How To Harness an Endless Supply of Renewable Energy

I’ll get into the energy, but first a bit of news:

Bad News: If you haven’t heard, United Airlines flight 1549 crashed into the Hudson River on January 15th, 2009 due to both engines failing simultaneously.

Good News: All of the passengers and crew members survived the ordeal. According to initial reports and accounts, this was made possible by the lightning-quick decision making and remarkable skill of the heroic pilot, in tandem with the knowledge and professionalism of the on-board crew.

Lessons Learned: All events, whether we view them as good or bad, should teach us something. The crash of U.S. Air flight 1549 taught me several things:

• People who truly care about something are a very powerful force.
• When I first heard about this crash, in my head, I was ranting about how the airline industry has most of its problems because companies are forced to cut corners in order to remain competitive. The more I heard, the more I realized that shortcuts didn’t cause the crash. I also realized that I was too quick to judge - more often than I’d like to admit.
• While I was watching footage of a crane trying to “fish” the jet out of the water, a Vestas Wind Systems commercial and a BP (British Petroleum) commercial appeared. At that moment, it hit me! Read on:

Some people say we need to drill for more oil. Some say that we need to increase solar and wind energy usage. I say it’s time to harness the power of the water running through the rivers of the world!

This can be done at least two ways:

• Turbines similar to windmills can be placed in rivers and use the constant water flow to perpetually turn them. In order to make this project sustainable, the following concepts/plans must be followed: 1) No resource-wasting dams that restrict water flow will be built. 2) Shields will be built around the turbines to prevent them from damaging or being damaged by objects/animals in the river. 3) Strict limits must be placed on the number and locations where these turbines can be emplaced in order to minimize effects on the river’s wildlife and possible damage to boats and other vessels.
• Water at the river’s edge can be re-routed into a facility on the riverbank, in which turbines are used to generate power. They will be similar to old-fashioned water mills, but instead of having one giant, inefficient paddle wheel, multiple turbines will be able to convert the river’s constant flow of water into energy that is used to light and heat houses, recharge Tesla Roadsters, or brew your morning coffee. Like the project in which turbines are placed in rivers, several guidelines must be adhered to if we are to maximize this idea’s potential: 1) Grates will be placed where the water leaves the river and enters the facility to prevent harm to wildlife that would potentially wander/swim into the opening. 2) The facilities will be similar to autobahn/freeway rest stops in that whatever enters them does its thing and gets right back into the main flow.

When I saw the river footage and the two commercials, I thought, “Why don’t they put something like a windmill into a river, where it can turn constantly, instead of sporadically like a windmill?” If we can drill for miles (vertically and horizontally) under the Earth’s surface to find oil, and if a crane and divers can pull an Airbus A320 out of the water while keeping it intact, shouldn’t drilling under a river to create a path for cables & other necessary equipment and dropping one of these turbines into the water to set it up be a piece of cake?