Factoids

Sustainable Civilization: From the Grass Roots Up

Factoid Appendix

I. Air. Any burning or volatization of fossil fuels contaminates the air with emissions that would not naturally be there, and some uses create a worst problem than others. The change that would have the largest positive impact is the one most obvious, and per the peak oil commentators coming whether we want it or not, which is to cease use of fossil fuels.

Avg Air               Human Exhale Oxygen                 21.0%                   16.3% CO2                       .03%                      4.0% Nitrogen                78.0%                   79.7% Inert/Other               1.0%                 Ammonia H2O                      5-25g/m3             4-9g/m3

Overt Pollution Example: 2 Stroke Engines - Do you own or operate any two-stroke gasoline engine? The issue of noise and pollution produced by a typical two-stroke gasoline engine (i.e. lawnmower) vs four-stroke (i.e. car engine) is potentially significant. The two-stroke gasoline engine generally puts out 10 times (more of some) as many pollutants per amount of fuel burned. The operation of these engines, in general, initiates and forcefully imposes upon others the operator's fouled air and excess noise.

The two-stoke system is used because it provides the lightest fuel burning engine for the power produced, but paradoxically the two-stroke is significantly LESS fuel efficient than a four-stroke engine. The fuel in-efficiency of these engines leads to the pollution problem. But the pollution from these engines is not limited to transportation.

These engines are extensively used on lawnmowers, weed whackers, portable blowers, etc. The California Air Resources Board has calculated that 2% of the smog generated by all engines originates from lawn mowers.

I don't have a gas mower, so I'm guessing, say a mower runs an hour per gallon of gas? (Corrections anyone?) This would mean that in one hour of mowing you pollute at least equal to burning 10 gallons of gasoline in your car. A further discussion of fuel and engine types is in the transportation presentation.

What is there that uses a 2 cycle engine that cannot be done with a less polluting and more efficient engine, done manually, or is so essential that the pollution is justified?

Embedded Pollution Example:  Food - In peak oil discussions, it is frequently presented that food production in the industrial world consumes 10 calories of oil for every calorie of food produced. (Transportation or cooking of the food NOT included in this estimate.) In general, a human needs 2000 calories of energy per day. Although they are normally spelled the same, a food calorie is in fact 1,000 "heat" calories.

A gallon of gasoline contains energy equal to around 36,000 food calories. If a person needs 2,000 calories per day, then to produce those 2,000 calories of food 20,000 calories of oil were used. (55% of a gallon) If you eat commercially produced food, your daily meals require the consumption of fuel and production of pollution equal to a 30 mpg vehicle driving 16 miles. Food Item Calories times ten divided by 36,000 equals the fuel consumption embedded in producing the food. (Processing & shipping fuel not included)

For a city with a population of a million, producing food represents the external daily use of 550,000 gallons of fuel. The brewing, canning, shipping, etc. all consumed additional fuel.

As a local driving estimate for a modest city, the Pima Association of Governments estimates that 23,000,000 miles are driven every day in Tucson. At an average of 30 mpg for vehicles that would be over 760,000 gallons of gasoline per day.

Given the above estimates of food production and local transportation for an example city of a million, the life-support infrastructure under current fossil fueled design requires 1.3 gallons of fuel per day. (1.3 gallons per person.)

One gallon of gas weighs about 6.25 pounds. When burned the hydrocarbons combine with oxygen from the air. The result per gallon is exhaust with a CO2 aspect of 19.3 pounds and around 8 pounds (1 gallon in liquid form) of water vapor. (Both greenhouse gases, that would not naturally have been in the atmosphere.) You also get carbon monoxide and other nasty stuff. Now, let's see, if we burn at a minimum 1.3 million gallons each day in each city of a million.....

Carbon monoxide (CO): Replaces oxygen in the red blood cells thus reducing the amount of oxygen that can reach the brain, heart and other tissues. CO can cause dizziness, slowed reaction times, headaches, an increased risk of heart disease and may promote the development of arteriosclerosis. Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas produced by the incomplete combustion of fuels. The major source of CO in our community is motor vehicles, which release over 85 percent of the CO emissions in Pima County. Stagnant weather conditions coupled with reduced engine efficiency associated with cold temperatures cause increased levels of CO in the winter months

