EGS Promo for Beacon Sloop Club, Jan. 18, 7pm

The coal, oil, gas and nuclear commodities industry -- the Commodities Industrial Complex -- has so successfully manipulated its vast public relations, political and infrastructure network that we and our government simply ignore its enormous environmental impact. Finding, mining/drilling, refining, storing, transporting, and locally storing a commodity results in enormous GHG emissions*. All that goes on just to create even more disastrous quantities of GHGs and waste while burning them -- simply to boil water or spin a turbine with its deadly exhaust!


Using the heat of the Earth in place provides a spectacular alternative. Expediting its development could actually change our focus from production of commodities -- and the concomitant destruction of our environment -- to the wise use of energy itself.

It is my contention that we need a focused, federally sponsored effort -- similar to the Apollo program or the interstate highway system -- to promote, refine and develop Enhanced  Geothermal Systems (EGS) to tap the unlimited and pollution-free resource within 10 miles of everywhere on Earth -- straight down. Within several decades of such an effort we could supply practically all base-load electricity with virtually no greenhouse gas emissions -- and dramatically reduce humanity's energy "footprint"! Not only could we generate electricity, but could also provide heat directly -- to a military base or airport, for instance.
 

Existing geothermal and EGSs generate no greenhouse gases; use only the heat of the earth from directly beneath the facility; use conventional generation technology above ground; feed the existing electrical grid; and cost-effectively, competitively generate electricity.

Employed 40 years in information technology, primarily in the publishing industry, I have served as programmer, analyst, project manager and director of publishing, editorial and operations systems. Independently since 2007, I have studied and written about the benefits and economics of geothermal systems. Most recently, I have focused specifically on direct electricity generation called Enhanced (or Engineered) Geothermal Systems (EGSs). I have attended geothermal conferences, gathered information from academic, industry and power generation companies, visited geothermal generation facilities and spoken directly with international financial, engineering, construction and political resources. 

[*for some perspective on GHG in production operations alone, see http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle800.do?categoryId=9036527&contentId=7067444]

An Inconvenient Truth:No matter what and everything we do is Natural.

Written in response to published comments on the Newtown shootings asserting that our world is falling apart  and that we have lost our way regardless of the fact that we are "the highest part of Nature".

No matter what and everything we do is Natural. Yes, we humans are social. We form groups to help us survive and succeed. Our world is not falling apart. Meanwhile, we are not the highest part of Nature. No matter what and everything we do is Natural.

Our success at reproducing and survival as a species has depended on humanity's ever more creative, cooperative and exploitive consumption of Nature's resources to satisfy our ever-evolving definition of our "basic" needs  -- to the detriment of ourselves and many species who surround us. Meanwhile, that's Natural. Many other species have preceded us to success, collapse or extinction because of these same natural processes.

The success and demise of civilizations is Natural as well. We celebrate the achievements and monuments of Egypt and Syria, of Persia, Greece and Rome, of "the Church" or "the One", of Spain and France and Empires galore. We seldom reflect on their consumption, waste and selfish cruelty  suffered on other groups and their environment that led to their success and "evolution", naturally.

Our tribal nature has helped in our success because we can, and tend to, blame other groups and/or external forces -- Nature -- for our woes and selfish failures. Focusing on differences between our group and others has led us to excuse our mass-killing of millions of "others" every couple of decades, to ignore or exploit the suffering of other groups and/or to defend against other groups' -- and Nature's -- real or perceived attempts to succeed in stealing the resources of our group. And here we are, Successful, forgetful and ... Natural.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/Oscqx08zBXQ

Project Hades has begun ....

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/07/a-change-in-the-weather-on-wall-street/
 is a great article.  As usual, the wealthiest -- nations and populations -- are the most irresponsible when it comes to fouling our nest on planet Earth. We foul the most because we have created and continue to support the Energy Industrial Complex. The EIC mines, drills, refines, stores, trades and sells, transports, and stores hydrocarbons -- coal, oil and gas -- or uranium. All that, BEFORE it can heat or cool our homes or boil water to generate electricity. It's time to move on from "burning our own fences" as Thomas Edison said. It's time to stop fouling our nest. It's time to understand and use the unlimited power within 10 miles of everywhere on earth -- straight down. Geothermal heat does not foul our nest ... it has made human life possible! Whether tapped from close to the surface to be used directly for heating and cooling or from further down to boil water to generate electricity, it is entirely local, clean and an unlimited resource. It's not the only answer to cleaning up our nest, but along with solar thermal, photovoltaic, wind and hydro used appropriately, it can replace the dirty old EIC.

Energy Industrial Complex

http://www.thepriceoffuel.com/howfuelisproduced/

The coal, oil, gas, nuclear industries -- the Energy Industrial Complex -- depend on a complex, embedded and profitable supply chain ... mine/drill, refine, store, transport, store, burn. These power all Congressional Districts. EGS has no supply chain. The mine/drill gang also trades the commodities extracted ... so only sell when the price is right. With EGS, all energy is straight down, no burn, no carbon, from a limitless resource. No campaign funds. oops. The illustration is kindly shared by Chevron demonstrating exactly how complex & costly the EIC is.
http://thnktnk.net/drill.html

Hades ... Go to hell

Hades is a proof of concept project to launch the next generation of geothermal electrical plants producing NO GHGs (CO2, shale gas, ...) and unlimited, eternal energy. The US geothermal electric capacity is already the world's largest but remains dependent on heat reserves relatively close to the Earth's surface. To exploit Hades beneath New York and New England requires -- and challenges -- the best of the best.

NASA and DARPA, partnered with existing industry expertise energized by the likes of Cornell, Columbia, RPI, MIT, CSM, Purdue would embrace Hades like they did Apollo and the internet to discover and share new ways to tap Earth's  unlimited heat resource. Like Apollo & internet, Hades would uncover new and unique technical and engineering advancement. Hades would underlie a truly sustainable energy future for human life on Earth. Partnered with conservation, geothermal, wind and roof-top solar, Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) can cost-effectively replace virtually all dirty and dangerous nuclear, coal, oil, gas generation capacity within a few decades.

Transforming Hades into a rich resource that would literally power the future, project Hades would create (and replace) jobs, stimulate research and demonstrate how to create a reliable, unlimited working resource. When oil and gas were first discovered in Pennsylvania, thousand foot wells were only dreams. Today, oil and gas wells are drilled in Texas and offshore to six or seven miles. Those resources are limited. Their waste has changed the planet. The Earth's heat will never run out and produces no harmful waste.

Ideal sites for such a project might include Stewart Field, one of New York City's five regional airports. It is both a commercial airport and a critical military air base surrounded by extensive publicly owned land and a host of capable "human resources". It is expected to become a new rail transportation hub as well, bringing the west side of the Hudson to NYC. The Hades project would design and develop a model methodology and engineer a working plant for exploitation of Hades, an unlimited resource within five or ten miles of everywhere on earth.

"If we can make it there, we'll make it anywhere; It's up to you, New York."

Commentators are 1%ers -- They don't get it

On MSNBC's Morning Joe, sitting around the table, none of the panel objected when one commentator said something like "$250,000 ... we can't raise taxes on a family making $250,000 ... say, a fireman & a teacher combined " Find me ONE fireman & teacher family with an income over $250,000! The idea of NOT letting the "Bush tax cuts" expire on those making more than $250,000 is absurd. Besides, it's a MARGINAL tax rate ... tax on the first quarter million would not be raised anyway. Make it policy ... not politics. Commentators are 1%ers. THEY don't get it either.