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Renewable energy = freedom, and we get to address climate change to boot. With the Copenhagen Summit in full swing, I wanted to add this to the discussion.
200,000 years ago, we first controlled fire, 4,000 years ago we invented the wheel, and 150 years ago we began burning every fossil fuel we could dig out of the ground. That era will end and be just a tiny blip in the story of man. However, every effort man has made to get more control over energy from outside of his body, and get more efficient in using that energy, his standard of living has increased, and his level of freedom has increased.
The ultimate end game of man’s progress in the control of energy is to renewably create his energy. Once that is achieved, there will be no more fighting over resources, and no limit to man’s potential. Energy = Freedom, or more precisely, renewable energy brings freedom.
And by the way, renewable energy means no emissions, and no carbon, so you get that benefit also. But I would say the following – that carbon control should not be the cake, it should be the icing. If you believe that, then the debate over man’s causality in climate change is a moot point, and the only thing that matters is to find the single most cost-effective way to enter the entirely renewable energy era.
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Hello Bill,
It was very enlightening to come across your article about – Energy = Freedom. I think it we are at the brink of that solution already. To becoming totally independent we will have to consider – Need + Demand = Energy Supply. Since the demand keeps growing we will have to decrease the Need. This could be achieved by for e.g. breaking down cities into zones where the need is collectively staggered coupled with almost zero wastage.
It would be better if we could first utilize the available natural energy renewably and intelligently, for e.g. we could have coal fired plants with zero carbon emissions courtesy of Algae which could be harvested to generation bio-diesel.
You are absolutely right that our standard of living has increased with more control of energy but at what cost! Have we learnt to use it responsibly? Why? I guess, it is human nature that anything that is available to us without much effort, does not have a value-tag.
Very nice article. This was my first one since deciding to look career in renewable sources. Please keep it up.
Best wishes,
Arun
Hello Bill,
I couldn’t agree more that energy=freedom. If the world focus was energy generation rather than warfare, we would eradicate hunger, etc…Not even mentioning that we would reverse the effects of this crazy coal/gas burning era. What you guys do at eSolar is great because you can store energy for the night hours, which is a huge “medal” on the chest of solar. I love the use of mirrors because it’s so much more elegant than photovoltaic, at least as long as cheap thin foil technology is operational. The work you do with eSolar and Idealab is awesome.
Can you email me, I would like to share something with you off line.
Sincerely,
Christopher Beau
Founder
WhiteEarth.org
Is the water that you are boiling in a vacuum? It may be interesting to devise a way to maintain it in a vacuum since it would have a lower boiling point than at atmospheric pressure thus needing much less sunlight to produce the same amount of steam. I wonder if that would work.
I agree with your statements about an increase of freedom by reducing our tether to oil rich nations. However, I disagree with your statement that, in our current state of affairs, that fighting will stop once real renewable energy is garnered. For some unexplained reason, humans polar ideologies currently disrupt peace. Our only source of peace will be a perceived common enemy. I hope that one day we will have the foresight to see that, in itself, the disparity of energy resources is our common enemy. It hinders progress, holds back education and restricts equitable growth.
I think mankind has had SOME effect on the atmosphere from the first time he made his own fire. Notice that I said atmosphere, not climate. But it is hard for me to believe the data presented by people who profit from the politically correct interpretation of that data. These people consume more energy than any ten people with their lifestyles and habits. They seem to be saying that this is an emergency for everyone else but them. It sounds a lot like a cost-cutting speech from a CEO who tells the company that things are so bad that salaries will be cut… they’ll no longer supplying pens… or computers… or paper… then gets in the corporate jet and goes to the Bahamas.