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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> extropy-chat-bounces@lists.extropy.org [mailto:extropy-chat-bounces@lists.extropy.org] <b>Subject:</b> Re: [ExI] bees again<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>On Tue, May 21, 2013 a spike <<a href="mailto:spike@rainier66.com" target="_blank">spike@rainier66.com</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p><div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><div><div><div><div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='color:#1F497D'>>> </span><span style='color:#1F497D'>>…</span> Sorry. Street lights are out, maybe decorative mood lighting?<span style='color:#1F497D'> </span><o:p></o:p></p></blockquote><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'> ></span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>>…</span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'> Sure, but the idea isn’t totally busted. </span><o:p></o:p></p></div></div></div></div></blockquote><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>>…</span>Hmm, now that I think about it maybe not. It occurs to me that a 18 watt streetlamp does not produce anywhere near 18 watts of light, at best a incandescent light bulb is only about 10% efficient in converting electrical energy to visible light and even a LED is only about 20%, but a protein like Luciferase is about 85% efficient in converting chemical energy into visible light<span style='color:#1F497D'>…</span> John K Clark<span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Ja, good point. In my misspent childhood I was on a campout with the scouts. We caught a bunch of fireflies in a glass jar. Each one created intermittent light, but with enough of them, the jar of fireflies as a light source was better than nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Regarding Anders’ point about it taking 30 years to grow a streetlamp replacement, I have a couple of notions. In the citrus industry, one can graft a tree onto an existing rootstock and get some marvelous growth rates. Apparently tree growth is limited by the growth rates of the roots rather than the growth rate of the trunk and branches. Botany hipsters, do feel free to comment if this is wrong, it isn’t my area of expertise.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Secondly, we have options such as starting with a plant parasite. Many of us have seen mistletoe in a tree. We should be able to get a nice sturdy tree, clone some bioluminescent mistletoe or Spanish moss, get that started in a tree. Then we give the tree extra fertilizer and water to keep it healthy with the glowing parasites.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>There is another variation as well: put the bioluminescent genes into something that grows really quickly, such as a watermelon vine. Once a watermelon gets going, the vine itself can be moved anywhere, such as along walkways, hang it in trees and so forth. Perhaps the genetic gurus persuade the vine to just grow, and not produce watermelons. I would be reluctant to eat anything that glows in the dark.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Since we are talking about fast growing stuff, perhaps we could make glowing kudzu?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>If the glowing plant-parasite idea is not already patented, I cheerfully donate it into the public domain with this post.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>spike <o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div></div></body></html>