Hydrocarbons (also known as volatile organic compounds (VOC)): These are compounds made of hydrogen and carbon. They are released from gasoline engines and the evaporation of paint and solvents and are also produced naturally from the decomposition of organic matter and by certain types of plants. Ozone (O3): This pollutant can impair lung function and irritate the mucous membranes in the nose and throat causing coughing and choking. It aggravates chronic respiratory diseases like asthma and bronchitis, and can irritate the eyes, reduce lung capacity over time and increase sensitivity to allergens. Ozone is a highly reactive form of oxygen. At normal concentrations it is colorless and odorless. At high concentrations (often associated with thunderstorms or arching electric motors) it is an unstable bluish gas with a pungent odor. Ground level ozone in high concentrations is considered an air pollutant, while stratospheric ozone in the upper atmosphere (12 - 30 miles above the ground) is critical for absorbing cancer-causing ultraviolet radiation. Ozone is a secondary pollutant formed when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (VOC) react in the presence of sunlight. Volatile organic compounds come from automobile exhaust, gasoline vapors, and chemical solvents (and also some vegetation). Nitrogen oxides come from burning fuel. The reactivity of ozone causes health problems because it damages lung tissue, reduces lung function, and increases the sensitivity of the lungs to other irritants. Symptoms of decreased lung function include chest pain, coughing, sneezing and pulmonary congestion. Ozone can reduce immune system capacity. In high concentrations, ozone causes damage to plants and deteriorates materials such as rubber and nylon. Particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5): May cause breathing difficulties and respiratory pain, irritations to the nose, throat and ear canal which are often mistaken for allergic reactions. PM can also weaken the immune system, diminish lung function and increase the incidence and severity of acute bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma and emphysema. Particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) is comprised of solid particles or liquid droplets tiny enough to remain suspended or floating in the air for up to weeks at a time. Of greatest concern to the public health are the particles small enough to be inhaled into the deepest parts of the lung. These particles are less than 10 microns in diameter--about 1/7th the thickness of a human hair--and are known as PM10. This includes fine particulate matter known as PM2.5. PM2.5 has a specific range of particles 2.5 micrometers or less. PM10 is a major component of air pollution that threatens both our health and our environment. General PM composition can include everything from fine dust to carbon (soot), and can be microscopic or visible to the naked eye. Particulate matter is generated from a variety of sources including traffic on paved and unpaved roads, combustion, and earth-moving activity such as mining, farming and construction. Fine particles present in the air even though it might seem invisible. Their size alone makes them a danger, as they easily reach deep into our lungs. But what they are made of can make the situation worse. Moving air - The maximum theoretical power that can be tapped from a moving mass of air is 57% of the energy in any given mass passing thru a given area.

In general, a windmill should be located 30 feet above the ground, and 10 feet higher than any other object, to obtain a clear air flow. As you consider the needs of maintenance, perhaps you do not want to climb and work on a generator on a high fragile tower. Although gearing can "waste" 15% of your power, envision the generator on the ground, spun by gear and shaft from on high.

The “rule of thumb” formula for power from a typical windmill is V = the cube root of (P/.02). That is a given velocity of wind in miles per hour cubed, then multiples by .02 should calculate out to watts of electricity potential.

II. Water. One inch of rain per square foot is around ½ gallon of water.

Vacuum's Affect on Water Vacuum	PSIA	Microns	Water Boil Point 0	14.696	760,000	212 °F 10.24"Hg	9.629	500,000	192 °F 22.05"Hg	3.865	200,000	151 °F 25.98"Hg	1.935	100,000	124 °F 27.95"Hg	.968	50,000	101 °F 28.94"Hg	.481	25,000	78 °F 29.53"Hg	.192	10,000	52 °F 29.72"Hg	.099	5,000	35 °F 29.84"Hg	.039	2,000	15 °F 29.82"Hg	.019	1,000	+1 °F 29.901"Hg	.010	500	-11 °F 29.917"Hg	.002	100	-38 °F 29.919"Hg	.001	50	-50 °F Vacuum = Inches Mercury (Hg) PSIA = lbs. per sq. in. Absolute Pressure Microns = A Special Unit of Vacuum Water Boil Pt. = Temperature That Water Boils at.

Frozen water - We have (2005) around 6 million cubic miles of ice located on 10% of the Earth's land mass. 86% is in Antarctica, 10% in Greenland, 4% "other". Readily circulated claims are that if the bulk of this ice melted, water volume would raise the sea level around 200 foot. Further warming of sea water would result in expansion due to expanding water molecules. A 1920 Serbian physicist indicated the ice cover seems to follow a 40,000 year cycle, within which he put us at early to mid "summer" of the cycle. As part of the theory, it seems that open water in the Arctic is to be a signal of the start of cooling, not further melting.

Global annual evaporation. Ocean – 74,000 cubic miles. Land – 18,000 cubic miles. Total 92,000 cubic miles. The averaged global rainfall is 28”, with overall around 25,000 cubic miles of rain falling on land.

III. Food: Basil metabolic rate - An estimate of the daily number of calories to keep a sedatory person of a given weight alive without a loss in weight. Calories = 70 x (kg) 3/4 That is, take the persons weight in kilograms to the 3rd power (weight x weight x weight) then find the 4th root of that number. Take this 4th root times 70. An example:

A person who weighs 60 kg (around 120 lbs). 60 to the 3rd power is 216,000. The 4th root of this is around 21.55. 70 times 21.55 is 1508.5, so this person needs around 1509 calories per day.

Planning for a storage program requires knowing the properties of foods the family likes, or at least will eat. Below is information on a variety of grains, nuts, fruits, canned foods, etc., for use in calculating a food storage program with sufficient calories. In the storage program, I do not address vitamin content directly, trusting that for storage purposes a multivitamin, or better, sprouted or some minimum garden area can address the minimum vitamin needs.

Grains - Misc.

