Since it's Thanksgiving week in the United States, here's some news on the energy front that's well worth celebrating.
First, comes this report (via Mongabay.com) about a geoengineering proposal to build a series of water treatment plants that would do two things: 1. Neutralize acid in the ocean, which is becoming a serious threat to the ocean food web; and, 2. Enhance the ability of the ocean to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, which would reduce the greenhouse gases that are driving climate change.
The down side? It's energy-intensive -- a problem unless you can find an emission-free energy source.
That's where the other good news comes in. Tuesday's San Jose Mercury News reports that Silicon Valley is all fired up about the future of solar energy. Some experts are quoted as saying green energy is the next tech boom, akin to the explosion with personal computers and dot.com businesses.
One other sign of the potential boom: The Mercury News devotes a section of its website just to green energy issues.
Then there's this: An elegant-looking, bird- and bat-friendly design for wind turbines. Each vertical-axis unit is small enough to fit on a house or a business, they're scaled to generate energy in light winds, and affordably priced. (And for California residents, there's a HUGE rebate if you install a system.)
San Diego's Helix Wind is one company offering the systems; there are many others out there.
All in all, it's a wave of very good news -- for the ocean and for the planet.
With oil approaching $100 a barrel, it seems that these simple plants may offer a truly GREEN solution to the growing energy demand of Earth's human population.
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