Friday, February 29, 2008

Hydrogen Economy: "Yeah I think it's possible."

So a friend on mine in class today gave me an article about an extremely feasible means to produce hydrogen. Here is the article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18700750/
Being in the fuel cell industry and even working for a company that uses fossil fuels to create hydrogen, my interest immediatly piqued.
This would mean a great deal to the environment, the energy industry, and, well, me.
To sum up the article:
Take recylced aluminum, mix it with some other metals, dip it in water, and then: hydrogen. So good. This has the potential to mean that you could power everything from hydrogen. Since this is a chemical reaction, the reaction itself could heat your home, the hydrogen could power your car. Build a fuel cell power plant for you house and use the hydrogen to give your house the necessary electricity it needs. No nasty emissions!

I also wanted to point out that the Energy Blog that I've listed to the right is a good resource if you are interested in more of this stuff.

On to conquering the world...

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Fast Lift or Lift Me Fast

Upon scaling the mountain top, I was amazed. The ice and snow had covered the bare trees. They glistened from the rays of the setting sun...enough of the mushy crap.

So this weekend Carrie and I went skiing with my sister and brother-in-law. The main lift at Bristol ski resort was freaking fast. It was cool because as the lift came back down to pick up passengers, the benches would disengage from the cable and be carried by a machine to where you were standing. The bench would scoop you up move a little ways and the re-engage with the cable. It felt alost like when the chain on the roller coaster would start to lift you up the first big hill, but faster. We scaled the side of a hill in about 5 minutes to ski down a 2 mile run.

Since going back to school to study things mechanical, I was truly amazed at the contruction and evolution of a ski lift. Before we went, Troy, my brother-in-law, told us about the first time his dad went downhill skiing. This guy used leather straps to attached his work boots to his skis. Then he would grab onto a rope to pull him up the hill. Now we sit in a chair and take a ride. But this ride is amazing. This 2 inch thick cable holds thousands of pounds to let us enjoy skiing.

The morality of the circumstance is what really got me. Should I be amazed at how fast this lift was and enjoy the fact that God has enabled us to create things like this? Or how do I handle the stuggle with "I want this now and I want it faster". The contruction cost of this lift and the thousands of dollars we pay to be entertained could be helping starved people. At the same time, I was also able to build a closer relationship with my wife, sister, and brother-in-law. Maybe some of the workers worked there to raise money to become missionaries.

My resolution: To continue to struggle with this. That's all, just struggle...