Houston, we have an energy problem.

With some intriguing exceptions, what we've typically done in the energy field is find things that will burn, and then burn them. So far, so good. It works. Certainly we've taken the phenomena of rapid oxidation of fossil remains a long way. But, there are complications. (Aren't there always?) So...if we're to avoid being slammed back into the pre-industrial age, if not back to the stone-age, we're going to have to solve a few vexing problems. Hey, humans!that’s what we do! To this end, (that of solving vexing problems), I would like to offer here, what I think is an important key innovation. Not the to solution to humanity's core issue, but perhaps a chance to last long enough to address that too. Writing this, (in the spring of 2010), we have before us the compelling example of the ongoing disaster of the destruction of the deep water drilling platform 'Deep Water Horizon'. This oil rig installation was an example of just how sophisticated our deep-drilling technology has become. No obsolete fly-by-night operation was this, it was near the top of what we've been able to achieve in this arena. Lets call it, 'deep holes'. To date, all of our innovations in the of art making deep holes in the earth have been incremental improvements from the time we did it by poking sticks into the ground. We are still poking sticks into the ground. I've worked in applied manufacturing technology for many years and what that is, no more and no less than drilling deep holes is a process of defining goals and solving problems. So the goal becomes the problem and we get our ducks lined up and we take a whack at it. What has to happen so something can happen? Stir and repeat.

Presuming to myself that I’m fairly well informed about many of the horrors our high-energy consumptive ways have created, the choice to leverage technology has already been made. There is no going back unless we're thrown back, and that would be bad. (Call it a premise). Without a doubt, the cheapest kilowatt you’ll ever buy is the one you don’t. We in the US are running at half the thermal efficiency we could.

In trying to categorize and prioritize the many issues that face us (industrialized humans) and challenges to our survival, I've identified one of the pillars that must be added to the basic food, water, shelter paradigm. That is, we *must* keep the lights on. Even as the hole in the ocean that was once the Deep Water Horizon continues to stream thousands of barrels of oil a day into the Gulf of Mexico, we know, without a doubt, that we're going to keep doing it.

Can we do it better? Yes. But it gets deep from here on out. (No pun intended).

My thought here is to move towards not drilling holes like monkeys with sticks boring for termites, brilliant though that technique is, but to do it like earthworms do it. They make worm holes in soil, much to everybody's benefit, without it seems, a lot of fuss. As short as I think I can make it, the idea is to:
1) Put the motor that drives the cutting of rocks at the bottom, where the work is being done.
2) Replace the steel-pipe 'drill string' with an undulating peristaltic 'worm'.

Now armed with this insight, I went where anybody would go, I went to google, to find out more about energy extraction from the earth's heat. Who else is thinking seriously about this? It turns out, we are, through our educational institutions and government funding of research, and other stuff. It turns out lots and lots of people are too and you can read about them here:
"Enhanced Geothermal Systems" by the bright people at M.I.T. and their colleagues, who have researched and published this 372 page tome at U.S. government expense for the benefit of the people. Read a couple chapters of this material and you too can become adequately prepared to have an intelligent conversation about geothermal energy. I think it’s why they wrote it. Reading the report can be a bit of a slog in places, certainly the math concerning financing of exploration activities is over my head, but it is well organized, there is a glossary at the end, The authors of the report also conclude that a limiting factor is the technology of making really deep holes.

If making worm holes allow us to tap the immense heat stored in our planet, just a few miles down, we will still not lack for recuperative and revitalizing tasks for ourselves and the planet. I would be surprised if we could not achieve bore lengths of 50 miles or so once the technique matures.

Some may be curious about some of the details of how this ‘worm hole’ thing is supposed to work. The efficacy of this approach may not be readily apparent to all, but just possibly, some minds are already reeling with the implications, I know mine is and yes, there is more to say.


Sincerely,
G. Mark Boldi
May 2, 2010

mark@codc.org