We know the next big series of wars is going to be over water. And, no, I’m not talking about how neighbors in California will be fighting over their water allocations (or even California fighting with Colorado). I’m talking about the vast portions of this Earth that are basically out of water.
Continue reading Right from the air!
I’m sure we’ve all heard about all the crazy ideas folks dream up to generate power. From adding technology to our shoes to connecting generators to our treadmills and exercise machines. Some of them are really not so crazy.
Continue reading From the bottom of my feet…
I have written way more than a few times that our next battles are not going to be about gold, rare metals, or even oil. The next battles are going to be about water. Because the world is running out of pure, drinkable water. And, in some parts of the world, water is already a non-existent commodity.
Continue reading High and Dry?
Most of you know that I am a chemical engineer. (OK. A few other things, too. But, I always wanted to be a chem e- since I’ve been 8.)
Continue reading Another Alternative?
So, what happens when you put together biologists, physicists, and chemical engineers (of course, they’ll be part of the mix)? Well, if this group from Columbia University is any indication, you get a new kind of engine that may be the answer to our future power needs.
Continue reading Pulling it out of thin air?
Water. Energy. Food. Lacking any one item makes existence pretty tough. The problem is compounded because all three are related. That’s why it’s called the water-energy-food nexus. A century or two ago, this was less obvious, since they were all locally sourced.
Eggs. Apples. Chocolate. Strawberries.
What do they have in common? They were the four things I was NOT allergic to as a child. Everything else- fuhgeddaboudit! Seriously. I had a forty-three page, three column booklet listing each and (almost) every item to which I had a +4 reaction.
Continue reading An apple a day?
I’ve written beforeabout methods and processes to treat wastewater (here and here, for starters- you can find more by searching the index to the right for wastewater)- including methods that may be able to provide power to attenuate the costs of such treatment. Now, another concept to employ microbes to generate electricity has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (right now, it’s ahead of print) describing work being done by Dr. Craig Criddle’s group at Stanford.
Continue reading A Microbial Battery For Waste Treatment?
I’ve stayed out of the fray for a while now. (Don’t cluck-cluck me; I really have!) Because I wanted to see what each side would really use for their arguments; you see, there is nothing that is intrinsically safe, unsafe, right, or wrong with either side’s position. No, it’s the execution that will make the difference. About what am I talking? Harvesting tar sands for oil refining and piping them thousands of miles.
Continue reading Is XL the excellent choice?