Item			Cal.Lb. Pkg. Servings		Carb. Protein		Calorie

Barley, pearl		1632		30 oz.	17		39	 5		180 Millet, Whole		1285		28 oz.	15		33	 4		150 Flax, seed		2380		16 oz.	 17		 9	 6		140 Sesame, seed		1866		12 oz.	10		 8	 6		140 Rice, Jasmine		1955		20 lb.	230		39	 3		230 Rice, black sweet		1600		16 oz.	8		46	 4		200 Rice, sweet white 	1530		 16 oz	9		39	 3		170 Oats, processed		1714		42 oz.	30		27	 5		150

Beans

Item			Cal.Lb. Pkg. Servings		Carb. Protein		Calorie

Pinto			 750		64oz. 50		22	 7		  60 Mung			1554		14 oz.	4		58	23		340 Great Northern		1170		32 oz.	26		22	 8		  90 Kidney, red		 840		16 oz.	12		22	 9		  70 Black		 	948		16 oz	12		23	 9		  79 Peas, blackeye		1080		16 oz.	12		23	 9		  90 Lentils			1040		16 oz.	13		20	10		 80 Tian Jin Red		1554		14 oz.	 4		 63	21		340 Soybean			2240		16 oz. 	16		 10	12		140

Fruit, dried

Item			Cal.Lb. Pkg. Servings		Carb. Protein		Calorie

Apricot			1142		7 oz.	5		24	1		100 Pineapple		1493		6 oz.	4		34	0		140 Mango			2080		4 oz.	3		32	0		130 Nectarine		1173		6 oz.	4		25	2		110 Peach			1066		6 oz.	4		25	2		100 Plum			1320		12 oz.	9		25	1		110 Dates			1440		 8 oz.	6		30	1		120 Figs			1280		 9 oz.	6		28	1		120 Cranberry		1466		 6 oz.	5.5		25	0		100 Cherry			1280		 6 oz.	4		32	0		120 Raisin			1456		15 oz.	10.5		31	1		130

Processed Pasta

Item			Cal.Lb. Pkg. Servings		Carb. Protein		Calorie

Kanton-wheat noodle	4160		16 oz.	16		31	9		260 Bean thread-special	1371		10.5 oz.	 5		4.7	0		180

Nuts

Item			Cal.Lb. Pkg. Servings		Carb. Protein		Calorie

Peanut-roasted		2720		16 oz.	16		 5	8		170 Peanut-raw Cashew-roasted		2940		16 oz.	14		10	6		210 Almond			2560		14 oz.	14		 5	7		160 Pistachio		1520		16 oz.	8		 9	8		190 Sunflower-roasted	2720		14 oz.	14		 7	6		170 Peanut-spanish		2800		12 oz.	10		 4	5		210 Walnut			3024		10 oz.	9		 3	5		210

Misc. Canned Food

Item			Cal.Lb. Pkg. Servings		Carb. Protein		Calorie

Hormel chili no bean	 448		15 oz.	2		17	 16		210 Peanut butter		7448		16 oz.	28 (tbsp)		84	112		266 Tuna			 384		 6 oz.	2.5		 0	  13		 60 Spam			 480		12 oz.	6		 1	    7		180

Root Calorie Crops

Item			Cal.Lb. Pkg. Servings		Carb. Protein		Calorie

Carrot			 239		16 oz. 3 oz.		 9	1		 45 Onion, yellow		 184		Ea. (148 gram)		14	2		 60 Potato, russet		 337		5 lb. 	(ea)		23	3		110 Potato, red		 337		5 lb.	(ea)		23	3		110 Potato, gold		 337		5 lb.	(ea 48 gram)	23	3		110

If you stored one pound of each of the above items, the calories would add up to 742343. If you therefore planned on eating from your storage program an equal weight of each of the above food items, your would need roughly 10 pounds of each item. The author has available a spreadsheet that includes the above items that can be used to estimate the calorie value of an input storage selection.

Greens

Item			Cal.Lb. Pkg. Servings		Carb. Protein		Calorie

Spinach			 106		10 oz.	3.3		 3	2		20 Lettuce			 80		10 oz.	3.3		 3	1		15

Special Concentrated Items

Item			Cal.Lb. Pkg. Servings		Carb. Protein		Calorie

Soy Protein		3027		22.2 oz.	35		17	14		120 Whey Protein		1813		12 oz.	17		 1	16		 80 Vegetable Protein		1760		15 oz.	15		 0	24		110

IV. Shelter. The material and design of your clothing, vehicle, home, etc., can, merely thru the natural characteristics of the materials and their orientation have a significant effect on your comfort.

