Obamathon Man was about to let loose with a brilliant post today when the power cut out, sending him and his associate back to the dark ages, or some other time period when they didn't have internet. Rest assured, I'll be posting later on tonight.
Some updates related to Colorado's pioneering role in renewable energy: we sold a bed today, and the buyer turned out to be a contractor. He told us how he was able to build a house which averaged $8 in monthly utility bills, using photovoltaic cells and solar water heating, which also could be used to heat the house itself - schweet! Onward Colorado, the future is bright with the gleam of solar cells.
Showing posts with label Renewable Energy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Renewable Energy. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Time to Shine: Colorado and Renewable Energy
Yesterday, Obamathon Man took a day trip to Denver's equivalent of Santa Monica: Boulder. True, the median age of Boulder is about 10 years lower and the median temperature is about 50 degrees lower. The college vibe is felt all across town, unlike Santa Monica where it stops 3 blocks from SMC (though I dare say the radio station at SMC is a bit more influential, if less countercultural, than CU Boulder's). But just like Santa Monica, there's a pedestrian mall lined with chic sake bars and hobos, and every newsstand includes a free publication dedicated to "wellness".
But what struck me is not Boulder itself but the solar plant I spotted along the way. I was aware that Colorado was actively getting involved in renewable energy, but its nice to see it first hand.
Colorado has a long history with renewable energy. In 1974, the Solar Energy Research Institute was founded. The Institute flourished under the Carter administration, and it was during this time that my relative relocated to Denver to work there. During the Reagan years, it was determined that "government is the problem", which meant that all government-conducted solar research was part of the problem too. My relative eventually left for a university job and later ended up working for private research firms, with mixed results. The SERI ultimately survived the wrath of Reagan, though its budget was cut by 90%. In the 90s, it was rebranded as the National Renewable Energies Laboratory, or NREL, and continues to operate to this day.
In 2006, Colorado's Governor Bill Ritter announced that Colorado was to be an energy pioneer, becoming "bolder [Boulder?] than any other state when it comes to renewable energy". This is certainly great news and I commend the efforts of the great state of Colorado, though as a west coast loyalist I have to add that if they want to become the greenest state they've got some competition.
With Obama in office, the future is green for the whole country. But it's great to see that here in the purple state of Colorado, change isn't waiting for January 20.
But what struck me is not Boulder itself but the solar plant I spotted along the way. I was aware that Colorado was actively getting involved in renewable energy, but its nice to see it first hand. Colorado has a long history with renewable energy. In 1974, the Solar Energy Research Institute was founded. The Institute flourished under the Carter administration, and it was during this time that my relative relocated to Denver to work there. During the Reagan years, it was determined that "government is the problem", which meant that all government-conducted solar research was part of the problem too. My relative eventually left for a university job and later ended up working for private research firms, with mixed results. The SERI ultimately survived the wrath of Reagan, though its budget was cut by 90%. In the 90s, it was rebranded as the National Renewable Energies Laboratory, or NREL, and continues to operate to this day.
In 2006, Colorado's Governor Bill Ritter announced that Colorado was to be an energy pioneer, becoming "bolder [Boulder?] than any other state when it comes to renewable energy". This is certainly great news and I commend the efforts of the great state of Colorado, though as a west coast loyalist I have to add that if they want to become the greenest state they've got some competition.
With Obama in office, the future is green for the whole country. But it's great to see that here in the purple state of Colorado, change isn't waiting for January 20.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Changing Fuel, Fueling Change
Yesterday afternoon, a family member showed us around his lab here in Denver (he's a physicist). It's a fairly sophisticated operation, and several employees were present, even this close to Christmas. A young woman with glasses and a bun worked the front desk, she was polite but clearly had her hands full with scheduling. We grabbed safety goggles as we entered the work area, but at this point they weren't necessary since nothing really dangerous was going on.
One of the lab techs came over to talk to us. His name was Dan, and he was happy to talk about what was going on here at the lab. There were several benches full of drills, hammers, welding torches, small stoves, and other relevant tools. At the center of everything was a roughly 8x8x16 foot rectangular assemblage of steel tubes. If this wasn't a laboratory, the structure could easily pass as playground equipment. However it became clear that it was intended as a container for some large scale apparatus.
