The Manhattan Project of 2009

1 Posts
Oct 10, 2008 11:19 pm
The Manhattan Project of 2009

There is a new book on Amazon.com just released last week called "The Manhattan Project of 2009" by Jeff Wilson.  It Asnwers everything about the energy crisis.  From our dependence on foreign oil to every possible source of renewable energy and technology. It is really good. Wilson has a web site www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com  and the book is available on www.amazon.com as well. I highly recommend this book
 
16 Posts
Oct 11, 2008 09:04 am
Re: The Manhattan Project of 2009

Last spring we took a road trip from Idaho to Texas.  I'd driven a lot of those roads back in the 70's and 80's, and I was amazed at the number of huge wind farms that had sprung up all along the route. Zoning regulations often prevent the manufacturers from putting their brand on the nacelles, but many of the ones we saw were marked "Suzlon".  I'm sure lots of others were Vestas.

I have nothing against foreign companies - everybody's got to make a living.  But isn't that great - here we have a huge opportunity to refocus our declining manufacturing resources and labor expertise to the task of mass-producing wind turbines and what do we do?  Outsource it, as usual.

~bb
 
Oct 12, 2008 01:22 pm
Re: The Manhattan Project of 2009

"It Asnwers everything about the energy crisis."
I am curious Sherry, does it "Ansnwer" the increased demands for energy by a world wide human population increase of 4.5 billion people in less than 100 years? Or the prediction that there will be an additional increase of 4 billion people demanding energy over the next 20 years?

Nature is a closed system. No amount of matter is ever lost and none is every gained, but like energy, it changes state. Dry grass and leaves and dead wood lying on the forrest floor slowly rots and becomes soil but, if it is set fire, then time becomes a factor. A balance in nature has been upset for that eco system. Wild life is lost, soil erodes, streams fill with sediments and on and on, a whole chain of events for a hundred years or more before it returns to a balanced state.
 If there is 12.5 billion people weighing in at an average of 125 pounds each, then there will be 1,562,500,000,000 pounds of matter taken up by the existence alone of humans on Earth. Every heard the expression "dust to dust, ashes to ashes, we commend thy body back into the Earth from which it has come"?
Then there is what we consume as food, what we expel, the natural resources consumed to produce energy in order to have a life of,,, I'll just go ahead and say it, luxury.
I cant even imagine how many tons that would equal up to. Even though it will all be returned to the Earth eventually, there will be an upset or an out of balance where it could all come crashing down to one side and it will take thousands of years to recover, if it does recover.
After all, humans not only lived on Earth for thousands of years without all of the modern conveniences we take for granted today, the human race flourished without them. We today are testimony to that fact but, at the same time, we are a testimony to the a possible future where mankind will annihilate itself if things do not change where procreation is concerned. Or, by the looks of things, maybe I should say recreation.
In our time on Earth we are a living contradiction. We are at a pivotal point and no amount of RE is going to change that fact. Contraceptives? Maybe.
One thing is for sure if nothing is done about population growth of this rate, it will be a pity about Earth.
 
10 Posts
Oct 17, 2008 02:59 pm
Re: The Manhattan Project of 2009

I certainly share your sentiments Thomas. However, no matter how many humans there are, there is no real net increase in mass; we use matter and energy to grow from nothing, and then return the matter when we die. The energy part is more of an issue though, particularly when the amount consumed by each of us has been magnified so much by the secondary energy we make use of while we are alive.

"After all, humans not only lived on Earth for thousands of years without all of the modern conveniences we take for granted today, the human race flourished without them."
Actually, we didn't really start to flourish until we figured out how to get machines to do the hard work. The population has grown exponentially since then.

In any case, unless we can figure out how EACH of us can do with a whole lot less consumption, we are going to hit a wall pretty soon. Nature has a history of solving problems by extinction or mass die-offs. Maybe the wake-up call is only going to get through to the small portion of us who manage to live through the mess we are causing...

I like the direction of the book Sherry mentions, but fear it may be too little, too late -- even if it did get the kind of attention it deserves. The real problem isn't finding substitutes for our consumption; we really do need to learn how to manage with less -- and I sure don't see any sign of that happening anytime soon.
 