Weight and Thermal Conductivity of Sample Materials. Conduction is heat transfer by agitation of the molecules in a material without any observed motion of the material. If one side of metal or concrete surface is at a higher temperature, energy will be transferred thru the material toward the cooler side. The formual to use is:

Q = kA(T hot minus Tcold) t                    d

Q = heat transferred in time = t k = thermal conductivity of barrier A = Area T = Temperature d = Thickness of barrier

Density	Conductivity	Specific Heat at 68 F	BTU in/hr ft2 F	BTU/lb. Degree F				Lb/ft3

Air, Still				-	.0169-.215 Aluminum			168.0	1404-1439 Asbestos board w/cement 		123	1.7 Asbestos, wool			25.0	.62 Brass, red			536	715.0 Brick Common			112.0	5.0                             .2 Face				125.0	9.2                             .2 Fire				115.0	6.96              .2 Bronze				509	522 Cabots				3.4	.25 Cellulose, dry			94	1.66 Celotex (sugar cane fiber)		13	.34 Charcoal Coarse				13.2	.36 6 mesh				15.2	.37 20 mesh			19.2	.39 Cinders				40	1.1 Clay Dry				63	3.5-4.0 Wet				110	4.5-9.5 Concrete Cinder				97	4.9		.2 Stone				140	12.0		.2 Corkboard			8.3	.28 Cornstack insul board		15	.24-.33 Cotton				5.06	.39 Foamglas			10.5	.40 Glass wool			1.5	.27 Glass Common thermometer		164	5.5 Flint				247	5.1 Pyrex				140	7.56 Gold				1205	2028 Granite				159	15.4 Gypsum, solid			78	3.0 Hair felt				13.0	.26 Ice				57.5	15.6 Iron, cast			442.0	326 Kapok				1.0	.24 Lead				710	240 Leather, sole			54	1.1 Lime Mortar				106	2.42 Slaked				81	-

Density	Conductivity at 68 F	BTU in/hr ft2 F				Lb/ft3

Limestone			132	10.8 Marble				162	20.6 Mineral wool Board				15.0	.33 Fill type			9.4	.27 Nickel				537.0	40 Paper				58	.9 Parafin				55.6	1.68 Plaster Cement			73.8	8.0 Gypsum			46.2	3.3 Redwood bark			5.0	.26 Rock wool			10.0	.27 Rubber, hard			74.3	11.0 Sand, dry			94.6	2.23 Sandstone			143.0	12.6 Sawdust				8	.41 Sil-O-Cel (power diatomaceous)	10.6	.31 Silver				656	2905 Soil Crushed quartz (4% water)	100	11.5 Dakota sandy loam (4% water)			110	6.5 (10% water)			110	13.0 Fairbanks sand (4% water)			100	8.5 (10% water)			100	15.0 Healy clay (10% water)			 90	5.5 (20% water)			100	10.0 Steel 1% C				487	310.0 Stainless			515	200 Tar, bituminous			75	- Water, fresh			62.4	4.1                            1.0 Wood Balsa				7.3	.33 Fir				34.0	.8 Maple 				44	1.2 Red Oak			48	1.1 White Pine			32	.78 Wood fiberboard			16.9	.31 Wool				4.99	.264

Solar Absorption and Re-radiance Rates of Selected Materials

Metal				Absorb	Emits Aluminum, pure			.1	.1 Aluminum, anodized		.12	.65 Chromium			.4	.2 Copper, polished			.15	.03 Gold				.2	.025 Iron				.44	.07 Metal				Absorb	Emits

