Space Hotels!?!?

On my msn homepage, I caught a glimpse of this article a few weeks ago and was absolutely dumbfounded. At first I thought it was a joke, the title “Spanish venture aims to build space hotel,” but after reading it apparently this business enterprise Galactic Suite located in Barcelona, Spain is very serious about opening a hotel in space in 2012. According to the company’s architects, the hotels guests would have pay $4 million dollars a head for three days, and before their departure, guests would participate get eight intense weeks of space camp training on a tropical island. Once tourists arrive at the hotel by means of private shuttles, as they orbit they will view the sun rise fifteen times a day and use Velcro suits to crawl around their pod rooms by sticking themselves to the walls.

The reasoning for the pod like shape of the rooms is due to the fact that they have to be able to fit into a rocket to make it to space. According to the company’s director Xavier Claramunt, “It’s the bathrooms in zero gravity that are the biggest challenge; how to accommodate the more intimate activities of the guests is not easy.” Also, guests will participate in scientific experiments during their space voyage. First just an idea and a hobby of the former aerospace engineer, Claramunt stated that it became a reality when a space enthusiast remaining anonymous agreed to provide most of the $3 billion needed to make it happen.

Galactic Suite is not even the only company with plans for space hotels by 2012, other businesses are aiming to put hotels in orbit too. For one 4Frontiers Corp. located in Florida and CTAE in Barcelona have jumped on the bandwagon, and Nevada-based Bigelow Aerospace have already launched two inflatable prototypes for a privately built space station, and is planning to send up its first habitable module, as well as California-based Space Island Group who have also been working on a space hotel of their own.

Claramunt also said that his company is negotiating with private investors from Japan, the U.S., and the United Arab Emirates, evident of how lucrative the space business could be. A statistic he pointed out, “We have calculated that there are 40,000 people in the world who could afford to stay at the hotel. Whether they will want to spend money on going into space, we just don’t know.”

I find this to be ridiculous. Four billion dollars spent on just one of these projects, not to mention all of the others that are also springing up in hopes that people will spend the money to avoid whatever pre-conceived notions of what 2012 has in store for us that has not even been proven. In my opinion, this is one of the biggest wastes of money I can think of. Can you imagine how much good all of that money could do for the world if invested in the proper places; invested on more realistic issues actually backed by science, such as our crises of energy shortages, and dangerous CO2 levels in our atmosphere? Geez, I can’t even imagine how many resources these privately funded projects are going to consume just to get these hotels in orbit. With a massive amount of money such as this, so much can be invested into communities, revitalizing them, and kick starting our transformation to truly ‘green’ living, as well as obtaining a successful efficient form of renewable energy. A great deal of things need to be done here on Earth to ensure the safety of our only home before we go out into space, like a bunch of unprepared cowboys. Nothing may happen on 2012, just like Y2K. It is really important that we do not lose our composure. We only have one home and we all share it, I can’t believe selfishness and the crookedness of priorities could ever make it to this extreme.

Resources

"Spanish venture aims to build space hotel But will Galactic Suite go into orbit by2012 as promised?." msnbc.com Technology & Science Space msn, 10 Aug. 2007. Web. 5 Dec. 2009. <http://msnbc.msn.com/id/20216344/>.

Mate is kind of out of touch.

As I read Mate's A Reasonable Life, I couldn't help but be annoyed by his writing style. Throughout the portion which was made available on eRes, I found myself agreeing with his ideas, whilst abhorring his prose. He could not have written from a more smarmy, curmudgeonly, and annoying perspective. When he dramaticized drying clothes on clothespins in his backyard as if it were the most noble act that today's young'ns could never fathom, I literally had to prevent myself from projectile vomiting. It was like a textual embodiment of listening to stereotypical dull grandparents obnoxiously reminisce about "the good old days." I wanted to personally tell him to shut up several times. Despite his good intentions, his writing could not have been more alienating to today's youth, which is arguably the most important demographic for this type of writing to reach.

Granted, his point was well made. He presented the fact that driers account for
up to 10% of energy usage in the USA according to some estimates, which is a big deal no matter how you look at it, but he could not have been more old-man-ish, holier-than-thou about it. Throughout the entire text that I read, which was a good several chapters, I was increasingly put off by his perspective. "In the good old days we played ball in the alley and had way more fun than anyone in this day and age will ever have blah blah blah my generation was better than yours blah blah." I wanted to say "shut up" out loud several times as I read it.

