SOME WILL CLAIM LIMITED RESOURCES prevent us from achieving a society of abundance. This is simply not so. We still have more than enough resources to achieve a high standard of living for everyone. But it s time to move beyond failed programs and frustrations to innovative solutions that could be applied now if we direct our attention to overcoming scarcity. We have the capability to intelligently apply humane science and new technology to provide for most human needs, and to reclaim and restore the natural
environment. Fossil fuels such as oil and coal allowed our civilization to progress to its present state of development. However, these energy sources are limited and non-renewable, and one of many environmental dangers.
In designing a new civilization we must harness energy, a major source of material well-being for all nations. This is a double-edged sword. When placed in the hands of private interests and greed, energy can be used for destruction. The current stock of atomic weapons can destroy the world many times over. But fusion power and other forms of clean energy, when used intelligently, with human and environmental concern, could provide all of the nations of the world with clean, unlimited energy sources and a standard of living unattainable today.
Much remains to be accomplished in the undeveloped areas of our planet. Vast and untapped energy sources remain largely unexplored and untouched. These include wind, wave, and tidal action, ocean currents, deep ocean pressure and temperature differentials, falling water, geothermal and electrostatic power, hydrogen and natural gas, algae, bacteria, phase transformation, and thermionics, or the conversion of heat into electricity by boiling electrons off a hot metal surface and condensing them on a cooler surface. Additionally, there is the untapped potential of Fresnel lenses, inflatable dome versions of which are being developed for use as optical concentrators in solar power systems.
Fusion power welds together light atoms such as hydrogen and lithium. Fusion energy is the energy that drives the cosmos and the stars. When we learn how to harness it, the world s energy problems can be solved forever, without any detrimental effects or dangerous toxic materials to be disposed of. The only residue would be the clean ash of helium.
Oceanographers tell us that the world s oceans, occupying . % of the earth s surface, posses an endless supply of surging energy called deuterium, a heavy hydrogen atom locked in the seawaters. According to John D. Isaacs and Walter R. Schmitt, the amount of fissionable uranium and thorium in the oceans can support our present level of power production for millions of years. It is highly probable that in the next century our main source of energy will be thermonuclear fusion or geothermal extraction. Both appear relatively free of the hazards inherent in energy produced by nuclear fission.
The transfer of electrical energy will probably be facilitated by improved methods of superconductivity, utilizing cryogenics as part of the international power grid. This grid could serve primarily as a supplement or backup to self-generating structures within the cities. A key element of the design of cities in the future will be embedding of all necessary energy creation within the structure of the city itself.
We could also utilize solar concentrators as an alternative to fossil fuels for the generation of heat. As of this writing, the Argonne National Laboratory and ARDI are developing a production technique for solar cells that will be nearly 70% efficient at a cost one-tenth that of silicone-based cells. There are many other possibilities for developing photovoltaic systems that generate electricity while harnessing the currently untapped radiant heat energy.
The world s single most powerful hydro-electric project is now being constructed in the Tsangbo Bend in Eastern Tibet, where the river Tsangbo is fed by great glaciers and waterfalls which descend over seven thousand feet. When the Chinese harness the energy of this dam, it is estimated that the turbines in this power project will produce more than forty million horse-powers. This is equal to the total world production of hydroelectric power today. Another vast untapped energy option is the development of piezoelectric materials. This source could be employed by using laminated systems
inside cylinders, activated by the rise and fall of tides. A recent development of one of these materials is polyvinylidene-fluoride. Five square kilometres can supply electricity for two-hundred-and-fifty thousand people at a cost of one to three cents per kilowatt power, a considerable savings over fossil fuels.
If we developed and harnessed only 1% of the geothermal energy available in the crust of the earth, all our energy problems would be eliminated. Geothermal energy can supply us with more than 500 times the energy contained in all the fossil, oil, and gas resources in the world. Geothermal power plants produce very little sulphur, compared to fossil fuels, and emit no nitrogen oxide or carbon dioxide. A relatively small area of land is required for the power plant itself. Geothermal power is the most economical and efficient way to heat and cool buildings. Natural heat stored underground in combination with the permafrost zones could generate thermal electric power and utilize this power to cool buildings in warm weather with geothermal heat pumps.
Geothermal energy can also be used to grow plants year round in enclosed areas, as has already been accomplished in Iceland and elsewhere. In this way fresh vegetables could be cultivated in all seasons. A similar process could be used for fish farming and in other regions where heating and cooling is needed. If we had applied just one tenth of what we ve spent on military equipment to the development of geothermal generators, we could have long ago solved any energy shortages.
In a resource-based economy, a comprehensive analysis of the environmental, human, and social impact would be carefully analyzed before construction began on any project. In all endeavours, a major concern would be to protect and restore the environment for the benefit of living beings from unnecessary expenditure of energy and from laborious tasks. Up to the present, social development in our money-oriented society evolved in a haphazard manner, and was affected by many interacting variables.
This process seriously delayed achieving the advantages inherent in a global cooperative project to develop renewable energy resources rather than exhaust limited resources.
We have the means to determine globally the best energy resources available for each geographical location on our planet? What is desperately needed in this world of high technology and rapid change is an energy development strategy on a global scale.
Developing a global sustainable strategy would call for a joint venture of international planning on a level never before achieved.
Eventually, international life arteries could serve all nations economically and efficiently. Only by utilizing the best planetary planning can wasteful consumption be reduced. Only by reducing wasteful consumption can we achieve our end goal, the highest possible standard of living for all of the world s peoples.
HARNESSING THE GULF STREAM
These underwater structures convert a portion of the flow of the Gulf Stream through turbines to generate clean electric power. The turbines would have a centrifuged separator and deflectors to prevent harm to marine life.
BERING STRAIT DAM
A major development In the future could be the construction of a land bridge or tunnel across the Bering Strait. The primary function of this span would be to generate electrical power and house facilities for collecting and processing marine products.
Beneath and above the ocean surface would be tunnels to transport passengers and materials. Pipelines to conduct fresh water from melting icebergs to other parts of the world may also be incorporated. Not only could this structure provide a physical link between Asia and North America, it could also serve as an avenue for social and cultural exchange.
DESALINIZATION PLANT
This mega-machine if transporting a transparent enclosure used for evaporative condensation. It would be placed over canals, some of them containing salt water, and could serve as a desalinization plant to supply clean water for drinking, irrigation, and other needs. This is accomplished by harnessing the power of the sun and will eliminate water shortages throughout the world.
GEOTHERMAL ENERGY PLANTS
In the future, as refinements in conversion technologies increase its feasibility, geothermal energy will take a more prominent role in reducing the threat of global warming. Readily available in many regions throughout the world, this source alone could provide enough clean energy for the thousand years.