5/7/08

With energy for all

TRI-O’s:Oddities, observations & opinions
By Herb Kandel


Well here we are at our friendly neighborhood gas station. Just look around and you can almost feel the anger from fellow pumpers as the money gauge dial goes into fast forward, stopping at a price that used to buy you a nice dinner for two along with wine and the ability to leave a generous tip. Now just to fill up your four-cylinder, mid-size sedan tank costs half a hundred dollars! How did we get here in just a few short months?

Go back to 1973 when oil was selling at $3.15 per barrel. Then OPEC increased prices to $3.65 together with cutting back production. The Arab states, bitter over being defeated in the Yom Kippur War, also placed an embargo against the U.S., Western Europe, and Japan for their support of Israel. Marketers and the oil brokers knew that the demand for oil decreases very little when price increases. When lower production met the higher prices it triggered President Nixon to sign the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act that mandating price, production, allocation and marketing controls. Results: a gallon of gas vaulted from 30 cents to over a dollar, a “windfall profit tax” was charged to oil producers, a new speed limit of 55 mph was imposed, there were long lines at the pump some bearing signs “SORRY NO GAS”, and more federal bureaucracy (energy control was born). Reality bit in the form of the realization that energy was something we could no longer take for granted and that it is not infinite.

Currently, to defray some of the gasoline price increases, Senator Clinton has joined Senator McCain calling to suspend the federal tax on gas through the summer months, a savings of 18.4 cents a gallon. Senator Obama sloughs off this approach claiming it will save individuals very little while it will cost thousands of construction jobs as the tax money goes toward repairing roads and bridges.

We all know there are sources of energy other than petroleum. Solar, wind, and hydro-electric power have been around for a long time, and they will continue to be explored, expanded and experimented with. On the horizon is the prospect of providing sources of energy that are just as sustainable. When current sources are gone they are gone, i.e., shale oil, natural gas and coal. Some renewable (and therefore sustainable) sources besides the above (solar, wind and hydro-electric) are derived from waves, tides, wood and fusion.

All the sources listed thus far lie in the realm of the esoteric scientific domain. It got me to wondering what we, as concerned ordinary citizens, can contribute to the thinking of these technical innovators, providing them new potential avenues to explore. For instance:
Capture the power of the hummingbird. These birds, in proportion, are powerful; they have been described as flight muscles covered with feathers (30% compared to 5% human pectoral muscle weight), their wings beat about 80 times per second, they fly 500 miles non-stop. If our wizards can find a way to capture the energy of this tiny “Incredible Hulk” it won't be just for the birds.

Ever see the energy of a two year old baby? There is no stopping them.
Ask their moms if they would relish a two hour respite each day by dropping baby in the lab while the nanny scientist harnesses the kilowatts that the kid generates on some type of movement machine. This can be done by just kidding!

When my BH (Better Half) walks our untrained four legged children it takes a lot of alternate restraining and pulling on the leads. I'm sure others dog walkers face the same situation, Having a device somewhere on the leashes to channel this expenditure of energy could power an electronic pooper-scooper that pick up, bags, ties, and disposes its’ contents in a bio-degradable way. This would be a step in the right direction.

Speaking of steps, we all walk. Why not capture that miniscule sudden wind surge generated by our foot step? Each stride forward could propel a small fan blade in the toe or heel to produce power to a rechargeable battery for a flashlight or a computer. As long as you keep walking it will keep going and going providing needed exercise also.

Sports too can play a part. If we can swallow a pill sized camera and have it take pictures as it passes through our body why not miniaturized capacitors to hold onto energy acquired by the swing of a golf club, tennis racket, baseball bat, skateboard, bicycle, skis, fishing rod, football helmet, etc? The accumulated built up energy can be discharged later into running household appliances. Now when you are on the golf course you can tell yourself you are really helping your BH with the vacuuming.

There you have some thoughts about how to beat the energy crisis. Do not dismiss them so quickly remember when caveman Oog mocked his friend, “Hey Glug, rounding off the corners of those square wheels is a waste of time.”

http://www.baldwincountynow.com/articles/2008/05/07/columnists/doc4820bebea9801773893863.txt