[ExI] Automotive problems

[spike]

> ...On Behalf Of hkhenson
> Subject: Re: [ExI] Automotive problems
> 
> At 01:32 PM 2/1/2009, Robert wrote:
> 
> >...You 
> >have to ask yourself (when you've got a great high-tech solution) Is 
> >there a low-tech solution?
> 
> ...The fixation of sunlight energy in 
> algae oil is around 3-4 percent.  You can do almost twice 
> that with 15% ground solar, using the energy to make hydrogen 
> and reducing CO2.  If you don't think this is right, show me 
> the numbers... Keith Henson 


Keith your numbers are right.  Usually the algae ponds are suggested only
where they can be implemented very cheaply.  Their advantage is not in
overall energy efficiency but rather in that they can be put in place for
lower cost than other energy producing installations.  For instance,
consider the place where I misspent my later youth, ages 15 to 19:

<http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Titusville,+FL+
32796+&sll=28.597296,-80.852787&sspn=0.011831,0.014119&ie=UTF8&ll=28.595487,
-80.853581&spn=0.022759,0.028238&t=h&z=15>

The body of "water" was named Silver Lake is a kind of a joke, for it isn't
really a lake but rather a swampy wetland.  Notice that it is a different
color than the surrounding lakes.  Using the numbers advertised by the algae
ponds crowd, that "lake" could be converted to an algae pond of an
investment of about two million dollars, and would produce somewhere between
40 and 200 barrels of oil equivalent per day, depending on weather etc.  

That "lake" wouldn't be enough energy to light the homes along Carpenter
Road, but it points out that algae ponds notion isn't really in competition
with solar cells, rather we would use land that is already no good for
anything, and doesn't require huge piles of capital.  Zoom out from that
google map link, to see pleeeenty of land that fits that description.  But
we could never power life as we know it from algae ponds alone.  

There is a constant influx of wild beasts coming into that wetland: turtles,
snakes, raccoons, alligators, mosquitoes and such, so these could be
filtered and ground up into feed for hogs, which can be ground up and used
as feed for humans.

Of course, the environmental people do not like the whole notion of grinding
up wild beasts and feeding them to domestic beasts, which are subsequently
devoured by a third mixture of wild and domestic beast (us).  The point of
all this is that there are ideas like algae ponds that do not compete with
space based solar or nuclear, but that develop in parallel, never intending
to be a huge contributor to the overall energy picture.

spike