Lessons From The Future

 

 

_________________
Volume X
Lessons From The Future

NORWEGIAN MACHINE HARNESSES OCEAN SURGE 

AT THE 50 SEMINARS I PRESENT AROUND THE WORLD EACH YEAR -- THE SINGLE MOST ASKED QUESTION IS "WHAT WOULD YOU SUGGEST MY KIDS DO TO SURVIVE IN THE FUTURE?"

LET'S NOT KID OURSELVES. PARENTS KNOW THEIR CHILDREN'S EDUCATION WILL NOT PREPARE THEM FOR THE WORLD THEY ARE ENTERING. THEIR PARENTS LEFT SCHOOL WITH A MUCH BETTER ARMAMENTARIUM OF SKILLS TO SERVE THEM IN THE INDUSTRIAL AGE. TODAY'S KIDS ARE EVEN MORE AWARE. CONFUSION, DISPAIR, APATHY AND FRUSTRATION ABOUND. WHAT TO DO? MY SUGGESTION: GET THEM INTO SOMETHING YOU HAVE NEVER HEARD ABOUT BEFORE.

TODAY, ALMOST EVERYTHING THAT IS IMPORTANT IS INVISIBLE. JUST LIKE THE AUTO INDUSTRY, AIRLINES, TELEVISION, SPACE TRAVEL AND SCUBA GEAR WERE WHEN YOU WERE YOUR KID'S AGE. THOSE THINGS SIMPLY DIDN'T EXIST. YET LOOK HOW THEY FLOURISHED JUST BEFORE THE INDUSTRIAL AGE STARTED TO FALL.

SO LOOK FOR THOSE FIELDS THAT NO SCHOOL TRAINS THEM FOR, WHERE THE GROUND FLOOR IS NOT ONLY OPEN, IT IS A GAPING EXCAVATION HOLE. LET THEM GET IN NOW BEFORE IT BUILDS UP TO A 100-STOREY BUILDING THAT REQUIRES TOO MUCH CAPITAL AND TOO MUCH TRAINING. WHERE DO YOU FIND THESE "INVISIBLES?" LET ME DESCRIBE JUST ONE. THERE ARE HUNDREDS.

LOOK AT ENERGY. BUT LOOK IN A DIFFERENT WAY. NOT AT OIL, NOT AT NATURAL GAS, NOT AT COAL. BUT WHERE DOES ANY KIND OF ENERGY COST MORE THAN IN MOST PLACES, UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES? ANSWER: ON ISLANDS. SO IF YOU CAN FIND A MORE EFFICIENT, LOWER-COST METHOD THAN ANY KNOWN TODAY, TO SUPPLY ENERGY TO ISLANDS, YOU WOULD HAVE A FAIRLY GOOD CHANCE OF REPLACING EXISTING SOURCES OF ENERGY IN SUCH LOCATIONS -- AND THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF ISLANDS AROUND THE WORLD. THIS COULD BE PROFITABLE, YES?

FOR YEARS THERE HAS BEEN TALK IN AND OUTSIDE GOVERNMENT CIRCLES ABOUT RUNNING GAS OR OIL PIPELINES OR HYDRO HIGH VOLTAGE POWER LINES TO VANCOUVER ISLAND. THE COSTS IN ALMOST ALL INSTANCES, EVEN WITH HEAVY GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES, IS EXORBITANT. SO WHY NOT CATCH THE ENERGY THAT POUNDS THE THOUSAND-PLUS MILE SHORELINE!

FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS A NORWEGIAN COMPANY, KVAERNER BRUG, HAS BEEN RESEARCHING SUCH A POSSIBILITY. RECENTLY THEY SUCCEEDED, AND NOW POWER FROM THEIR COASTAL WAVE GENERATOR IS PUMPING VALUABLE ELECTRICITY INTO THEIR NATIONAL GRID SYSTEM. THEY BURN NO OIL, NO NATURAL GAS, AND USE NO COAL. THEY HAVE FOUND A BETTER WAY.

A CLIFFSIDE INSTALLATION AT TOFTESTALLEN ON THE WEST COAST OF NORWAY HAS BEEN TESTED AND TIED INTO THEIR POWER GRID EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE UNIT IS NOW RUNNING AUTOMATICALLY! THEY ARE NOW ABLE TO PRODUCE SIMILAR UNITS WITH 150, 500 AND 1500 KW OUTPUTS.

THESE UNITS CAN BE USED AT ALMOST ANY WORLD SHORELINE LOCATION. THE SEA DOES NOT HAVE TO HAVE HUGE WAVES OR POUNDING SURF, ALTHOUGH THAT WOULD PRODUCE EVEN MORE POWER. THE NATURAL SURGE OF THE SEA HAS BEEN KNOWN FOR YEARS TO CONTAIN HUGE POWER-GENERATING POTENTIAL. NOW IT CAN BE HARNESSED AT COMPETITIVE COST.

EVEN FOR SOME MAINLAND LOCATIONS, THIS COMPANY, BY EVALUATING POTENTIAL SITE CONDITIONS, CAN BRING OCEAN WAVE ENERGY PLANTS AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE TO THE CUSTOMERS ROAD SYSTEM OR POWER DISTRIBUTION NETWORK -- THEREBY SOMETIMES ELIMINATING THE NEED FOR LONG AND COSTLY EXTENSIONS TO A MAIN POWER GRID NETWORK. MORAL: LOOK FOR FIELDS NOT YET HERE. FOR DEMANDS NOT YET KNOWN. FOR ECONOMIC EMPIRES NOT YET ESTABLISHED. FOR THE AS YET UN- EXPLOITED INFORMATION "ORE". LOOK FOR THE INVISIBLES. MORE INFORMATION: M.L. STENERSEN, KVAERNER BRUG A/S, POSTBOKS 3610 GB., 0135 OSLO 1, NORWAY.

TEL +472 66 67 45

 

* * *

< previous | chapter index | next >
back to Main Chapter Listing
back to Home Page