Energy for the Future

November 2008
Hello:

I know all of you are worried about the future and how this crazy financial crisis will affect you. So far, I have not felt a huge impact like some have, but I am sure it will trickle down and hit me in my wallet sometime soon. It's nice to see the price of gas down in the $2.65 a gallon range, but I'm positive that is only a temporary thing. As you can see from the "average" line in the graph below that the price never goes down. And funny things seem to happen to the price of gas just before an election...

OPEC is walking a thin line between wanting to squeeze us out of every penny they can while at the same time knowing that they can do serious damage to the world economy if they raise the price or cut production too much. They are meeting as I write this newsletter, but it looks like they are going to cut production yet again.

So... what can you do now to prepare yourself for the sure to come financial/energy storm? And... why do I call it a financial/energy storm? Because I believe energy costs are at the root of all these financial problems. Peak Oil and high energy costs are making everything more expensive. When "everything" gets more expensive, guess what?... people can't afford to pay their mortgages, car loans, and credit card bills anymore. If you listen to some of these foreclosure sad stories on TV, you'll hear them say... "all my bills went up - health insurance, electricity, gasoline, cable, phone, etc. I couldn't afford to pay my mortgage anymore!" Some of these people probably shouldn't have been given a home loan to start with. Especially an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM). But what's done is done.

Anyhow, here's some problems I predict in our near future...

Global Warming - Ya'll all know, I'm not a big believer in all the global warming gloom and doom. I'm not even sure if it is man made or natural. My best guess - it is a little of both. But you can't deny it's existence. Just take one aspect of the global warming issue... rises in sea level. Would you believe that they expect the sea level to rise by 7.87 feet (2.4 meters) in the next 50 years? Heck, I'll probably be underwater in Savannah if it rises just 3 feet! At 5 feet, most coastal cities will be underwater. All this in the next 50 years? That is a serious, serious problem. You know, when you think about us pulling all that oil out of the ground and then burning it, you got to believe that it has a little something to do with global warming. It took millions of years of heat and pressure to make those fossil fuels. Now we are sucking it out of the ground in a matter of hundreds of years and transforming it back into heat energy and dumping it into our atmosphere. That's got to have some effect! Not to mention the greenhouse effect. Just watch this video for more information on the effect of a rising sea level http://www.cleanenergy.org/hottopics/index.cfm?id=98

Rising oil prices - Even though there has been a recent downswing in the price of oil, the average price of oil is still going up over the long run. And that means everything else goes up in price too! Prepare yourself now while you still can!

No solution - I look into these alternative energy schemes all the time. Most of them are shady at best and they NEVER seem to come to market in an affordable way. Over 5 years ago, I put information in my book "Electricity - Make it, Don't Buy it" about fuel cells. Fuel cell technology is no closer to coming to market today than it was 5 years ago. So a "free energy" savior or even a good "alternative" does not seem likely any time soon. So we are left with conservation and the old standbys of solar, wind, biodiesel, ethanol, biomass, etc. And the biofuels have their problems too.

Also... don't forget about the state and government assistance!...

30% Federal Tax Credit (with no limit after Jan 1, 2009)

$1000 per kw for wind

Up to a $5000 tax credit for a ZEV (zero emission vehicle). This is great when used in conjunction with the "Build Your Own Electric Car" book.

