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27 Comments
- hex3n, on 01/09/2008, -1/+11To bad the American Govt didn't spend more money on Science, they would profit far more then they would off WAR. It use to be a popular thing to be intelligent, now it's cool to be a gangster with no cash aka scrubs.
- nimadude, on 01/09/2008, -0/+5with the money spent on war, USA could cure AIDS, end poverty in Africa, develop network of alternative power plant sources and a new fuel economy for cars based on electricity or hydrogen or some other alternative.
- LemonDefragger, on 01/09/2008, -1/+6Lol I read Aperture scientist and got excited for almost a second.
- NorthKorea, on 01/09/2008, -0/+4also, check this month's Scientific American for info on how many solar panels the US would actually need to release itself from oil dependence. it CAN be done....
- warrenterr, on 01/09/2008, -0/+3well it's up to construction companies and possibly laws that would push low energy consumptions
- kindrobot, on 01/09/2008, -0/+2My noscript still beats your rickroll.
- johlorax, on 01/09/2008, -1/+3Dugg for the innovation, but doubtful that most consumers would be innovative enough to install one - still, great idea.
- boflaade, on 01/09/2008, -0/+2Spam
- tamckissick, on 01/09/2008, -0/+2It is you that is incorrect. I DO have a clue how much it takes and it is more than possible - You could probably buy 6 billion steaks as well. nimadude is not only correct, he underestimated the money. You obviously have no idea how much money a trillion dollars is. We spend that each year on military (some estimates outside the gov reach double that) and it would take much less to solve all those problems. Oh, and you don't have to kill the dictators. You only have to educate the people honestly.
You were, however, close with your poverty comment. Paying people to not work (i.e. aid to countries, welfare, etc.) is counterproductive. That money needs to just stop.
Then you need to get the government OUT OF RESEARCH because they have bought off all high-potential development and sat on it. Hasn't anyone heard of the energy lobby? We are only offered wind turbines, PV and now clean coal, LNG and the hydrogen economy are on their way. Sorry, but those are supporting technologies. All the companies making real progress on net-producing homes are underground because letting the government get involved means your project will take a minimum of 10 years. Case in point is Spain's solar thermal research. It was projected to go commercial in the mid 90's until the US offered to fund half of it. It's just hitting the market today. Government funded researchers, including ALL university researchers, are not interested in going commercial. They and more directly their institutes, are in the paid research business.
I know of more than 5 ways to make a mild-sun-receiving home an energy supplier (even counting transportation) for less money than coal and be paid off in less than 10 years and use less resources. However, those people (myself included) can only guarantee hitting the market if they can go public with a fully functional proven version.
It's going to be a fun ride, but just wait people. The solutions are on the way and big energy won't know what hit them. Just please stop allowing the government to 'assist' anymore!!! - boflaade, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1Obviously it's only research.
- boflaade, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1The water is circulating and being heated. That in itself would prevent the water from freezing.
- YevS, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1If only people would spend less time on posting "if only X country would spend less on war and more on the people" comments ... Its been said a million times already, the people who need to understand it dont read these comments.
- allaboutdatiki, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1Nifty idea if you like flat roofs ... but would it work in colder climates? What keeps the pond from freezing when the temp dips?
- penguinshome, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1That's cool. Now start building them and get them out of the f*ing design stage.
- bogdon6, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1Actually, the US government spends more on alternative energy research than Europe does.
- Darthgon, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1I'm from Argentina, ?I know that if this hasn't left the "lab" stage yet, it's just because they didn't get the money to do it. Can somebody fund this guys?
- Schneckehaus, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1Each house, in an ideal solar economy, would produce more power than it uses.
- inactive, on 01/10/2008, -0/+1Very good. Fight the NWO.
- gedw99, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1I applaud this approach. i am an architect and have consulted in the energy area.
Couple of things others are doing that can improve this design:
1. The insulation is vital. The curtan needs a very low thermal conductivity otherwise alot fo ther heat will escape at nighttime.
www.solaroof.org is using bubbles as a movable insulation. It is blown into the cavity when needs and blown away when not.
Because there are no mechanical parts other than a fan and bubble maker it is very simple.
Its thermal insulation valeu is also very high because of the large surface area to volume ratio created by the bubble.
2. Water storage for longer term solar gain.
many are working on ways to store the heat energy gained from a solar collector. This si especially so in colder climates where a long Winter makes the a solar collector less worthwhile. The technqiue simply involves burying a very very large tank that is well insulated on the site. In order for this to be effective you do need a very large tank. For a 100 m2 house that is very well insulated you woudl be looking at a tank of 150m3.
There is also the possibility to use the roof for aquaculture and many architects are looking at this.
The point is that the traditional idea of how a house looks will need to change in order for some of these more radical energy ideas to take hold.
ged - bowe, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1Read Buckminster Fuller. You're talking about weaponry vs livingry.
- inactive, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1Sorry, but in the real future world, people will be deciding on a one bedroom vs. a two bedroom house.
The idea of a solar roof of any type will seem like a crazy luxury of a bygone era...... - charlie55, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1how is redirecting war money to research gonna get the government out of it?
and i am glad you have quantified the exact amount of money required to cure aids. maybe we should start the countdown and ring a bell when enough money arrives. you can deliver the good news to the aids patients.
your point about educating people is absurd. how the F are you gonna educate people who are getting crushed by a warlord? you have to overturn entire governments to fix poverty in lots of countries, you cant just send money.
poverty is a failure of politics. we cannot fix it just because we are rich in america. poor countries need to figure it out themselves. they need to stage coups and change their whole systems. right now there are tribal massacres in kenya. until that kinda stuff stops, people will starve. and we as americans cannot tell a lunatic with a machete to just stop it. - tamckissick, on 01/09/2008, -0/+1You have answered all your own questions.
Don't redirect war money to research, get the gov out of it. Keep the money in private industry where innovation is rewarded with commercialization.
Aids is majorly a problem of educations. I'm not saying we can find the disease cure, which we may be able to do, but taking it's spread from millions per year to thousands per year will avoid many people from contracting it in the first place.
You don't think education is important? Go talk to some of the uneducated black population in downtown Baltimore (I mention them because I've discussed this with some there) and ask them how to even identify when their 'leader' is being opressive. Too many of them can't tell the difference when their leader simply says he's helping them. In 3rd world countries, entire regions do not have an elementary education, let alone politics or history. You ask how to educate them, well give them a solution to energy and education for a price they can afford. A few renewables developers have sold villages fuel free energy systems on a loan where everyone makes money. (yes they have some money) Others have sold computers and are trying to get non-filtered internet access out as well. That will teach them real world things that will incite the coups and system changes you ask for. Why is it that the majority of these 'warlords' use american weapons?
Did you know that numbers of independant farmers in some region of Africa (can't remember where) have gone from 144,000 to under 5,000 in the last 7 years because they can't compete with the price of 'free' crops getting shipped from the US? That is also the case in many industries. The only way to fix that is to stop giving them a fish and teach them to fish. - nimadude, on 02/14/2008, -0/+0but you as americans can tell a towlhead self bombing lunatic who kills innocent civilians to establish his own government?
- bogdon6, on 01/09/2008, -2/+1Yes, as soon as you get the sun to shine at night...
- charlie55, on 01/09/2008, -4/+1incorrect. you have no clue how much money it takes to cure aids. and poverty is a political problem, not a financial one. you would have to kill off lots of corrupt african dictators to end poverty. and it would be hard because peaceniks would complain.
- pytis, on 01/09/2008, -10/+3More info here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU
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