I agree that solar power is limited on the earth's surface. The only way to get large amounts of energy from the sun is to go into outer space. The problem then is how to capture the energy and transport it to the surface?
Solar panels can be placed in areas that are unfavorable for growing food, such as deserts. The commodities market is very fickle. The raise in corn prices will adjust in a few years as supply and demand is balanced out. I think the ethanol gold rush has come and gone anyway. Currently, corn futures in the US are high because of the wet spring has delayed planting. A bumper crop of winter wheat has driven the price of wheat futures way down. So farmers will plant more corn next year which will drive corn prices down. It all works out. I disagree with those who think "ethanol is every bit as harmful to the environment as petroleum based fuels". The CO2 given off by bio-fuels came from the air to begin with and when it is burned the CO2 is simply returned to the air, so bio-fuels have no affect on the environment. However, the CO2 given off by burning fossil fuels are taken from the ground and adds to the CO2 already in the air and that is only a problem if you believe the .01% increase in CO2 in our atmosphere is going to destroy our planet. I think it is only going to make things grow better which will increase corn yields and drive prices down. How does this topic relate to our jobs other than we are engineers and scientists? I recently read a news story about a guy who claims he can "burn seawater" using RF and he believes this technology could be a future fuel source. The man is a ham radio operator with no science or engineering background, but after showing a video of his experiment he is getting millions of dollars in research grant money to continue work. I wish I could figure out how to get some of that money. This is a Fun topic. A nice distraction from my boring life in the EMC lab. Excuse me while I try to blow up a power supply with Surge. The Other Brian From: Tarver, Peter [mailto:peter.tar...@sanmina-sci.com] Sent: Monday, May 05, 2008 4:56 PM To: Kunde, Brian; emc-p...@ieee.org Subject: RE: New Technology > From: Brian Kunde > Sent: Monday, May 05, 2008 1:17 PM > > Keep in mind that all BIO-Fuels, corn, sugar cane, whatever, is just > solar energy stored in solid form, in this case, carbohydrates which > can be converted to alcohol or other hydrocarbons. Crops grow only for > a few months out of the year, the rest of the time the land (solar > energy hitting the > land) goes to waste. The land use would be better served to install > solar panels than crops where the sun's energy could be used year > round. The problem with solar panels (other than their inefficiencies > and expense) is how to store and transport the energy. And that they take up a significant surface area to produce significantly useful amounts of commercial energy. Some of that land would be taken out of agricultural use to support commercial solar energy production. Reports of food shortages due to crops being diverted into energy production tend to make claims of conversion of agricultural lands into solar energy production unfeasible. Nationally, WalMart has reported runs on rice, because of media driven concerns about shortages. Third world aid is also effected. All of these shortages cause food prices to rise above the rises they might otherwise see derived from crude oil speculation. Some recent reports also indicate that ethanol is every bit as harmful to the environment as petroleum based fuels. My direct report manager recently added in a relatively small, 14 kW solar panel array onto his pool house. This will pay for itself eventually, in the form of utility savings, and might last long enough to turn a small profit before its last gasp. This form of solar seems a more likely option for solar than removing land from agriculture. Ultimately, all forms of matter are energy storage mechanisms. Getting the energy out is always an inefficient process, but some cost less than others. > Other than some new technology which hasn't been invested yet, I think > the only solution is to go up (more solar power from the sun) or down > (geothermal heat energy from the earth's core). We shouldn't place too much emphasis on any specific technology. We need a balanced portfolio. But we also need bureaucratic, regulatory and legislative barriers lifted to allow wider deployment of a broader range of technologies. Among the barriers are environmental regulations and special interest groups that protest every possible effort to resolve energy issues. Wind is an excellent source of energy, which is also a solar energy storage mechanism, if thought of in the broader sense, and doesn't require direct impingement of solar radiation to function. Regards, Peter L. Tarver, PE ptar...@ieee.org CONFIDENTIALITY This e-mail message and any attachments thereto, is intended only for use by the addressee(s) named herein and may contain legally privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail message, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail message, and any attachments thereto, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail message in error, please immediately notify the sender and permanently delete the original and any copies of this email and any prints thereof. ABSENT AN EXPRESS STATEMENT TO THE CONTRARY HEREINABOVE, THIS E-MAIL IS NOT INTENDED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR A WRITING. Notwithstanding the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act or the applicability of any other law of similar substance and effect, absent an express statement to the contrary hereinabove, this e-mail message its contents, and any attachments hereto are not intended to represent an offer or acceptance to enter into a contract and are not otherwise intended to bind the sender, Sanmina-SCI Corporation (or any of its subsidiaries), or any other person or entity. LECO Corporation Notice: This communication may contain confidential information intended for the named recipient(s) only. If you received this by mistake, please destroy it and notify us of the error. Thank you. - This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to emc-p...@ieee.org Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas emcp...@ptcnh.net Mike Cantwell mcantw...@ieee.org For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: j.bac...@ieee.org David Heald: emc-p...@daveheald.com All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieeecommunities.org/emc-pstc
