Thanks ever so, Josh. And when you see him, could you please also check in on how the organizing committee for the Musk Prize Foundation is coming along? It’s time to eclipse the stale old Nobel prize committees. The Nobel edifice is a box that begs to be thought outside of!
The proposal laid out by Martin Truther in "A Boring Approach to Saving the World" imagines a grand-scale use of The Boring Company's tunnel technology, combined with geothermal energy for global problem-solving in areas like desalination, energy generation, and climate change mitigation. Here's an analysis of the idea:
Feasibility:
Geothermal Energy: Using geothermal energy for desalination is not new, but scaling it up dramatically with advanced drilling technology could indeed lower costs and increase viability. The key challenge would be the depth and heat management, where robotics and materials science would play crucial roles.
Desalination: Distillation is energy-intensive, and while geothermal energy could provide this, the scale proposed here is immense. The logistics of managing such large volumes of water, including the handling of salt byproduct, would require significant further innovation.
Environmental Impact:
Positive: Creating fresh water from seawater could transform arid regions into fertile ones, supporting agriculture and reducing dependency on fossil water resources. The release of water vapor might help in reflecting sunlight, potentially mitigating some aspects of global warming.
Negative: The scale of operations could lead to unforeseen environmental impacts, like altering local climates, affecting marine ecosystems due to salt disposal issues, or causing seismic activities from deep drilling.
Technical Challenges:
Temperature and Material Endurance: Operating in environments where temperatures can exceed 1500F requires materials that can withstand extreme conditions without degrading quickly.
Salt Management: Salt crystallization could indeed clog systems, and while mining or selling the salt could be a solution, this would need to be managed on an unprecedented scale.
Energy Efficiency: Even with geothermal energy, the energy efficiency of such a system would need to be optimized to make it viable against other desalination or energy production methods.
Economic and Market Considerations:
Cost vs. Benefit: The initial investment would be massive, but if the technology could be scaled down in cost as suggested, it might become economically feasible. However, the lack of immediate market demand for "saving the world" as Truther notes, poses a challenge in funding and motivation.
Infrastructure: Building and maintaining such an infrastructure would require significant investment, not just in construction but in maintenance, monitoring, and environmental management.
Innovation and Broader Implications:
Technological Advancement: This concept pushes for innovations in several fields including robotics, geothermal energy extraction, and environmental engineering.
Global Impact: If successful, it could fundamentally change how we manage water resources and energy, potentially influencing international relations and economics around water scarcity.
My Opinion:
The idea is certainly visionary and aligns with the kind of "big thinking" that characterizes some of Musk's projects. While it's speculative, the integration of existing technologies (tunneling, geothermal) in new ways to address global challenges is an interesting approach.
However, the practical implementation would face numerous challenges, from technical feasibility to environmental impact, and would require a concerted effort in multiple scientific and engineering disciplines.
From a Permaculture perspective, the concept of stacking functions is indeed well applied here, offering multiple benefits from a single initiative.
This proposal would need extensive research, pilot projects, and perhaps a shift in how we think about infrastructure and resource management on a global scale. It's a bold vision, but like all such visions, the devil is in the details of how it can be brought to life sustainably and ethically.
Thanks once more for creative thought and an entertaining writing style. Next time I see Elon, I will be sure to mention your idea.
Thanks ever so, Josh. And when you see him, could you please also check in on how the organizing committee for the Musk Prize Foundation is coming along? It’s time to eclipse the stale old Nobel prize committees. The Nobel edifice is a box that begs to be thought outside of!
What GROK said after reading:
The proposal laid out by Martin Truther in "A Boring Approach to Saving the World" imagines a grand-scale use of The Boring Company's tunnel technology, combined with geothermal energy for global problem-solving in areas like desalination, energy generation, and climate change mitigation. Here's an analysis of the idea:
Feasibility:
Geothermal Energy: Using geothermal energy for desalination is not new, but scaling it up dramatically with advanced drilling technology could indeed lower costs and increase viability. The key challenge would be the depth and heat management, where robotics and materials science would play crucial roles.
Desalination: Distillation is energy-intensive, and while geothermal energy could provide this, the scale proposed here is immense. The logistics of managing such large volumes of water, including the handling of salt byproduct, would require significant further innovation.
Environmental Impact:
Positive: Creating fresh water from seawater could transform arid regions into fertile ones, supporting agriculture and reducing dependency on fossil water resources. The release of water vapor might help in reflecting sunlight, potentially mitigating some aspects of global warming.
Negative: The scale of operations could lead to unforeseen environmental impacts, like altering local climates, affecting marine ecosystems due to salt disposal issues, or causing seismic activities from deep drilling.
Technical Challenges:
Temperature and Material Endurance: Operating in environments where temperatures can exceed 1500F requires materials that can withstand extreme conditions without degrading quickly.
Salt Management: Salt crystallization could indeed clog systems, and while mining or selling the salt could be a solution, this would need to be managed on an unprecedented scale.
Energy Efficiency: Even with geothermal energy, the energy efficiency of such a system would need to be optimized to make it viable against other desalination or energy production methods.
Economic and Market Considerations:
Cost vs. Benefit: The initial investment would be massive, but if the technology could be scaled down in cost as suggested, it might become economically feasible. However, the lack of immediate market demand for "saving the world" as Truther notes, poses a challenge in funding and motivation.
Infrastructure: Building and maintaining such an infrastructure would require significant investment, not just in construction but in maintenance, monitoring, and environmental management.
Innovation and Broader Implications:
Technological Advancement: This concept pushes for innovations in several fields including robotics, geothermal energy extraction, and environmental engineering.
Global Impact: If successful, it could fundamentally change how we manage water resources and energy, potentially influencing international relations and economics around water scarcity.
My Opinion:
The idea is certainly visionary and aligns with the kind of "big thinking" that characterizes some of Musk's projects. While it's speculative, the integration of existing technologies (tunneling, geothermal) in new ways to address global challenges is an interesting approach.
However, the practical implementation would face numerous challenges, from technical feasibility to environmental impact, and would require a concerted effort in multiple scientific and engineering disciplines.
From a Permaculture perspective, the concept of stacking functions is indeed well applied here, offering multiple benefits from a single initiative.
This proposal would need extensive research, pilot projects, and perhaps a shift in how we think about infrastructure and resource management on a global scale. It's a bold vision, but like all such visions, the devil is in the details of how it can be brought to life sustainably and ethically.
For reference— another boring company: https://www.facebook.com/61556285518133/videos/2061043414298240/?fs=e&mibextid=0NULKw&fs=e&s=TIeQ9V