Random Nuclear Strikes

Since we don’t have the unlimited supply of magic pixie dust discovered just yet, we were made to fantasize about how we would “Power the World” without those eevviill fossil fuels.

OK. I can play make believe as good as anyone else.

Without telling him, I borrowed the Mad Scientist hat for an evening and went about “Thinking Green” with it.

The Assignment: Renewable Energy

Sunlight can produce heat or small amounts of electricity. Its derivatives (wind and rain) are also useful for producing power. Other unconventional energy sources either exist or have potential. For example, geothermal plants and small-scale methane digesters are very important in some regions, especially for heating and cooking. Tides have been turned into electricity (but as yet, people only dream of harnessing the energy in a lightning strike, tornado, or hurricane).

For several existing nonfossil fuel energy resources, describe the ideal conditions for producing or using them, and then find where on Earth those conditions exist. For example, solar energy for home heating would have an advantage in places with clear winter skies, cold temperatures, and a southern exposure, especially if other sources of heating fuel were expensive. What regions satisfy most or all of these conditions? Do this exercise for two or three energy sources.

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Uhh, the Malthusians.

Professor: “Hey, let’s all write a paper disproving Malthus’ theory!”

Me: “Let’s not. Malthus was right.”

OK, so I didn’t actually say that, but it was what I was thinking the whole time I was writing. It helped that I found a way to beat up on the eco-socialists a bit.

The Assignment: The Green Revolution

The green revolution has been credited with dramatically increasing harvests in many parts of the world. Where was the green revolution most active, where was it not, and how has its success been measured?

The green revolution involved a transfer of commercial agricultural methods to replace subsistence ones. Is this a fair statement? Give some examples.

Each of the components of the revolution—irrigation, hybrid seeds, mechanization, chemicals and large-scale farming—has had unintended side effects and some have caused severe problems of their own. Enumerate as many of these problems as possible.

The revolution generally involved transfer of knowledge, seed, and equipment from developed to less developed areas rather than the other way around. What about food or farming might the developed world learn from the poorer countries? Please speculate.

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