12 Posts
Oct 26, 2008 11:25 pm
Re: The Manhattan Project of 2009

Too little too late, agree on the late part but we have to start somewhere. I am surprised a book like this was not written sooner. It is here now and we need to do our part on moving our country toward energy independence. We are using oil at twice the rate new oil is being discovered. Fossil fuel is a finite source of energy. It will all be gone one day. India and China are becoming huge energy consumers and more move out of lower class and into middle class and the result is many more cars on the road and more projected in the new future. Our country handed out 168 BILLION in economical stimulus checks. Tell me what DID that do for our economy really? 168 billion would have gone a long way toward putting some alternative energy sources into operation.
 
1 Posts
Oct 29, 2008 09:09 pm
Re: The Manhattan Project of 2009

Hey Sherry, I just finished reading The Manhattan Project of 2009. I also caught Wilson on a couple radio interviews this past week. This book is totally amazing and he is so knowledgable. I learned a lot from the book. It is scary to learn we are using oil at twice the rate new oil is being discovered. It is also frustrating to know that the technology is there and we as a nation are basically doing zip about it. I hope that whoever gets elected will realize what damage has been done to our economy and society by OPEC having us over a barrell literally. We need to get on with becoming energy independent. All that bail out money our government keeps throwing away would really help the cause of us becoming energy independent. When will they wake up?
 
Oct 31, 2008 05:54 am
Re: The Manhattan Project of 2009

Yes Eric, that is the point. No amount of matter is every lost and none is every gained but, it is being "tied up" in a form that is consuming or maybe a better way of saying it, transforming an every increasing amount of natural resources into matter that cannot be utilized by nature again for thousands of years or just plain never be used by nature again but "stored up" or "locked into" nature in the form of toxins. One example of this is PCB's not only "locked up" in the sludge at the bottom of ponds and lakes but in living cells as well.
As you may know, the manufacturing of PCB's was only just outlawed in the late 70's and during the 80's thousands of gallons of PCB laced oils were illegally released along thousands of miles of roadsides in the southeastern states. Just recently in this decade has the holding area (were most of the contaminated soil from those roadsides was store and treated) been declared safe by government standards.
This is just one example. One that was discovered and dealt with. Pity about the Hudson river, huh? There are other types of pollution that do not involve toxins, such as light pollution. There was a time, not that long ago when our Milky Way could light up our Earth under a night time sky with the intensity of a full moon.

One possible definition of the word flourish is - to grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way - where as mankind has grown vigorously since the advent of the machine, has it really been a healthy growth on the planet Earth or decadent growth? Not unlike a cancer.
 To speak of human accomplishments in technology over the last 100 years as being mankinds greatest accomplishment smacks of complacency and pride. I would say that mankind's greatest stroke of luck is that we haven't completely destroy the planet Earth with our technologies, yet. Maybe you and I could just agree to disagree on that point, eh?
One claim is that people live longer now than those that lived several thousands of years ago but, is that the overall healthiest way to be? No matter what one believes to be the beginnings of the human race on Earth, it took several thousands of years for worldwide human population to reach 2 billion but it has only taken the last 100 years for that number to increase by 4.5 billion more. I don't have any scientific proof but, something about that doesn't strike me as being healthy for the planet Earth and, without a healthy Earth, what do we have? Mars? Too late for Mars. Venus? Will the human race last long enough on Earth for Venus to cool down and conceive a sustainable atomsphere capable of the bio diversity we have known here on Earth? If so then what? Start the same process all over again?
In an election of what will ultimately save the planet Earth, my first vote would be abstinence of procreation on the part of the human race (for a period time of course) then maybe renewable energies.
 
1 Posts
Nov 1, 2008 05:20 am
Re: The Manhattan Project of 2009

If the this past year doesn't make our country wake up and turn to alternative energy nothing will. OPEC has really done a number on our society and economy. Our government must get on with replacing our oil consumption with alternative sources of energy. Oil is not an infinite source of energy. It will run out. The states of Kansas, North Dakota and Texas alone have enough wind energy to replace the total electricity used in all of America. Of course the initial set up would take thought, planning and capital. They need to quit throwing billions upon billions away on bail outs and bail us out of our dependence on fossil fuels especially foreign oil.It is time we become proactive in demanding our government invests in the future of America's energy supply!
 

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