Solar Roads In our Future?
This promising research has been awarded our coveted “technology-that-might-save-our–butts” designation. We all can use a little “sunshine” right now. Watch:
This promising research has been awarded our coveted “technology-that-might-save-our–butts” designation. We all can use a little “sunshine” right now. Watch:
After months of terrifying millions of Americans and the world in general, 
our Congress is patting itself on the back for saving us from a disaster that they themselves created. (Thanks guys, you’re really swell). Meanwhile, on the news that these budget cuts have become law, the stock market takes a serious loss (hmmm, does Wall Street know something we don’t? Maybe reduced spending in a recession isn’t a good idea?)
However this is just the beginning. Forming in September, the next round of $1.5 trillion in cuts would be decided by a committee of 12 lawmakers evenly divided between the two parties and two chambers. This so-called “super Congress” would have to present its cuts by Thanksgiving, and the rest of Congress could not amend or filibuster the recommendations.
BUT: if the super Congress somehow failed to enact savings, the measure requires automatic cuts worth at least $1.2 trillion. Those cuts would be split equally between military and domestic programs. Social Security, Medicaid and programs for the poor would be spared, but Medicare providers — not beneficiaries — would take a hit.
Let’s face it, this is nothing but a “Super Cop-out”. Based on what we saw over these last few months, why should we think that this “Super Congress” will get ANYTHING done? 6 Republicans and 6 Democrats agreeing on how to cut spending? Get real. Boehner already said he will not appoint anyone for this committee that is pro tax (er, I mean “revenue”). Obama still thinks he can get some tax revenue. No way. So, let’s just go ahead and ASSUME they will resume their infantile bickering and fail. Then, “Plan B” goes into effect.
Plan B will gut domestic spending - read: minimal spending/investment in 
our infrastructure (dams, levees, etc.), government oversight of industry (i.e., Wall Street and their corporate friends that love to pollute), and anything else that has to do with maintaining our life support system (i.e., Earth).
So who gets the real hit? Once again, our Mother Earth takes it on the chin. Goodbye life support system, you’ve been great.
One has to wonder how legal this thing is anyway? The congress forms a forth branch of government to make decisions because our legislative branch is incapable of doing so? So our representatives can go home to their constituents and say “hey, it’s them, the committee, not me making these unpopular choices”. Our founding fathers have to be spinning in their graves (or laughing their asses off). Can anyone say “dysfunction”?
The Car Allowance Rebate System is a US federal program that helps US citizens to purchase a new, more fuel efficient vehicle when trading in a less fuel efficient vehicle.
Thousands of Americans are rushing out and trading in their old cars to receive a $3500 or $4500 discount towards the purchase of select new cars. This may sound great at first but there are many hidden facts the majority of the population may not be aware of.
This video demonstrates the process of destroying the engine in the cars turned in using the Cash for Clunkers program. In the video the engine smokes, catches fire, and shoots oil on the ground, now that is good for the environment.
Many of the cars being turned in as “Clunkers” to this program are still perfectly fine and are being turned in just so the owner can get a new car, but because the car is required to be destroyed hundreds maybe even thousands of cars are being destroyed. But is this really the best way to get people to buy new cars? Why go to the effort to destroy perfectly fine cars that may only be 4-5 years old.
Let’s say all the cars that went to the program that were newer then say 1998 were taken into a low income car program, helping get the “real clunkers” off the road.
It could work as follows:
In a recent commentary on CNN, by Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation, he suggests that we need to support people like “Joe the Plumber”, and provide the climate in which such entrepreneurial ventures can grow and prosper. Although he doesn’t say so directly in his commentary, I suppose this is an indirect attack on Obama’s tax plan. He also advocates supporting “employer based health insurance” (which is a huge mystery to me. What about all the people that work for themselves, or are out of work altogether? Where are they in such a plan? Answer: without health insurance at all. Aren’t people running a one-person operation “entrepreneurs? My understanding is they wouldn’t qualify for health insurance, or it would remain prohibitively expensive .) But if Joe were smart, he would not only vote for Obama, but he could easily capitalize on some of Obama’s initiatives.
if Obama is elected President, he would funnel needed support to “green” business, such as solar, clean coal, and other companies that will do their best to get us out of our OIl Habit. Maybe a better move for Joe the Plumber would be to reinvent himself, and become “Joe the Solar Guy”. I should think plumbing skills would transfer nicely to such businesses. We don’t need another plumbing business, we DO need something that will help Joe as well as help get America out of the Oil Ditch. With Obama’s plan Joe would likely get the “tax break” everyone is so excited about, AND probably some low-cost federal “start up” funding to boot.
In a bold move, especially for a battered company in a bruised economy, GM has aggressively developed a prototype car that, for all effective purposes, run entirely on electricity. It uses a 400-lb lithium-ion battery, an energy source that is silent and emission-free.