Dan warmed up when he learned that I was about to graduate from the alma mater of a friend of his. Somehow, the topic of discussion abruptly turned to theoretical physics, which as it turns out is not very popular with practical physicists. Dan didn't like the fact that the theories of theoretical physics were not falsifiable and were difficult to test. I asked him if this had anything to do with the Large Hadron Collider, which I almost referred to accidentally as the "Large Hard-On Collider". Not being a theoretical physicist, he didn't know, or really care. But he did admit that theoretical physics was great for science fiction.
I asked him what was going to be housed within the massive tube system, and he said that it would house machinery to convert the thousands of trees afflicted by pine beetles into charcoal. While this charcoal could be used as fuel, in this case it would be used as a fertilizer which would also remove carbon from the atmosphere. Apparently, the charcoal can also be used to neutralize the damage done by mine tailings, which mine companies prefer to call "peripheral leavings" but scientists refer to in many cases as "toxins".
I then asked about if he thought Obama would be good for alternative fuel development companies like the one he was working for. He absolutely thought Obama would improve the state of alternative fuel in the US, pointing out that Obama dilligently went about creating a "brain trust" who would take an effective course of action many different issues. I agreed, a brain trust would certainly be better than the previous executive, who didn't trust brains. In particular, Dan was enthusiastic that Ken Salazar, formerly one of Colorado's senators, had been named as Secretary of the Interior. He was so enthusiastic that he accidentally referred to him as "Secretary of State".
At this point we had to leave, but I was happy to have had the chat. Even though gas prices have dropped, we still need to start working on building up other sources of energy. Government investment in private research is a good way to establish more effective energy sources, as has already happened in Brazil, and it's also good for our economy. Hopefully, Dan will be doing what he's doing for a long time.
One of the lab techs came over to talk to us. His name was Dan, and he was happy to talk about what was going on here at the lab. There were several benches full of drills, hammers, welding torches, small stoves, and other relevant tools. At the center of everything was a roughly 8x8x16 foot rectangular assemblage of steel tubes. If this wasn't a laboratory, the structure could easily pass as playground equipment. However it became clear that it was intended as a container for some large scale apparatus.
Dan warmed up when he learned that I was about to graduate from the alma mater of a friend of his. Somehow, the topic of discussion abruptly turned to theoretical physics, which as it turns out is not very popular with practical physicists. Dan didn't like the fact that the theories of theoretical physics were not falsifiable and were difficult to test. I asked him if this had anything to do with the Large Hadron Collider, which I almost referred to accidentally as the "Large Hard-On Collider". Not being a theoretical physicist, he didn't know, or really care. But he did admit that theoretical physics was great for science fiction.I asked him what was going to be housed within the massive tube system, and he said that it would house machinery to convert the thousands of trees afflicted by pine beetles into charcoal. While this charcoal could be used as fuel, in this case it would be used as a fertilizer which would also remove carbon from the atmosphere. Apparently, the charcoal can also be used to neutralize the damage done by mine tailings, which mine companies prefer to call "peripheral leavings" but scientists refer to in many cases as "toxins".
I then asked about if he thought Obama would be good for alternative fuel development companies like the one he was working for. He absolutely thought Obama would improve the state of alternative fuel in the US, pointing out that Obama dilligently went about creating a "brain trust" who would take an effective course of action many different issues. I agreed, a brain trust would certainly be better than the previous executive, who didn't trust brains. In particular, Dan was enthusiastic that Ken Salazar, formerly one of Colorado's senators, had been named as Secretary of the Interior. He was so enthusiastic that he accidentally referred to him as "Secretary of State".
At this point we had to leave, but I was happy to have had the chat. Even though gas prices have dropped, we still need to start working on building up other sources of energy. Government investment in private research is a good way to establish more effective energy sources, as has already happened in Brazil, and it's also good for our economy. Hopefully, Dan will be doing what he's doing for a long time.
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