His way of writing is at best a surefire way to turn off those who aren't already on board with these issues. There are ways to write about these issues that are not annoying, but Mate avoided doing so with fervor. This was the only required/suggested reading so far assigned in this class that I actually disliked, but oh boy, did I struggle to even finish reading it. Present your ideas in a more palatable format if you want to influence anyone, Mate.

Crazy Ideas for A Brighter Future

Unique ideas by people clearly thinking outside the box may be hold the key to our energy crisis and harmful levels of CO2 emissions. In an article I found on msnbc.com, a slideshow of six very interesting green solution concepts are shown that may be promising for a brighter future. Apart from alternative sources of energy already known such as fields of windmills and solar panels, artificial leaves and trees is one of the idea posed. Just like in trees how leaves convert sunlight into energy through the process of photosynthesis, scientists at the Imperial College of London, are looking to create artificial leaves that will also perform a similar process of photosynthesis but harvest the energy for our own personal needs and uses. A company called Solar Botanic also in London, “is in the R&D stage of building artificial trees fitted with "nanoleaves" that generate electricity from sunlight and heat” (Roach 2). Not to mention by making them look like real trees, they will blend in and be more aesthetically pleasing.

Another project in progress is called ‘Anaconda’ being developed by the University of Southhampton. A long, water-filled rubber tube would be positioned just below sea surface, with one end facing approaching waves. As ‘rollers’ bash the tube, they will squeeze it and generate something called a “bulge wave.” The waves then push this bulge along the tube, making it larger and larger as it goes. At the end of the tube, the bulge wave powers a turbine that will essentially generate electricity which is subsequently harnessed and shipped to shore by a cable of some sort. Researchers say it “would be about 660 feet long, 25 feet in diameter and capable of generating 1 megawatt of electricity – enough to power 2,000 British homes” (Roach 3). Solar power from outer space may also be another idea. The plan entails beaming down electricity from solar panel satellites that orbit the Earth through radio waves, a possibility beginning in mid-2016. These solar satellites would be able to harvest the sun’s energy twenty-four hours a day, unaffected by clouds and night time on Earth.

Some scientists and engineers are even looking to utilize all of the space we have on our ocean’s surface. Being that oceans cover about 75% of Earth’s surface, it would make sense to build islands devoted to generating energy using temperature differences in water. According to the article, in this plan, “warm surface water is evaporated in a vacuum, producing steam to drive a turbine that generates electricity. Cold water pumped up from depth causes the steam to condense as desalinated water and wind turbines, solar cells and wave energy converters would kick in additional juice” (Roach 5). Scientist believes that a few of these islands together would have the ability to power a city.

Another idea posed is the establishment of the cylindrical rods on the ocean or river floor in a certain configuration will capture energy from slow-moving currents. According to engineer Michael Bernitsas the University of Michigan, “As water flows past the rods, it creates what are called vortex-induced vibrations. The eddies, or swirls, form in an alternating pattern, pushing and pulling an object up or down or side to side to create mechanical energy” (Roach 6). The idea they said was inspired by schools of fish and how they efficiently ride in each other’s wake to move at great speed not normally possible alone. If they can create a way to harvest this mechanical energy, they say that “An array about the size of a running track and about two stories high could generate enough electricity to power about 100,000 homes” (Roach 6).

Because to make and use all of these things and continue to use and consume the way we do today will still be producing much CO2, a giant problem, researchers have came up with a structure that will imitate a tree and be able to sequester masses of CO2 from our atmosphere. The structure according to the article “will use a proprietary absorbent material to trap carbon dioxide from the air. The gas is then stored, and the absorbent material is recycled to capture even more carbon dioxide” (Roach 7). Designed in Arizona by Global Research Technologies, the company, it is believed to be able to collect carbon approximately a thousand times faster than trees and is several hundred times more efficient than the current windmill. (Roach 7)

There is something to be said about thinking outside the box. I believe it is extremely important to keep one’s mind open to many different ideas no matter how abstract they may seem. As seen in this article, some of the most abstract in weird ideas may have very profound effects if implemented on our future, and can help to create a safer and healthier Earth for us. In fact, these types of ideas may save us all. I say don’t be afraid to contribute your own ideas because you never know what may inspire somebody who can implement a bit of science and their own creativity to it, kind of like the ‘snowball’ effect.

