Monday, September 8, 2008

Energy

COOL TECH

I've been reading a lot about renewable energy. I think the future lies with biodiesel. They're cheap and easily produced. People have been producing them with used oil in french fries for years. The problem is getting enough nitroglycerin. That, and the fact that you need gallons of oil to make diesel. I don't eat that much fried food. Talk about 70 cents per gallon all you want, but I want to see you try getting cooking oil anywhere near that price at Costco!

It seems that US has passed their peak oil capacity. It happened in 1970s, and you know that gasoline was not available at any price. Well, it seems other countries will hit their peak in the next decade or so. That's a frightening thought. It means everybody will run out of gas, and that includes plastics manufactures. How many items do you see now made of plastics? Expect them to be replaced by natural renewable resources. Ever seen a bike made of bamboo?

Some people predicts that by 2040, our infrastructure would have been completely converted to something else. I hope that's not true, or else Jay Leno would have a lot of junk in his garages.

Contrary to most people, I don't think hydrogen is it. I prefer something simple, like wind. How about compressed air? That's what steam is. If you can store high pressure air in a tank without a lot of energy expenditure, I think we have something there.

Alternatively, start burying dead cows deep into the ground. That what oil is, right? Leftover dinosaurs from Jurassic era. Or something equivalent to that.

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