[ExI] Space Based Solar Power vs. Nuclear Fission

[hkhenson]

At 11:56 AM 5/18/2008, Kevin wrote:
>On Sun, May 18, 2008 at 2:58 AM, BillK 
><<mailto:pharos at gmail.com>pharos at gmail.com> wrote:
>If you are really worried about the energy crisis, you have to DIY.
>
>Agreed as far as it goes, but it won't be enough.  I'm dependent on 
>cheap sources of food, water, and a job to provide these 
>things.  Even with all the solar and wind power I can put together, 
>all I'd have is basically electricity.  Increases in fuel costs 
>leads, eventually, to mass unemployment *and* higher prices for 
>food, water, and shelter.  Doing my own gardening is *not* going to 
>provide me with enough food year round unless I have my own 
>multi-acre farm, and even then, what am I going to do in the winter?

Having raised a lot of the family's food back in the 1970s, I can 
tell you it's a way to keep very busy.  It is also inefficient in its 
own way.

>That's the thing: a space based solar power station, even if the 
>project is successful, is only one link in the change.  We still 
>need to find some way to, basically, turn electricity into fuel that 
>can be used to power tractors and automobiles.

It isn't *a* power station, it's a new 5 GW one every 5 days for the 
next 50 years.  And that's just to replace fossil fuels and a little 
growth the bring China and India up.

But it isn't hard to use penny a kWh electricity to make low cost 
liquid fuels.  The first big use would be making hydrogen so the 
Canadian tar sands can be upgraded to synthetic petroleum without 
having to burn half to make the hydrogen.  Anything containing carbon 
can be turned into liquid fuels if there is lots of energy 
available.  Bio mass and even limestone could be used for carbon 
sources.  Eventually synthetic fuel plants could suck carbon dioxide 
out of the air.

But I doubt things will develop that far before the singularity.  At 
that point (assuming people still exist in a form where they would 
want cars) you could get a seed that you plant next to your 
driveway.  It grows into a tree that makes 100 octane gasoline--hose 
and nozzle grow right out of the tree.

>And how about industrial plants?  Do they use grid electricity or do 
>they use an oil derivative?

It depends on what they are making.  Besides being burned to make 
electricity, coal (and oil) are feed stocks to make all sorts of 
things like plastics.

Keith