Resources

Roach, John. "Crazy green-energy ideas that just might work: So far these are mostly concepts, but we may be using them in the future." msnbc.com Technology & Science msn, 29 Aug. 2009. Web. 4 Dec. 2009. <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545685/ns/technology_and_science-green_innovation/?pg=1#Science_FringeEnergy_090826>.

Unnatural Gas

I know it has been a while since we’ve discussed the energy crisis in class but lately I have seen a lot of advertisements for “New Natural Gas.” The very well made advertisements are getting the “facts” out about energy. Calling natural gas, “the cleaner, smarter energy,” the solution to this oil mess we’ve gotten ourselves into.

America’s Natural Gas Alliance is standing on the concept that natural gas is clean, domestic, abundant, and cost effective. Clean because natural gas emits 50% less CO2 than coal, 30% less CO2 than oil, its vehicles reduce (?) carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide emissions. They flaunt that the natural gas industry employs millions of Americans and say 97% of the gas used by the US comes from North America. They say, “natural gas is an affordable and readily available, long term solution to power generation, home heating, and industrial use.” As for abundance, they have more than a one hundred year supply of natural gas.

As for alternative sources of renewable energy, their position is kind of unclear. A commercial for New Natural Gas suggested that wind and solar energy is inefficient, expensive, and unrealistic. The “facts” as presented on their website claim that the use of natural gas will provide a foundation for those renewable energy sources to grow.

In The Party’s Over, Richard Heinberg presents the opposite proposing that natural gas may “compound” the problem. The ANGA is right when they say natural gas burns cleaner, the problem is that this “alternative” still produces CO2 that’s pollutions our planet. While oil wells deplete slowly, gas wells plateau only to crash quickly. It is also assumed that the abundance of natural gas is questionable. To allow our country to continue to be dependent on a finite resource is a big mistake; especially when its availability is uncertain. On this I agree with Heinberg, “Any attempt to shift to natural gas as an intermediate fuel would simply waste time and capital in the enlargement of an infrastructure that will soon be obsolete anyway” (143). There must be another way- sustainable and clean.

Sources:

All ANGA information

http://www.newnaturalgas.org/

The Party’s Over: pages 139-143

Thoughts on Good Guide

Well, as we saw from the in-class demonstration, GoodGuide has a ways to go before it becomes a cohesive guide for consumer awareness. Frankly, it seemed as though very few of our searches, most of which were for fairly common items, yielded any results at all. However, I understand that this is a new website innovating a whole new concept which will require collecting and compiling massive amounts of information into a palatable html form, which is likely to take years. Wikipedia wasn't built in a day either, and that website requires much less research and fact-checking. Each entry into GoodGuide will require lots of information that I wouldn't imagine is always very easy to find.

But I really think that it's brilliant, in this new age of info-conglomerating websites (Wikipedia, iMDB, All Music Guide, etc.), for someone to compile this sort information in a practical way. It takes the maxim of these websites (to be a one-stop shop for everything in its field) and applies it to something much more important. Consumer awareness is an issue. Sure, foods are required to list ingredients and nutritional facts, but information regarding the environmental and social implications of the product, as well as whether or not those listed ingredients are actually safe and healthy, is elusive to the average consumer. If GoodGuide does indeed evolve to the point that any item in a supermarket can simply be scanned with a phone and rated for these categories, people's buying habits may change drastically for the better. On this issue, I don't think that laziness and apathy necessarily go hand-in-hand. I believe that people would, if it were made easy for them, support products that are better for their health and the environment, even if they are somewhat more expensive.

Internet data-compiling and consumer awareness are really a match made in heaven, and I think it's wonderful that someone pieced that together and is carrying it out. I am optimistic that this website could become something really great, and even go so far as to change consumers' behavior, for the better, on a large scale.

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

My three favorite quotes from this novel were as follows:

• “If you can’t discover what’s keeping you in, the will to get out soon becomes confused and ineffectual” (Quinn 25).

• “The world is not going to survive for very much longer as humanity’s captive” (Quinn 26).

• “Man was innocent until he discovered the difference between good and evil. When he was no longer innocent of that knowledge, he became a fallen creature” (Quinn 183).

What did I learn about BIOLOGY from reading Ishmael?

