCost

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