Solar Revolution

I’ve expressed my displeasure of the current solar market before. Now the folks at MIT are pledging to revolutionize the technology for the very near future. For me, this is both great news, and not so great news. Supposing MIT is successful and in a few years announces a breakthrough in solar power, making it–as promised–abundant and affordable, the burning of fossil fuels, and potentially even nuclear power, will quickly go bust. That’s a lot of jobs going away, worldwide, including, potentially, mine (Though I’m not in the power generation business myself, the company I work for is owned by a Fortune 500 energy corporation.

On the other hand, it would mean that mankind’s carbon footprint would, what, half? It would shrink astronomically, regardless. And let’s face it, if we all had our own power generation resource, we would be more independent (to me that’s a good thing). If my power went out due to a storm, I’d have the materials and skill to get myself back online and wouldn’t have to wait for the power company to get to my street. Sure, I might still be down for a few days, but I’d have something to keep me busy, right?

So what will our lives be like in 20 years? Speculating that MIT’s pledge is a smashing success and cheap, renewable power is available worldwide, the world will change. Everything will change. Our lives, for better or poorer, will change. This could be the foundation for what will become the Singularity, the dawning of a new civilization. Things are happening rapidly, hold on!

Now I think of it, maybe energy companies need to think about getting into the solar panel installation market. It seems like it would be a conflict of interests, but if solar really becomes the Next Big Thing, they’re going to need something to fall back on, quickly.

Photo from Flickr.

Large Hadron Collider

Yes, the ubiquitous “they” are about to open up a black hole in France which will devour the Earth and possibly the entire solar system. Global warming doesn’t quite seem so bad now, does it? Seriously, the LHC is a pure geek thrill for those of us who love discovery and exploration. Because it is exploring; the LHC is exploring the micro-multi-uni-verse, in hopes of bringing us closer to some of the fundamental reasons for life, the universe, and everything.

In some ways the LHC is the equivalent of Deep Thought, the computer Douglas Adams created for the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy that was tasked with answering that same question–of life, the universe, and everything. Or, if you keep up with your science news, the answer has already been discovered–A.K.A. the “God Particle“–in which case the LHC would actually be the descendent of Deep Thought, which, you’ll know, turned out to be Planet Earth. Earth was designed to provide the actual question itself–the question of life, the universe, and everything.

When activated, it is hoped that the collider will produce the elusive Higgs boson — often dubbed the God Particle — the observation of which could confirm the predictions and ‘missing links’ in the Standard Model of physics, and explain how other elementary particles acquire properties such as mass. The verification of the existence of the Higgs boson would be a significant step in the search for a Grand Unified Theory which seeks to unify three of the four fundamental forces: electromagnetism, the strong force, and the weak force. The Higgs boson may also help to explain why the remaining force, gravitation, is so weak compared to the other three forces.

If the God Particle is the answer, then the LHC is intended to provide the proof of concept, at least, along with a few million other questions, including: 

• Are there other dimensions?
• What is Dark Matter?
• What is Dark Energy?
• Why is the universe expanding?
• What did the universe look like immediately after the Big Bang?
• I haven’t read about this any where, but I have to wonder if the LHC will be able to give us a proof of concept for fusion…
• Will a fabricated black hole suck me into it and what will it feel like to be spaghettificated?

And to surf through the billions of terabytes of data the LHC is going to churn out? (Yes, this just keeps getting better and better…) Well, they’ve built a new, better internet and called it “the Grid.”

The Grid will not only enable sharing of documents and MP3 files, but also connect PCs with sensors, telescopes and tidal-wave simulators …  focusing on a project in which resources from Pan-European research institutions will analyze data generated by a new particle collider being built at Swiss particle-physics lab CERN

And amidst all this clarifying chaos, I will only add that the Singularity is near.

Renewable Power, Green Living

Photo by stormygirl

I’ve been looking into converting my home to solar power and, believe it or not, the subject has become depressing. Faced with power bills in the $300+ range, I thought a little investment up front might serve me well in years to come. Scratch that: a photovoltaic (solar panel) power source for a house the size of mine would cost nearly, if not over, $100k. Too bad I’m not in California, where the state government offers incentives as much as 50% for folks switching to solar power. For a $30k to $50k investment I can definitely see long-term advantages, especially when you consider the day you finally pay off the loan, and your power bill is nil. But for $100k, it would take longer than the proposed life of the product to break even, making it, unfortunately, a very, very bad sell. No matter what my carbon footprint is, I simply can’t afford to do it.

One article I came across in USA Today does give a little hope in coming years, however:

The outlook for solar, though, is getting much brighter. A few dozen companies say advances in technology will let them halve the price of solar-panel installations in as little as three years. By 2014, solar-system prices will be competitive with conventional electricity when energy savings are figured in, Deutsche Bank (DB) says. And that’s without government incentives.

If that happens, solar panels would become common home and business appliances, says Brandon Owens of Cambridge Energy Research Associates.

The infuriating part of all this is that there’s little or no hope of Alabama ever offering any incentives. Alabama Power is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, employer in the state, and they have a powerful lobbying network set up to ensure Alabama stays firmly attached to the grid. The “open-door policy” of the governor’s office, which is firmly closed, won’t give a guy like me an ounce of attention, so without a lobbying network it’s pretty certain that things are not going to change. I understand it, but that doesn’t mean I like it very much.

I long for a future where citizens can be self-sufficient and still comfortable. I want the best of both worlds, yes, to cut myself off from the grid but to enjoy all the benefits of being on the grid. Well, one thing’s for certain, despite the desire of corporate America to keep movements like this in check, it’s already got grass-root momentum, and the technology is advancing. I just have to bide my time. You’re on notice, Alabama Power, I’m actively looking to unplug from the grid.

In other green-living arenas, I’m also looking into a system that will allow me to re-utilize my shed gray water for toilet flushing and watering the garden/lawn, and maybe a rainwater collection system for the same. With global warming and drought conditions in the South, It’d be nice to know I had a water reserve that could keep me going for at least a little while should times get tough.

Also, I’ve got an old lawnmower that I hear will make a good generator for emergencies with only a small investment.