Long Range Alternative Sources
Over the long range of 20 to 30 years, there are four other, major, possible sources, of energy to replace fossil fuels (at current rates of economic and population growth, almost certain to be exhausted within 50 years):
1. Capturing sunlight from outside the atmosphere, a 24/7 source and more potent and reliable than the sunlight at the surface of the Earth, at best partially reflected by the ionosphere, haze, smog and clouds. Very large satellites or Moon bases could be used. Converting the radiant energy to a frequency, which can be beamed through the ionosphere and clouds to the surface, requires substantial investment and involves some possible dangers. Both seem to be solvable within 25 to 30 years, if a real effort were mounted, but are not likely to be done sooner than that. There are no data on comparative cost of such energy compared with sources on Earth.
2. In the same time frame, there is the generation of electricity, on the surface, by nuclear fusion of hydrogen (already known to be the main source of all energy from inside the Sun). If successful, the amount of energy available would be nearly infinite. Whatever the cost, the unit cost of energy would be, in effect, zero. Whoever could achieve control over this source of energy and wrest it and keep it against all challengers would have infinite power over all, except, perhaps, infinite life spans. Of course, the Manhattan Project kept the secret of realizable, fission-based energy long enough to assert barely successful dominance, so far, over everyone who wished to rule the world via military power from nuclear weapons. Possibly, but unlikely, someone is trying the same tactic with nuclear fusion. The main technical challenge is to achieve and control the extremely high temperatures (on the order of those present in the core of the Sun) needed to launch and sustain hydrogen fusion on Earth. The bigger real challenge is to protect the rest of the world from anyone who wishes to use fusion for selfish means of (read military) power. RDL judges the need to face this is (hopefully) another 25 years away.
3. Also, some distance away, is the use of anti-matter, probably positrons (anti-electrons) and anti-protons in hydrogen atoms, allowed to combine with (ie touch) normal matter, producing gamma rays. Here again, there is nearly infinite energy (remember E=MC2, ie Energy = Mass * 300,000,000 metres/second *300,000,000 metres/second), ie Mass * 90 quadrillion joules (90*1015). Where energy is in joules and mass is kilograms, energy = 90 quadrillion joules. (Hear: www.aip.org/history/einstein/sound/voice1.wav) . (The Cs are a constant, free, everywhere and always available.) This is producible by touching an infinitesimal quantity of anti-matter to an equal store of normal matter. Interstellar travel would be economically practical, stymied only by “Einstein’s Other Rule”. That aspect of his theory is that the maximum speed of light (in a vacuum, and everything else), is limited to C (300m meters/sec). (This sets the time limits necessary to displace anything from its original source.) For example, light from the Sun to the Earth takes 8 minutes, and to the nearest other star takes over four years. Unless a way around Einstein’s Other Rule is found, the marvelous adventures of Star Trek are in the very far future, probably requiring hundreds-of-generations voyages, even using a really good magnetic bottle to store, even minuscule amounts of anti-matter. However there are other practical uses. And, we may find a usable wormhole someday, which doesn’t violate Einstein’s Rule. In the early ‘60s, GE judged the time required being 50 to 60 more years; and decided not to invest his life to it. As no progress appears to have been achieved, yet, or even attempted, RDL feels that least 20 more years are still required.
4. Heat stored below the Earth’s surface is much more easily available, in the short term. From the Wikipedia, Geothermal Gradient: “In deep boreholes the temperature of the rock below the inflection point generally increases with depth at rates of the order of 20 K/km or more[2]. Half of this is of non-conducting gravitational origin[3]. Fourier's law of heat flow applied to the Earth gives. q = Mg where q is the heat flux at a point on the Earth's surface, M the thermal conductivity of the rocks there, and g the measured geothermal gradient minus the gravitational heat gradient. A representative value for the thermal conductivity of granitic rocks is M = 3.0 W/mK. Hence, using the global average geothermal conducting gradient of 0.01 K/m we get that q = 0.03 W/m². This estimate, corroborated by thousands of observations of heat flow in boreholes all over the world, gives a global average of 3×10−2 W/m². Thus, if the geothermal heat flow rising through an acre of granite terrain could be efficiently captured, it would light two 60 watt light bulbs.” We will be looking at this, in the region of Utopium Alpha and any of our other *+++++9, as sources of energy and how the area can be drilled sufficiently deeply to tap this energy, a working fluid injected to absorb heat and use the difference in temperature at surface for other purposes, such as to drive steam turbines, produce electricity and/or keep enclosed spaces at a comfortable temperatures.
