Don't worry everyone. I will be posting again this week. I have been in a management training program and pretty busy with that lately. I will be doing some commentary on current developments in the election and a few other assorted items, including some srticles from a few books I am currently reading that are pretty great.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
A change of Direction
I have decided to do the next article on the presidential election this year. I know that it is early but I want to put together a comparison on them that you will be able to refer to in regards to their positions on important topics. Look forward to this in the next day or two.
The postings after that will be on the Declaration Of Independence, then The Constitution, and then a series of articles on some of the founding fathers of our country as well as some of our greatest Presidents.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
What we will talk about next
The next article we will be doing will be on the war on terror, instability in the middle east, and US foreign policy. Its going to be a great series of articles, and very deep and detailed. Look forward to lots of spirited debate in the comment sections.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Annuit Coeptis - A 4th of July Message for all
This has always been something about the dollar bill that I think has eluded many. The saying on the back of the note, directly above the unfinished pyramid and the all seeing eye says "Annuit Coeptis", this translated from Latin to English means; "He Favors Our Undertaking" or some interpret it as; " He Prospers Our Endeavours" . The symbolism of the UNFINISHED pyramid is powerful to me, it meant that the framers and fathers of our nation knew that they wouldn't get it perfect the first try, that this amazing undertaking of founding The United Stated of America was something that they knew would need to grow and change to fit its day. Of course, both translations of this phrase reference a He, which of course is God (represented by the all seeing eye in the image). This means that they also knew that Gods blessing on this country would be necessary in its growing and changing. Never lose sight of how absolutely amazing this country is, and how privileged we are to live here. May God bless us and the United States of America. Happy 4th of July!!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
The American Energy Crisis and You (cont)
Sorry for the delay in completing this final segment in the series on energy dependance. This section of the report with focus on other forms of energy creation and capture technology. Below I will list options I think have good promise, and I believe that all of these should be aggressivly pursued in addition to the other ones I have mentioned... whatever it takes to be energy and oil independant in America.
Hydro Electric Energy-
A commonly unknown fact is that currently about 20% of energy consumptioon on earth is obtained through hydroelectric power, second only to fossil fuels. However only 10% of US consumption of energy can be attributed to hydro. However, due to the environmental lobby, this is a type of energy that is nearly as handcuffed as our oil industry. In the United States of America there are currently just north of 80,000 dams that block or divert our waterways, but of those 80,000 such structures only 2,378 of them have hydroelectric power capture abilities. That is less than 3% of dams that currently exist that have hydroelectric capabilities. Just by upgrading the 2378 of them that already exist we could get about 4,500 additional megawatts of power per year or enough to power about 3,000,000 homes for the year. I arrived at this number based on a national average of about 700 homes powered per megawatt of power produced (US department of energy estimate). There are also huge untapped amounts of energy possibilities from this that are possible to be obtained both from the 77,000 other dams that could be converted, tidal hydroelectric plants, and other methods of harnessing this type of power. I don't think enough attention is paid to this method and I think it deserves more attention from the government so that they will deregulate it some and let capitalist American get after it.
Geo Thermal Power-
This is another one that I think gets very little coverage. There is tons of options for using heat to generate electricity where naturally occuring on earth. Hawaii and Alaska particularly have great opportunitys for this development. There are some who believe that both places could derive 100% of their energy needs from hydroelectric and geothermal power capture alone.
Nuclear -
Bottom line on this one is if France can do it why can't we. They derive over 80% of their national energy requirements from Nuclear power with no massive accidents. There are so many safeguards and non-bypasseable security features, that meltdowns just don't happen anymore. In fact, in the case of Chernobyl, the trump card for all anti nuclear groups, human intervention and not computer or mechanical failure was to blame for that terrible event that transpired. If humans hadn't intentionally bypassed the safety systems, the plant would not have melted down.
This is a simple cost effective way of producing energy that should have been being utilized for years. We should do this as soon as possible and on as grand a scal as possible.
Solar Power -
In the course of a day in the US over 10,000 times the amount of power we need to meet all of our energy requirements hits the ground in the form of solar energy, we just don't capture much of it to actually use. Solar on its own is not a good option, but why would we not utilize every possible means of harnessing energy. With a new generation of solar panels on the way that are more efficient and much tougher in the elements, we will soon see the day, I believe, when homes will be built with part of the roof covered in solar panels, and you will not have to use city power except on cloudy days. I also think that homes of the more affluent will possibly be equipped with battery systems, so that they can be totally energy autonomus. This will happen soon I have virtually no doubt.
Wind -
Yet another system under utilized in our country. Here are a few links to give you extra info here:
This site contains wind speed maps of the United states as well as coastal areas showing areas that are ripe for wind power plant capabilities. There is an incredible amoutn of opportunity here. An important thing to remember when looking at this map is that they have already removed areas that can't be developed due to it not being possible or due to land use restrictions, that means that all of the areas suitable for usage you see on this map are really useable. Makes you wonder why we are not doing this huh?
Here is a site with some pretty technical info on wind power generators, a little technical but an interesting read:
Here is one that is slightly easier to understand, and it has a nice animation:
If nothing else, I hope that all that I have said in these last few articles has at least somewhat inspired you to look into what other options are out there for energy production. Energy independance is no longer a luxury in this country; it is quickly becoming a neccesity for financial survival. There are so many viable options, but I believe that without a great combination of all of these things, we will never acheive the energy independance that we desperately need. If the US government will just get out of the way and allow the capitalist american spirit that has triumphed for hundreds of years in our great country to thrive again, we will be a great and independant nation again. We must no longer allow these useless special interest groups to control our country. We can be great again, if we would only get out of our own way.
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