The Basement

On the drive home from my recent vacation, I listened to several podcasts about energy and related stuff– the US's lack of an energy policy, the delay and potential inadequacy of Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site, the impact of China and other emerging markets on the availability of oil, etc. As a father this all is pretty disturbing for me. This is compounded by living in Tulsa, Oklahoma – where it sometimes feels that everyone believes that Americans are entitled to to first dibs on the world's resources and the rest of the world gets what's left because they were too stupid to be born here; and besides oil is a limitless resource and anyone who says different is a communist.

For those of you reading this from one of the coasts or else where in the world, I assure you this is unfortunately without exaggeration.

So, being a pragmatic optimist I started looking for the silver lining and came across some really interesting stuff...

Wired Magazine has a great article about Bill Gross' (of Idealab fame) latest venture Energy Innovations. Their first product, shipping in limited quantities by the end of 2005, is a 25 mirror array solar concentrator, dubbed the Sunflower, that will be light enough to install on flat industrial rooftops of power-starved California. 750 units at an estimated cost of $228,000 will provide 90% of the power needed to run a 35,000 square foot light-manufacturing facility. This system would save $52,000 in annual electrical costs, paying for itself in 5 years. If they are successful with this market, residential units may one day be available.

From the July 12, 2005 edition (podcast) of the This Week in Science, I learned about Earthship Biotecture. a Taos, New Mexico is a architectural design firm specializing in environmentally friendly, self-sustaining houses. Be sure to check out their image gallery and Buy an Earthship page which features a 10,000 ft² Earthship near Telluride, Colorado for $4M. Monthly utility bill – about $50.

Then there's this article from Engadget on hacking the Toyota Prius to be plug powered.

Finally, there's this Science Friday/Ira Flatow interview with The World is Flat author Tom Friedman. Lot's of insightful energy discussions. If you're reasonably unconcerned about a global oil shortage you should listen to this podcast. You should listen anyway though because it's terribly interesting. That Tom guy is kinda smart.

With recent (and sad) passing of James Doohan, we need to start thinking about someone other than Montgomery Scott to come up with more power.