Alternative Energy News - Back issues of Network 6000's alternative energy newsletters
OTEC - Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion
Tesla Death Ray - Has Tesla's death ray gun finally come to life?
Tesla Turbine - Information about teh Tesla Turbine - Tesla's greatest invention?
Jatropha - All about the jatropha plant - a great source for oil in making biodiesel.
D1 Oils - a biodiesel producer with a portable biodiesel processor.
Biodiesel News - Two more oil producing trees - the African Oil Palm and the Paradise Tree
Edward Leedskalnin - Edward Leedskalnin's Coral Castle secret revealed!
Peak Oil - Peak Oil, Hurricanes, and the Price of Gas.
Peak Oil Update - More information on the Peak Oil crisis.
Magic with Magnetism - Professor Felex Ehrenhaft and how his magnetic electrolysis experiment.
Atmospheric Engine - The Power of a Vacuum, Atmospheric Pressure, Atmospheric Engines, and the Newcomen Engine.
Composting for Heat - How Jean Pain extracts heat and methane from a simple compost heap.
E85 Ethanol - Why E85 ethanol may or may not be in your future and FFV - Flex Fuel Vehicles.
Cornish Generator - a unique way to generate hydrogen using aluminum wire and smaller amounts of electricity.
Solar Water Heating & Cooking - A simple, easy, low cost way to heat your water or cook your dinner with the sun.
Magnetricity - A comparison of the Ed Leedskalnin and Howard Johnson magnetic theories.
Hydrogen on Demand - HOD... can you run an engine totally on Hydrogen created as you need it?
Sustainable Living Information - Over 800 FREE publications on green energy and sustainable living.
Glycerin Soap Recipes - How to make soap from the byproduct of making biodiesel - glycerin
Update on Jatropha & Biodiesel - What is the current status of making biodiesel from jatropha?
Surging Demand for Fossil Fuels - Do you eat, drink, and sleep fossil fuels?
Free Alternative Energy News - Energy Self Sufficiency Newsletter (ESSN)
Solar Flares - How extreme solar activity is predicted to knock out the entire electrical grid sometime soon.
Free Energy - Some current technologies that look very interesting.
Survival Supplies and Equipment - Lehman's - a great source for supplies for off-grid living.
Nikola Tesla Information - and... a huge database of other useful alternative energy/sustainable living info.
Wind Turbines - Learn how to build your own wind turbine, get free batteries, and more!
Biodiesel - Book review of "The Rise of Biodiesel"
Nikola Tesla's Birthday - Some of my favorite sites about Nikola Tesla
Peak Oil - peak oil and a look into the future to 2015.
Garrett Yazzie's Solar Water Heater - If this kid can do it using parts found in a dump, then you can too!
Energy Conservation Tips - My top 10 energy conservation tips.
Hydro Boost and Dennis Lee Scam - Old Dennis Lee is at it again with a hydro boost scam - don't buy into it!
Boone Pickens - Learn about his plans for natural gas and a 4000MW wind farm in Texas.
Algae Biodiesel - All about biodiesel from algae and how you can cultivate it in your back yard.
Cars of Tomorrow - All about the Tesla Roadster, The Smart Car, an Air Powered car, and the chevy Volt.
Electric Car Conversion - Convert your car to all electric for under $500.
Cause of Financial Crisis - Did high oil prices cause the sub-prime financial crisis?
Energy for the Future - What to do about the future economic & energy crisis - a 52 week course.
Victory Gardens - Why it would be wise to start your own Victory Garden now.
Static Electricity - Can static electricity be a source of power?
Solar Water Purification - simple low tech "Sodis" technology could save your life.
Green Energy - example on a highly efficient dairy farm.
Credit Bubble - All about the coming credit bubble and consequences.
Water Powered Cars - Can you run your car on 100% water using electrolysis? (not hydro boost scams)
Alternative Energy - Cheap solar panels, solar panel pieces, solar lighting, solar charge controllers, wind mills, & biodiesel stuff!
The True Wireless by Nikola Tesla - an informative article about Hertzian & scalar waves and wireless transmission of energy.
Nikola Tesla Writings - more writings by Nikola Tesla and an article on How Gravity Works
Hydrogen Powered Car - The Ford F-250 Super Chief and also a cool electric vehicle with a 249 mile range
Wood Gas Generator - A description of what wood gas is and how to build a syngas generator.
Green Business Opportunity - The currency crisis is coming - be prepared - read this!
Biomass - Wood Pellets - All about wood pellets and their great biomass potential.
Electrolytic Carburetor - by Charles Garrett and how to increase efficiency of electrolysis.
Peak Oil Graphic - This is a great graphic which clearly shows how long the oil will last given current consumption rates.
Credit Derivatives - What they are and what they mean to your financial future.
Ed Leedskalnin's PMH or Perpetual Motion Holder at the Coral Castle.
Aquaponics - Not Hydroponics and not dirt gardening.
Compressed Air Car - An update in the MDI Enterprises air car.
Algae Oil Business - Algae for Entrepreneurs and Les Oke's new Off Grid Living Site.
Fuel Type Comparison - Automobile fuel type comparison chart: gas, diesel, and electric.
Biogas Plant Design - Nepal Biogas Plant and David Sieg's new book Algae to Ethanol.
Vertical Takeoff & Landing - Tesla's VTOL patent comes to life in modern times in a Spherical Flying Machine.
Sustainable Living Update - March 2012 update on some past newsletters and predictions for the future.

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