Salt Water Fuel powers a Stirling engine

[artdutra04]

If we really want to solve our energy problems in regards to oil/cars/energy, we first should sit back and examine how our entire society uses energy. To solve any problem in life, you have to go back to the root of the problem and tackle it there.* Every day, tens of millions of people in this country get into several thousand-pound automobiles, and drive long distances to commute to and from work.

Just think about the shear amount of energy used to move that much mass, that much of a distance. It's a lot!

Now think of ways on how we can reduce the overall amount of energy used in the total system. Mass transit, better city planning, and stricter regulations on the minimum MPG for cars will all help our society become much more energy efficient. Of these, the first two are the best long term goals.

Reducing the amount of sub-urban sprawl and converting it into smart-growth with good mass transit (buses, rail, monorail) options are our best long term goals for reducing the amount of energy our country uses. (Besides, mass transit easily run off electricity, and investing in renewable energy sources can make these 100%-complete zero emission solutions.)

And to make mass transit even more efficient, better use of Segways and/or bicycles greatly extend the range and area that is serviceable by mass transit without the need to build additional transit lines.

We're all FIRSTers. We all build robots, solve hard problems, and complete tasks in a very short amount of time with very little resources. Consider Global Warming the newest game challenge released on Kickoff. We as a community will only be able to surmount this challenge by using the skills and innovative thinking through such programs as FIRST to come up with genuine solutions.


* Trying to 'solve' the side-effects doesn't do anything to help the situation, just in the way that taking painkillers won't fix a problem that needs surgery to correct, or using duct tape to fix a robot that really needs replacement parts. They fix the short-term problems, but they don't do anything to actually anything.