...But if They Might Be Giants is not enough info for you, traditional conservative and now Kossack Darksyde has an excellent discussion of the sun, and energy,and our planet.
It describes the wealth of energy created by the sun and the universe. It's so laughable that somehow we've arrived at the point where it seems the species entire existence is predicated on oil, and we are gobbling that in a helpless mad dash for the bottom; when there is so much abundant energy just kind of flying around. It's like a person insisting on starving to death in the middle of a supermarket.
Unfathomable, nearly endless amounts of energy everywhere, waiting to be used, and we only have our own stubborn shortsightedness stopping us from using it.
It's really so good. go read, and learn something. Then you can start drinking for the weekend.
Friday Freak Out
16 minutes ago
Interesting analogy-- the starving man in the supermarket, thing. The problem, of course, is that the wealth of energy flying around our universe is not easily usable. Actually, unless you're a plant performing photosynthesis, it's quite difficult to harness.
ReplyDeleteSo, rather than a starving man in a supermarket, we're more like starving men on a deserted island with thousands of cans of food that if we try really, really hard we can just barely open. Meanwhile, we've got this handy supply of smoked meat the pirates that used to sail these waters left behind. Finite, sure, but much, much easier to utilize.
I'm not saying we shouldn't be doing more-- personally, I think we should be doing a lot more, and the only really convincing argument I've ever heard for the Kyoto Protocols is that it would force us to innovate-- but it's not anywhere near as easy as your post makes it seem. For a look at other alternatives to solar, check out my post linking to a Popular Mechanics article from last month. http://libertarianlibrarian.blogspot.com/2006/04/alternative-fuels.html
Nick, although I understand your canned food analogy, I don't think it matters to my OP.
ReplyDeleteOur current state of ability to use it has nothing to do with the overwhelming amounts of energy being generated just eight light-minutes away, of which the barest fraction of a percent falls upon our little blue planet.
This energy drives EVERY LIVING THING on the globe ion one way or another. It drives the winds, it stirs the seas, it animates the flora and fauna...
The oil that we currently use (and the coal, as well) is a captured form of this energy. Yes, we're using it right now at an unprecedented rate, because it's easy.
The whole point is that oil is neither the highest nor the final form of energy that can be used, and our current limitations are ones of vision and choice, not of inherent restriction.
A real energy policy (meaning, to me, one that's written with long term vitality and health of the country, it's citizens, and the world of which all are a part) would emphasize development of a wide range of alternative energy sources, as well as extending the efficiency of the utilization methods we currently have. I am sure there is a wealth of info in that PopMech article regarding current or nearly viable tech.
One of the things I studied in college is solar power for buildings. Although most people automatically assume this means some kind of solar panels, there are also very simple ways to design buildings that take full advantage of the energy pissing down on our heads every day. A builder in Janesville developed a type of envelope house that is indistinguishable from the standard subruban stock, yet could, at the time, be heated over an entire year for a couple of hundred dollars. In a test house with the heating turned totally off, the internal plumbing never froze. The added cost to build these houses: about $1500 (1980 dollars), mostly tied up in a glass solarium, which also provided additional living space.
From a construction standpoint, there are hundreds of ways to make more effective use of this energy. PV panels are becoming cost effective, but that's the high tech solution. Buildings can easily take advantage of daylighting to reduce lighting and heat loads. Natural convection can be used to reuce cooling loads. Trees and planted roofs can also reduce heat gains. Reuse of existing buildings reduces landfills of building materials, as well as avoiding the abandonment of the already spent resources in creating the original building materials. Increased density can reduce the use of fossil fuesl and encourage mass transit. Some designers have been incorporating wind generators into high rise building designs. I could go on.
Summing up, the inability to utilize the wealth of raw energy available is our current failing. And sometimes, yes it is easy to make use of this power in effective ways.