Cold Water Resources
Answer to the Drought Crisis: the "California Cold Rush". Is it time?
Open Message to the people of California, June 2015:
Big changes are coming whatever we do. It is impossible to deny and our objective must be to adapt and grow, not resist and whither. Doing nothing is the same as denial and endless problem analysis is not an answer.
I am calling for immediate action with easy, low-tech, low-cost adaptation that is very powerful and capable of removing the limitations that our water scarcity crisis imposes on the people, communities and business sectors; this innovation can take the brakes off the economy to open a new path unlimited Blue Green economic growth.
I have tried to communicate this disruptive solution to the people of California since 2001, as described at the Cold Water Resources page of the Sola Roof.org/wiki - now, perhaps the timing is right to renew my call to you Californians to wake up to this incredible, enriching, uplifting opportunity to exploit your cold on-shore waters and proclaim that the California Cold Rush is on!
Not only is the timing now perfect (because people are desperate for answers) but it is clear that the fit of Sola Roof is a catalyst for action because the Agri POD is ready and PODpioneers are activating to create exemplar projects revealing relief from the Food+Energy+Water (FEW) nexus of crisis, with a plan that is immediately profitable and self-funding and will rapidly drop water demand while generating a new source of Water-from-Air powered by the Blue Green ecosystems operating within the Agri POD. California can be a POD Enterprise Network (POD Net) builder and take a leading position in this solution that is urgently needed worldwide. Give POD Net a home and place to rapidly incubate and thrive - delivering on the mission of FEW 4 All.
I am urgently asking for action and stand ready to help and to work with you to collaboratively develop and to cooperatively share our Open Source solutions to global challenges. We must move with all speed to avert the deep dislocation and suffering that will soon be on our door step. Please read below:
Cold Water Resources - Food+Energy+Water (FEW) solution for California
A further multiplier in efficiency for cooling our homes and communities can be provided by the Sola Roof Liquid Solar concept - where cold and/or cool water resources are tapped to avoid the energy intense process of "chilling". Conventional air-conditioners make chilled water that is then circulated to heat exchangers located in ducts or in the rooms of a building. Unfortunately, air-conditioners use CFC & Electric Power to manufacture the cold water. Why should we do this? It has been proven that Deep Ocean and Deep LakeWater or Ground Water that is accessible to the majority of the world's large population centers and is especially available to the coastal population of California. We do not need a massive power plant construction program - we need to build a large number of relatively small water pumping plants along the coast to easily tap an unlimited supply of 7 to 12 degree C and colder Pacific coastal ocean currents.
The Blue Green revolution combines the BLUE water based technology and the GREEN living plant cultivation that is well integrated with the Solaroof building construction system to create a Sustainable Development for economic growth that can SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT. The translucent roof cover also permits diffuse daylight to pass through the roof system and reduces the mid-day use of artificial lighting. This means that the small energy demand created by this system (the water-pumping load vs. the equivalent air-conditioning electrical demand) can be matched to a PV power generation capacity. In this manner the cooling of buildings will become completely clean and very efficient.
Also, there is a very viable transition step available to move towards a Blue Green energy solution. Conventional chilled-water air-conditioned buildings can be coupled (by heat exchangers) to a Liquid Cooling district cooling system and thereby achieve dramatic energy savings. The Sea Water Air Conditioning (SWAC) technology is well proven and I encourage you to find out more by visiting my "district cooling" link or click here: http://www.makai.com/p-swac.htm.
I recommend that you visit the Website of the Common Heritage Corporation in Hawaii - the birthplace of Cold Water Agriculture at: http://www.commonheritagecorp.com. Learn more about the father Cold Ocean Water systems: Dr. John Craven at http://www.aloha.com/~craven.
Spread the message! Together we can build the coming Blue Green millennium
Richard Nelson
BUILDING a sustainable future
I renew the challenge (first sent out in the summer of 2001) in this Open Letter calling for a Blue Green Revolution in California,
The California Cold Rush - it's on!
The Blue Green solution is an outstanding opportunity to completely eliminate the California Energy Crisis. Buildings can have conventional air-conditioning systems coupled to cold water district cooling. They then no longer use their chillers but tap into the infinitely large (by all standards this is an inexhaustible cold energy sink) offshore energy resource for cooling. This brings a direct 80 to 90% savings in energy expended to meet the demand. The next step is to build Blue Green communities, where buildings and residences use the Sola Roof processes of Liquid Cooling and Green Plants at the roof-level, to transform solar radiant energy into generous supplies of fresh water - and at the same time produce biomass to energy and/food and other kinds of plant products.
Thus far I have found a nearly total silence from public officials and authorities in response to the presentation of the Blue Green solution. But, at the Grass Roots level the message is going out, and many are beginning to ask the inevitable questions that reflect poorly on those in authority and the energy industry complex. Do THEY apparently want US to continue to expend billions to obtain cooling that is (like solar) FREE and at hand and could be accessed at a fraction of the cost WE pay for their products? These air-conditioning products and the utilities that power them reap a huge profit at the expense of the environment.
To those who would ignore the Blue Green revolution we must say: Wake up! Go stick your toes in the water along any of the beaches of California! What we have here is the opportunity for a California Cold Rush! This Cold Rush will again make California the place of prosperity and growth but at the same time return to Californians a chance to live in a pristine environment. I am requesting your support to get this message out. Let those of you in the position of providing technical advice and economic leadership act now to bring public attention to this solution. Together we can build the coming Blue Green revolution.
