The Best News of 2011, So Far...

[Encephalon]

[Red Pheonix]

Nice post! I've had my eye on the algae for some time, one company that's been working to develop it is located in west Texas (yaaaa haw!). The farms themselves look like a sort of large green house with rafts hanging through which the algae flows... in the desert is just fine (so long as you have a water source).

 

One concept that I really enjoy about this is that the oil in the earth today comes from ancient algae. Seems to me like it's a smarter choice to skip the years it takes to create oil and just use the source

[2netis]

Cool. I guess this means that I outta keep my very ancient diesel car - the one with nearly 300K on the clock. It would be a shame to ditch it now and use more resources that have been put into something new. Diesel fuel here is about to shoot up to 4 or 5 bucks. I hope they get this thing going soon. Managed along with permaculture, 3rd worlds might benefit in an astounding way. Thanks for posting this very good news.

[manitou]

I have a question that I've always wondered about.

 

When I was a kid we used to take a magnifying glass and burn stuff up from magnified sunlight. Is there no way to harnass this type of energy? Or is it harnassed and I'm just unaware of it? Maybe that's a component of current solar energy?

Edited February 23, 2011 by manitou

[Cat Pillar]

I have a question that I've always wondered about.

 

When I was a kid we used to take a magnifying glass and burn stuff up from magnified sunlight. Is there no way to harnass this type of energy? Or is it harnassed and I'm just unaware of it? Maybe that's a component of current solar energy?

 

I only ran a real quick google search for this: http://hackedgadgets.com/2009/12/17/solar-mirror-array-steam-engine-drives-12kw-generator/

 

Didn't look enough to see if this is the exact one I was thinking of, but I know people have been experimenting with using mirrors to concentrate solar energy.

[manitou]

Mirrors would be good, but magnifying glass is really intense. We used to set ants on fire in the front yard - hopefully I've already lived through that karma, lol.

[VCraigP]

I too had noticed the Algae energy concept some years ago and had heard nothing else about it. This sounds really promising.

 

Thanks for the optimistic report.

 

Will be watching this and researching more.

 

Craig

[thelerner]

[thelerner]

double post

[VCraigP]

[Marblehead]

I have a question that I've always wondered about.

 

When I was a kid we used to take a magnifying glass and burn stuff up from magnified sunlight. Is there no way to harnass this type of energy? Or is it harnassed and I'm just unaware of it? Maybe that's a component of current solar energy?

 

That I know of there are at least two solar-thermal electric generating plants, one in Spain and one in the US. Yes, they do use a somewhat concave mirror and that is actually a magnifier. This is a good system for those parts of the world with much sun and the thermal part of it can be stored and supplimented with other sources of heat.

 

Solar photovoltaic (solar panels) are becoming more efficient but they are less reliable than solar-thermal plus there is no good way to store excess and at night and heavily clouded days they are pretty much useless.

[Mark Foote]

I still think the people of the Third World are going to be sacrificed, but the following story is reason for optimism.

We ARE the people of the Third World now, Blasto- no matter how much virtual money Wall Street manufactures to disguise the fact!

 

That's why we're here at Tao Bums; we might have to (shudder) live with each other like the rest of the world, soon, and this means we will have to master equanimity and joy and oneness with other people's problems. Ok, ok, with their wonders and miracles too, but ya gotta wonder if we're ready for this! My suburban neighborhood is all about the single family home.

 

$30/gallon sounds pretty good! Is this the one the DOD is already helping finance?

Edited February 24, 2011 by Mark Foote