Nickel				.36	.1 Silver, polished			.035	.02 Zinc				.5	.05 The emissivities of many materials change with wavelength of the radiation being emitted. For example, silicon is an excellent emitter of visible light, but is essentially transparent to infrared radiation. We find below that good emitters are also good absorbers. Good absorbers are good emitters: An ideal absorber is often called a black body. It absorbs all the radiation that hits it. The absorptivity () is the complement of reflectivity (r = 1 - A good reflector is a poor absorber. Shiny aluminum is a such a good reflector. It is easy to see that an ideal absorber of a particular wavelength of radiation is also the best possible emitter at that wavelength.  That is, no object at temperature T can emit more radiation than a black body. Proof: Start, for example, with two objects A and B that are close to each other and at the same temperature.   Suppose that A is an ideal black body and B is not.  While A absorbs all radiation that hits it, B does not.  It reflects some.  The question is whether B can emit more radiation than A.  Since A absorbs all of the radiation emitted by B it would get hotter than B if B really could emit more radiation than A.  But, this situation is a direct violation of the Second Law of Thermodynamics.  We are not allowed to start with two bodies at the same temperature and find that one heats while the other cools! This means that a black body, the perfect absorber is not only the best absorber but also the best emitter. In summary, excellent absorbers are also excellent emitters. Example 1: Radiators. In the old days homes often used water or steam radiators to heat rooms. From a practical point of view, you really wouldn't want to make your radiator out of shiny aluminum. The low emissivity of aluminum means that it is both a poor emitter and a poor radiator and would give out less heat than one made of cast iron, for example. Example 2: Home Insulation. Aluminum foil on insulating panels has very small emissivity,  It is therefore a very poor emitter of infrared radiation, a desirable feature. Example 2: Hot black roads. On a clear summer day a black asphalt road in the sun gets hot as it absorbs radiation from the sun. Most of this radiation has short wavelength as it comes from the sun's surface with a temperature of some 5800 K. To the extent that the hot black road is a "black body", it absorbs all the sun's incident radiation. It's emissivity is nearly 1 for this incident short wavelength light. The warm road also emits infrared radiation and continues to heat up until the power emitted, Pout = AT4, balances the power absorbed from the sun, Pin = I0A. Here, I0 is the sun's intensity at the hot black road, typically 1000 W/m2. The hot black road's emissivity, , is also nearly 1 for these longer infrared wavelengths. With Pin = Pout we solve for T and find that a hot black road has a temperature of 364 K (91 0C), hot enough to fry an egg, but not hot enough to boil water! Example 3: You standing in a bathroom. With no clothes, taking your area to be ~2 m2, and your skin temperature to be ~300 K, with an emissivity of 1.0, you would radiate a power of Pout = AT4 = 919 watts, clearly an unsustainable value. In empty space you would indeed radiate heat away at this value. However, suppose you are in a bathroom with walls at 20 0C (293 K), ones with their own emissivity of 1. Then, the net heat radiated by you is given by Pout = A(Tyou4 - Twall4) = 83 watts, a much more reasonable number. The general expression for power exchanged between two parallel surfaces with emissivities and temperatures {1, T1} and {2, T2} is         P = A(T14 - T24)/ [1/1  +  1/2  - 1]. Ref: Kraushaar & Ristinen, Energy and Problems of a Technological Society, p 156. With this equation, you can calculate the power exchange between two surfaces with different emissivities and temperatures. Building materials with aluminum foil come to mind. Selective Surfaces: It would be great fun to find a way to create a surface that could get hotter than a hot black road in the sun, maybe even one that could boil water. To do this we need either to absorb more of the sun's radiation coming in or emit less. We assumed that our hot black road was a perfect absorber of short wavelength light (short wavelength = 1) and a perfect emitter of infrared (long wavelength = 1). If we make the emissivities less, then we reduce both the absorbed radiation from the sun and the radiated radiation from the road. Are we stuck? The trick lies in creating a surface that has short wavelength > long wavelength. This does not violate the second law. To create our selective surface, we start with a layer of stainless steel and add a thin layer of gold and, on top of that, a thin layer of silicon. The silicon layer looks black to visible light and has short wavelength ~ 1. Since silicon is essentially transparent to infrared light, our selective surface behaves as a gold surface for infrared. Gold has an emissivity of only 0.10 for infrared wavelengths. This combination, then, is an excellent absorber of short wavelength light from the sun and a poor emitter of infrared light. Repeating our calculation, we find that this selective surface can rise to a temperature of 648 K (375 0C)! --- silicon --- gold --- stainless steel ---

Thermal Storage Capabilities of Selected Materials. Officially 1 BTU is the amount of heat energy needed to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree F.

Media				Melts	Latent Heat	Specific Heat	Density BTU/lb		C BTU/lb-F	lt/ft3 ICE				32	144		.49		58 Water				-	-		1.0		62 Steel (scrap iron)			-	-		.12		489 Basalt (lava rock)			-	-		.2		184 Limestone			-	-		.22		156 Paraffin wax			100	65		.7		55 Salt Hydrates NaSO4-10H2O			90	108		.4		90 NA2S2O3-5H2O		120	90		.4		104 NA2HPO4-12H2O		97	120		.4		94 Fire Brick			-	-		.22		198 Ceramic oxides			-	-		.35		224 Fused salts			-	-		.38		140 Carbon				-	-		.2		140

Transmission Percentage of Light Thru Glass at Selected Angles to Solar Intercept

Incident		Solar Angle		Intercept Percent 0		100 5		99.5 10		98.5 15		96.5 20		94.0 25		90.6 30		86.6 35		81.9 40		76.6 45		70.7 50		64.3 55		57.4 60		50.0 65		42.3 70		34.2 75		25.8 80		17.4 85		 8.7 90		  0.0

The Human Factor

Postulate an average human of around 150 pounds, who needs 2000 food calories per day. A food calorie is 1,000 "heat" calories, so this person operates on 2,000,000 calories of heat, or in other energy terms.

Energy and Our Bodies

Around 8,000 BTU (1 BTU = 251.995761 heat calories) Around 2.4 kilowatt hours (1 watt = 859.8452279 heat calorie)

One BTU is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound (1 pint) of water 1 degree F (144 BTU to melt 1 lb or pint of ice, 970 BTU to evaporate a pint of water). One calorie is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of water 1 degree C. (80 calories per gram to melt a gram of ice, 540 to evaporate a gram of water).

In theory the daily heat of a person could melt around 56 pounds of ice (7 frozen gallons - 25 liters) or cause the evaporation of just over a gallon of water (3.7 liters). Therefore if your body was in a microenvironment isolated from thermal energy exchange with the surrounding environment by a perfectly insulating suit, hourly inside your suit your would need to melt ice of just over a pint / just under a liter, or evaporate (and vent) 1/3 of a pint or about 150 ml. In a cold climate, you would just need some ventilation.

In a warm climate, something more might be appropriate.