The big difference from other “hybrid” cars such as the “Prius”, is that propulsion is expected to be from the battery the majority of the time. The battery can sustain travel for up to 40 miles, more than enough for most drivers daily needs (80% of Americans drive less than 40 miles in a day). If needed, a gas engine is on-board as well, and by functioning as as a generator (a “GenSet”), it can increase the range for up to another 200 miles. For the majority of Americans, that would mean eliminating gasoline for ever!
Bob Lutz, GM’s 76-year-old vice chairman for global product development, and the force behind the project, say’s he’s shooting for a sales price of “$40,000 or less”.
Oh well, you can always wait for the end-of-year sale.
William Yuan, from Portland, Oregon, has a better idea. A recent science project he developed, entitled “A Highly-Efficient 3-Dimensional Nanotube Solar Cell for Visible and UVLight,” William invented a novel solar panel that enables light absorption from visible toultraviolet light. He designed carbon nanotubes to overcome the barriers of electron movement, doubling the light-electricity conversion efficiency. William also developed a model for solar towers and a computer program to simulate and optimize the tower parameters. His optimized design provides 500 times more light absorption than commercially-available solar cells and nine times more than the cutting-edge, three dimensional solar cell.
William probably put this project together using funds from his paper route. Just think what we could do if Big Oil put even 1% of their profits into alternative energy research! Rock on William, you are a true American.
In a future with no need for fossil fuels and with the need of renewable energies, solar power seems to be the best option available on the market. In order to be efficient and cost-effective, the sun has to shine all day long and the perfect place for that is the African continent. The latest project consists of solar updraft towers which will be built in Namibia and each tower could generate about 400 megawatts of power.
The gigantic solar towers were only “proposed” by Hahn & Hahn and each will be 1.5km tall and 280m wide, and the towers will be welcomed in Africa as at the base of them, people could grow crops. The base will measure about 37-square km and it will work as a greenhouse. … Continue Reading
There are an estimated 20,000-25,000 polar bears in the Arctic, but scientists from the US Geological Survey predict that two thirds of the world’s bears will disappear in the next 50 years because of a decline in the Arctic sea ice.
In a stark warning last year, scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Centre said that the total Arctic ice cover had melted to its lowest level in modern times, and that if melting rates continued the summertime Arctic could be ice-free within 80 years.
Sarah Palin, McCains new VP choice, is suing the Bush Administration over its decision last week to place the animal under the protection of the Endangered Species Act, claiming that climate models predicting the continued loss of sea ice – the main habitat of polar bears – are unreliable.
And we thought Bush was a science Grinch; Ms. Palin promises to usher in a whole new era of ignorance. Have a cold? Just borrow my leeches for a week or so and you’ll be as good as new!
Coal power plants, by utilizing the same turbines used by coal to generate electricity, can utilize solar to produce 15%-60% of the electricity. Mirrors, called fresnal reflectors capture the sun’s rays and heat water in a large tube. Steam lines deliver the solar energy to the adjacent coal power plant to turn the turbines.
“There’s a real dilemma facing operators of coal powered plants,” said John O’Donnell, Ausra’s Executive Vice President. “The price of coal has exploded recently and it continues to rise rapidly. Long-term coal contracts are coming in at 4 times the price of the last iteration of the contract.”
Australia recently ratified the Kyoto Protocol and will begin trading carbon in about a year. Carbon is likely to trade for $30-$60 per ton, according to John O’Donnell. Ausra’s solar thermal retrofits are cost effective around $30 a ton.
“$30 a ton is $.03 a kilowatt hour [for electricity generated from coal],” said John O’Donnell. “For some of the older coal power plants, you are looking at a 30, 40, or 50% increase in the electricity price [due to coal's carbon output] all at once and an ongoing uncertain future.”
To their credit, Bank of America, Chase, and Citigroup are now considering climate change and carbon emissions among the risks in lending to money for electric power plant projects, so borrowing money for such projects may cost more for power generation options that result in a large carbon footprint. This provides added incentive for local and federal governments to look towards clean and renewable energy sources.
Prior to his current “mission”, Shai Agassi, age 38,worked for SAP, the world’s largest maker of enterprise software. Agassi believes it just might be possible to get the entire world off oil. For good. The problem, he decided, was oil-consuming, CO2-spewing cars. The solution was to get rid of them. Not just some, and not just by substituting hybrids or flex fuels. No half measures. The internal combustion engine had to be retired. The future was in electric cars, but then their is the sticky problem of batteries than can sustain an extended driving range.
Agassi reimagined the entire automotive ecosystem by proposing a new concept he called the Electric Recharge Grid Operator. It was an unorthodox mashup of the automotive and mobile phone industries. Instead of gas stations on every corner, the ERGO would blanket a country with a network of “smart” charge spots. Drivers could plug in anywhere, anytime, and would subscribe to a specific plan – unlimited miles, a maximum number of miles each month, or pay as you go – all for less than the equivalent cost for gas. They’d buy their car from the operator, who would offer steep discounts, perhaps even give the cars away. The profit would come from selling electricity – the minutes.
Recent Comments