The Great Disruption ?

In his NY Times column Thomas Friedman, author of the books The World is Flat and Hot Flat and Crowded, recently hypothesized:

What if the crisis of 2008 represents something much more fundamental than a deep recession? What if it’s telling us that the whole growth model we created over the last 50 years is simply unsustainable economically and ecologically and that 2008 was when we hit the wall — when Mother Nature and the market both said: “No more.”
For more from Friendman check out his NY Times columns and videos.

Acceleration

Isn't it strange that we live in an era that has seen such a spectacular use of information and communication technology and yet it all sits on top of a comparatively archaic system of extracting and cracking hydrocarbon molecules? What do you think it is going to take to move away from the hydrocarbon economy?

Global hydrocarbon-released CO2 grew 3.1 percent per year between 2000 and 2006, more than twice the 1990's rate. I predict equal or greater growth for another 10-15 years. After that I imagine we will experience some unbelievable polar ice events. The industrialized world will have a collective "holly crap!" moment that will even produce a massive shift in U.S. and Canadian policy to drive solar, geothermal and other non-carbon-based power production and a renewed power distribution infrastructure. And then over an agonizingly slow period of 10-20 years, carbon consuming technologies (power plants and transportation systems) will be forced out of operation. I predict Canadian governments will fail to help companies develop core technologies and we will buy virtually everything from abroad and further hollow out the economy.

The Earth Policy Institute newsletters have periodic reports on this stuff worth reading. But it may scare the crap out of you. If it does, write a short letter (or an email if you are only somewhat alarmed) to every politician you can think of and tell them to show some leadership and backbone and to steer our society towards a consumption model that is sustainable for a century from now, not just another decade or two. If you have kids, do you think they will want to have kids?

14 grand challenges for engineering

A U.S. National Academy of Engineering committee today announced their list of 14 grand challenges for engineering this century. You can vote for which you think is the most important goal on the list. The Challenges:

• Make solar energy affordable • Provide energy from fusion • Develop carbon sequestration methods • Manage the nitrogen cycle • Provide access to clean water • Restore and improve urban infrastructure • Advance health informatics • Engineer better medicines • Reverse-engineer the brain • Prevent nuclear terror • Secure cyberspace • Enhance virtual reality • Advance personalized learning • Engineer the tools for scientific discovery

Easy energy savings

A KW Record article today provides some interesting details about ervenue from our local curb-side recycling:
• Aluminum: $2,176 per tonne sold to Anheuser-Busch
• Glass: $20 per tonne, processing in Guelph.
• Steel cans: $171 per tonne most goes to Hamilton.
• Newsprint $96 per tonne, sold in Ontario
• Mixed paper: $47 per tonne
• Corrugated cardboard: $93 per tonne
• Boxboard (cereal boxes): $57 per tonne
• Plastic bags: $139 / tonne
• Plastic #1: $365 per tonne
• Plastic #2: $634 / tonne
• Plastic #s 3-7: $16 / tonne, mostly shipped to China.

Paper battery

Researchers at Rensselaer have developed a new energy storage device that is 90% cellulose making it flexible and infused with aligned carbon nanotubes which act as electrodes.