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12/9/04 Can't Get There from Here
7/29/04 Political Speechmaking  
7/26/04 Words of Praise
6/22/04 Hygene and its Discontents
6/21/04 Summer Solstice -- Financial Fog
1/16/04 No Free Speech at Any Price
1/11/04 New Year's Notes, Cows and Bikes
11/18/03 Pull the Bull
10/20/03 Gardening Delights
8/26/03 Of Elves, Otters and SUVs
8/17/03 Great News on the Population Front
8/8/03 Energy Distribution in Iraq
5/14/03 Taxing Issues
4/20/03 Keeping Santa Cruz Weird
1/28/03 When the "A-Ha!" Moment Scares the Crap Out of You
11/10/02 Elfin Visions
11/2/02 Invisible Demons
5/15/02 Liquid Fuel from Sunlight, Seawater and Fresh Air

8/8/03

Energy Distribution in Iraq

The news today (NPR Morning Edition , CSM yesterday) described some of the difficulties in restoring reliable power to Baghdad and other areas of Iraq. The prediction was that it might take over a year. The issue is not in power generation, and certainly not in fuel, but in distribution. The major distribution lines had been disrupted (either during the main battles between Iraqi and "coalition" forces or by saboteurs).

This is a clear illustration of the vulnerability of centralized power generation. After the WTC bombings of 9/11/01, many energy activists noted that our energy systems were too reliant on large, centralized power generators that could make attractive targets for terrorists. Members of the Bush Administration (and their allies in the oil and nuclear power industries) have ignored this vulnerability here at home.

The situation in Iraq provides us with an opportunity to demonstrate a safer alternative. If disrupted power distribution from centralized generators is the problem, then decentralization is the solution. Small-scale, neighborhood generation and interconnected distribution networks are much less vulnerable. One of the drawbacks of localized power generation is the noise and pollution associated with fossil-fuel generators (even on a small scale). So, while such generators are reliable and practical as back-up systems (especially where petroleum products are plentiful), they are not considered a desirable feature of residential and commercial neighborhoods. Even in Baghdad, constant use of such generators should be limited to industrial areas where noise and pollution are somewhat less problematic. In the places where people live, shop, or work in offices, alternative technologies are preferable.

It would seem that photovoltaic solar panels are an ideal energy solution for most of Iraq. The newly solarized West Marine store in Santa Cruz exemplifies the potential of this model of energy production. The unfortunate crisis in Iraq has left us a wonderful opportunity to model appropriate, decentralized energy options. It would probably be no more expensive than reconstructing the traditional centralized infrastructure, it could be deployed to more critical areas on a priority basis, and it would be much less vulnerable to disruption while the situation in Iraq remains unstable. As an added benefit to the Iraqi people, they would use less of their petroleum "cash crop" at home, allowing them to profit through trade with the US and other less fortunate countries still dependent on petroleum. Most important to the people of the US and the rest of the world, it would serve as a model and testing ground for alternative energy generation and distribution.

I wrote my senators and representative in Washington on this issue. Here is a model letter, and here is a website that helps in contacting the congress.

8/18/03

Blackout Update

There are many things that can be said about the recent blackout in the northeastern US and Canada. Many have focused on deregulation, including Greg Palast. Others have focused on climate change, or the lack of adequate conservation measures. I find it interesting that it comes so close on the heels of my previous blog (above), and Amory Lovins, Harvey Wasserman and Jeremy Rifkin have made connections to many of the issues that concerned me.

For a better understanding of the vulnerability of centralized power networks, you might want to read the first chapter of the excellent book Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age by Duncan J. Watts. It describes a similar cascade of small failures and coincidences in the west in 1996. These situations brilliantly illustrate the sometimes ominous nature of interconnected, complex systems. Small disturbances usually lead to only small failures, but occasionally (especially when the system is already under a lot of stress) a small failure can trigger widespread catastrophe. This is one of the scariest aspects of biodiversity loss and climate change, two phenomena that are represented by complex, interconnected systems currently under a great deal of stress. I'm gonna go get some chocolate and St. John's wort now, and try to stop twisting my hair and chewing my lip. I'm sure it's all gonna be just fine.

I now have a more interactive space at my Xanga blog. I will work on adding each entry here to that site, and provide a link from each one here to each one there for now. Xanga will include more brief notes and personal ramblings. I still welcome your comments via e-mail (with your permission, I will post them). E-mail me at: apegrrl@ 
rattlebrain.com

or post a comment on my Xanga site

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