Environmental Extremism: Limitless Energy Beneath Our Feet

On November 7, I wrote that nuclear power was the only reasonable alternative to oil consumption as an energy source for the 21st century. I still stand by that position. At least for the 1st half of the 21st century.

But what about other sources of energy... not storage media such as hydrogen gas or batteries... but SOURCES OF ENERGY?

Last week on the The West Wing, there was an interesting story line around alternative fuel advocates meeting with the administration. Each advocate took turns sniping at the others' weaknesses in the hope of becoming the long-term favorite. There was solar, wind, ethanol and hydrogen power advocates.

Solar and wind power are direct energy sources captured and converted directly to electricity. Ethanol and hydrogen are storage media for energy that has been converted from other sources that require large amounts of energy to produce.

The key is to create processes that efficiently convert large amounts of direct energy into electrical power. At present, there are limitations to our ability to convert large amounts of direct energy to electricity.

• Solar - requires voltaic cells that are presently useful for low-energy requirement (you probably have a calculator with "solar" cells). As pointed out on The West Wing, a large portion of Arizona would have to be covered in voltaic cells to generate sufficient electicity to meet our present needs.
  
  
• Wind - large wind turbines are already in place and delivering a whole 1-2% of California's electric power. The problem is that they can endanger birds and actually change local weather conditions. And even pro-"environmentalists" don't like looking at them.
  
  
• Hydroelectric - so far the most successful source of direct energy. We all tend to forget that. But, this source comes with a price that many are no longer willing to pay: whole ecosystems and communities must be destroyed to build the necessary dams and reservoirs. The latest effort was in China.
  
  
• Geothermal - the main energy source for Iceland... and, surprisingly, it could be the model for the rest of the world... if only we pay attention.
  
  Geothermal energy is VIRTUALLY LIMITLESS compared with human needs. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that magma less than six miles beneath the continental United States contains 50,000-500,000 quads of energy, compared to the total U. S. annual energy consumption of less than 100 quads. [alternative link]

The virtually limitless amount of clean, geothermal energy available worldwide makes this energy source worth pursuing as a PERMANENT ALTERNATIVE to either oil or nuclear power. Geothermal energy would facilitate the non-polluting production of hydrogen fuel or electricity for battery-powered vehicles for our transportation needs.

Solar, wind and even small-scale geothermal energy could be used as local sources of power to augment a vast network of geothermal energy. Geothermal energy is available now for your home.