Clones - they're not copies of us people - don't let anyone get away with that. An identical twin is a natural 'clone' born at the same time and, usually, raised under similar circumstances - yet both people are individuals. If you were to be cloned, your clone would be similar to your identical twin, only they would start as a baby, have their own experiences, memories, and education, and ideas. They would not be you. They would be their own person.

Perhaps some day, we could make a copy of the current configuration of your mind and transfer it to your clone - but, even then, as soon as the transfer was complete, that person would begin to diverge in their identity from you. Do you think I'm wrong? I'm all ears.

Perpetual Motion and Energy Transfer - not a huge number of real possibilities there. Energy is lost in almost any productive system (engine, machine, etc.). I saw a video on a car that runs on pressurized air. That is what turned the wheels. But the air had to be pressurized using more energy than it could give to the turning of the cars wheels. So, while this might be a cool alternative to a battery or gas tank, first - it pollutes as much as whatever is used to compress it pollutes and, unlike the weird little tag on the end of the video, just because you can compress air using compressed air, doesn't mean you can drive the car forever.

What might approach perpetual motion (or lossless energy storage and release)? High temperature superconductors? What?

Clean Coal and Carbon Sequestration - the idea that we could create clean coal power plants by extracting the carbon dioxide (and carbon monoxide) and scrub all the other toxins out without polluting the ground water or risking a massive release of sequestered carbon AND do it more cheaply than building a system of solar and wind powered next generation power grid seems sketchy to me. I have similar feelings about atomic and tar sand petroleum.

Let me know if you disagree and help me understand the cost benefit analysis v. just going with renewables.

Reply to this or add your own. Misinformation, poorly understood concepts, myths, ethical issues, potential unintended consequences ... why shouldn't we rush to the next big thing? I'd like to see plenty of this type of information and discussion being approached here.  What and How are great questions - but so are When, Where, Why and for Whom.  

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My house, here in the Philippines, is not insulated. There are 6 fans ALWAYS running at highest speed settings. Electricity is expensive, so I only use air conditioning in the bedrooms and only when it's too warm. I happened to be observing my electricity meter and timed one revolution of the dial at 45 seconds -- only the fans, lights, computers, tv, water cooler and refrigerator were turned on. I went inside and turned on 1 air conditioner at its low setting, then checked the meter again. It was making a single revolution in 15 seconds . . . 3 times faster than it was! I had no idea it sucks so much wattage.
There are three issues with the 'comfort' of the air in your home: temperature, humidity, and 'air quality' (oxygen and particulate levels.):

1. Your home 'exchanges' heat in/out with the external environment - the answer here is smart insulation and ventilation. Items in your home generate heat as a bi-product - in the winter, this is a good thing as long as it can be circulated to the rest of the home and, in the summer, it would be best to use it where you might still want it - in your water, for example. Also, breezes are good when it is hot and bad (drafts) when it is cold. There are a variety of types of heat exchangers (as you mention) that are based on material conductivity and the principle of temperature equilibrium (more below.)

2. Your body loses heat as your sweat evaporates. Think of the air as a sponge - dry = absorbent & soaked = unabsorbent. Maintaining the ideal humidity is key and, in most cases, we do this inefficiently. A furnace dries the air, making your body cool itself faster, so the temperature has to be higher to be comfortable. AC dries the air - but would have to work less hard if we dried the air in a different way - like a water-cooled dehumidifier that used intake water before it got to the water heater. It would both dry the air (condensation) and capture the heat thereby helping your water heater. In the winter, efficient insulation will mean the air is being dried less by the furnace and feel warmer as it will be more moist. Additional humidity can easily be added with a simple wicking system at the heat source - basically a wide thin wick in water close to heating vents - the warm air blows over the part of the wick that is out of the water and adds warm moisture to the air.

3. One type of year-round ventilation heat exchanger that can help with air quality while minimizing both loss of heat in the winter and gain of heat in the summer uses a vent shaft that travels from your basement to the roof. It is partitioned by an airtight membranes that allow heat to diffuse between the sides that are drawing air down with the sides that are fluting air up. This way, the air that is leaving the house at the roof and the air that is entering the house in the basement have exchanged their heat. Since the house is, otherwise, well sealed (insulated) these air/heat exchange shafts should be well filtered. Meanwhile, no fan ion filters (though currently expensive) would become cheap if they were more standard. They do a good job of reducing airborne particulates with little energy, and use no disposable filter.

This is one example of why I get so frustrated by the 'ye cain't get theya from heya' mentality of so many that claim that converting to low carbon/low waste technology is too expensive or 'not there yet.'


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