Natcore Technologies Inc have developed ‘Absolute black’ – a solar cell which has an efficiency of 99.7% – 3.7% higher than the previous best – but more importantly with a production cost of half previous cells. Such cells will be more than a match f

or hydrocarbons and will gradually replace them where they can.

The introduction of compressed air cars in India soon will be an alternative to electric cars, without heavy expensive limited life batteries. And with air cylinders that will be as good in 10 years as day 1 – for which their air can be compressed by solar powered compressors.

By the end of the year 850M people around the world will be paying for polluting by some form of carbon tax – 12% of humanity.

Against that – the U.S. has become the world’s fastest growing oil and gas producer, it will soon be self-sufficient in oil and it is already a net petroleum product exporter. As Hydrocarbon prices fall – the more they will be burned, despite the consensus that CO2 is increasing & is man-made.

One of the first symptoms of the resulting world distress is expected to be water.”SolarWater” is coming along – & by making fresh water, from salt water or polluted water by low temperature distillation & sterilising it – all purely powered by the sun, this may help.

This is the trial unit for ‘SolarWater’ – a low temperature thermal still to make fresh water from salt water – or polluted water, powered just by the sun. If you have a need for such a machine please email us your requirements for consideration for

the production unit.

Solar desalination ‘the only way’ for Gulf to sustainably produce water.

Current desalination systems are expensive and inefficient, and might last only another 30 years in the Gulf, said Dr Adil Bushnak, the chairman of Bushnak Group, a desalinat

ion company in Saudi Arabia.

“But after that we cannot continue the same way we are doing now,” Dr Bushnak said on the sidelines of the 10th Gulf Water Conference, in Doha.

He proposes that GCC states use the money they saved by going solar to cover the cost of the transition.

“Every barrel of oil we save because we built solar should go to that fund to finance the extra cost of solar [plants],” Dr Bushnak said.
“Wishful thinking is not enough. We have to set targets.”

The UAE desalinates its water with non-solar methods, including thermal and reverse-osmosis (RO) desalination plants. But these require a lot of power from oil or from electricity, which is largely produced in oil-fired plants.

And although energy is cheap in the GCC, it might not stay that way.

“As Monty Python once pointed out, our galaxy, one of millions in the universe, is a hundred thousand light years side to side. As the late Christopher Hitchens observed, when our sun finally gives out, the people watching it will be a higher evolutionary form of humans than us. Bryan Gaensler describes ‘Oh-my-God’ particles, which have been recorded moving through the universe at 99.9999999999999999999996 per cent of the speed of light. Like the great arts, science can be beautiful and thrilling.”

– best we look after it

Hi

I encourage you to Google Documentary & > topducumentaryfilms.com/ environment scroll down to page 3 ‘Blue Gold: world water wars. It is done by a host of experts from round

the world including Maude Barlow.

– you’ll need a cup of tea + a pencil & at least 2 sheets of paper – but its well worth watching till the end.

When the Aborigines first saw western oarsman, they assumed they had eyes in the back of their heads – because the rowed facing aft! In principle – if the cox dropped off the transom, they would happily row into a cliff…

Modern corporations are not much different. The measure of success or failure is the profit at year’s end. That is measured from the final balance sheet & profit & loss statement – but in navigation terms it is a back-bearing, it tells how far the skipper has come & @ what ‘profit’. There is no obligation at all to be careful about the future or protect whatever gave rise to that profit.

In fact – as quoted in the film, the bulk of roses for Europe are now grown in Kenya, at a profit – to keep the World Bank happy – but with the direct consequence that her major lake will be dry in 5 years – it will be in Europe.

Then we have the SA Government signing away the local water business to a French company – if we need it or not! But I am sure they all happily retire on very comfortable pensions glowing in the aura of their ‘successes’.

So the water crisis is handled by backwards-looking transnationals – obeying the law to the letter – & politicians who are herded like sheep by those powerful transnationals.

Not one is looking forward & the crunch is coming – the fabulous amount of groundwater being used is carefully outlined. Wells in Yemen are now 1,300 feet deep – & going dry. Worldwide water tables are dropping – up to 30′ pa near some Chinese cities – & yes here in SA too.

The advice to make each individual ‘corporation proof’ is to collect & use your own water… We do are best & are planning to do more with the use of greywater on the garden etc.

Desalination is covered in some detail – after all 80% of humanity lives within ~20 miles of the sea. But not seen as the solution with the CO2 costs associated with conventional desal.

The ‘system’ needs to be changed it is said. That is clearly true in principle, but how when the world’s legal systems are wrapped around profit making transnationals? Paris and some South American countries have done the obvious & taken back their own water – Nationalised it, recognising that the great world sweep of water privatisation was in fact a mistake.

A solar powered desal plant is to be built in India – about the same output as the Adelaide one, but that will presumably have the same controls on the public as now. The film states that the Chinese symbol for ‘control’ & ‘water’ are the same. Hopefully ‘SolarWater’ will allow its owners to make pure water from dirty or salty water with none of those controls.

Cheers

Charlie

Sir Charlie Madden Bt BSc MTech MBA
www.waterboatman.com.au

If “The Olympic Dam uranium … could power the entire planet for thousands of years with no emissions”

Surely that has to be the way to go – given complete contracts only are sold in exchange for currency or direct exchange. Those contracts to go

from initial survey for site long term suitability, the use only of best available technology to the final safe storage of waste in remote northern South Australia. By staff only of Australian Nationals – with a uniform based on the Australian flag, with their name & company number in clear inch high letters on the front and back. Each known to be constantly tracked by GPS.

Meanwhile, while 80% of people live within 30 km of the sea, 60% are not connected to the grid. There is probably not enough copper to do so anyway. And everyone needs fresh water every day. So I will carry on with SolarWater below, to distill fresh water from polluted or salty water – powered just by the sun.

Water boatman was awarded in Friday, 13 Jan the first prize for inventions by ASTRO Adelaide – Alternative Science & Techn

ology Research Organization.

“Ever been pushed by a rugby scrum? Well nor have I… but for China to adopt a carbon tax must be the same. 80% of her leaders are Scientists & Engineers – rather than the debating societies that seem to run most other countries. So for them to

see that a Carbon tax is a way to begin to contain her & the rest of the world’s upcoming carbon problems, must be a very strong signal.

It may only be small to begin with – but is set to rise.”

“Australia as a modern country, has survived 223 years thanks to pioneering spirit and a bit of luck when it comes to climate patterns. But if we want to make it to 2000 years, its going to take more than just building bigger dams.” – Anthony For

dham

“Drops to drink. Less than 3% of the earths water is fresh water, while about half of that is locked up in glacial ice.”

“Increasing Urbanisation. In the next 50 years or so, we’re looking at over 1000 gigalitres of extra water required in our cities. Its like building a whole new Sydney, whole new Melbourne, whole new Adelaide: there’s going to be very strong increase in demand, and all the easy supply options have gone” Ian Prosser

“The amount of energy used by a desalination plant is the same amount of energy as it takes to fly an A380 to London”

“On a household basis, the amount of energy used to provide desalinated water to a household is the same amount of energy that that family uses running its plasma television for 40 minutes.” Andrew Speer’s