Well, this time the new green is blue, and it is called red. [I will wait.] Okay, reported in the March, ‘07, Ode magazine, a technique called Reversed Electro Dialysis (RED) is offering a very practical solution to generating energy. In reading these articles, I am amazed at all the energy that is stored everywhere around us and yet we continue not to see it. Well, let’s just say we are not allowed to see since the current energy producers push out of the market anything that competes. So, energy alternatives such as this, are suppressed and usually quickly bought out to ensure their suppression. But this wonderful blue technology called RED, comes from the Netherlands. It mixes salt water with fresh water in which follows a natural path (osmosis) of moving from a higher to a lower concentration through a semipermeable membrane resulting in a release of energy.

So, what you have is a generator, a flywheel, a few filters and three containers of water — one filled with fresh water and the other with salt water. Here’s the amazing part; you turn on the faucets, the water mixes, the mix flows through the membrane filter, and the flywheel starts to turn. Viola… energy! Each time an ion goes through the membrane, 0.1 volt of electricity is generated. This would equate to each square meter of membrane producing 5 watts of energy. This may not sound like much, but in the Netherlands, they are looking at using this simple little technology to replace their current dirty, polluting technology.

Cees Buisman, researcher and professor at the Dutch Wageningen University, stated that in a country like the Netherlands, 3,300 cubic meters (116,500 cubic feet) of fresh water runs into the ocean every second. At those locations, you could generate at least a megawatt of electricity per cubic meter per second which translates into 3,000 megawatts of electricity — enough to supply around 25 percent of all Dutch households. What’s more, the Dutch have plans to install membrane filters on a portion of the Afsluitdijk dam [that sooo looks misspelled] in the north of the country which will generate enough electricity to close all the nuclear and coal plants in the country.




Now that’s impressive and simple. Here’s the really cool part; these membrane filters can be placed nearly any place where rivers flow into the ocean — under water and out of sight. With no damaging emissions or creation of brackish water or surplus salt, this could nearly be the perfect solution. These stations can generate energy continuously and not be dependent on any weather or outside fuel source… just fresh water meeting salt water.

Here’s the interesting part and really quite the argument against those who are opposed to mandates for green technology. Twenty years ago the price for one square meter of membrane filter power cost $1,300. Due to the Dutch researchers’ relentless pursuit of cleaner energy, they predict that amount will be no more than $1.30 very soon.

This is typical of what has happened and is happening in the alternative energy sector all over the world. The technology starts off being very expensive, but with further research, funding and pressure for more and cheaper alternative energy, the technology improves, and the price comes down. If the state and federal governments would mandate green technology in every sector they can and provide incentives and funding for further research and development, we would have cheaper, cleaner and more eco friendly energy technology today. Carbon caps and emissions controls would not be counter productive to the economy as the opponents so state. They would stimulate a whole new green economy based on clean air, clean water and energy independence, instead of dirty air, dirty water and energy dependence. I think the price we pay for the latter is much, much higher.

We need governments, state and federal, that support green technology and put the priority where it should be — on the environment. It’s such a shame that we, as the super power of the world, haven’t taken the lead on this issue. All we do instead is meddle in other governments’ affairs and push our democratic agenda on countries who will never be able to grasp the ideology, at least not in this century.

I can’t help but think where we might have been today had we not let W. steal the election from Al Gore. We really need to pay attention to little things like elections. Let’s just hope that ‘08 will be different. Well, I can always hope; can’t I?