In his pursuit to implement Humanitarian Projects across the globe, the Honorable Angel Ferdinand Marcos, through GIDIFA, is starting up many comprehensive programs though virtually all of them will need to rely on some type of electrical power production. Given the instability and fragility of the current electrical grid and the unnecessary reliance of excessive amounts of fossil fuels, it is imperative that alternative means of power generation are not only researched and explored but developed and brought online to provide the power that people need if the human race is going to survive as a species.
GIDIFA, as one of the Specialized Agencies of the United Nations, is directly responsible for a program to finally and fully eradicate the scourge of poverty from the face of the earth. As such, and as part of that program, it is going to be necessary to implement many new plans and programs, not least among them, the production of energy to maintain industry and a relatively decent quality of life … or in some cases, to provide people, for the very first time in their lives, with a modern, comfortable median quality of life. Despite some myths to the contrary, it is not very likely that the men and women of the world will completely wean themselves from “fossil fuels” any time soon. Fossil Fuels like oil and methane are necessary for far too many products commonly in use at this point in time. In fairness, the Alternative Energy programs here are looked at from both a positive and a negative perspective, revealing their strengths in addition to their weaknesses.
Oil Energy and Industry
Oil is the base material for anything and everything made out of plastic, rubber, vinyl and a slew of other products people do not even know about, much less think about as they go about their daily lives. To envision an “oil-free world” is frivolous at best and delusional at worst … at least at this stage of our development as a species. Further efforts implemented and/or funded by GIDIFA will allow for unprecedented, non-political and viable research and development to look for synthetic and other alternatives that are not nearly as detrimental as oil from the ground to our environment.
Granted, there are an increasing number of analytical reports coming out, primarily from Russian and Nordic Universities and researchers, pointing to the fact that oil may in fact, very likely be abiotic in nature. However, given our limited understanding of this planet we call home, this still does not mean that we can freely and continually pump this substance out of the ground unchecked and without consequences. Whatever oil may be, there is still a viable cause for pursuing new and more “controllable” and sustainable alternatives. Thus, it is imperative that alternative energy resources along with alternatives for other oil-based products are pursued in earnest immediately. Fortunately, there are already a great many alternatives, though none of them is truly capable of replacing oil even on the energy front, much less for the wide array of products derived from oil and oil-based products.
As far as Alternative Energy is concerned, the options that are currently and readily available are not altogether viable yet. This does not however, mean that they are not being pursued in earnest. Solar generated electricity has seen some great strides of late. Perhaps most notably among these is the new technology that does not rely on the solar reflectors. The solar reflectors as used in older systems is directly responsible for the “burnouts” or the “smokers” and “flamers” so graphically noted in online video sites such as YouTube. Somehow or another, it is difficult to imagine that burning up all of the insects that are directly responsible for the pollination of plants in the local ecosystem and the birds and bats that keep those same insects in check and help to maintain the local ecological balance will help the environmental causes or help to maintain, sustain or otherwise benefit the local ecological system.
Solar Energy
Solar Power also shows an amazing ability for the provision of supplemental energy for anything that does not require high levels of amperage. In short, it would not work very well for anything that has a dead short to ground. It would not work for air conditioning units, refrigeration, stoves, ovens or even coffee pots, but it does work incredibly well for lighting, stereos, water pumps and even natural water-heating so it should not be casually dismissed. Solar Energy certainly, as evidenced by many programs across Europe and most notably in Germany have shown, has some excellent potential to be integrated into a power system as a parallel and/or supplemental power system.
Wind Power
Wind Power generation unfortunately, suffers many of the same flaws as Solar Power and, while there are some solutions in place and new, much-needed and relevant … and even promising improvements are under development, they are not yet readily available on the open markets. Wind turbines are just as deadly to the local and migrating bird populations as many of the older, industrial solar farms. This decimation of the wildlife would be front page news if it was caused by oil, but given the nature of the “green energy”, these truths are often buried in the back pages of the news if in fact they are reported at all. Again, like Solar Energy, there are some very promising improvements that are currently under development and merit a great deal of research and testing. Some of the newer models of wind generators have barrel-shaped blades in order to avoid some of the devastation to the wildlife but even so, there is a lot of room for improvement. What looks to be even more promising however, is the entirely blade-less system for wind power that relies on long, tall antennae and the resultant natural vibrations as they are moved by the wind. Regardless of what wind-power technology may eventually prevail, the research and development continues and continues to be funded by GIDIFA under the Honorable Angel Ferdinand Marcos.
Hydro Power
Hydro Power has been shown to have some excellent potential but there are still some major distractions, primarily in the area of design and implementation. Depending on which “expert” you listen to and believe, the different types of plants to generate electrical power from water are beyond numerous … or at least far too numerous not to include in their own separate article. However, for the sake of convenience, only a few will be discussed here. Projects such as that at the Hoover Dam in the US have proven to be highly effective but there is more than just a little detrimental impact on the environment as a whole and the local ecosystems. That is not to say that GIDIFA will not consider such a project, only that any detriments and benefits must be carefully outlined, analyzed and reported. There are also other concerns, especially in the dryer climates, regarding water levels and the ability to create safe and steady electrical power.
One possible solution is in the continued research and development of the wave-generators … not to generate waves but to generate electrical power by utilizing the motion of the waves. If the sun and moon do stop pushing and pulling the earth as it revolves around the sun, electrical power will probably not be a primary concern. Barring that happening, the tides will always rise and fall and this energy can be utilized to generate electrical power generally, from a safe, well-marked and defined, underwater location. While the ancient water-wheels may seem like out of date technology, it actually is a viable system for the creation of supplementary power systems in a number of different environments.
Much like the Solar and Wind Generated electrical power, the hydropower has many forms which can make it ideal as a supplementary power resource. There may be occasions wherein the water supply is great enough to generate large amounts of electrical power but it is generally best limited to those environs wherein it can be implemented without any major disruption of the local ecosystems.
Electro-Magnetic Energy Production
Studies in Electr-Magnetic or “Repulsion” energy began in earnest in both the US and Russia in the late sixties and early seventies, though the Russians seem to have made substantially more progress than the Americans did. This technology has certainly shown some very promising results but there are likewise some very severe restrictions that may preclude any efforts to produce such technologies on a mass scale. Unfortunately, the only types of magnets that have proven themselves to be effective in this technology is from a very scarce, rare-earth precious metal that, to date has only been found in Russia and some of the former Soviet Block nations. Without sufficient quantities of the requisite materials, this technology may not ever really make it out of the starting gate, though if it does not, it would certainly seem a shame.
There are numerous patent holders at present who are working with various approaches that, it can only be hoped, will resolve any major restrictions regarding this technology. Given the nature of the technology, it is feasible to create electrical power with zero carbon emissions … in any form. Wear and tear on the few existing power generators indicate that the maintenance costs may in fact be much lower than they are on current technologies already in use. With a combination of that magnitude, it can only be hoped that one day soon this technology will be able to take off in a big way.
Research and Development
It is imperative that research and development continues in all of the alternative energy technologies as listed here in addition to new ideas and innovations as they become available. While the human race may always require a certain level of dependence on oil and oil-based products and on coal in the same fashion, it is never a good idea to totally dismiss new ideas without exhausting any and all possibilities for making them work. However, for them to be considered even viable in nature, they must work in such a way as that they do not put the environment or the species as a whole in harm's way. GIDIFA, under the guidance and direction of the Honorable Angel Ferdinand Marcos will continue looking at, funding and exploring for new and improved methods of power, energy and electrical power generation.