Air to Sustain Life

Atmospheric CO2 levels today average 383 parts per million (PPM). Human exhaled breath is around 378 PPM. As a human breathes, starting from less than 1% in "fresh" air, the upper "safe" CO2 level is around 3%. When the concentration exceeds 3%, even though there is still oxygen in the air, humans are adversely affected. An average person produces around .67 cubic ft. (5 gallon volume) per hour of CO2, so the 3% limit represents a starting volume of 22.5 cubic feet of air (about 1 cubic yard, around 168 gallon). If you for example needed to be sealed in for a year, you need to start with 197,100 cubic feet, or a cube 58 feet on a side. In say a 10 foot ceiling commercial building, it's an area 140 feet on a side. Water absorbs it's own volume of CO2, so for every (.67 cubic ft. or 5 gallon) of water that your air is filtered thru, you gain an hour on the CO2 limit.

You are of course still using up the oxygen.

Oxygen 			Symptoms			Starting Volume for 1 Hour Duration Concentration						With CO2 Absorb Cubic Ft. / Gallon

21%			None - normal O2 air level			N/A 15%			No immediate effects				11.6 - 86.8 14%			Fatigue, impaired judgment			 9.6 - 71.8 10%			Dizziness, shortness of breath,			 6.1 - 45.6 deeper and more rapid breathing 7%			Stupor sets in			 		  4.8 - 35.9 5%			Minimum amount to support life			 4.2 - 31.4 2%-3%			Death within 1 minute				 3.7 - 27.7

Experiments show that approximately 8 gallons of well aerated algae in sunlight balances the breathing of a typical human. (Remember, you need enough "extra" air volume to carry you past periods of dark/dim light.) If you're not bubbling the air thru the algae, set up a "surface area" of water for the 8 gallons at about 8 meters square. (A square about 9 feet on a side) Since the water alone weighs 64 lbs., if this is to be a portable unit, you'll want some type of cart.

Water for Our Bodies

In addition to the earlier discussed minimum gallon/day water need to provide for evaporative cooling, a human needs water for other metabolic processes. Water is lost from the body mainly via the lungs, skin, intestine, and kidneys. The Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security puts the minimum daily intake at 3 liters. They recommend 20 liters for hygiene, 15 per bathing, 10 for food preparation, or an overall average of 50 liters. (Around 13.195 gallon) If you had to store it all for a year, it's 4,800 gallons, 644 cubic feet, or a tank 8.635 feet on a side.

Water purification. 1/3 cup chlorine bleach per 1,000 gallons. OR 5 drops of tincture of iodine per quart. The more “cloudy” the water, the more disinfectant, as the chemical may bind to the surface of “dirt” particles, or the germs may be hiding inside the dirt. (Filter first.)

If there is no water, do not eat. It takes “excess” water to metabolize food. Remember though, between water and food is the need to maintain the electrolyte balance in our bodies. If you just drink water you may experience growing symptoms of chemical imbalance. Short of food, an approach to reintroduce electrolytes is the following home-brew of things such as Pedialyte.

1  - Liter/quart of water ½ - Teaspoon sale ½ - Teaspoon baking soda 3 – Tablespoon sugar

Food Storage

If you needed to store a calorie crop such as rice, you would need to store a little over 370 pounds. Human Daily Needs and Effluents Reference: NASA RP-1324, "Designing for Human Presence in Space: An Introduction to Environmental Control and Life Support Systems", Paul O. Wieland, 1994, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama. Also see NASA-STD-3000, Man Systems Integration Standards, Figure 5.8.2.2.5-1, page 5-120. Inputs

lbs   kg   Oxygen                                 1.84   0.84 Food solids                          1.36   0.62 Water in food                      2.54   1.15 Food prep water                  1.67   0.76 Drink                                   3.56   1.62 Metabolized water               0.76   0.35 Hand & face wash water     9.00   4.09 Dish wash water                  5.45   2.48 Shower water                       6.00   2.73 Urine flush water                 1.09   0.49 Clothes wash water           27.50  12.50

Outputs

Carbon Dioxide                   2.20   1.00 LiOH to extract CO2           1.57   0.71 Water, Respiration and        5.02   2.28 Perspiration Food Preparation,               0.08   0.036 Latent Water Urine                                    3.31   1.50 Urine flush water                 1.09   0.49 Feces water                          0.20   0.091 Sweat solids                         0.04   0.018 Urine solids                          0.13   0.059 Feces solids                          0.07   0.032 Hygiene water                    27.68  12.58 Clothes wash water             27.50  12.50 These values are per person per day, based on an average metabolic rate of 136.7 W/person (11,200 Btu/person/day) and a respiration quotient of 0.87. The values will be higher when activity levels are greater and for larger than average people. The respiration quotient is the molar ratio of CO2 generated to O2 consumed. Human Speed: Sprinter over 200 meters, 22.64 mph Mile runner, 19.56 mph Marathon, 12.59 mph Mental state – Fear not only brings up ”fight or flight”, it also reduces your very ability for thought out and dexterous responses. At 115 beats per minute, fine motor skills are severely compromised. At a heart rate of 145, complex motor skills suffer. You could easily find yourself unable to dial a combination, insert and turn a key, etc. (Think of fumbling for a gun safe, or padlock, in the dark while you’re frightened silly.)

