BP Oil Spill, Alternative Energy and Climate Change (Part 2)

As I've said before, on the post previous to this one, we should be focusing on alternative energy sources. Our lives depend on not being dependent on the dangerous energy sources, namely oil, coal and perhaps others, but, instead on finding renewable cleaner sources. Long after we're dead and gone, because we have polluted and poisoned ourselves to death with lethal toxins, harmful by-products and similar dangers, the world will keep going on. It may take awhile to reverse the damage we had done to it, but it will.

The human race, however, depends on clean air, water and food to survive. We can't withstand the garbage we continuously create and put out. The wealthy elite and other corporate entities feed off of our present dependencies on oil and other negative energy sources. You could say, and I'm doing just that right now, that they profit off of our misery. Their excuses do not compare to the certain outcome of our demise. They say they need to make a quick, big profit off of whatever energy is used in order to make it happen and for it to be a country and world wide actual reality.

I say, "Fuck that!", for a good reason. The corporations are doing it only for their profit and satisfaction of their personal and social disease- greed. To them, We The People are merely numbers. To the corporations and governments, you only are what your social security number says you are... which is a 9 digit identification number.

Look at their ads, buy their shit and obey what they say! Conform or be cast out as a social leper! Monkey see-Monkey fuckin' do!

As for their excuses not to create or disperse these free or nearly free energy sources I'm talking about, I say this truthful statement, "People in the past and present have or are creating free and nearly free ways to disperse energy for everyone. For those who will not produce these ways because it is not profitable for them, they should be ashamed, not to mention soaked in oil and burned alive."

I must also add that the U.S. should be leading the way to researching and producing cleaner, renewable energies instead of using the corporate/greed-oriented coal and oil sources we use now. I say that since we are one of the worst industrial offenders of polluting the Earth, if not the worst. Just another reason why the rest of the world's populace hates our fat, greedy, single-minded, uncaring asses!

I am first going to discuss the most familiar methods or sources of cleaner energy. Notice I did not say that they are necessarily cheap. Those nearly free or free sources, I mentioned earlier, I will explain later in this post.

And please... Feel free to look up these ways yourself on the internet, books or other information sources if you have any questions or think I'm lying. Why I would do that last one- I have no fucking clue, you doubting fuckers out there!

The following methods I will talk about first are the most obvious and most talked about:

Wind Power

Wind energy harnesses the power of the wind to propel the blades of wind turbines. The rotation of the blades is converted to electrical current by means of an electrical generator.

The pros of wind power-

Wind power produces no pollution. No chemical processes take place and no harmful by-products are left over.

Wind generation is a renewable source of energy. Meaning, we won't run out.

The cons-

It is intermittent. Consistent wind is needed for continuous power generation. When wind speed decreases, the turbine lingers and less electricity is generated.

Solar Power

Used commonly and presently, solar power is used for heating, cooking, the production of electricity and in the desalination of seawater- trapping the sun's rays into solar cells where this sunlight is converted into electricity. Solar power also uses sunlight that hits solar thermal panels to convert sunlight to heat water or air. There are other methods is using this sun source, as well.

The pros to solar energy-

As long as our sun exists, it's renewable energy will reach the Earth. Solar power generations release no water or air pollution because there is no chemical reaction from the combustion of fuels.

The cons-

If the sun's not shining, solar power doesn't produce energy. Nighttime and cloudy days limit the amount of energy created.

Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy harnesses the heat energy that exists under the Earth. Hot rocks under the ground heat water to produce steam. The steam that shoots up from drilled holes in the region will power electric generators.

Pros to this-

Done right, geothermal energy produces no harmful by-products. Once a geothermal plant is built, it is mostly self-sufficient energy wise.

Cons-

Done wrong, geothermal energy can produce pollutants. Improper drilling into the ground can release dangerous minerals and gases. Also, geothermal sites are prone to running out of steam.

