All posts by Peter Terezakis

Earth, NYC, Sustainable Energy

Sheep watching wolves

US Senators Re-Introduce MLP Act to Level Playing Field for Renewable Energy
“SAN FRANCISCO — JinkoSolar Holding Co. and First Solar Inc. were among solar companies that
surged after four U.S. senators introduced legislation that would let renewable- energy projects
qualify for a tax-advantaged corporate structure currently used by oil, natural gas and pipeline
projects.”  — Reneweable Energy World (Bloomberg)
What about cutting the tax-advantage structure for the oil industries and putting ALL energy producing
entities on the SAME playing field? Closing the loopholes in environmental regulations
would be a good start.
Fracking 101: Evasion and escape from environmental laws and regulation
NYT • Sierra Club • Environmental Defense Fund • Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy
Oil is being traded on the international market. Anyone who thinks that cheap oil and gas is going to
selectively benefit Americans, or achieve “energy independence” has drunk deeply from
Philip Howard’s cup of hemlock.
Once the gas and oil wells have been depleted (three to five years?), what will that land be good for?
Will it ever again be fit for farming or grazing?
Fracked fields in North DakotaFracking operation in Wyoming
Waste water from fracking operations has been found to be contaminated with radioactive elements 300 times higher than federal limits for drinking water and exposure.
If we were alerted that terrorists were intent on poisoning our drinking water or farmlands they would justifiably be met with lethal force.
Why are the American people – and their elected representatives – allowing the poisoning of their water and their land?
The deployment and increased development of solar systems on every roof top in America is our current best way to go. At least until LENR or another technology arrives which disrupts the current coal-oil paradigm.
Once a topic of science fiction, fantasy, and failed dreams, near infinite sources of energy may be near:
In the late 1850s, the whaling industry was in a veritable boom in the town of Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Business was great and many in the whaling industry believed that increased demand would continue for decades to come. But in 1859 oil was discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania by Edwin Drake. The rest is history. That was 150 years ago. A small but increasing number of people around the world believe we are on a similar course, except that this time it is the petroleum industry that might be threatened. The article then goes on to provide an overview of the history and current state of LENR, and discuss its very disruptive nature should it emerge as a useful source of energy. The authors do not predict that LENR will definitely replace petroleum’s place as a primary energy source, but are willing to countenance that it is a real possibility. They emphasize that the petroleum industry needs to be prepared to deal with the possible disruptions that could come if LENR pans out to be a viable alternative energy source. They state: If proven to work, what impact would LENR have on the petroleum industry? It is difficult to say for certain, but it would undoubtedly be significant. The vast preponderance of oil is used for transportation and heating which would now be competing with LENR. While there would still be need for petroleum chemicals and other applications, collectively these end uses represent less than about 20% of each barrel. Natural gas would not fare much better; its main applications are heating and electricity. If LENR works the impact on the petroleum industry, power generation and coal industry would be enormous. It’s quite a significant thing in my opinion, for an article like this to be published in a respected publication in the petroleum industry. The Journal of Petroleum Technology is the official magazine of Society of Petroleum Engineers. I would not be surprised if this starts a conversation among professionals in the oil industies, and leads to more attention being paid to the emerging LENR story. To read the article you will need to go to this link, http://www.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?i=116298and choose ‘Contents’ from the menu at the top. The article begins on page 18.
Editorial in Oil Industry Trade Magazine Focuses on LENR Threat. Click image above. Read the article on page 18.

Something needs to change for the better and change before we are paying more for a drink of water than we are for a gallon of gasoline.

The Privatization of Water: Nestlé Denies that Water is a Fundamental Human Right
The Privatization of Water: Nestlé Denies that Water is a Fundamental Human Right

But this is another chapter in the same story and I will leave this for another series of posts.

Peter Terezakis
ITP Master’s Candidate
Tisch School of the Arts
http://www.terezakis.com
epiVA

DIY Virtual Reality Goggles ?

I thought these things would have been uber available by now.
VR glasses University of Utah 1971
A couple of companies have goggles, but they are just too expensive for what I have in mind
for the double-duplex out-of-body telepresence experience project for class.
Oculus Rift - Kickstarter product
As the production run for the Oculus Rift goggles (above) was slated for June of last year,
the developer version $300, and they haven’t returned my phone calls, I may have to hack my own
version of Virtual Reality Goggles for this project.The three main components for the VR goggles is the frame or wearable viewing package (holds optics and
electronics in place), the optics used to shrink the distance needed to view the image on the display, and the
display.Found this refresher series on vision useful for basics…
I love the graphics!
I do love the graphics!
Here’s another low tech approach: