Moon Gas

Oil prices began a moderate retreat as the discovery of undetermined amounts of natural gases in the south polar region of the moon. No timeline has been given for further exploration.

It was an unexpected find when a probe named Huygens parachuted from the parent spacecraft Cassini to investigate what had appeared to be hundreds of dark, lake-like features. In the joint venture of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency, the success of the launch included proof that, other than Earth, there is now at least one celestial body in the Solar System that has liquid on its surface. The total cost of the mission is over $3B.

The body of liquid is about 7,800 square miles, slightly larger than Lake Ontario. Other dark areas on the surface have the same appearance but remain unconfirmed as other lakes of ethane, a liquid solution of methane, other hydrocarbons and nitrogen. The find substantiates scientific belief that clouds of methane exist in the moon’s atmosphere.

Ethane derivatives are rather diverse in their applications and could ease the energy squeeze of developing countries. A process called “cracking” incorporates a procedure that breaks down the molecule weight to produce “light hydrocarbons”. The resultant product is dependent on the temperature (750 to 950 degrees) and various catalysts.

One of the chemical byproducts produced is ethylene, which is used in a wide range of consumer products.

By nature, ethylene is produced by climacteric fruits, such as bananas, pears and tomatoes, to speed up ripening. That’s why some fruits ripen quicker in a plastic bag. Commercially, small amounts of ethylene are added to agriculture products to speed up ripening. It is also used to induce flowering but lessens the life of flower arrangements as it depletes the oxygen level.

Other commercial use is extensive: wires, insulation, automotive, carpets, flame-retardants, fertilizers, pesticides, etc. And plastics: shopping bags, plastic jugs and all those other consumer throwaway containers. Think of all those Made in China products.

It is also used in the process of producing gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel and ethanol.

Actually, this monumental discovery has nothing to do with Earth’s Moon but about obtaining scientific knowledge about the Solar System. The spacecraft Cassini was launched Oct 15 1997 then did two flybys of Venus before getting a gravitational boost as it passed by Earth on Aug 18, 1999. On Dec 20, 2003, the most detailed pictures to date of Jupiter were transmitted back to Earth as it gathered other scientific data.

Just imagine spacecraft Cassini cruising between the outer rings of F & G as it became the first spacecraft to reach orbit around Saturn on July 1, 2004. The probe Huygen was released Dec 25, 2004, and reached the surface of Titan on Jan 14, 2005. Titan is one of 60 known moons, of which only 52 have been named, and the brightest with a size consistent with small planets like Mercury.

So, none of the world’s ever-increasing energy needs can’t be solved with a commodity over 600 million miles out in space and, however extensive the volumes of ethane and other natural gases may be on Titan, it won’t help resolve any portion of our energy needs anytime in the foreseeable future.

Crude oil investors, and all those other opportunists of making an easy buck at the expense of Earth and its inhabitants, can add that bit of trivia to further justify their politic solution (excuse) of oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Sticker Price of Ethanol

A few weeks ago, when a little orange bar on the dashboard of my truck warned me that if I didn’t satisfy its need for the elixir that gives it energy to keep me from being stranded, I stopped at a gas station along US-19.

It wasn’t the sticker price that made me do a double take – by then there was an assumption that it would be, and was, a few pennies more than the day before, a fact that I had become accustomed to as the forever-increasing cost of a fill-up dug a little deeper in the funds available from a wallet-sized debit card.

I was concerned about the sticker prominently displayed on the gas pump that informed me an additive was now a part of the mixture that keeps my truck motoring. I had no choice but to accept what is, in my opinion, a ten percent disillusionment that ethanol might help save the planet from the affects of all the nasty residues that our civilization has accumulated over the past century.

As our country became industrialized, and the billows of smoke rose from the stacks of factories, the harmful gases of fossil fuels filled the skies and acted as a smoke-screen to what would eventually be realized as poisons to planet Earth.

I did double take at the sticker that had a permanent look about it. A frown and a little shake of the head wouldn’t take away the concern I felt for what was glaring at me in the eyes. I had little choice but to fill ‘er up or before long I’d be stranded.

The media has told me repeatedly that an ethanol level of 10% ethanol wouldn’t have an effect on engine performance but with somewhat fewer miles per gallon. I seldom imbibe these days but I felt a little woozy at the thought of what the side affects will be for a misbegotten attempt to right the wrongs of uncontrolled carbon footprints into the atmosphere. I had a sense of malnutrition. I heard a growling sound but to this day I don’t know if was my stomach or a guttural sound from the depth of my lungs.

