One of the treats in my first reporting job, at the Houston Business Journal, came in learning about geological maps. Using sonar and great creativity, engineers in the "oilpatch" mapped where potential oilfields might lie. The maps determined the value of potential oilfields, and told wildcatters where they should drill.
With businessmen now taking The War Against Oil seriously, we need new maps.
Such maps might indicate:
- How much sunlight falls.
- How deep you must drill to reach usable geothermal resources.
- How reliable is the wind.
- Where is a stream capable of taking a water wheel?
From such maps we can determine the potential alternative energy value of any place in the country.
In the short run it's the wind maps that would be most interesting.
Windmills are relatively inexpensive to build. They are cost-effective
energy generators. In most applications solar panels are not, although
there are many places where even now they could be useful running water
heaters.
Best of all, this is something everyone can participate in. How much does it cost to erect and monitor a windsock? A small solar panel could give you the potential of the larger field around it.
This is the kind of project any school child can do. The Web site which ran this project could be the biggest thing since SETI @ Home.
Imagine if, say, Google sponsored such a project. Make it open source. Seek corporate sponsors to defray the costs. I'd take Shell's money. Integrate it with Google Maps as an overlay.
What do you say?
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