Energy for the New Millennium

Posted 2006-05-11 18:22:31

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Op Ed News - May 11, 2006 “The Universe, as far as we can observe it, is a wonderful and immense engine.“ ~ George Santayana Americans face an economic and ecological disaster. We have become dependent upon petroleum, a finite energy source near its peak, and upon a supply system manipulated and controlled by foreign powers, whose interests are often hostile to ours. Moreover, we have elected an administration that is dominated by the oil companies, who devastate the environment without care, make obscene profits without guilt, and control our domestic and foreign policies for their own benefit and to our detriment. Isn’t our national security just as dependent upon the availability of energy as upon a strong military? What can we do to protect ourselves and ensure the survival of our society?

An Imaginative Solution

Envision the amazing initiatives we could embark upon if our national energy policy and research was freed from the control of the oil companies and their political puppets. Imagine that the Interstate Highway System and most major streets and highways in America were improved to provide a constant source of electro-magnetic energy sufficient to power a standard automobile, with comfortable seating for five adults, anywhere in America at no cost to the operator. Imagine the introduction of triple-hybrid cars designed to operate primarily on electro-magnetic energy supplied by induction through the surface of all highways and freeways, and which are equipped with small fuel efficient internal combustion engines to supplement rechargeable batteries for trips on local streets and byways. Imagine we could travel for free throughout the United States as a matter of national privilege. We could get to our jobs without having to work for an hour each day just to pay the way. We would have more money to spend on vacations, and we would be able to tour this great nation, see the grand sights, and visit with our friends and relatives along the way. Imagine the boon to tourism if foreign visitors could rent a car at the airport and drive around our great country for free, spending their excess cash at our small businesses along the way. Is this a realistic dream? If we decided to provide free power on our highways as a matter of public policy, where would we obtain the energy?

A Miraculous Source of Abundant Energy

Space-based solar technology can provide an inexhaustible, safe, non-polluting supply of energy and is a far more logical solution than the petroleum-based or the nuclear-fueled hydrogen initiative proposed by the current administration. Satellites in orbit around the Earth and/or collectors on the moon’s surface can be engineered to convert the Sun’s radiant energy into electricity, which can be safely transmitted by microwave beams to receiving antennas on Earth. Space solar power is not a new idea. NASA and the Department of Energy have been studying the issue for the past 30 years and have found it to be technically feasible. However, given the current administration’s domination by the oil industry, no research and development has been done on space solar power since 2001. What if, over the last three years, we had wisely invested in unlimited space power, instead of wasting $300 billion on a stupid war to seize a few more barrels of oil? If we used space solar power to energize our nation’s highways, we could begin to restrict the use of fossil fuels to the manufacturing of synthetic materials and other non-energy purposes. Ultimately, we could power the entire national economy by space solar power and other renewable sources of energy. Although there are substantial costs associated with the development of space solar power, it makes far more sense to spend our space exploration budget on developing an efficient and reliable power supply for the future, than on President Bush’s unrealistic Mars Mission Plan or his worthless missile defense system. Scientists have denounced his Mars mission as a detriment to ongoing scientific programs and projects, and his missile defense system is an ignorant waste of the billions of dollars he has already diverted to his defense industry cronies. On the other hand, the development of space solar power would solve one of the last major stumbling blocks to space exploration – reducing the cost of moving material from Earth to orbit

Conclusion

The introduction of space solar energy into the United States economy and its ultimate adoption by other countries would do much to reverse the harm caused to our fragile planet by industrialization, and it could save all of us from the threatening effects of global warming. Shouldn’t we at least think about it, and, if given a chance, vote on it? With funding for the space shuttle ending in 2012 and for the space station in 2017, America must decide upon a realistic policy for space exploration, or else we will be left in the dust by other nations, such as Japan, China, and the European Union, who are rapidly developing futuristic space projects. The first nation that captures and effectively uses space solar energy will dominate the world economy for generations to come and will become a much healthier and far more secure society.

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~Wm