[ExI] Lack of interest

[BillK]

On Mon, May 19, 2008 at 10:02 PM, Kevin H wrote:
<snip>
> Now it sounds like you're equivocating.  I think the difference is that
> solar power isn't experimental, it's a proven technology.  We still haven't
> been able to extract more power from a fusion reactor than we put into it
> (according to Wikipedia).  I think it is unwise to equivocate the degree of
> confidence we have in these technologies to serve our near term needs.
>
> And that's the thing: peak oil is a near term scenario; estimates put it
> around 2010 to 2012, other estimates claim it has already occurred.  Even if
> it will occur later on, the earlier we begin an alternative energy project,
> the better off we will be.  This is really a do or die situation.
>


Solar power is not just proven technology. Kurzweil claims it is on an
exponential path heading for a solar singularity within 20 years.
<http://www.livescience.com/environment/080219-kurzweil-solar.html>
Quote:
Now futurist and inventor Ray Kurzweil is part of distinguished panel
of engineers that says solar power will scale up to produce all the
energy needs of Earth's people in 20 years.
There is 10,000 times more sunlight than we need to meet 100 percent
of our energy needs, he says, and the technology needed for collecting
and storing it is about to emerge as the field of solar energy is
going to advance exponentially in accordance with Kurzweil's Law of
Accelerating Returns.
-----------

And Google is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in wind and
solar power for it's server farms.
<http://www.livescience.com/environment/071128-ap-green-google.html>
-----------------

And then there's this guy in California building multi-rotor miniature
windmills that can power your house (while the wind blows).
<http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2008-05/ten-times-turbine>
Quote:
Today's largest wind farms are the size of small towns, made up of
turbines 30 stories tall with blades the size of 747 wings. Those
behemoths produce a great deal of power, but manufacturing,
transporting, and installing them is both expensive and difficult, and
back orders are common as the industry grows by more than 40 percent a
year. The solution, says inventor Doug Selsam, is to think smaller:
Capture more power with less material by putting 2, 10, someday dozens
of smaller rotors on the same shaft linked to the same generator.
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Alternative energy is just starting. You ain't seen nuthin' yet!


BillK