Hydroelectric Energy

Hydroelectric power comes from the energy of dammed water driving a water turbine and generator. It is also produced from water's kinetic energy and un-dammed sources like tidal power. Hydro power works by harnessing the gravitational descent of a river that is compressed from a long run to a single location with a dam or a flume.

Pros for this-

Water is accumulated above the dam and released to coincide with peaks in demand. Unlike other power stations, hydroelectric power stations can quickly increase to full capacity. Electricity can be generated continuously. It produces no pollution since there isn't a chemical reaction to produce power.

Cons-

Dams can be expensive to build. There needs to be enough water in the area to produce energy.

All of these well known alternative forms usable, cleaner energy. But there have been, as I've said before, people in the past and present, who developed other alternative, even cheap or free forms, of energy. One such remarkable man was a genius, mechanical engineer and inventor by the name of Nikola Tesla.

Nikola Tesla (July 1856- January 1943) was one of the most important contributors to the birth of commercial electricity. He is best known for his many revolutionary developments in electromagnetism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tesla's patents and theoretical work formed the basis of modern alternating current (AC) electric power systems, including the polyphase system of electrical distribution and the AC motor, which helped usher in the Second Industrial Revolution.

Below you'll find a video that gives some insight to Tesla, his accomplishments and struggles during his life. It acts as a good introduction to this man who seemed to be light years in his thinking and ideas compared to scientist during his time and, in many respects, during our era.

Tesla was fascinated by radiant energy and its free energy possibilities. Tesla called the Crooke's radiometer a device which has vanes that spin in a vacuum when exposed to radiant energy "a beautiful invention." He believed it would become possible to harness energy directly by "connecting to the very wheel-work of nature." Tesla announced a plan for a "cosmic-ray motor". Whenever Nikola Tesla was asked if it was more powerful than the crooke's radiometer, he answered, "thousands of times more powerful."

Tesla's free-energy concept was patented in 1901 as an "Apparatus for the Utilization of Radiant Energy. The patent refers to "the sun, as well as other sources of radiant energy, like cosmic rays, "that the device works at night is explained in terms of the night-time availability of cosmic rays. Tesla also refers to the ground as "a vast reservoir of negative electricity."

Tesla's first radiant energy receiver stored static electricity obtained from the air and converted it to a usable form. Tesla's invention is a simpler version of Dr. T.H. Moray's device. Which is pictured below.

In short, Tesla was able to retain and distribute free energy with his research and invention and showed the people of his era how it could be done. But, even back then, the development and distribution of anything free was a big no-no to the industry giants in Tesla's era. After all, you can't profit from something that is free. And it's more than a shame to know that we could have free energy today, if it weren't for the greed of corporations putting people under their mercy, forcing us to use outdated and dangerous sources of energy like coal and oil in order to get around, heat our homes and everything in between during our lifetimes.

After he died, the FBI confiscated enough of Tesla's documents to fill a railroad boxcar. They took his research and documents from 4 different storage locations. Only 150,000 documents were released to Tesla's Yugoslavian relatives, now held by the Tesla Institute in Belgrade. The remainder of Tesla's papers are still classified. The government distributed false rumors that "Tesla never kept notes", which was a lie.

Tesla was a household word, 60 or 70 years ago. The question must be asked: Why were almost all of his achievements suddenly stricken from the records of history? Specifically, his some of his most important achievements and research on Radiant Energy? For whom does this serve? Certainly not the public.

There are many other scientists and/or inventors currently working on free energy or nearly free energy devices and research. Like Muammer Yildiz from Turkey. He has created a magnetic motor which used magnets that could became monopolar. This is a good thing. And scientists from the Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island have found an unexpected source of clean energy by using their Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider.

For more information on these scientists, inventors, amazing discoveries and inventions- click this link.

The Green Optimist/Free Energy

Once there, you will be amazed at the many things discovered and created by inventors and scientists alike. It may give you hope for a brighter, cleaner future of tomorrow. Or it could dishearten you to know that these ideas and inventions could be created today if it weren't for the greed of corporations like BP and others of its ilk that demand that a stranglehold be placed upon us in the form of fossil fuel dependency and other toxic forms of energy.