After reading this book, my understanding of the biological sciences has been affected. Though it is thought by some that humans are the peak of evolution, we share a closer relationship with other organisms than we think and are often ignorant to the consequences of our actions than animals. Ishmael, a gorilla, perhaps our more advanced predecessor explains how he discovered what was ‘keeping him in’ and thus was able to reach a higher level of consciousness and understanding of the world. Humans have not yet discovered what is ‘keeping them in’ and thus are trapped in the error of their ways. If humans continue to live the way they are, not discovering the error of their ways, they are certainly a doomed species as well as responsible for the world’s destruction.

What did I learn about the WORLD from reading Ishmael?

Upon reading the book, my understanding of the world that I live in has also been enhanced. I now understand that the world consists of “Takers” and “Leavers”. As stated in the book, “’The Leavers were chapter one of human history – a long and uneventful chapter. Their chapter of human history ended about ten thousand years ago with the birth of agriculture in the Near East. This event marked the beginning of chapter two, the chapter of the Takers” (Quinn 42). There are still ‘Takers” that exist but are very rare. The spring of agriculture has also given rise to the continuous growth of technology that unfortunately facilitates in the abuse the Earth, which is currently on the path of destruction. Our world is folding in on itself with major issues such as, pollution and population growth. In order to make a difference, the human race must experience an epiphany and release themselves from the cages they hold themselves captive in blindly.

What did I learn ABOUT MYSELF from reading Ishmael?

As a result of reading Ishmael, I have become much more aware of the environment and its mistreatment. Rather than abusing the world, we need to learn how to coexist and respect the Earth by observing nature and other animals that do this best. As “Takers” we produce and take an unnecessary amount of food and store a lot of it, we exterminate enemies, are constantly at war, strive for unlimited growth, and never give back. If we drew a “line” and settled for a more holistic life style, taking care of our Earth, we would have no worries. I say we need to learn how to be ‘borrowers’ instead, the way animals coexist and live. We need to take a few steps backwards in order to move forward. We are like kids who when spoiled once with candy, will eat it for every meal if they had the choice, because they don’t know better. “Man was innocent until he discovered the difference between good and evil. When he was no longer innocent of that knowledge, he became a fallen creature” (Quinn 183).

How does what I learned from reading Ishmael relate to the material presented in the course?

This book and along with the course has greatly opened up my eyes to the intensity of the issues we face. In my everyday life, I now feel much more concerned about the environment and its well-being. I always recycle, not just empty plastic bottles, but so much that you can recycle that people probably didn’t know they even could. I know personally from living with six guys that the amount of empty drink containers alone that pile up at the end of the week is obscene and how important it is to recycle them. I personally am trying to give up water bottles. I have purchased a couple of metal refillable containers, which I refill with water from water fountains, and sinks. I also feel much more compelled to start avidly using public transportation, car pooling, and my bicycle not just here but back at home as well. I am also constantly telling my friends and family all about the issues we face and all of the interesting facts that I have learned in this class, perhaps this will help to also open the eyes of others and spread the news of our danger. In learning the terrible effects of the industrial food chain for example and factory farming, back at home I know opt for purchasing my food from local farmers at a market that goes a few days a week in my home town. I find that this conventional form of obtaining my food also helps to build closer knit communities and friendly connections with the people of your town, which I believe is key. More love and respect for each other is a major component to make a change, and better our home, the Earth and our way of life.

Who Cares?

I have a serious question to ask, and I would really appreciate some responses from all of you. I would like to know who cares about any of this? I mean, how many of us are dramatically changing our lifestyles so that we lead sustainable lives? How many of us have given up meat and dairy products? Who will remember what we've learned once this class is over? Who is changing policies?? Toward the beginning of the semester, I distinctly remember an in-class discussion where very few people seemed willing to even consider the suggestion that we can change. Has everyone revised their opinion?

Honestly, I have faith in the human race. I know we can solve all of our problems once we open our minds to new possibilities. But it seemed to me that there were many people in the class who disagreed. What we wrote in our blogs did not seem to represent our true feelings. I am asking you to say what you really think. Do you think we can change? Do you think we will switch to renewables or will we rely solely on coal? Will society be able to transition peacefully and smoothly or will we go to war? What do you really think? Because the only way we can start to solve our problems is to confront all of our fears head on.