GLOBAL ENERGY PROJECT

Part Two - LOW-LEVEL GEOTHERMAL

Written by Patrick C. Post

(6) The energy consumed for heating and cooling the majority of homes and buildings in the world could be reduced by 50-90% through the installation of low-level geothermal systems. This is possible because the temperature of the ground at 18 feet in depth anywhere on our planet does not vary more than one degree between summer and winter, and it does not matter if the outdoor air temperature is 100 degrees in summer or zero degrees in winter.

(7) The temperature of the ground at 18 feet in depth at the Equator averages 80 degrees Fahrenheit and at the North and South 45th Parallels it averages 45 degrees. Near the North and South Poles it's 10 degrees at 18 feet in depth, at zero feet in elevation. Any variation in soil temperature will be primarily caused by an increased elevation of the ground. This is because the ground temperature of Planet Earth will consistently drop 3 degrees for every 1000 feet in increased elevation of the land. An example of this can be clearly seen when comparing San Francisco, California at sea level, which has an average 60 degree soil temperature at 18 feet in depth and Denver, Colorado at 6000 feet in elevation, with a 42 degree soil temperature (3X6=18 degrees).

(8) It is also important to understand the temperature of the ground on our planet will consistently increase 1 degree Fahrenheit for every 100 feet of depth into the earth itself. At 1000 feet deep it's 10 degrees warmer than at 18 feet and at 5000 feet in depth it's 50 degrees warmer. These progressively increasing temperatures can be demonstrated by going into a mine shaft anywhere on the planet. 

GLOBAL ENERGY PROJECT

Part Three - PLANET EARTH AND GLOBAL WARMING

Written by Patrick C. Post

(9) Global warming has received a huge amount of attention over the last several years. The truth is our planet has been progressively heating for over 10,000 years. For example, during the middle of the last Ice Age 35,000 years ago, New York City was covered with 5000 feet of ice. In the last 500,000 years, earth has experienced five distinct Ice Ages averaging 65,000 years each, with warming periods averaging 35,000 years. We are accelerating the heating of the planet through increased CO2 pollution, but unfortunately too much time has been spent arguing about the potential causes of global warming, when we should be working together to reduce all forms of pollution in general.

(10) It is important to understand it's unlikely the oceans of the world will rise enough from potential global warming to have an effect on coastal populations for at least 100 years. For example, if all the ice at the North Pole melted tomorrow, the world's oceans would not rise at all because the ice covering the North Pole is only 5 feet thick in summer and 10 feet thick in winter. The North Pole in reality is a large open ocean (2000 miles wide x 3000 miles long). The Arctic Ocean covers 5.4 million square miles and it averages 5,000 to 10,000 feet in depth.

(11) This continent size area of ice, which is almost twice the size of Australia, is actually floating on top of the ocean water. The weight of the 5-10 foot thick ice displaces ocean water equal to 90% the mass of the ice. Think of it as an ice cube floating in a glass of water, with about 90% of the ice submerged and 10% of it exposed above the surface of the water. Since water expands about 10% when it freezes, the world's oceans would not rise if all the ice at the North Pole melted because the volume of ice would shrink by 10% once it melts. The proof is that every summer 50% of the ice at the North Pole melts and no one has ever noticed an increase in worldwide ocean levels from this event. If the entire North Pole icecap melted, excluding Greenland, Planet Earth's oceans would not rise one inch.

(12) In sharp contrast is the continent of Antarctica which measures 2500 miles in diameter. It is 1.5 times the size of Australia and it averages 6000 feet in elevation. Antarctica is by far the most consistently high elevation continent on earth and it contains 100 times more ice than the North Pole, excluding Greenland, which contains just less than 10% of the world's ice. Greenland is the biggest island on earth at 836,000 square miles and it's about 20% the size of Antarctica. It measures 700 miles wide X 1600 miles long. The below right picture shows the topography of Greenland without the ice sheet covering the land. You will notice the northern center portion of the island is 1000 feet below sea level. This was caused over millions of years by thousands of feet of ice compressing the earth into an enclosed basin. If all of the ice in Greenland melted, an enormous 1000 mile long X 200 mile wide lake would form covering more than 25% of the island's total surface area. This is unlikely since the ground temperature of Greenland varies at sealevel from 30 degrees in the south to 20 degrees in the north. In the high altitudes throughout most of Greenland, the ground temperatures will drop another 10-20 degrees.

(13) The main reason Antarctica contains 90% of the world's ice is the very high 6000 foot overall elevation of the land mass. This creates a unique environment because the ice sitting on top of the land mass, which averages over 4000 feet in depth, never melts noticeably between summer and winter. To explain this it is important to understand the ice sitting on top of the continent of Antarctica is at an average elevation of 10,000 feet. At this altitude, the South Pole is continually exposed to an average low air temperature of -60 degrees in winter with no sunlight and ZERO degrees for an average high in summer (24 hours of sunlight). This is why for millions of years the ice at the South Pole has continually built up more than it melts or evaporates. In contrast, the ice at the North Pole is at sea level and 50% of it melts every summer. Since ground temperatures drop 3 degrees for every 1000 feet in increased elevation, the temperature at the South Pole is 30 degrees colder than the North Pole. The average temperature at the North Pole is -30 degrees in winter and +30 in summer.

(14) There is another major difference between the two poles. Since the North Pole icecap is only 5-10 feet thick and it virtually floats on top of the ocean, it has direct contact with warmer ocean temperatures in summer. This causes the ice to melt from below. The 24 hours of sunlight in summer is also a big contributing factor to the shrinking of the ice. If Planet Earth warms by just 3 degrees, the ice at the North Pole will melt completely every summer and refreeze each winter. In contrast, a 3 degree increase in the (0 to -60 degree) air temperature at the South Pole and the lack of an ocean below the continent of Antarctica means the ice at the South Pole will not melt enough to cause sea levels to rise worldwide and create flooding problems for coastal populations. This is because 99% of the ice will remain below ZERO degrees, which is well below the freezing temperature of water (+32 degrees Fahrenheit).

ALBERT EINSTEIN - HIS THOUGHTS ON THE UNIVERSE AND GOD

"My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble minds. That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of god."