How do you feel about all of this?

BP Oil Spill, Alternative Energy and Climate Change

This post will be the first in a series of three. If you look to the right hand column, you will notice the live view of the Gulf oil spill, gushing forth and continuing to create one of the worst, if not the worst, ecological disaster in U.S. History. I will leave this widget up for the duration of this series to serve as a reminder of the fallacies and ignorance of humankind.

Gulf Oil Spill Timeline

I'm inserting this into the post just in case anyone reading this post has been living under a rock or has been living far from civilization for the past 47 days. The following is a rough, general timeline of events that started April 20th:

* Eleven workers on BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig were killed when an explosion occurred on the rig, April 20th.

* The Deepwater Horizon rig burned for more than a day after the massive explosion and sank into the Gulf of Mexico on April 22, which is somewhat ironic, since that was Earth Day- a day reserved for thoughts and actions on how to better protect the Earth.

* Since the Deepwater Horizon rig sank into the Gulf, April 22, more than 200,000 gallons of oil a day have been pouring into the sea from the well it was drilling. Response teams have been working every day, with some individuals getting sick from the clean up work, to contain and clean up the floating oil, while "experts" have attempted, unsuccessfully, to shut off the flow of oil from the wellhead, The leaked oil has washed up on the fragile Louisiana shoreline and will eventually reach the coasts of other Gulf states , as well.

* Underwater robots are deployed, April 27, to stop the flow of oil but are unsuccessful.

* On April 28th, BP officials have announced they had underestimated the flow amount from the well by fivefold. Experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association believe at least 5,000 (210,000 gallons) of oil are being released from the well each day.

* On April 29, Lousiana Governor Bobby Jindal declares a state of emergency.

* On April 30, experts state in the Wall Street Journal that BP's oil well could be leaking up to 1,050,000 gallons per day into the Gulf of Mexico.

* Fisheries, the region's ecosystems and coastline town's tourist trade and jobs have already seen extensive damage from the spill.

* On May 2, President Obama announces, after visiting the Louisiana coast, that BP will bear the entire costs of the oil spill disaster.

* Now why do I get the feeling that really isn't going to happen?

* Are they really going to completely compensate the economic damage they've caused to the East Coast livelihoods of those people dependent on the fisheries and beaches along there?

Stayed tuned and be sure to keep your expectations extremely low when it comes to this promise.

* On May 6, a specially constructed containment vessel was lowered into the Gulf of Mexico but ice crystals plugged the top, keeping it from capping the leak. Since then, several attempts have been made to contain or stop the leak. All have been unsuccessful so far.

* During a Senate hearing on May 11, Lamar McKay, president and chairman of BP America, testifies about his company's role in the oil spill disaster. During the hearing McKay and BP officials from service providers, Transocean and Haliburton (ex-Vice President Dick Cheney's company) all tried to deflect blame for the Gulf of Mexico disaster.

* BP CEO Tony Hayward tours a beach, closed due to contamination from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in Port Fourchon, La on May 24. BP officials acknowledge public frustration that the company has been unable to halt the spill.

* Governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, examines oil and absorbent material that washed up in Grand Isle, La on May 21. BP reports the amount of oil it was collecting from a tube inserted into the cracked openwell fell from 5,000 to 2,000 barrels a day, saying the amount collected is 'not always the same.'

* With all of these estimates and miscalculations of how much oil is being spewed out, how can anyone believe anything any of these experts are saying for certain? It sounds like BP is trying to cover their asses by telling the people and government of the U.S. what they want to hear.

* On May 4, Senior BP officials testify in Congress that the oil well could be leaking as much as 60,000 barrels (2,500,00 gallons) per day into the Gulf of Mexico.

