To address energy shortages, we need to produce more energy (geothermal, hydroelectricity, conventional power stations, etc.) which requires lots of water; To address water shortages, we need to produce more water (e.g. desalination), which requires lots of energy. We are in serious .... unless we come up with some technology that will break this vicious cycle.
In 2008, total worldwide energy consumption was 15 terawatts (15,000,000 megawatts) with 90 percent derived from the combustion of fossil fuels.The largest wind farm in the world is Horse Hollow Energy Center in Texas. This wind farm has 421 wind turbines that generate a total capacity of 735 megawatts. The wind turbines are spread across 75 square miles of land in Taylor and Nolan County, Texas.
To produce 15 terawatts, it may take approximately 1.5 million square miles spread, assuming there is wind. Wind and solar are considered intermittent energy sources because power generation may vary due to uncontrollable conditions.
For my road bike, there were no shortages of research materials on the Internet. My head was dizzy with biking geek jargons and conflicting advices from my riding friends. Don’t want to be a racer, just wanted a good road bike for recreational rides. The cover page of Bicycling magazine caught my eye at the airport while on a business trip. The bike reviews were quite interesting. I quickly realized that I need to shell out some high dollars to get a good road bike and wanted to keep it under $1,500. I also went to Performance Bike on FM 1960 to check out what they had. The Schwinn Peloton and this review caught my eye. Because of the 2008 model year change, I was able to get a good price for the carbon frame bike for $1,400. Hope this bike will last me awhile.
