Electric Future Vol.1 - Transportation
Part 2
As I have stated, power sourcing for this massive project, the Electric Future would have to come from somewhere. Obviously the trade off between coal, oil, and natural gas is a horrible idea - using resources that are easily depleted and expensive - and pollute more. You see if we switch to a pure electric highways system we will exchange the pollution made there for pollution from power plants being fed fossil fuel... This burning, creation of noxious gases and CO2 must end! It must no longer be the way we gain our power and it must no longer be the way we make our own environment; this is NOT the way of the future. As your world Dictator and Caretaker it will be my duty to bring you a solution that will let you breathe, and also breathe a sigh of relief. Now then, what is my system? Let's take a look at the technologies we have today.
Wind Power: Good, clean, mostly reliable, however the output is not sufficient for gigawatts and terawatts needed for the pure electric future. Do not rule these out entirely - they can supply additional power to non-highways and electric future projects.
Solar Power: Good, clean, reliable, however again there is not enough electricity produced at the cost of operation. No matter how many are built, eventually the marginal costs of building more outweighs the marginal benefits - huge expanses of land and environment destroyed for solar panels is counter productive.
Dams: Hydroelectric power is clean, reliable, constant, but harms many rivers from obstruction of the natural flow - along with the same problem when the dams use up more river space that is costly.
Oil: Just no.
Coal: Gah! No!
Natural Gas: Bah!
Wood: ...NO!
Fission Power: Clean, Efficient, Huge output. This is optimal since nuclear fission generates the heat needed for powering turbines, and furthermore, the heat that is wasted could be used again with Sterling Engine Technology, getting just a bit more bang for the buck. These can easily be built into the ground in one location, power a massive amount of generators, and more can be built than is needed before the marginal cost outweighs the benefits. Radioactive waste can be allocated to an even lower facility that is sealed - eventually it could be re-used.
Fusion Power: Fusion generates more energy that fission, and as such would be even more efficient. This is not yet available though - and is a future but attainable goal. Using previously fissioned material to power fusion would recycle nuclear waste.
Thermal Power: Use the earth's own internal heat to power things. Either steam from hot mantle layer heat, and even pre-mantle layer heat, or use heat differential power from sterling engines. Both are clean, efficient, and constant. This would produce enough power below ground - but it will use a massive amount of space. Because it would need to be so deep - it is feasible to create it without destroying any part of the environment. However because of the earth's tectonic activity it could be unfeasible unless an adjustment and control system is used. Greenland is a great example of how to do it, and if it were to be explored further the problems listed could be addressed.
The plan will be to build the nuclear reactors in an unpopulated area, and as that is completed the roadway construction will begin. It will not take the place of the old highways, those will be left for legacy vehicles - however a larger construction program than Eisenhower ever envisioned will be planned out, and built within 10 years of its beginning. This requires more manpower than has ever been used on a project before - and this WILL employ more people at one time than have ever been employed at one time before. Think of it - billions of men and women working on the same exact project from beginning to end. The poor and unemployed will no longer be unemployed - those in need of money and jobs will have them. Full employments of not just the United States, but of the entire world! Everyone will have work, everyone will have a job, and everyone will have something to do!
In addition to this the entire scientific community will be conscripted to develop the vehicles of this future system, and the programming. All sectors of society that were once dedicated to warfare will now be dedicated to this national goal. Entire junkyards will be raided and depleted of their trash, all materials that couldn't be recycled through ignorance or inability will be recycled. The worlds wasted resources for war materials will go to these projects, eventually the entire world will be running on these highways, made of materials that don't degrade over time and crumble, using metal wisely and conserving as much as possible, high strength alloys that are needed will spur the manufacturing departments of the world's economy into a super frenzy induced state!
There will be no slowing down of employment when this project is finished, I have many, many, more - but this article is dedicated to the powerhouses for the electric future! Over a thousand nuclear fission plants in one location on every continent in a secluded contained area. Each of these locations will provide the power of the future - and all will be self contained so that if one does have a problem it will not be another Chernobyl, rather it will be locked up and stop. More security and shutdown systems will be on these plans than ever before, and even if one does explode inwardly the disaster will be contained by the honeycomb structure of the facility. Each reactor will be in it's own cell, the hot water will be pumped out into a massive cooling area shared by all the plants while cool water is pumped in - this water is clean since it doesn't mix with the reactor's own water pool. Seawater could be used for this, and the hot water could be pumped to an above ground sterling power facility that uses heat differentials for mechanical motion - powering the generators of the Sterling's. This dissipates the heat without wasting it - and thus lets the used water go back into the ocean without warming it up. Colder Polar Regions are optimal for this setup.
Power will be the most important part of the future's ability to progress, and the use of Tesla's idea of mass transmission across the globe will be put to a use he couldn't even imagine. The light bulbs he designed that never needed to be plugged into a wall could service the roads of the future at night - using electricity transmitted in the very air around the structure. Less copper and metals used less resources wasted, full efficiency and full economic benefits that equal the costs.
Signed - Yinepu Jackuul, S.W.B. Future World Dictator