Ways We Could Scrimp on Energy Today and in the Future

Here I offer a few ideas “off the top of my head” on how we might address our energy (and water) needs in the future, when we can expect to have much higher energy costs and a much greater need to save every bit of energy possible. Some are simple and low cost, and could be implemented now, while others would be economically justified if they were standardized and mass produced at low cost, or when fuel prices become much higher than today. Our population is so great that even a tiny saving becomes great if used by many. I am sure there are many more ideas out there, and welcome your offering them for discussion here. I will add more as I think of or encounter them. The most powerful idea is the last one in the list.

The Nanotechnology Future of Lawn (and Hair) Care?

Do you dislike cutting your lawn as much as I do? In part it’s the time and effort involved, but in part it’s the smelly, noisy, internal combustion engine that drives the mower. I do it as inoften as possible without annoying the neighbors too much or violating any ordinances, but am always thinking about alternatives that would need no attention at all. I have wondered if, in a couple of decades or so, nanotechnology might provide some new answers to my problems.  Remember that tomorrow’s great ideas usually sound fantastic (crazy) to us today, but the first to make them real could live very comfortably thereafter.  (Is this a part of the American dream that has faded from our collective consciousness?)  As a result of my daydreams, I came up with the following ideas:

Why and How Do We Avoid Addressing Global Warming and Similar Problems?

A brilliant article opened my eyes as to how and why we keep ducking our biggest problems. I recently came across an article by Dr. Albert Bandura that is simply a brilliant analysis of human behavior as relates to the need for sustainability, and I put it in my sidebar of favorite links.  Since then what I read has kept coming back to me, as I think his paper explains a great deal about why we are where we are today.  I have long been perplexed about the fact that the main stream media almost never brings up overpopulation as a problem, and only global warming has gotten anywhere near the attention such problems deserve (though energy shortages are an up-and-coming second, and water shortages not far behind).  Dr. Bandura’s article is deep and scientific, and not the easiest to read for a variety reasons, perhaps more than anything because it describes us, but also because it is written in the language of the science of psychology.  For that reason I have written this entry to try to break down into simpler language what is going on.  Why do people keep doing things we know are bad for our future, and why do they ignore or dispute the facts?

Why Can’t I Shingle My Roof with Solar Cells Now?

Why can’t I shingle my roof with solar cells now? Years ago I heard about a company in the Southwestern U.S. that makes polymer solar cells in sheets, so inexpensive that they were predicted to be able to provide a roofing product that would generate electricity by perhaps 2003. Since I first heard of them, I have heard of other companies in Europe and the United States with even more interesting technologies – solar cells being printed by ink jet printers on rolls of polymer, and which use nano-scale particles to achieve much higher efficiency than previous, similar concepts. Where are they, and why aren’t we seeing these new technologies coming on-line?

Does Keeping Fuel Prices Low Hurt Us in the Long Run?

Does fighting price increases caused by supply-demand forces stop the free market from working and worsen our future problems? In other words, does prosecuting price gougers during gas shortages hurt us in the long run? I’m going to take a potentially-unpopular position here for the sake of argument and as a thought starter. Price gouging sounds like a real crime – sellers taking advantage of buyers who have serious needs and no recourse – but isn’t that just the free market at work? By making laws against sudden, demand-induced price increases aren’t we artificially controlling the price and removing people’s incentives to change their behavior for the better? During gas shortages people panic and hoard supplies, but wouldn’t high prices make people think of more effective ways to deal with the crisis before it happens the next time?  The good news is that  many people seem to be getting the message: fossil fuels won’t last forever, and we need alternatives now, or as soon as possible.

Will Rising Energy Costs De-Globalize Us into Regional Economies?

Short term fluctuations in energy prices notwithstanding, the long term trend of rising energy costs will affect commerce and change where our goods are manufactured. Last May I heard a radio interview in which an importer in New York City said the cost of moving a container of goods from China to NYC had increased in less than a year from $4000 to $5600, and it occurred to me that this is a greater increase than the gross margin on many of the less expensive goods currently being shipped.  Will manufacturing return to the affluent areas like North America and Europe in a reversal of the globalization trend we’ve seen in the last few decades, due to increasing energy prices?

Is It Time for a Great Awakening? Globalization May Make It Unavoidable.

Globalization has changed me personally. 20 years ago I knew about the population explosion. I had been aware of it and watched it since I was a teenager in the 60’s, but I now realize I was watching from the sidelines. I lived my life like those around me, and certainly wasn’t putting two and two together to come up with a very complete picture of where we appear to be going, nor was I integrating my expectations and actions with where we are, where we have been in time and history, and where we can expect to go. The times are changing rapidly, though, and have brought me some striking revelations.

Southeastern U.S. Gas Shortages after Hurricane Ike Reveal How Far We Are from Sustainability

Aftereffects of hurricane Ike revealed a need for consciousness-raising in the American Southeast (and the U.S. in general). I went on-line and viewed TV reports and newspaper stories from the Carolinas Monday (Sept 29, 2008), which said that 4 of 15 gasoline refineries in the Houston area were still shut down since the hurricane 2 weeks earlier, and many others were still operating at reduced capacity, but the situation in the Carolinas should improve and be fine in a week. In the meantime they suggested people buy gas only when their tank was below one quarter full, and that some gas stations were limiting customers to ten gallons per visit. Police also asked that people stop calling 9-1-1 to ask where they could find gas, as it was impeding real emergency calls. Many stories were hopeful, but none sounded certain. Worse yet, none offered any suggestions for people to actually save gas, such as by carpooling, taking the bus, bicycling, walking, or planning out and combining trips, among other solutions that would actually reduce gas demand. I wasn’t surprised, then, that absolutely nobody mentioned any long term solutions, let alone that our overpopulation of the region and the planet is at the root of the problem. Does the word clueless come to mind?