{"id":43080,"date":"2026-09-10T23:32:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T23:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wikisolver.org\/staging\/6797\/?p=43080"},"modified":"2026-09-15T21:31:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T21:31:35","slug":"plan-a-the-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wikisolver.org\/staging\/6797\/plan-a-the-u-s\/","title":{"rendered":"Plan A: The U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n

\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n
\"Open<\/a>\n\n<\/figure>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Coal is\u00a0extracted from the ground either at ground level by open pit\u00a0mining, or by shaft mining. The world’s top producer and user of coal (and\u00a0energy in general)\u00a0is China, accounting for about half of\u00a0global coal consumption.<\/p>\n\n

Coal-fired electric power generation emits approximately 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2)\u00a0per megawatt-hour generated, almost double the CO2 released by natural gas-fired plants per megawatt-hour generated. Coal supplies about 70% of China’s total energy consumption, however the International Energy Agency (IEA)\u00a0projects that it will fall to 59% by 2035 due to\u00a0higher energy efficiencies and China’s goal to reduce carbon emissions per unit of GDP. However, absolute coal consumption is expected to double over this period due to the large growth in total energy consumption.<\/p>\n\n

\"killer<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thick, off-the-scale smog routinely shrouds eastern China in winter, forcing airlines to cancel flights because of poor visibility and prompting the government to temporarily shut down factories and curtail fleets of government cars; streetlights and buildings all but disappear into the haze and pedestrians don face masks. But the problem is global: as of May 2013 worldwide levels of the chief greenhouse gas that causes global warming, carbon dioxide, reached 400 parts per million, an amount never before encountered by humans. The last time this happened was at least 2 million years (could be as much as 10 million years)\u00a0ago, during the Pleistocene Era. When measurements of this gas were first taken in 1958, it was 315 ppm; currently, the concentration of CO2 is growing at about 2 parts per million per year, 100 times faster than at the end of the Ice Age. At that time it took 7,000 years for CO2 levels to rise by 80 parts per million. Now, because of burning fossil fuels, particularly coal and oil, levels\u00a0have risen\u00a0by the same amount in just 55 years. Natural gas, which is 75% methane, a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, also pollutes the air, albeit at a lower rate.\u00a0Today the concentration of carbon dioxide is rising at 2 ppm per year. If the entire world\u00a0were to switch\u00a0to gas, the concentration of CO2 would still\u00a0rise at approximately 1 ppm per year, and methane would increase as well.<\/p>\n\n

\"The<\/a>\n\n<\/figure>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today’s giant earth-moving machines\u00a0would fit right into science fiction movies, a far cry from\u00a0the equipment used\u00a0when the Panama Canal was built.\u00a0Almost any\u00a0excavation project\u00a0is possible if the required\u00a0technological,\u00a0political, human\u00a0and financial resources are brought to bear.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/a>\n\n<\/figure>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

There’s no question that this project would dwarf practically any engineering endeavor ever attempted: a trench at least 200 miles long, 3,400 feet deep, depending on the route,\u00a0and 500 feet wide. The cost could well\u00a0be in the hundreds of billions of dollars; the exact amount would have to be determined by a feasibility study. But it would have to be done only once, and it would pay for itself over time. In any event, not\u00a0seeing this through\u00a0is not\u00a0an\u00a0option given the gravity of our economic (few well-paying jobs for the working\u00a0class)\u00a0and environmental condition. Instead, it should be pursued with the same\u00a0urgency and intensity\u00a0as if our lives depend on it, because they do.<\/p>\n\n

\"to<\/a>\n\n<\/figure>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

At 282 feet below sea level, the floor of Death Valley is the lowest, driest, and hottest location in North America, about 3,000 sq mi (7,800 sq kilometers). During the middle of the Pleistocene Era it was part of a succession of inland seas, collectively referred to as Lake Manly. There are four major mountain ranges between the Valley and the ocean, each one adding to an increasing rain shadow effect. As a result, the average annual precipitation is 1.58 inches (40 mm) and the typical summer daily evaporation rate 0.75 inches\/day (1.9 cm\/day. It is due to these characteristics that only a sea-level canal would constantly replenish the water that would be lost to evaporation and electrolysis without incurring constant\u00a0pumping costs.<\/p>\n\n

