Agreed. The one hope i have with a new administration, and the final
realization that our country's infrastructure is crumbling is that ideas like
this will *finally* see the light of day. I can recall ten years ago having
conversations with people about stuff like this, and getting treated as if i
were some kind of tree-hugging, scifi liberal nut. Everyone would tell me
"this tech won't work" or "wind's not as efficient as oil", or "water is just
not workable". I was talking to a guy th eother day, for example, about wind
power, and before I could fiinish he started into "Yeah, but it'd be too hard
to get the electricity generated from states where there is wind to states
where there isn't wind." He felt the costs and engineering obstacles made it
less viable, and then started touting nuclear energy. "Hey", I replied, "We're
the country that has put millions of miles of roads, phone lines, and
electrical lines from coast to coast. and that was back in days before
transitorized
circuits and powerful computers. You telling me this can't be overcome?"
Between the companies who fight innovation because of the profit motive, and
people who are so programmed into thinking it must be done the way it's always
be done, we have a hill to climb. And another issue that bothers me is that
people always want to find the next single solution to our energy needs.
The point, I always argue, is that we focus too much on *one* type of
solution: burning something. I believe the future of this world will lie in
mult-faceted solutions, perhaps local ones. There are third world countries
(and some first world ones) where solar power or even fuel cells are used to
power single homes, hospitals, or small apartment buildings. even though
they're on a power grid, it's too unreliable or inefficient, so they have these
backups. I believe our future lies in creating a multi-pronged energy structure
that uses wind, water, solar, fuel cell, efficient biofuels, etc. It may mean a
country of "energy zones", where perhaps the West is the solar/wind area of
power generation, the NE is fuel cells, the South is biofuel and
water--whatever. But it'll mean a mixture of technologies, and a new, more
efficient grid to move the power from one region to another.
-- Original message --
From: "Martin Baxter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Anyone want to bet on how fast Big Oil, Inc (pausing to spit) moves to
discredit this in some way?
Tracey, I've been reading similar reports to this for years now, and many of
them are so simple and feasible as to be ridiculous, but the oil industry
(spitting again) has moved against them, for no other reason than to protect
their own bottom lines.
-[ Received Mail Content ]--
Subject : [scifinoir2] Ocean currents can power the world
Date : Sat, 29 Nov 2008 23:25:29 -0800
>From : "Tracey de Morsella" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To :
A revolutionary device that can harness energy from slow-moving rivers and
ocean currents could provide enough power for the entire world, scientists
claim.
The technology can generate electricity in water flowing at a rate of less
than one knot - about one mile an hour - meaning it could operate on most
waterways and sea beds around the globe.
Existing technologies which use water power, relying on the action of waves,
tides or faster currents created by dams, are far more limited in where they
can be used, and also cause greater obstructions when they are built in
rivers or the sea. Turbines and water mills need an average current of five
or six knots to operate efficiently, while most of the earth's currents are
slower than three knots.
The new device, which has been inspired by the way fish swim, consists of a
system of cylinders positioned horizontal to the water flow and attached to
springs.
As water flows past, the cylinder creates vortices, which push and pull the
cylinder up and down. The mechanical energy in the vibrations is then
converted into electricity.
Cylinders arranged over a cubic metre of the sea or river bed in a flow of
three knots can produce 51 watts. This is more efficient than similar-sized
turbines or wave generators, and the amount of power produced can increase
sharply if the flow is faster or if more cylinders are added.
A "field" of cylinders built on the sea bed over a 1km by 1.5km area, and
the height of a two-storey house, with a flow of just three knots, could
generate enough power for around 100,000 homes. Just a few of the cylinders,
stacked in a short ladder, could power an anchored ship or a lighthouse.
Systems could be sited on river beds or suspended in the ocean. The
scientists behind the technology, which has been developed in research
funded by the US government, say that generating power in this way would
potentially cost only around 3.5p per kilowatt hour, compared to about 4.5p
for wind energy and between 10p and 31p for solar power. Th
