A tech wishlist
People sometimes say that we are falling behind other countries in science and technology. Here's a list of things that I want for our near future:
1) A real, high-speed train network down the East and West Coasts. I want to be able to take a train from DC to NYC, get there in 2 hours, and pay less than $100 for the roundtrip.
How could it happen? Government investment in Amtrak and increasing airplane fuel costs.
2) A cell phone that's really a portable computer, with a holographic projected screen, a holographic keyboard that detects when I type through laser interference, and optional little portable speakers.
How could it happen? With continuing decreases in computer size, it will happen. The other technologies already exist and will soon be on the market. Holographic technology will save a ton of electronic waste from being created.
3) Cars that gets 100s of miles per gallon and auto-drive under 20 mph in heavy traffic.
How could it happen? See earlier posts: they will appear on the market in three years. If gas prices stay high, I fully expect all new cars to be either gas-electric, diesel-electric, or electric by 2030. The auto-driving technology already exists: when it becomes standard on new cars, it will lead to a real decrease in rush-hour congestion.
4) Carbon-free technologies that are safe, produce a lot of energy, and are not intermittent.
How could it happen? Smaller, safer nuclear plants. Efficient coal plants that capture most of their carbon dioxide in algal pools. Biodiesel and ethanol from algae, the most promising biofuel to date (it deserves all the ethanol subsidies). Wind and solar farms that store their excess energy in giant arrays of recyclable batteries or by heating a fluid. Tidal power that places turbines on floors of oceans and rivers, making energy off the force of gravity.
5) Agricultural crops that do not drown nearby rivers and streams in fertilizers and dangerous pesticides.
How could it happen? Bring farmers into the carbon cap-and-trade system, since nitrogen fertilizer is a major source of greenhouse gases. Use newly invented genetically-modified crops that need less nitrogen. Increase government requirements (as part of federal subsidies) for nitrogen-fixing cover crops in fallow seasons, slow-release fertilizer, crop rotation, contour plowing, and stream tree buffers. Increase use of bio-charcoal, a rediscovered ancient practice, as a soil amendment. Increase federal research into pesticide safety, and ban atrazine, an herbicide illegal in Europe that imitates estrogen.
1) A real, high-speed train network down the East and West Coasts. I want to be able to take a train from DC to NYC, get there in 2 hours, and pay less than $100 for the roundtrip.
How could it happen? Government investment in Amtrak and increasing airplane fuel costs.
2) A cell phone that's really a portable computer, with a holographic projected screen, a holographic keyboard that detects when I type through laser interference, and optional little portable speakers.
How could it happen? With continuing decreases in computer size, it will happen. The other technologies already exist and will soon be on the market. Holographic technology will save a ton of electronic waste from being created.
3) Cars that gets 100s of miles per gallon and auto-drive under 20 mph in heavy traffic.
How could it happen? See earlier posts: they will appear on the market in three years. If gas prices stay high, I fully expect all new cars to be either gas-electric, diesel-electric, or electric by 2030. The auto-driving technology already exists: when it becomes standard on new cars, it will lead to a real decrease in rush-hour congestion.
4) Carbon-free technologies that are safe, produce a lot of energy, and are not intermittent.
How could it happen? Smaller, safer nuclear plants. Efficient coal plants that capture most of their carbon dioxide in algal pools. Biodiesel and ethanol from algae, the most promising biofuel to date (it deserves all the ethanol subsidies). Wind and solar farms that store their excess energy in giant arrays of recyclable batteries or by heating a fluid. Tidal power that places turbines on floors of oceans and rivers, making energy off the force of gravity.
5) Agricultural crops that do not drown nearby rivers and streams in fertilizers and dangerous pesticides.
How could it happen? Bring farmers into the carbon cap-and-trade system, since nitrogen fertilizer is a major source of greenhouse gases. Use newly invented genetically-modified crops that need less nitrogen. Increase government requirements (as part of federal subsidies) for nitrogen-fixing cover crops in fallow seasons, slow-release fertilizer, crop rotation, contour plowing, and stream tree buffers. Increase use of bio-charcoal, a rediscovered ancient practice, as a soil amendment. Increase federal research into pesticide safety, and ban atrazine, an herbicide illegal in Europe that imitates estrogen.
posted by Tree Texan at 11:48 AM
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