The idea of consuming large tracts of\u00a0flat real estate with solar panels to generate electricity makes sense only if we persist\u00a0in clinging to the outdated concept that\u00a0buildings must be supplied with electricity generated somewhere else. Why not\u00a0install efficient solar\u00a0cells<\/a> on each and\u00a0every new building in the desert, including homes,\u00a0and distribute the profits go to homeowners\u00a0instead of\u00a0utility shareholders? That would\u00a0create an incentive to generate as much power as possible. The resulting income stream would help pay their mortgages,\u00a0reduce the risk of default and lower interest rates. Of course, utilities could still\u00a0compete with other licensed contractors\u00a0to monitor, maintain and repair the distribution grid, necessary for industrial-scale electrolysis and aquafacture.<\/p>\n\n

\"solar<\/a>\n\n<\/figure>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Multi-story buildings have\u00a0a\u00a0larger theoretical\u00a0capacity to generate more electricity\u00a0for the same\u00a0area of real estate than single family homes. The drawback is that they need additional space from other buildings of equal or greater height in order to avoid each other’s shadows. Thus, a dense forest of skyscrapers would not be ideal.<\/p>\n\n

\"and<\/a>\n\n<\/figure>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

If every home in every desert city were equipped with enough panels to produce a surplus of electricity during the day to charge batteries to be used at night, when the demand is lower, and export whatever is left to big users, the cities themselves would become the generating power plants. This disperses the generating sources, an advantage in case of war or terrorist acts.<\/p>\n\n

\"to<\/a>\n\n<\/figure>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Compressed hydrogen -not water- would be pumped uphill. The advantage is that hydrogen weighs much less than water, therefore\u00a0it requires less energy to pump. Because\u00a0hydrogen is lighter than air, it tends to rise. This would simply accelerate the process.<\/p>\n\n

\"suitable<\/a>\n\n<\/figure>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This is California’s Sierra Nevada, facing north. To the west is the San Joaquin Valley (not shown), to the right is a portion of the great southwestern desert. There are many mountains and hills in the desert that rarely, if ever, get any precipitation. Below are ravines and dry river beds. Only geologically suitable mountaintops would be used.<\/p>\n\n

\"with<\/a>\n

New hydrogen power plants. Store a 24 hour supply of compressed hydrogen in man-made caverns and run the plants day and night. Fuel cells are not required.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n
\"Advanced<\/a>\n\n<\/figure>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Clusters of five or more 1000-megawatt power plants would be built on top of selected mountains and\u00a0use\u00a0an advanced\u00a0\u00a0hydrogen turbine<\/a>, currently under development, to burn hydrogen\u00a0directly without<\/strong>\u00a0fuel cells.<\/p>\n\n

\"Condense<\/a>\n\n<\/figure>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

When hydrogen is burned, water vapor is produced. Instead of allowing it to dissipate into the atmosphere, the latter would be collected, condensed and stored<\/p>\n\n

\"Use<\/a><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Use the same aquafactured water and gravity to turn turbines in a series of cascading plants located below the hydrogen plant. Their combined output should greatly exceed the energy used to produce, compress and pump the hydrogen. Dams are not required, only pipelines.<\/p>\n\n

Below the hydrogen plant, a cascading series of water-driven turbines would be built. Costly dams would not be required, only pipes to feed the water to each successive turbine. The angle of descent and the pressure of the water would be designed to maximize efficiency. The jobs\u00a0created by this system\u00a0would be permanent and expandable. They would rely on free, inexhaustible raw materials (solar energy, seawater and gravity), not finite and unhealthful fossil fuels or nuclear fission.<\/p>\n\n

\"Use<\/a><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Use the new drought-proof source of water (and the stored chlorine, to treat it as needed) to create an economic frontier in the desert and elsewhere, recharge depleted aquifers, and save crops.<\/p>\n\n