5. The, generally simpler, modification is to switch to much more efficient, already available, light bulbs, than traditional incandescent bulbs. This can be included in current designs and promises an approximate reduction of 80% to 90% of the electrical energy requirements for lighting. Lighting at night requires about 200 watts per person over 5 hours, ie 1k watts/night/person.
6. Training in, and efficient, use of already available communication systems, via the Internet, installed and used appropriately, in homes and businesses in the Utopia, among people (in general, and for information needed to correctly select, order and supply goods, education, and entertainment) can reduce a) 50% of the need for traveling, and b) 50% of the energy needed to supply goods which are wasted, inappropriate or unsuitable for what are actually desired and needed.
7. Obviously, dealings between buyers (customers) and sellers (suppliers) are to some degree adversarial. The more money the suppliers can induce the customers to pay for goods and services (at a given cost to the supplier), the more the profit suppliers can earn. Ideally, honest description and advice from the supplier, to the customer, as to the virtue of the supplied product and its appropriate use, the more fair value the customer can achieve for his money. Many forms of dealing, from deliberate deception to carelessness, can succeed, at least for a while, to obtain more money from the customers. A major portion of the “Marketing Profession” is concerned with the perfection of any successful technique, deceptive or not. Just one example: Historically American automobile marketing was based on convincing customers of a simplistic and, essentially, false legend, that the bigger and heavier the car, the more desirable and worthy of high prices it was. Actually, even though, as most engineers and every aircraft engineer, always knew, the opposite is actually the truth. In America, the legend was believed, until the Japanese, and some European manufacturers, ignored, or were ignorant of this false legend. Customers learned from experience the falseness of the legend (particularly in view of the gallons of fuel/mile). Then, they (including GE) began to buy foreign cars, instead of American cars, almost destroying the American automobile industry. Customer rebellion was due, at least in part, from loss in faith in the imagined honesty of “marketing”.
8. RDL’s strategy is to encourage truth in communications, and fair trade, wherever possible. The easiest domain for this is in the communication systems we develop to be installed in the homes and businesses within Utopium Alpha and among all other Utopia. While insisting on honesty and accuracy in communications to our residents and businesses from others, RDL must be equally demanding with residents and businesses in our cities, when communicating with others.
9. One of the most important aspects of Utopium Alpha is that it is used as a pilot and a prototype of our new cities in the UK, as well and other countries, in the future. It is patterned overall on Masdar (See also: www.inhabitat.com/2007/05/09/norman-fosters-green-desert-utopia-in-dubai/). However, there are at least nine major differences: a) no desalination facilities are required in the UK, b) a mini-airport, platforms and support for autogyros and the development and improvement of new autogyros, are added, c) the development of hydrogen production (most likely from electrolysis of water (rather than extraction from natural gas) leaving residues of CO and CO2) for fuel and for hydrogen fuel cells, is added, d) improvement of hydrogen fuel cells to produce electricity in homes and businesses and for autogyros, is added, e) Utopium Alpha will very close to Ebbsfleet International Terminal to use the facilities of Eurostar’s Zero-CO2 trains for travel, is added, f) discouragement of airline travel and airplanes will be included rather than near a commercial airport, g) the possibility of obtaining of energy from beneath the Earth will be investigated, h) safe storage of hydrogen adjacent to, or beneath, homes and businesses, are added and i) extremely advanced communications systems to incorporate and take advantage of current, and future improvements in the Internet, developed and installed in homes and business, are added.
10. Plans to incorporate new Utopia on all six continents and major islands are underway. Probably the next, new, Utopium Beta, will be in California, in the United States, near La Jolla CA, close to the new solar electricity source in Mojave Desert, beginning in 2010. One hundred Utopia are planned in the 50 United States over the six or seven years starting 2010, and an equal number (100) among Canada, Mexico, Central American countries and the Republic of Panama. The rest of South America will have a similar number (100) before the end of the next decade, ie by 2019.
11. In summary, the estimated total Utopia to be built over the next 22 years will be: UK (64), Europe (175), Asia (255) America (300), Africa (75) and Australia (30) for an overall total of 899.
On average, the number of residents/Utopium is 50k, for a total of 45m residents. Using the same 9 tons/year in reduction of CO2, which would otherwise be added, as the UK is already doing, we arrive at 405m tons/year. In pounds, this is 810b/pounds/year, beginning the 22nd year, measured from 2008. In the meantime, RDL estimates the reductions take hold on average, over 20 years, at an average of a 10-year delay. Thus, over the next 22 years, the reduction adds up to 8.1 gigapounds, ie avoiding adding the equivalent of 0.122 % of the current total of 6,624 gigapounds, to the CO2 already in the atmosphere.
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