JUN 13

Umm, should the heading be Triple Treat rather than Triple Threat? Where are the threats?

I think, the threats are within the article. But the article is impressive.

Nature knows best. The best topological arrangement would be a dendrite (a tree structure). The dendrite graph creates the optimal expansive stacking scheme and it can be arranged fractally. But hang on, nature has already designed dendritic collection arrays (they are called trees). A collection of these arrays is termed a forest.

Why not genetically modify trees to generate power directly? A forest could supply enough power for a small town. When the trees die they can be burned for energy.

> if wind, solar, geothermal, wave/tidal and any other type of renewable energy generation are all utilized and all feeding the grid, then we'll be more than covered.

This is a highly controversial statement. Read "Renewable Energy cannot sustain consumer Society" book by Ted Trainer.

> if wind, solar, geothermal, wave/tidal and any other type of renewable energy generation are all utilized and all feeding the grid, then we'll be more than covered.

What this actually means is since conventional power supply sources are not enough to sustain consumer society now.... these renewable types if combinely utilized along with conventional power then we will be covered.

Its not one substituting the other.

so can i cover my roof with tiny cute little pine cones? could i cover the sun facing side of my house with little fringe tiles that Rustle in the breeze?

For those of you asking about the meaning of the title, the term 'triple threat' is used in performing arts to describe someone who can sing AND dance AND act. This makes them highly desirable for parts in plays and shows, and a threat to other actors/dancers/singers auditioning for parts. It is definitely a POSITIVE term.

I hereby express my annoyance at the plethora of "latest developments" - froth streaming forth from various techno-illiterates seeking their 15 seconds of micro-fame (or at least attention...)

Just cause some would-be researcher comes up with another wet-dream-angle for the latest grant proposal does not make for newsworthiness. Once something has been developed to the working prototype stage, maybe it is presentation/discussion-worthy.

This so-called triple-threat is more like jack-of-3-techs, master of none. I don't even need to see a prototype to know this is a non-starter.

Rain-power. Hah! That's even hilarious.
How's this for Realizable rain-power:
Elevated rainwater storage coupled with drip-irrigation lawn/garden watering to replace the widespread practice of sprinklering lawns/gardens with tap water which simultaneously wastes all the energy/water that went in to producing the tap water,
subjecting the plants to thermal-shock, chlorine/floride exposure, evaporative losses, etc. etc. The existing technology is simple, in-hand, self-evident.

For solar, until highly-insulated, integrated thermal-mass passive-solar home/building becomes the critical-mass conventional practice, the current fixation on marginal improvements to PV efficiency is just a bunch of nonsensical post-wet-dream-jerking-off to ego-geek-porn. If you haven't picked the low-hanging fruit don't imagine your playing around with tech-toys as advancing the state of ANY art.