One gallon of fuel oil / gasoline can release around 144,000 BTU of energy, equal to around 36,700 watt hour of electrical power. Human oil use in 2003 was around 30 billions barrels, 1,260,000,000,000 gallons, or approximately 181,440,000,000,000,000 BTU of energy.

A gallon of gasoline contains energy equal to around 31,000 food calories. If a person needs 2000 calories per day, then if we could drink gasoline we would only need one 8 ounce cup per day, and a gallon of gas would represent the full day / labor of 15.5 people. Scaling this up, 30 billion barrels burned in a year represents the rough equivalent of the labor of over 50 billion people.

Fuel energy content per pound: Gasoline around 18,000 BTU Coal around 10,000 BTU Wood around 5,000 BTU

From each typical barrel of oil we get:

GAL     Product 00.3	Other stuff 00.2	Kerosene 00.5	Lubricants 01.2	Feedstock 01.3	Asphalt 01.8	Petroleum Coke 01.9	Still gas 01.9	Liquefied gas 02.3	Residual fuel oil 04.1	Jet fuel 09.2	Distillate fuel oil 19.5	Gasoline

One practical way to compare different fuels is to convert them into British thermal units (Btu). One Btu is approximately equal to the energy released in the burning of a wood match. The average single-family household consumed 98 million Btu of energy in a recent year, so on the family level, 1 million Btu is a meaningful quantity. 1 million Btu equals about 8 gallons of motor gasoline. 1 billion Btu equals all the electricity that 30 average Americans use in 1 year. 1 trillion Btu is equal to 474 100-ton railroad cars of coal intended for electric utilities. 1 quadrillion Btu is equal to 470 thousand barrels of oil every day for 1 year. In 1993, the Nation used 84 quadrillion Btu of energy: 34 quadrillion Btu of petroleum, 21 quadrillion Btu of natural gas, 19 quadrillion Btu of coal, and 10 quadrillion Btu of other energy sources. 1 ton of coal contains 21 million Btu, over three times as much energy 1 barrel of oil contains about 6.2 million Btu Gasoline contains an average of 5.25 million Btu per barrel Jet fuel (kerosene-type) contains 5.67 million Btu per barrel. Approximate fuel relationships: •	1 barrel (bbl) crude oil = 42* gallons = 5.8 x 106 Btu = 6.12 x 109 J •	1 standard cubic foot (std ft3) of natural gas (SCF) = 1000 Btu •	1 gallon gasoline = 1.24 x 105 Btu •	106 cubic feet of natural gas = 172 barrels of crude oil •	1 ton coal = 20-40 x 106 Btu •	1 lbm bituminous coal = 1.3 x 104 Btu •	1 ton uranium-235 (235U) = 70 x 1012 Btu •	1000 bbl/day of oil = 2.117 x 1012 Btu/yr •	1 million barrels of oil per day (1 MBOPD) = 5.8 x 1012 Btu/day = 80 million tons per year of coal = 5.8 x 109 ft3 per day of natural gas Approximate calorific values: •	Petroleum: = 5.8 x 106 Btu/bbl = 1.4 x 105 Btu/U.S. gallon = 19,000 Btu/lbm (using a density of 7.4 lbm/gallon) = 42,000 Btu/kg •	Coal: = 6,000 to 15,000 Btu/lbm, depending on the rank of coal = 13,200-33,000 Btu/kg •	Natural gas: = 1000 Btu/ft3 = 25,000 Btu/lbm (using a density of 0.04 lbm/ft3) = 55,000 Btu/kg •	Uranium-235: = 3.3 x 1010 Btu/lbm = 7.3 x 1010 Btu/kg Fuel requirements for a 1000 MWe power plant (2.4 x 1011 Btu/day input): •	Coal: 9000 tons/day or 1 unit train load (100 90-ton cars)/day •	Oil: 40,000 bbl/day or 1 tanker per week •	Natural gas: 2.4 x 108 SCF/day •	Uranium (as 235U): 3 kg/day Energy needs: •	U.S. Total Energy Consumption (1994) = 88 x 1015 Btu (88 Quads) = 40.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day = 92.8 exajoules (EJ) Everyday usage and energy equivalencies: •	1 barrel of oil = driving 1400 km (840 miles) in average car •	Electricity of city of 100,000 takes 4000 bbl per day of oil •	State of California energy needs for 8 hours = 106 bbl = 1 million barrels •	1 gal gasoline = 11 kW-hr electricity (@ 30% generation efficiency) = 5 hours of operation of standard air conditioner = 200 days of electric clock = 48 hours of color TV = average summer days solar energy incident on 2 m2 (22 ft2) One million Btu equals approximately: •	90 pounds of coal •	125 pounds of oven-dried wood •	10 therms of natural gas •	1.1 day energy consumption per capita in the U.S. •	1 million Btu (MBtu) of fossil fuels burned at a power plant that can generate about 100 kW-hr of electricity Power data: •	1000 MWe utility, at 60% load factor, generates 5.3 x 109 kW-hr/year, enough for a city of about 1 million people •	U.S. per capita power use = 11 kW •	Human, sitting = 60 watts = 0.86 food Calories/minute •	Human, running = 1000 watts = 14.34 food Calories/minute •	Automobile at 55 mph = 28 kW

