[Gasification] sustainability

[Kermit Schlansker]

                                       Ideas on Sustainability



           We have no right to dismiss Global Warming. The consequences are
so dire that if the probability of warming occurring were only .1% we still
would have to act. Furthermore the question really is whether we have to
conserve or not. As the years go by we will run out of many resources
including fossil fuels and it is imperative that we conserve them. Still
another reason is that by reducing consumption we can reduce the basic cost
of living and that will be essential at a time where poverty is everywhere.

            It is imperative that we build more nuclear plants because that
is the only source of energy large enough to save us from total despair.
Solar, biomass and wind can never produce enough to satisfy our needs.
However energy sources are only competitive in terms of priority and price.
We need all of them. Some of them are much easier to finance than nuclear
and we must proceed on all fronts. We must develop all types of energy
conservation and alternate energy production in order to keep the cost and
number of nuclear plants down to a manageable level.

             Geometry is the best tool for conserving energy. Cities must
be designed a square mile at a time. That square mile should be packed with
apartment houses, factories, multi-purpose buildings, a department store,
and anything else that is needed for every day life. Towns should be so
designed that “walking to work will save the earth” The construction of
single family houses should be stopped. The first step is to stop
subsidizing them in any way. Apartments will save large amounts of heating
energy and the compactness they can create will greatly reduce
transportation energy. City and county governments must assist in the
formation of car pools. Apartments are the only way of saving energy that
costs nothing because we need a place to live anyhow.

             Energy saving devices such as cogeneration, comanufacturing,
combustion driven heat pumps, and solar mirrors for both power generation
and heating must be developed. Biomass gasifying and biodigestion must be
experimented with. Large amounts of biomass including fruit trees must be
planted. Cities must plant parks and streets with edible plants. It is
essential that sewage be biodigested along with other biomass and used to
make fertilizer, fuel gas, and clean water The digestion residues can
initially be used for fertilizing energy crops in order to avoid pollution
problems

          There should be large farms with apartment houses on them rather
than single family houses that destroy both cropland and wilderness.
Experimental farming should develop both energy and food crops. Farm
apartment buildings are ideal places to experiment with heating, cooling,
small windmills, and solar energy.

            It is imperative that city, State, and county governments get
involved in initiating large energy projects such as an energy farm or
experimental low heat apartments. A universal factory would also be a good
project. In order to do this they should work together to start and finance
such projects. It is as essential to make it easier for ordinary citizens
to form cooperatives and small corporations that would do energy or food
projects. There should be a roster in city hall of people that wish to buy
stock and help to form such projects.



          Kermit Schlansker   PE     kssustain at gmail.com
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