What you're about to read may upset you and I'll probably get a lot of grief for this entry but it's something I feel very strongly about, so here goes.
If you read my previous entry about the power of anger then you will understand why I am writing this entry. I'm angry at state of the world today. I'm angry at the politics of my country. I'm angry at the state of our economy and I'm angry at how much I have to pay for gas!
If you've filled up your vehicle within the last year then you're aware of the price we're paying for petroleum. At an average $3.50 a gallon we are paying more than 150% for fuel than we were only 10 years ago. While there are many theories as to the cause of this dramatic increase (including some pretty convincing conspiracies), the short of it is the fact that demand is rising and supply is shrinking. This is a fact! It took the earth millions of years to create it's oil (it isn't called "fossil fuel" for nothing) and it's taking us a few hundred to use it (a blink of an eye when you consider Earth's history). We are addicted to cheap and abundant energy. Just think about all of the appliances in your home and your automobile. Could you live without your car, washing machine, lights, or television, what about your computer? We love to use energy, after all, it allows us to leverage our time in order to be more productive. However, this has had a profound impact on our environment. If you do not believe this then you are either blind or brainwashed (as I myself was). Environmental impact aside, cheap oil and the energy it produces has allowed the world (primarily the west) to grow economically and technologically at an amazingly compounded rate for the last one hundred years or so. The impact of which is just now fully being realized by the masses.
Now that the price at the pump has grabbed your attention (money, or the lack thereof, always gets our attention), are you willing to do a little research to find out why we are where we are, and what we can do about it? Stop and think for a moment about how far we have come technologically in the last 100 years. Computers used to occupy entire rooms and were less powerful than our modern laptops. Think about how far the automobile has come in a hundred years, and the airplane. However, they still use petroleum fuel for their power and they haven't relay become much more efficient. So if we can figure out how to send a robot to mars, why haven't we come up with a new energy source? ...We haven't had to! Until now. Now we are being forced (by economics) to explore new alternatives.
If you're wondering why oil prices are getting so high and what it means to our economy and politics I recommend doing a Google Video search for "Peak Oil" and "The Long Emergency".
So what the hell can we do? What is the solution to pending energy crisis? My answer is the same answer that has made our country so great. Personal Freedom!
We must learn to produce our own energy!
Sounds great James, but how the heck do I produce my own energy?
Great question, and one that's easily answered but not easily implemented. We have several methods now available to produce electricity, heat, and power. These include solar, wind, hydro-dynamic, wave-energy, nuclear, geothermal, hydrogen, and cavitation. As you can see there is no shortage of alternatives to fossil fuels. The caveat lies in the efficiency, cost, and total power output of these alternatives. However, as technology advances and efficiency increases these choices for power production will gradually phase out the use of fossil fuels.
Instead of focusing on all of these choices at once, I'm going to write a few separate entries about each. The first will be on the the most common and abundant source of energy - our sun. Until then enjoy this video showing Roy McAlister demonstrating a Sterling Engine. Be Well!
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