What critics of solar energy fail to realize is that its growth is being matched by technology that reduces its necessity.
A generation ago, when Steve Roberts launched his ride across America, even a “portable” PC like my Kaypro had to be plugged into the wall. Today you can get infinitely more computing power in an iPhone, and while thin film solar systems may offer just at trickle of charge, it can be enough.
All sorts of Moore's Law miracles are also accompanied by lower power requirements. Modern cellular systems ride on Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) that deliver more-and-more bandwidth with less-and-less power every year. In American cities we see this reflected best in WiFi, which is 10 times faster than it was a decade ago.
Simple advances for poorer countries are leading to solar powered stoves and conventional stoves that use less wood and reduce pollution, products of science set into overdrive by more computing power being available to more people.
Or look up. Solar-powered planes can now stay aloft indefinitely, and will soon be able to fly around the world. Drones can now maintain constant communications in a disaster zone, or in a war zone. Pretty miraculous.
These are just two small trends I want to pay attention to as 2011 opens. We tend to focus here on “western” units of power, on renewable energy systems capable of scaling to the current grid. We worry too much about the “economic feasibility” of such systems against fossil fuels or nuclear power.
What we should be doing is looking at how small technology miracles are transforming our world every single day, using what power we can harvest.
That's the cure for depression.
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