I know full well the need to rid us of foreign oil dependence. I also acknowledge an immediate obligation to contain the emission of green house gases. But there has to be a better way to accomplish this goal without adding to the pangs of world hunger. Diverting corn from the mouths and stomachs of people has become a major problem, creating a health risk for millions upon millions of those in third world countries.

Nearly everything we consume with our daily bread hits our pocketbooks right where it hurts: having to divert any of our earnings from the consumption of discretionary spending, most prominent being high tech electronics. This is not good for capitalism; it narrows the scope of profitable businesses and harms the growth of the economy.

Right now, thanks in part to Al Gore and his inconvenient solution to global air pollution, we’re addressing the carbon footprint of man without consideration of our fellow inhabitants of the planet.

Diverting grain products from the mouths of the hungry is misplaced because lobbyists and a Congress willing to supplement the profits of mega-farmers intensifies the ill affects of a hasty solution. Higher food prices are already giving them hedge funds with profits detrimental to the rest of us. Small, family owned farmers don’t reap the same benefits.

Rather than giving consideration to mega-farmers, these misspent moneys would be better given to areas in need of assistance due to natural disasters. The best example is the recent floods in Missouri. These areas won’t recovery from the loss of crops, and livelihoods, without emergency funding from the federal government.

Fertilizers laced with phosphates have their own side affects with poisons that make rivers, lakes and even larger bodies of water uninhabitable to every form of freshwater and sea life. Woops! There goes another food source!

Politicians are eager to get on bandwagons to appease the electorate but their loads are marching bands supporting another term in office. Their wagons need to be filled with life’s grains of plenty.

Yes, steps must be taken to greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions but until there is committed dialogue on solutions to save planet Earth from the ravages of mankind, and when food is again bountiful, the sound of growling will continue to fill the air. I won’t know for sure if it’s coming from me or from the empty mouths of the hungry.

Intelligent Design and Divine Intervention

A few months ago I read a clip in a newspaper (it had to be the St. Petersburg Times or the Tampa Tribune and was most likely from The Associated Press) that by the year 2025 world population will decline.

It sounded more like trivia, if future speculation can carry that distinction, because there were no specific reasons or causes for the claim. I suspect that disease, famine and internal political and military confrontations may bring death tolls to such a height that it results in this drastic turn of events.

Much of this will most likely occur in third world, undeveloped countries. The alarming probabilities of such an occurrence put the lives of peoples in Africa at risk. And the reason for allowing these possibilities to be put in motion? You can pretty much expect the lack of humanitarianism will continue to be overshadows with super power nations continuing to find just cause to direct their moneys and military allocations to put influence on selfish interests. An ongoing undeclarable war on the broad range of a variety of sources of terrorism will be forefront. Directing attention to claim national rights to energy and food sources may be another, probably by means of military occupations.

There is less likelihood that populations of China, India and other developing countries will be in decline. They already have more than 40% of the world population.

A third case scenario of population decline worldwide would be natural disasters. Global warming and resultant rising seas and fierce weather conditions may be in the making. Forecasts have indicated adverse weather patterns will increase during the next ten to fifteen years with typhoons, hurricanes, flooding, record high temperatures and oddities such as record low temperatures, snow and ice storms will claim thousands, if not tens of thousands, of lives.

Heat strokes and hypothermia, from insufficient means for people to keep up with the rising costs of energy to heat their homes, are contrasting results of global warming but their already happening in various parts of the planet. The projected time span of events indicates the conditions to worsen between the years 2020 and 2030, with the year 2025 smack dab in the middle.

You might think that the majority of people whose lives may be in danger for one reason or other would limit the overall economic effects of a declining population, yet countries and corporate interests were pointedly given consideration in the article. Therefore, their also may be another scenario that specifically puts hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of middle and upper class people as targets of nuclear annihilation.

I imagine there will be a number of causes for a world with less people. Perhaps this will be a means of cleansing the planet, giving rise to international congruency for a more peaceful, integrated ideology of coexistence. Perhaps this will be the natural order of mankind’s evolution of awareness and acceptance to resolve man’s abuse and overuse of Earth’s resources.

Human beings are complex, fragile carbon-based creatures as are all living organisms. Planet Earth is also a fragile life-sustaining host. Both planet and man are reliant on the forces of nature: sun, water, vegetation and minerals. A balance of resources is necessary to maintain the food chain for survival. Disrespect of natural resources will eventually create a devastating toll on humanity and that hour of truth will soon be upon us.

We should give praise to the scientific community for making us aware of the burgeoning situations confronting the existence of both man and planet. We should also give thanks to the appointed messenger, Al Gore.

I am not suggesting all of this is of Intelligent Design, but it may take Divine Intervention to see us safely through these troublesome times.

God, Save The World.