This is aquafacture: the manufacture of drought-proof, pure water anywhere, even in distant inland deserts. Unlike desalination, which consumes vast amounts of energy and requires a nearby natural sea shore,\u00a0aquafacture actually generates a surplus of energy, makes water, requires no exploration and mining in dangerous locations, precludes the possibility of polluting spills and radioactive accidents, ends the dumping of carbon into the atmosphere, and ushers in the possibility of making the deserts green to recycle the carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere.\u00a0Farmers and cities would get a constant, predictable amount of energy and\u00a0water the year round without the possibility of\u00a0floods or droughts. The system depends exclusively on sunlight,\u00a0seawater and gravity, all practically inexhaustible and free.<\/p>\n\n

\"Using<\/a><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Using the new energy, pump seawater from Death Valley Lake to dry lakebeds throughout the Southwest.<\/p>\n\n

The system is expandable. There are innumerable dry lake beds throughout the southwestern states.<\/p>\n\n

\"Create<\/a><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Create a vast interconnected network of shallow, warm, saltwater lakes with waterfront and view real estate; perfect for tourism, retirement, water sports, and fish farms of high-value endangered species. Clone the hydrogen system as desired.<\/p>\n\n

Once interconnected, the resulting ecosystem would be supported and improved by life-giving water. Since\u00a0so many\u00a0mountains and hills surround the proposed\u00a0lakes, the real estate<\/a> in and around the area would have stunning views not seen in millions of years. In effect, the inland sea of prehistoric times would be restored to user-defined specifications.<\/p>\n\n

\"Export<\/a><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Export any excess water concentrate (hydrogen) and accompanying chlorine (to treat the pure water their hydrogen plants will aquafacture) to China, likely a vast, insatiable and receptive market.<\/p>\n\n

If we are to halt the emissions of carbon dioxide and methane, the chief\u00a0culprits of global warming, enough hydrogen will have to be made available to China, India and Japan. They\u00a0all consume enormous\u00a0amounts of fossil fuels to generate electricity and\u00a0will be forced\u00a0to consume even more\u00a0to meet future demand. China alone accounts for 50% of global coal use, and more than half of the country’s landmass has little or no water. Theoretically, even the Gobi Desert could be developed with aquafacture!<\/p>\n\n

\"widespread,<\/a>\n\n<\/figure>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Extreme as it is, air pollution is not China’s\u00a0most pressing environmental problem. The massive, continuing\u00a0proliferation of factories has\u00a0polluted\u00a0most\u00a0of its\u00a0lakes and rivers.<\/p>\n\n

\"persistent<\/a>\n\n<\/figure>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

It’s not only that over half of China is extremely dry. Even areas that are supposed to have abundant rainfall have been hit with severe drought, a consequence of global warming.<\/p>\n\n

\"and<\/a>\n\n<\/figure>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

China’s economy must grow to lift its\u00a0people out of poverty. If and when its per capita income reaches parity with the U.S., its demand for energy and water will increase to levels never seen. Without aquafacture, how will they and the rest of the world meet future demand?<\/p>\n\n

\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

A win-win solution. Millions of new, well paying middle class jobs for the two largest economies powered by renewable energy. The result: clean air and water, balanced trade, and possible cooperation rather than confrontation.<\/p>\n\n

Nuclear-armed mankind\u00a0is at a crossroads. Either we cooperate to reverse the damage we’ve already caused to the environment, which is accelerating, or we’ll have to face consequences no one can foresee\u00a0or control.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 Coal is\u00a0extracted from the ground either at ground level by open pit\u00a0mining, or by shaft mining. The world’s top producer and user of coal (and\u00a0energy in general)\u00a0is China, accounting for about half of\u00a0global coal consumption. Coal-fired electric power generation emits approximately 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2)\u00a0per megawatt-hour generated, almost double the CO2 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hydrogen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikisolver.org\/staging\/6797\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikisolver.org\/staging\/6797\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikisolver.org\/staging\/6797\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikisolver.org\/staging\/6797\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikisolver.org\/staging\/6797\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43080"}],"version-history":[{"count":50,"href":"https:\/\/wikisolver.org\/staging\/6797\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43080\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43625,"href":"https:\/\/wikisolver.org\/staging\/6797\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43080\/revisions\/43625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wikisolver.org\/staging\/6797\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikisolver.org\/staging\/6797\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wikisolver.org\/staging\/6797\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}