Gas 2.0 |
- Report: U.S. Military Must Wean Itself Off of Oil by 2040
- Shweeb Pedal Pod Gets $1 Million From Google Competition
- Wave-Generated Electricity Powers U.S. Grid for the First Time
| Report: U.S. Military Must Wean Itself Off of Oil by 2040 Posted: 29 Sep 2010 10:08 AM PDT
I’m a huge history buff, and I’ve always been fascinated military strategies and their far-reaching consequences. Take World War II for example. One of the main reasons the Allies were able to triumph over Nazi Germany was their prolonged and relentless bombing campaign on oil fields and pipelines. An army without fuel cannot be effective, especially given the modern, mobile tactics employed by many armed forces. In a report called Fueling The Future Force, the authors say that the U.S. Military must be entirely oil-free by 2040 if it wants to maintain a strategic edge and avoid the inevitable lack of oil. Can it be done? There is plenty of doomsaying and prophesy about peak oil, though the simple fact remains there is not one person on the planet who actually knows how much easy oil is left to be tapped. What we are all pretty sure of is that oil won’t last forever, and considering that China and India are becoming the world’s largest automotive consumers, America will no longer have the biggest grasp on oil imports. It is also no secret that many of the countries we get our oil from could one day be our enemies (or currently are). Venuzela’s Huge Chavez is constantly rattling the saber, and while Saudi Arabia loves us for the money we send them, 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia and the export extremism in the form of funding extremist ideological teachings in a large proportion of muslim schools around the world. Both of those countries are also rife with political discontent; what would a rebellion in Saudi Arabia mean for our oil imports? By 2040, the report estimates that oil will be in short supply… and it is possible. China could be buying upwards of 50 million automobiles a year. Even if they are all hybrids, that is still a lot of fuel. Even if oil is still available, it could be outrageously expensive. Imagine trying to fight a war where gas cost $400 a gallon. That could get expensive. The report says that 77% of the military’s energy supply comes from petrol. That is a lot, and it also means we have to ship oil to some rather remote locations just to power our fighting force. The military is starting to recognize the advantages of alternative power sources though. There is wind and sunshine just about everywhere, and nobody controls it Mr. Burns style. There is a lot of talk about trimming the fat from the government these days too; greening the military is a great way to do that. A greener, leaner military means a win for all, and often times that technology will trickle down into the public sector. Can the military go green in just 30 years though? Seems like a tall order, even for the planet’s premier fighting force. Source: Fueling The Future Force via TreeHugger | Image: US Army Flickr |
| Shweeb Pedal Pod Gets $1 Million From Google Competition Posted: 29 Sep 2010 10:02 AM PDT
Take the Shweeb for example. I wrote about this pedal-powered-pod last summer, when it was still just a racetrack/ride in New Zealand. Now, however, the Shweeb has been awarded $1 million from Google to produce a working prototype for public use. But will the public get on board? First off, yes, I know in my earlier post, I spelled Shweeb wrong (my bad). My lack-of-attention aside, this is a pretty big deal for the small company, who entered Google’s 10^100 contest, which sought to reward five good ideas with seed money to get the projects off the ground. Other winners include the Kahn Academy, which wants to provide educational content online for free, and Public.Resource.Org, which wants to make the government more transparent. Amongst that kind of company, the Shweeb… really stands out. The idea started as a simple ride where you raced an opponent along a track in these enclosed pods via a bike-like pedal system. As far as a ride goes, it sounds fun, but as a public transportation option, it will certainly have some obstacles to overcome. For one, sweaty people. Imagine waiting at a Shweeb station, and the next pod that pulls up, a large, sweaty, gross dude gets out. I’m a pretty gross dude myself, but that would give me cause to reconsider walking to my destination. You also have to build the railway system. Since it is human powered, it won’t need any sort of electrical lines and whatnot, but it won’t exactly be unobtrusive either. The one benefit I see to this is that since there is no engine, the pods will be pretty light, and perhaps could be mated to the side of buildings without too much effort and what not. And while it might be great for getting around alone, what if you’re with a whole group of friends? Will there be multi-Shweebs? Plenty of questions remain about the viability of this project, but Google has seen fit to give them a million bucks to build a prototype in an urban setting. Could you see yourself using this in lieu of a bike, or short bus trip? |
| Wave-Generated Electricity Powers U.S. Grid for the First Time Posted: 29 Sep 2010 09:28 AM PDT
The OPT PB40 PowerBuoy was hooked up to the grid at Hawaii’s Marine Corps Base as part of the firm’s program with the US military to test the viability of wave-generated energy technology. The results of this test confirm the PowerBouy’s potential to deliver clean, sustainable energy that can be transmitted to the power grid in full accordance with US standards, according to OPT. OPT reports that the OPT/Navy project has undergone extensive environmental assessment by an independent firm in accordance the National Environment Policy Act (NEPA), which resulted in a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI … how cool is that!?). In other words: wave power may finally be ready for prime-time! SOURCE: Renewable Energy World |
There are so many bold, fresh, and plain old wacky ideas out there when it comes to alternative forms of transportation. I love to see the creative ideas people come up with for new ways to get around, though in truth, 99 out of 100 of these ideas will never catch on. Many of them won’t even make the transition from idea to working concept. However, there are a handful that manage to break out, and sometimes a dark horse can end up a surprise winner.
Tapping the power of the sea, one of | You are subscribed to email updates from Gas 2.0 To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment