Let there be LIGHT!

Let there be LIGHT!...Light research or solar research that is...MIT has a new research center called the  Eni-MIT Solar Frontiers Center where 21 faculty members are working to bring us clean energy sources that are affordable!  The goal of the center is to "fundamentally transform how the world produces and consumes energy", which in my humble opinion is long overdue.   Any chance for clean energy that reduces our use of fossil fuels while meeting the energy demands,  protects the planet from further degradation and climate change, AND is affordable is a no-brainer, a win-win, and much needed!

The Center is being funded largely by the Italian energy company Eni.  Eni's chief executive Paolo Scaroni has invested because current technology is too inefficient and expensive, and his company is looking to the future.  The MIT Center's scientists will work to make solar cells that are less expensive, and with materials that are more flexible.  Plants will provide inspiration to the scientists, as they model their work on the way plants use photosynthesis to convert sunlight to fuel by using water to store collected sunlight and convert it to energy.  Another promising engineering advancement is a parabolic solar panel inspired by the Mars rover which increases efficiency by reducing dust from settling on panels.  


In addition, the Center is working on other groundbreaking technology such as light bulbs with nanoscale crystals and experimenting with solar cells on paper.  Imagine if their research results in affordable solar for all, and extremely efficient bulbs?  That would be solar "flare" we'd all be happy about.  I can't wait to see how the "light at the end of this tunnel" turns out :)

Glug Glug Glug, GUSH....

The explosion of the British Petroleum oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010 and the resulting oil "spill" should make Americans think harder about the sources of energy that we use.  Oil is currently spewing  from a 5”-6” diameter pipe under nearly 20,000 psi at a rate of 200,000 gallons a day and may get much larger if the ocean floor wellhead fails. Some are saying as much as 100,000 barrels a day. The current Administration's energy agenda seems to be hell bent on drilling for domestic oil, but at what cost?  Obviously there was no "what if plan" in place, because if there was much of the current oil "spill" would have been cleaned up instead of continuing to glug, glug, glug into the Gulf of Mexico.

This spill has not been contained thus far, and hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of gallons of crude may wash ashore polluting marshes and estuaries, and killing plants, animals, fish and birds in it's path.   The Gulf of Mexico and the Louisiana coast are special biomes, and it is horrific, and unthinkable that there is no plan in place to protect these important natural treasures.  Not only is there an impact on wildlife, but also on the fishing industry and tourism.


When will our country put time, energy, and resources into CLEAN energy?  When will lobbyists lobby for things that are economically wise and good for our country AND the Earth?  When will the public DEMAND clean technologies, and sources of energy?


When I saw the following link, and this "breaking news story", I shook my head and chuckled to myself...if ONLY we could replace the oil rigs with "leaking" wind farms!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/03/breaking-large-air-spill_n_560762.html


Would a wind farm spew millions of gallons of oil and cause such destruction and damage?  NO.  Would solar power result in the destruction of marshes, fish, plants, and animals?  NO.  It is time that our Administration comes CLEAN and GREEN with our National Energy Policies and Agenda.