This note is convoluted, enjoy, eventually it all ties together.
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From: Thinkenstein
From: Thinkenstein
http://www.flixxy.com/cycle-powered-monorail-future-transportation.htm
Aerodynamic bicycle pods that hang under a monorail track. I want these in the termite nest city!
Aerodynamic bicycle pods that hang under a monorail track. I want these in the termite nest city!
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P.S. Thinkenstein is living in a set of nested geodesic domes of his own invention, and manufacture, as for 35 years he's been living on top of a rain forested mountain in Puerto Rico, contemplating how to save the world. Hence the "termite nest city" concept, as a way to have loads of people taking up far less space, resources, and, being concentrated, far less damaging to the general environment, but not noticing so much!
Topic Two:
Danish economist Bjorn Lomberg brings out the documentary "Cool It."
As I heard him interviewed regarding his perspective on Human Caused Climate Chaos. (HCCC - A Frishbergism).
Paraphrasing: "We need to be innovative and find an energy source that is cheaper than petroleum, and not so polluting. Then we'd use far less petroleum."
(To quote Homer Simpson, "Doh! Why didn't I think of that.")
He simply is urging "innovation". The child of necessity. Necessity we already have, but few acknowledge that fact.
At least he attempted to name a solution to the situation, which I think Gore's Inconvenient Truth lacked.
Yet he also made the most amazing statement, that it isn't too late already.
How the heck would he know that? I disagree, and point to so many factors it is difficult to know where to start.
I guess I'll have to see the movie now, perhaps there is more to it, but so far I'm unimpressed.
Seems to me, there are plenty of VERY well funded organizations who know exactly when the petrol will run out and have "everything to lose" so if they aren't already committing billions to an alternative energy source or three, then who would?
If any of those governmental or industrial concern had such tech, the competitive advantage would far outweigh taking down their brethren petrol-cos or governments for that matter...
There is no "low hanging fruit" when it comes to easy, cheap, nonpolluting, (non-nuclear), energy. Or someone would have figured it out already. Talk about a big market!
Sure, solar panels may improve x% per year for many years, and eventually enable a distributed power grid or whatever, but we're talking decades minimum.
And, until then, China is opening x number of NEW COAL POWERED ELECTRICAL PLANTS per WEEK.
Here's some good news:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/world/asia/11coal.html Seems the Chinese have a chance to build cleaner coal plants than the US.
Oops, here's the other news and the more you read the more depressing:
"If China's carbon usage keeps pace with its economic growth, the country's carbon dioxide emissions will reach 8 gigatons a year by 2030, which is equal to the entire world's CO2 production today."
"China built at least 78 gigawatts of energy capacity in 2007 alone, which brought the country over 700 gigawatts of total capacity. The vast majority of that increase, of course, came from coal fired power plants. (US capacity is around 900 gigawatts.)"
Oh, and don't forget how the agricultural degradation due to Human Caused Climate Chaos will severely impact harvests in China by 2030, or, how there is a coming of age creche of boys that massively outnumber girls in their cohort. Both resource shortages and testosterone point to a military solution.
That's all reason to get real nervous about China...they aren't going to slow their dependence on coal/petrol anytime soon.
Interesting science news on the social order of ants and how the act with "wisdom".
So, from Thinkensteins determination that his termite city would be a great way to go, to the scientific conclusion that ants act with "wisdom" (obviously they act in a way that provides for the next generation of ants to survive, we put the label of wisdom on their behavior!).
Too bad termite cities and crowds of humans acting with wisdom are both so unlikely.