For you information I have attached these comments from the source of the Cold Ocean Water revolution: On July 20, 2001 Dr. Jack R. Davidson CEO of the Common Heritage Corporation, Keahole point in Kona, Hawaii wrote, quote:
Richard,
I had time to reread your emails again this morning and to visit your web site. It looks like we are on the same track in trying to build sustainable habitats and sustainable communities. Common Heritage Corporation believes the use of the cold deep ocean water has great potential for improving lives of people (particularly the poor) living in the coastal deserts of the world. Our primary mission is to get these innovations utilized for the benefit of such people. We have put a great deal of our efforts to this point in demonstrating these possibilities. As you know from our web site, we maintain a demonstration facility at Keahole point in Kona, Hawaii.
Within the suite of technologies that have been developed is the capacity to substitute for large amounts of electricity used for air conditioning and industrial cooling at great cost savings in both developing and developed countries. To this end I gave a paper titled "California's Energy Future and Cold Ocean Water" at the Pacific Congress on Ocean Science and Technology Conference in San Francisco on July 9. I was hoping that the paper might strike up a cord in line with California's energy woes. I'd hoped it might get some attention in the press. Unfortunately there was no press at the conference sessions. I note you have recognized this potential for cooling California communities in the sidebar items on your web page under "Green Energy" and "energy solutions".
...The coast down from San Francisco through Monterey has very cold surface water (8 to 12 degrees C). I was unable to find any information on temperatures below the surface for this area. I had a lot on my plate at the time I was trying to write the paper and didn't have the time to research this thoroughly. Anyway if it is even a few degrees lower than the surface temperature it would not be necessary to go down to 2000 feet or more to get the Arctic water we can access in the rest of the ocean. The potential saving of electricity and environmental costs are enormous even with long cold ocean supply lines. In the case of communities like Santa Cruz and Santa Clara it may be available at a fraction of the costs since these long pipes would not be needed.
The state of California is not only one of the greatest economies in the world, it is also has one of the greatest bureaucracies. We could probably spend the rest of our lives getting the state to give attention to this opportunity. On the other hand California coastal communities are pretty "Green" minded. Of course they will panic into non-green energy solutions (perhaps even nuclear) like any other group if faced with turning off their amenities. On the other hand they are probably the most apt to listen if there is a "green solution." with major cost and environmental benefits. So a package with Cold Ocean Water and your technologies might have a great attraction to these communities. It would seem that if Cornell University is foresighted enough and capable of moving to a long term green solution these communities should be. They've been in operation a year now. So how do we go about getting their attention?
end quote.
You can see from this authoritative source that the energy solution for California's energy problem is close at hand indeed. I estimate the ultimate reduction (while serving the same demand) would conservatively be 20,000 Megawatts of the peak production, which would be avoided. The blackouts represent a shortage of about 5,000 Megawatts (at Peak) - therefore current production need not be expanded. No massive power plant construction program is required. Unfortunately, air-conditioners use CFC & Electric Power to manufacture the cold water! Why should we do this? It is proved that Cold Water Resources (including Ocean, Lake Aquifers) is accessible to the majority of the world's large population centers and is especially available to the coastal population of California. We do not need a massive power plant construction program. This is truly important and Californians deserve to be informed at a Grass Roots level about the Blue Green solution. Please help!
republished here in October, 2006 Richard Nelson Email: solaroof@gmail.com Website: http://www.solaroof.org Together we can BUILD a sustainable future
I am seeking some feedback from individuals who are proactively working to establish a solution to the West Coast Electrical Power Supply Crisis as well as to achieve a broader goal: to manifest an ecology-conscious lifestyle. I am inviting you to investigate and then join with Sola Roof to build the Blue Green revolution - a solution offering sustainable growth and development. I am calling for an Internet-based Grass Roots initiative to establish a worldwide collaboration that will put these methods into the hands of individuals and families. They will receive, in an open-technology framework, the technical know how and support needed and, by sharing experience, they will be enabled take decisive action to SAVE the environment in their own homes and backyards.
Few people are aware that the electrical demand of buildings for lighting and air-conditioning in many markets exceeds the energy demands of the transportation sector. On a national level, energy demand for the lighting, heating and cooling of buildings consume the majority of all electrical power produced. Furthermore the electrical power generation is the dirtiest - with over half of this energy coming from coal combustion (in the USA). Blue Green community design can reduce the daily use of automotive transportation by making urban developments pleasant environments to walk and bike and use small electric neighborhood vehicles. Additionally, the Liquid Cooling concept combined with District Cooling (You can find information about - solaroof.org - at our website) provides for intensive crop production using cold water agriculture. The Sola Roof construction paradigm provides a "Blue Green" system to grow plant crops at the roof level of buildings and can reduce the energy for the transportation of food into urban areas while providing quality (vine-ripe) local fresh produce that is chemical-free.
Therefore, would it be possible to establish a discussion within your program that will lead to some inclusion of the Blue Green sustainable development concepts in your environmental action plans?
Please have a look at the Sola Roof technology at our Wiki Website. I am launching the Grass Roots initiative for the world wide collaborative development and implementation of the Sola Roof Tech. We are inviting everyone - professionals, homeowners, builders, developers and students to participate. We will develop a shared based of experience and know-how that will be available to individuals and communities anywhere to support their efforts to build Sola Roof Projects.
I would like to know what you think you could do proactively, such as publication and helping us to get this message out and teaming up to provide technical/instructional support to those who are moving forward with projects. Perhaps your organization or some of your environmental associates would be excited about our new concepts and would help pioneer this technology.
Thank you very much for any suggestions, feedback or help that you can offer.
Together we can build the Blue Green revolution - I remain yours truly,
Richard Nelson July 31, 2001