A Calculus of LED Light Bulbs

I think compact fluorescents are a flash in the pan, and that they'll soon be replaced by the even more efficient, durable, varied and less environmentally unfriendly LED. Here's "Ask Pablo's" take on the math at salon.com. Site pass required, which means you may have to look at a billboard ad before clicking through to the article.

The Other Solar Power

In this article by Joseph Romm at Salon.com, Romm argues that a simpler form of solar energy, concentrated solar power, may be the silver bullet to save humanity from global warming. Perhaps he's overstating the case.

On the other hand, Romm presents a historical perspective, arguing that the Chinese used mirrors for igniting firewood, and that the principle has had numerous other applications through the years, including the potential for steam production, but that the technology was placed on the backburner when oil was discovered as a cheaper and more versatile replacement for coal.

Romm argues that converting solar heat to electricity, by heating a fluid and running it through a turbine, requires zero carbon emissions, and it can be incrediby productive (see my first blog entry on solar towers). For example, Romm claims 92 square miles of mirrors in Arizona could meet current U.S. power needs.

Here's my meta-take on all this, if you'll indulge a flight of fancy. Each area in the world will develop its own sustainable energy plans. These will range from coal to geothermal, from solar to wind, from whale oil to pedal power - there will be a place for it all.

Here's the kicker, though. We'll begin to see new types of storage systems, so that there is less need to transfer one kind of power to another, thereby preserving even more energy for specific rather than entropic use. In fact, overall world energy use (by humans) will increase by orders of magnitude, yet all the power will be harvested and stored sustainably.

Mechanical energy will be stored mechanically using new kinds of fly wheels with magnetic axels, and micronic gearing systems will be developed so mechanical power can be distributed at healthy distances for subtle ranges of purposes without loss to friction.

New electrical batteries, some employing biological components and hydrogen cells, will store small-scale, locally produced, clean electricity, for uses in computers, audio and video production, and connection to world wide communication networks.

Heat will be stored as heat, and coolth as coolth, through the use of underground water tanks and other ingenious forms of mass heat storage.

Perhaps we will learn the secrets of storing carbon in petroleum, and oil and gas combustion will continue to have its place. Clean burning wood, coal, and oils of all stripes will continue to be required for ground transportation and flight, high-powered construction and maintenance equipment, and portable tools requiring high power input over short spurts.

Nuclear energy, too, will find its proper place. Not for the mundane purposes of residential and commercial electric production or horrific warfare, as it is currently being used, but primarily in humanity's quest to see and hear and meet our neighbors, among the stars.

Wind Power News

This article, which largely focuses on companies around Sacramento, California, discusses some of the issues making wind power more appealing. It notes a trend for companies to place wind turbines on their roofs, and it discusses some of the technologies available and legal challenges to further development of small scale wind power generation. The article also notes that wind production increased 45 percent in 2007.

Marquiss Wind Power is one of the companies mentioned in the article. Their windmill is pictured above. According to the story, Marquiss "is marketing 5- and 10-kilowatt wind turbines which cost 29,000 and 59,000 dollars respectively."

Read the full story here.

Floating Wind Mills

Here's an interesting article about the newest generation of wind mills under development. There's a push underway to satisfy the cost demands of producing wind power at sea, while also not messing with the pristine look of the ocean.

"[I]t will be out of sight and thus, the company hopes, out of mind for competing local interests such as tourism. The site off Cape Cod where Blue H intends to install a test platform next summer for its first U.S. wind farm will be 23 miles off the coast."

Compressed Air Car #2

We reported earlier this year on a compressed air car being manufactured in India by a French company. Now the New York Daily News reports that the company, with a headquarters in New Paltz, New York, is planning a version for the American market available as early as 2010. The article claims:

"Electricity powers an onboard compressor to compress air to 4,500 pounds per square inch into a pressure tank contained in the vehicle," ZPM communications director Kevin Haydon told the Daily News from New Paltz. "This can be done in a garage overnight and it will take 1-2 hours. The compressed air is then used to power the engine."

Their car will travel about 1,000 miles at up to 96 mph on one fill-up.

Read the story here.

One side note about hype. Having been writing these posts for going on a year, I have discovered that the claims made by companies, and reported in the press, are often greater than the outcomes. Time frames, prices, energy efficiency and other factors, may be exaggerated. The reality is slower, more costly and not quite as efficient as initially projected. Some reports of amazing new inventions and projected market developments never come to pass.

Still, I think it is well worth reporting these developments. For one thing, many of them are actual inventions, and they all point to a trend of more energy efficient and elegant design in response to the changing conditions of contemporary life. Not all these things will work out as hoped, but in general, I have found that reporting these developments has begun to subtly alter my thinking about the technology of the future. My hope is that others will also be stimulated to think along new lines as our society navigates this period of climate change coupled with a need to use resources in a more organic way.

Pedal-Powered Wheat Thresher

Here's an interesting and short video made by a Hampshire College student in Amherst, Massachusetts. The link was sent to me by the bicycle maker across the street from me, who is a member of an emerging sustainability group in the rural region in which I live. The student designed this small, pedal powered wheat thresher in the hope that tools like his will make it possible for more people to grow grains at the local level, as they now grow flowers and vegetables, to supplement their own food production.

Ooh, That Road Is Hot

Here's an ingenious design that allows roads to double as solar collectors for heating an office building. In summer pipes crossing under the surface of the road heat water from the hot asphalt, which is then piped to an underground aquifer 100 meters below the surface. Heat exchangers there allow the heat to be stored underground until winter, when the circuit is switched. The heated water is then used to heat an office building before passing back under the road where residual heat keeps the road free of ice and snow. When the temperatures approach freezing, the water is pumped back down to the aquifer again. An added benefit is that the system actually helps cool the road in summer, saving wear and tear on the asphalt. The system is was designed by Arian de Bondt, an engineer for the Dutch building firm Ooms, and is functioning at their office in Scharwoude.

Read the full Economist article here.

P.S. It looks like "The Economist" is featuring a small section of green technologies. They also report on an idea, which is in the research stages, for using algae to recapture carbon coming out of smoke stacks. The algae could be dried and then put through the plant again or converted to biodiesel. They also have this article about the quest for a longer-lasting, lower energy light bulb.