* According to BP, a tube they inserted into a broken pipe of the well, on May 17, was gathering more than one-fifth of the oil gushing from the spill. Scientist report that the spill found it's way into the Gulf's powerful loop current and that oil could be headed for Florida and the East Coast of the U.S.

* On May 25, at a Capital Hill hearing, members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee vowed to hold British Petroleum "fully accountable" for the disaster.

* Oil from Deepwater Horizon washes ashore onto New Harbor Island, La., making it's first confirmed landfall.

* Floating barriers called booms are strategically placed in efforts to contain the spill and protect areas of coastline. A total of about 790,000 feet of boom have been deployed.

* Recently, a cap placed on an uneven cut on the top of the well has been placed by robotic equipment. Still, officials estimate about a half-million to a million gallons a day are still gushing out from around this cap. The well has leaked about 23 million to more than 46 million gallons since the crisis began, according to government estimates. In other words, the problem has not been solved.

According to Greenpeace.org:

"The oil plume from BP’s oil spill is expected to cause long term damage to the coastlines of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida and irreversibly alter the Gulf Coast ecosystem. The Gulf Coast is home to pristine ecosystems and some of the nation’s most prized wildlife refuges and conservation areas. The Gulf of Mexico provides habitat for hundreds of species, and each year, approximately five million migratory birds make their way through the region. According to The Times-Picayune, the threatened area is a vital wintering or resting spot for more than 70 percent of the nation's waterfowl including the brown pelican, Louisiana’s state bird. In addition, many endangered species rely on Gulf waters, and fragile populations of North Atlantic bluefin tuna, four species of sea turtles, six whale species, sharks, and dolphins are in the spill’s impact zone."

My point in showing this timeline and other statistics is to demonstrate and explain that these are predictable outcomes of our reliance on fossil fuels. Absolutely no good can come from drilling oil in our oceans or on land. It's painfully obvious that we have been creating more pollution into the air we breathe for a century now and poisoning the water that we depend upon for sustainability- not to mention the marine life that lives there for food and life, itself.

Preventative action must be taken by putting stricter regulations in place for the coal and oil industries to make them safer. And placing bans on new offshore drilling is certainly an obvious, good idea.

Greedy corporations and the wealthy individuals responsible for this disaster certainly need to be held accountable. But, with that said...

We can all point fingers in the blame game in this disaster but the solutions to this ongoing problem and needless dependence on fossil fuels are much more important. Changing course and using alternative energy sources is real answer. We should have shifted our focus from finding new places to drill for oil and buying oil from the Middle East in the last thirty to forty decades to inventing a means to produce clean, renewable energy.

In truth, it causes me to become angry and disappointed in humanity, when I think about the fact that we haven't striven earlier on, in the past 30 to 40 years, to find a way out of this mess we've put ourselves in. It doesn't make sense. No one can see the signs? Is it corporate greed? A matter of profit? Is it ignorance? Are we so apathetic towards the very real possibility of our demise as a species by our own hands that we don't care to do the research?

Good questions. I demand answers.

Also: To learn more about the secretive corruption of BP, our own government and other parties involved in this mess, I encourage you to read Lana Gramlich's excellent, informative post. Click this link- An American Tragedy Part 2

And lastly...

I've been researching various sources of energy that are either completely free or being cheaper, comparatively, than using coal and oil- both in preserving our life on Earth and economically. I will discuss this in Part 2 of this ongoing series. I hope this will interest you. I would think it would, since our lives and our children's lives, in the present and future, depend on finding exceptionally better sources of energy.

Speaking In Tongues

Funny, sexy and great fuckin' beat. This is the Eagles of Death Metal video, "Speaking In Tongues."

I was getting into it... real fine, Sunshine. And if you don't, too, you must be a frigging zombie.

Gotta nice, long, one-hell-of-a-doozy post comin' up next. But this will have to do, presently, cause I've got too much shit comin' down on me now. Enjoy the vid, you crazy fuckers! Dance bastards, dance!