Catching the Fuel of the Future

Scientific research proving global warming is coming in like pre-quakes before the big one and only rock-hard and bone-headed sceptics reject the tsunami of evidence showing that the world is steadily heating up. Proving the actual cause of the warming is a bit trickier, but the massive amount of greenhouse gases we tiny humans are constantly feeding to the atmosphere sure seem like an obvious culprit. According to IMO the Shipping industry produce about 2.2% of the global carbon dioxide. Doesn't sound like much, you say? I can, with a bad conscience, admit that I agree, thinking that the pesky agricultural industry should clean up their act first. However, although the similarities are striking, the world is not a kindergarden and we should all make sure we can look our grandchildren in our eyes and tell them what we did to make a contribution. So, what options can we choose from in order to make them sail the green wave into the future?

Well, let’s take a close look at the hot contestants in this green and renewable Paradise Hotel show of energy solutions:

First, we have the strong and burly Diesel who has a great position and has won all of the previous contests, but is still pretty much looked down upon by everyone except a few devoted supporters who are working franticly to provide him with engines and cleaning systems he can use to clean up his act. He is not cheap, but he sure does deliver, and we will definitely receive a wake-up-to-reality-punch-in-the-face if he is voted out too early as none of the other contestants are really up to the task of taking over the throne quite yet.

Second, we have the blond and beautiful  Liquid Natural Gas ice queen. She has been around for ages trying to shove out mr.Diesel but hasn't really got the tactics right yet and now she's starting to look more like a cougar than a young beauty queen. She does, however, have some great advantages as she is available and affordable, although getting everything sorted preparing for her is quite expensive. She is very clean, but her dark secret, Methane Slip is actually not so secret after all, and really puts her up there with mr.Diesel when it comes to global warming. Also, you really gotta know how to handle her, or she may cause you some heartache.

Third contestant is is LNG's twin sister, Liquid Bio Gas. Now here is quite an enigma, as she is an identical twin in theory, but still much more attractive as calculator magicians can prove that she is actually reducing the total emissions of greenhouse gases. Everybody loves her, until they see the costs. After all, she really is no different from LNG, right? Perhaps Green Certificates could be the road to victory.

Next is Biodiesel, the younger brother of Mr.Diesel. He has a reputation for destroying rainforest, consuming agricultural land, killing orangutan babies, and not really being much cleaner than his brother. He claims he loves to be renewable and carbon-neutral, you just have to do him the right way!

Then you have Methanol, a clean and handsome hipster with very expensive habits, a well groomed beard and requiring us to use semi-developed fancy equipment that may work, sometimes. He can be the product of bacteria and plankton and although he thinks he's the best, he doesnt have many fans for the time being, as people love their money too much.

The star of the show is ms.Hydrogen. Now she is a work of art, as she can produce limitless amounts of sparkling green and renewable energy. She's beautiful, versatile and intelligent, but with an almost uncontrollable anger, and is known to blow up without further ado. Accidents will happen! Also, she doesn't like to travel, and getting her from one place to the other is an epic hassle. So far, her shows are few and far between, and the tickets cost much more than they're worth. But we are all hoping for an improvement!

Ammonia is the son of Ms.Hydrogen. He works well with both fuel cells and engines, and can solve the problems of  transporting green hydrogen molecules although he is very big and heavy compared to how much punch he carries. He has a toxic personality and likes to kill people.

Dimethylether or DME amongst friends, is a funky and dried out relative of Methanol. Just as clean and attractive, she also boists renewable potential as she loves to do magic with organic materials. As easy to liquify as Petroleum Gas (LPG), she is much easier to move around than LNG. And who cares about emissions, as long as they are renewable, right?

Our next contestant is a navy sailor serving jail time for serious offences, and is persona non grata. His name is Nuclear, and would actually do the job better than anyone. Unfortunately, if he makes a royal mistake he can ruin our world, and until someone can figure out a way to convert him to Thorium, Im afraid he has an uphill struggle to win this show.

Getting close to the end, Mr.Battery shows up. He is big and heavy, with very little work capacity, and he sure knows what to charge for his meager services. Unless something very unexpected happens he will continue to be mainly support cast, working best together with one of the stars, or getting short jobs where he gets plenty of Rest&Recreation.

Finally, the big ole' bastard HFO is still lurking in the shadows, and can either put on some serious sulphuric make-up, or buy expensive cruthches that make him hobble around with a green face. A pig with make-up is still a pig.

So, who's going to be the great and powerful winner of this contest? Will a single contestant demolish all competitors, will they share the show and specialize in individiual segments, or will a new challenger swipe all competition off the board?

Personally, I would love to see Thorium enter the playing field, but to keep things realistic I see ammonia and DME as strong contenders, along with LNG and LBG in sweet union. My plan is to continue my ramblings in this blog, and see where it all leads to. Stay tuned and out of Corona-reach!