Now and then I will insert interesting information related to my blog topics. Today, I am summarizing a study of the National Academy of Engineering on the above topic. William Perry, former Defense Secretary and now a professor at Stanford, served as chairman, and the committee included people like Dean Kamen, Craig Venter and Larry Page. Go to
-
http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/
-
Appropriately enough, three of the top four challenges are related to this blog:
-
#1 Make solar energy economical.
-
#2 Provide energy from fusion.
-
#3 Provide access to clean water.
-
#4 Develop carbon sequestration methods.
-
Mind you, I agree that potable water is also a serious crisis. So what do our decision-makers do? They mandate ethanol and biodiesel production. Yes, there is a now a food problem, and soon will come water. If anyone talks to you about diesel from crops, just ask them two questions: how much water will be needed and how efficient will this biofuel product be relative to insolation. The answers are "lots" and "well, oil crops are just about the most inefficient of all biomass options."
-
Whoops, the price of oil went back up past $130/bbl today.
-
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment