Why SIMPLE SOLUTION books were written.

FLASH: Not so exciting, but oil seems to be steady at $123/barrel today. Keep in mind that, at this price, petroleum is selling for less than $3/gallon.


THE STORY BEHIND WHY

SIMPLE SOLUTIONS are easy. The problem is in reaching that solution satisfactorily. For example, the combined hammer of Peak Oil and Global Warming looms to crush the global economy, but society is not equipped to quickly circumvent that problem. Something serious has to happen first before action can be taken. But, then, of course, it is too late. Lifestyles will suffer, various species will become extinct, the list goes on.

As a prescription mostly to minimize the pain, these books were written to catalyze action by providing extreme solutions or presenting fearsome scenarios. Sort of grab people's attention. Business as usual will not do much over the next century for human progress in harmony with the environment, so let me toss out a few provocative answers and predictions to stimulate the spread of a virtual virus engineered to improve our future.


From the Introduction of SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Planet Earth (http://SimpleSolutionsBook1.com)

WHY THESE BOOKS?

No one in his right mind would read an encyclopedia or dictionary, although I have tried. There is just too much information available and I wonder why I ever did. However, a book of lists or compilations of wise sayings are popular because they are not necessarily too lengthy, and someone else has done the excruciating job of extracting the best of those for you. In a sense, I have attempted to save you the trouble of reading a thousand books and suffering through hundreds of experiments by crystallizing the essence of energy and the environment around my life in Book 1, providing simple solutions for Planet Earth, and, by so doing, for society, too.

How and where did life originate? What are the prospects for a healthy Earth and prosperous civilization? Those are the foci of Book 1. Book 2—Simple Solutions for Humanity—will delve into life and death, and, perhaps, even beyond that. How long will you live if we eradicate crime and wars and find a cure for aging? The ultimate solutions will come from a better educational system and maybe even from above—extraterrestrials or God—but you’ll need to wait until the next book for these answers.

Why even mention Book 2? Well, for one, it is largely written and awaits future publication, soon. Book 1 will treat the technical aspects of life. Book 2 explores other realms, as, for example, how truly possible is an afterlife?

Rather than complicate an already complex set of challenges, I have instead provided SIMPLE SOLUTIONS. The energy/environment issues are relatively straightforward, so SIMPLE SOLUTIONS are just a matter of society will and time. But in Book 2: How can we stop aging? Can we end wars? Are there signals coming from outer space with clues on how to solve global problems and attain our dreams? Can religion save itself and steer the way towards universal peace and a sustainable future for our society? What can you do to make the crucial difference? There are answers and solutions, but some of them, while simple, will be extraordinary.

So let us start with Planet Earth, where the 1% external skin of our ecosystem can be considered to be a living system. Everywhere you go, from the depths of the deepest cave to the top of Mt. Everest to the bottom of the Mariana Trench and into the atmosphere, there is some form of life, usually bacterial and viral. Our biosphere has maintained about a 21% oxygen concentration for billions of years, mainly because of the simplest fossil fuel, methane, which, in CHAPTER 5, could well end up becoming that doomsday gas. On the other hand, “We have met the enemy, and he is us,” said Pogo. When you consider that our globe has been turning for 4.55 billion years, and, save for a couple of super volcanic eruptions and, maybe, an asteroid or two, the closest our environment has come to total eradication has been of recent when we almost pushed the button for nuclear annihilation, then, now, are probably causing serious global warming. You can’t help but wonder if we’re the cancer that is losing control. For example, in answer to industry’s peaking on oil and natural gas, international policy seems headed towards a combination of nuclear, tar sands, heavy oil and coal resources. This would not be smart at all if the Greenhouse Effect is real. We really need to seek some serious immunotherapy resolutions without extinguishing our species. But will the genomic answers be our next, and most fatal, blunder? Perhaps, but we need to also cross that threshold.

These books suggest SIMPLE SOLUTIONS to accelerate the development of green technology, the science of eternal life, the promise of peace, and more. Mind you, simple solutions are not slam dunk answers, nor will they be easy to accomplish, and, in fact, might be downright impossible to achieve, for, depending on your point of view or belief, they could be inhumane or patently ridiculous.

For example, you walk past a morbidly obese lady, and you might be tempted to provide a simple solution: “lose 100 pounds,” you say. That is a simple solution. But her husband beside her could take umbrage and worse. Have you tried to lose even 5 pounds yourself? Losing weight can be very difficult. Even for the most vexing of crises, the solutions are obvious. The fashioning of any realistic strategy to overcome the challenge seems beyond the current capability of our society.

But, in any case, these simple solutions provided will suggest a beginning point for discussion so that society can craft optimal approaches to seemingly despairing quandaries. These are the best of what have been advocated from time immemorial. Very few are my original contributions, and especially so in Book 2 on the Golden Evolution, for I’m certainly not seeking entry into any fatwa list.

Why am I qualified to write this book? Each chapter, at least in Book 1, is actually a part of my life, filled with colors and, being a chemical engineer, elements. Call it autobiographical science, or my technological memoir, 100% of what you will read here is based on fact as I know it at the time of this writing, or what might possibly happen into the future under certain best or worst case scenarios. There is some softness in my personal history, but I haven’t quite gotten around to, yet, verifying my roots, as for example, the certainty about my great, great grandparents’ past. Not knowing, though, does allow some room for rational speculation, making things a bit more interesting, without guilt.

One of the people I interacted with early in my professional career, who will return in later chapters, was Edward Teller, the father of the Hydrogen Bomb, for in some ways, he is responsible for my peaceful interest in hydrogen, as is presented in CHAPTER 3. He wrote a book on energy, and I quote:

“I do not claim to be objective. I have arrived at conclusions and my conclusions influence my presentation.”

The same can be said for my books.