Urgent Evoke

A crash course in changing the world.

I've seen a lot of good ideas in regards to tapping untapped sources of energy, and some which made a basic error.

We need to remember that in creating new modes of energy production, that creating systems which capture energy otherwise dissipated in activities which would occur regardless of their energy productive capabilities is more useful than creating ways of capturing energy from activities which would have to be done for that reason alone. My writing isn't very clear today. I apologize.

What I mean is this. Every potential way of harnessing energy also requires energy input. If we're going to build a dynamic floor which will harness kinetic energy in a dance club, we have to factor in the cost of producing the floor, both in materials and energy. Not only that, but we have to factor in the energy spent in order to get investment (talks, meals during talks, etc.) as well as the energy spent to create an effective design. Also, there is an issue of maintenance. How many incarnations of this kinetic floor generator would have to be issued before a model that actually resulted in a net gain for the system?

Once we factor in, or at least estimate, the energy input for each design, we can determine what the necessary energy output would have to be in order for the item to provide a net gain. Through this method, we can identify when our technology, or other concerns, keep a particular idea from being energetically feasible.

So, keep it up. I love the ideas spinning around, but please remember that, every idea requires an input of energy. If you decide to take energy from your bicycle, it will have to come from the energy driving the bicycle, which would result in a decrease of efficiency in the function of the bike.

So, one thing that might be effective would be to identify systems in which a great deal of energy is dispersed, untapped, and in relative isolation from the system which is dispersing it. So, for instance...refrigerators put out an immense amount of heat, as one can imagine. Could that heat be utilized without compromising the efficiency of the fridge and without requiring more energy input into design, funding and manufacturing than would be returned to the system.

In this case, I still find planting trees/seeds to be the most efficient design. Simply scattering seeds requires relatively little energy, a minimum of funding, and no manufacturing costs (as the plant takes upon the manufacturing load). In the long-term, the plants that arise from the process pull carbon out of the atmosphere, give food and habitat to the surrounding ecosystem, stabilize soil, provide shade and other functions which would be much more expensive for us to manually. That and we do not have to invest energy or time into their development for the most part if the seeds are intelligently scattered. They are solar machines which require what are essentially free resources.

The only cost here is that it requires that we have land put aside for such plantings, and that we restrict expansion of human settlement and industry into areas where these plants (which are much more efficient and healthy organisms for the planet than humans) are already present.

I'm curious. What are other people's understanding of energy tapping, and their analysis of hidden and indeterminate costs in both time and energy?

Views: 7

Comment by Turil Cronburg on April 5, 2010 at 4:35pm
Excellent reminder! Recycling waste energy is far better than tapping into energy that is otherwise used for practical things (like bicycling). Some things are small enough to piggyback onto the larger effort and not be noticed (I had a blinky LED light on my bike that ran off of magnets on the wheel passing by, which was brilliant, and created barely any drag, so I totally didn't notice the extra effort I had to put into the bike), but drawing any large amount of power off of a practical task will be quite noticeable and make the practical task less practical. :-)

And as for trees? Yes! More trees please.

Comment

You need to be a member of Urgent Evoke to add comments!

Join Urgent Evoke

Latest Activity

Ning Admin is now a member of Urgent Evoke
May 17, 2023
N updated their profile
Sep 25, 2020
Sophie C. commented on Asger Jon Vistisen's blog post Stinging Nettle
"I love that you've brought this to attention. An extensive database of uncommon but resistant and hardy plants/foods could be developed and organized by climate. Ease of growth and processing should also be taken in to account. I will try to…"
Aug 19, 2020
Meghan Mulvey posted a blog post

Fourth of July on the Lake

This past weekend was the annual celebration at the lake house in Connecticut. It is amazing that the lake is still so clear and beautiful after all these years. The watershed association has done a wonderful job protecting these waters from the damaging effects of development.The wood grill was finally ready to cook on, so we didn't miss the propane tank fueled grill anymore. The food actually tasted fresher than in the past and was easy to keep fueled.Dad was very proud of the solar hybrid…See More
Jul 6, 2020
Asger Jon Vistisen posted a blog post

Stinging Nettle

In this blog post I will focus on a plant that is abundant in our nature, and which is immensely nutritious. It's of course the Stinging Nettle. Let's start with the chemical constituents of this plant:37 % Non-Nitrogen-Extracts19 - 29 % Ash9 - 21 % Fiber4 % Fat22 % ProteinOnce the leaves are drid, their protein content can reach an astounding 40 %, which is much higher than beef, which even under the best of circ**stances can never exceed 31 % protein. In addition the Stinging Nettle consists…See More
Apr 13, 2020
Jonathon McCallum posted a blog post

The meal

It is 7'oclock, I was late home from work due to an assignment that i wanted to get ahead on. By the time I get home I am feeling extremley tired and I cannot be bothered to make a proper meal. I walk to the fridge and open it to see what there is for me to eat. All of the out of date foodstuffs have been automaticaly thrown away by the fridge, they will be recycled tomorrow as animal feed or something. I see i have organic local eggs and some local cheese. Foods are vacc** sealded for easy…See More
Mar 10, 2020
Jean Paul Galea shared a profile on Facebook
Mar 1, 2020
Kevin posted a blog post

Future

FutureToday is 2020/1/1. It is just like yesterday. The war is still continuing. It has started since 2010. In 2010, that year was a horrible year. Almost every energy ran out. Every country’s governments were crushed down at the same time. There were riots everywhere. All of the big company’s bosses were killed xdeadx in the riots. Troops fought each other everywhere. Food was bought up xawayx at once. There were no more food supplies in any shops. The economy was all crushed down. All the…See More
Jan 1, 2020
Namwaka Mooto posted blog posts
Jan 13, 2016
T D updated their profile
Sep 3, 2015
Brook Warner posted blog posts
Aug 25, 2015
Santiago Vega posted blog posts
May 5, 2015
Santiago Vega commented on Santiago Vega's blog post Act 8
May 5, 2015
Santiago Vega posted photos
May 5, 2015
Rico Angel Rodriguez posted blog posts
May 2, 2015
Rico Angel Rodriguez posted a photo

public servants

The exchange works directly for state and public workers and servants. It gives them credit in exchange for the amount of public work they contribute to the community. The more constructive they are based off a base rate the more credit they recieve.
May 2, 2015

Follow EVOKE on Twitter




Official EVOKE Facebook Page




EVOKE RSS Activity Feed










© 2024   Created by Alchemy.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service