The Hindu Business Line : Re-inventing energy

Einstein explained the issue, "Oil is an integral part of our daily lives. It plays such a vital role in supplying energy for the production of almost everything — cars, plastics, electricity and what not.

"Unlike other commodities, an increase in oil prices does not play a healthy role for most of the countries. When oil companies increase the prices, making more profits, they spend the money in creating new refineries in other countries and not in the US. They pay money for creating employment and making the economy better for other countries including the Middle East. In fact, for more than 30 years, no new refineries were built in the US and they are consuming more oil by the day."

Archimedes said, "Before I yell a Eureka to the problem, I agree that higher oil prices not only affect the economy but also create major problems for the entire world. One of the solutions is to find alternate energy. As an investor, one way to profit from investing is to have alternate energy as part of the portfolio."

"Aren't you buoyant today?" Edison teased. "I have the perfect solution. It is natural gas. The biggest advantage of natural gas is that it causes less pollution and it is produced within the states. As a country, US is not dependent on natural gas from the Middle East and other oil producing nations. In the recent times, natural gas is playing a vital role in the energy industry. In fact, the price of natural gas has increased more as the consumption is increasing. Natural gas is being used for heating and electricity and that is the reason why, during winter months, the price of natural gas goes even higher as we consume more during the season.

"Some of the companies that are heavily into producing and exploration of natural gas include Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK) and Southwestern Energy Company (SWN)."

One of the Wright brothers interrupted, "I know a thing or two about transport. Let me tell you. Even though natural gas is one of the best alternatives to crude oil, transporting and storing it is far more difficult than regular crude and refined oil, making it economically not feasible as an alternative to regular oil."

James Watt, all steamed up, said, "I stick with coal. The biggest advantage is its availability in abundance, not only in the US, but also worldwide. The major portion of our electricity comes from coal."

Charles Babbage quipped, "Looking at my computer I find that the major problem with coal being used as an energy source is that it emits high levels of pollutants which only causes more problems to the global warming issues. Coal as the main resource of energy would only worsen the situation.

James Watt defended, "However, in spite of its problems, coal is still being used as a major supplier of energy in the world and some of the companies that are involved are Peabody Energy Corporation (BTU) and Arch Coal, Inc. (ACI)."

Einstein, sensing that this was quite a discussion, intervened, "Why is no one thinking about solar energy? Almost every one of us has used it, mostly in our calculators. In fact, the energy produced by the sun is more than sufficient to take care of all the energy needs of the world. However, the biggest challenge lies in storing the energy and using it after the sunsets or when it is hidden behind the clouds.

"The solar energy would be one of the clean and renewable energies that we could produce. Even though solar energy is being used on a relatively small scale, but when it comes to replacing oil, solar energy is in the initial stages.

"A few companies, such as Ever Green Solar (ESLR) and Sunpower Corporation (SPWR), are already into producing solar energy as a viable alternative source of energy."

"Niels Bohr thumped the table, "C'mon! The energy produced by nuclear reactors can literally solve all of our energy problems. "

Einstein's daughter interrupted. "No offence, Mr Bohr, and I am no Marie Curie. But during nuclear fission, when massive amount of energy is being produced, the radioactive wastes are also produced as a by-product.

"Also, dumping the radioactive rods and other waste materials are a big danger to human beings even for thousands of years. Unless, a viable solution is found for dumping these, nuclear energy would still remain a distant dream for many countries."

Alfred Nobel threw a dynamite. "I think we should consider wind. Wind produces clean energy and the technology involved in it is a lot simpler than that in solar and nuclear energy. It involves building wind turbines and blades in areas with a fair amount of constant wind. Since wind is a natural resource, and is always available, the possibility of future shortage is very minimal. Besides, the area used by wind turbines can also be used for other purposes like farming.

"Wind energy is mainly catching up in Europe. The major suppliers of wind energy are General Electric (GE) and Siemens AG (SI). These companies produce wind turbines and help companies and countries install wind as a major supplier of energy source. "

Edison shook his head. "Wonder what happens when the wind doesn't blow."

Einstein said, "Ah! One thing is for sure. If the 90s is for technology, then the 2000s are for energy."

Newton realised that all the options were covered. He addressed Einstein's daughter, "I am not sure if there is an alternative energy for oil; I do know that there is no alternative to an ethereal and brainy beauty like you."

Newton's answer made her float, defying all the laws of gravity.

The authors are publishers of www.wisepen.com

Racy@TheHindu.co.in