U.S. DOE Oil Factoids (2004) 7.446 Billion Barrel (BBL) / Year Consumption

21.900 BBL Continental U.S. Remaining Supply		-	2 Year & 343 Days (IF we could pump to meet demand)

1.741 BBL / Year Continental U.S. Pumping Rate	-	23.38% (Amount of U.S. demand that can be met, which could probably be continued for a little over 12 years

10.300 BBL Estimated ANWAR Supply			-	+ 1 year of U.S. 										demand

.492 BBL ANWAR Estimated Pumping rate in 2010	-	6.6% (Amount of U.S. demand that can be met, but as it comes online the continental U.S. supplies would be falling, so in 2012 the additional 6% may not replace the exhausting wells, it should however be able to provide the 6% until around 2032

.727 BBL Strategic Reserve Storage			-	9% (The reserve represents about 9% of annual demand)

1.5695 BBL / Year Maximum Pumping Rate		-	21% (It can only be pumped at 21% of annual demand rate, so it could supplement at this rate for a period of 169 days)

With water, every one foot height results in .433 PSI at the bottom, or every 2.31 foot height results in one PSI. For example, a modest 40 PSI pressure in household water lines equals water standing in a tank around 92.4 feet above the level of use. Acceleration of gravity on Earth is 32 ft. per second, 9.8 meters per second.

Energy Equivalents.

Starting		Convert		Multiply With		To		By

BTU/hr 		Horsepower	.0003929 " 		Watt/hr		.2931

Kilowatt/hr	Horsepower	1.341

Distance. The general formula for how far away a “level” horizon is for a given height of observer works out to be d=1.4 times the square root of h. That is the distance of the horizon in miles is 1.4 times the square root of the height of the observer in feet.

THE EARTH (CIA FACT BOOK)

Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower.

The planet's population continues to explode 6,525,170,264 (July 2006 est.) 1 billion in 1820 2 billion in 1930 3 billion in 1960 4 billion in 1974 5 billion in 1988 6 billion in 2000.

For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war). World Area: total: 510.072 million sq km (196,939,112 sq mile)

land: 148.94 million sq km (57,505,825 sq mile) (36,803,728,300 acre)

water: 361.132 million sq km (139,433,286 sq mile )

note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land Area - comparative land area about 16 times the size of the US. The land boundaries in the world total 250,708 km (not counting shared boundaries twice).

44 nations and other areas are landlocked.

Coastline: 356,000 km

Terrain: The greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean, the highest point is Mount Everest 8,850 m   Land use: arable land: 13.31% (4,898,576,237 acre)

permanent crops: 4.71% (1,733,455,603 acre)

other: 81.98% (2005) Irrigated land: 2,770,980 sq km (2003) Natural hazards: Large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions) Environment - current issues: Large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion Geography - note:  The world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13-billion-year age estimated for the universe Age structure: 0-14 years: 27.4% (male 919,219,446/female 870,242,271) 15-64 years: 65.2% (male 2,152,066,888/female 2,100,334,722) 65 years and over: 7.4% (male 213,160,216/female 270,146,721) Median age: total: 27.6 years male: 27 years female: 28.2 years

Population growth rate: 1.14% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 20.05 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) Death rate: 8.67 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2006 est.) Infant mortality rate: total: 48.87 deaths/1,000 live births male: 50.98 deaths/1,000 live births female: 46.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 64.77 years male: 63.16 years female: 66.47 years (2006 est.) Total fertility rate: 2.59 children born/woman (2006 est.) Religions: Christians 33.03% (of which Roman Catholics 17.33%, Protestants 5.8%, Orthodox 3.42%, Anglicans 1.23%) Muslims 20.12% Hindus 13.34% Buddhists 5.89% Sikhs 0.39% Jews 0.23% other religions 12.61% non-religious 12.03%, atheists 2.36% (2004 est.)

Languages: Mandarin Chinese 13.69% Spanish 5.05% English 4.84% Hindi 2.82% Portuguese 2.77% Bengali 2.68% Russian 2.27% Japanese 1.99% Standard German 1.49% Wu Chinese 1.21% (2004 est.) Literacy Definition: age 15 and over can read and write. Note: over two-thirds of the world's 785 million illiterate adults are found in only eight countries (India, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Egypt); of all the illiterate adults in the world, two-thirds are women; extremely low literacy rates are concentrated in three regions, South and West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arab states, where around one-third of the men and half of all women are illiterate (2005 est.) total population: 82% male: 87% female: 77% Government Administrative divisions: 268 nations

Economy - overview: Global output rose by 4.4% in 2005, led by China (9.3%), India (7.6%), and Russia (5.9%). No gain for Italy with the United States at (3.5%).

GDP (purchasing power parity): GWP (gross world product): $65 trillion (2006 est.) Labor force: 3.001 billion (2005 est.) Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 41% industry: 20.7% services: 38.4%

Electricity - production: 17.15 trillion kWh (2004 est.) Electricity - consumption: 16.18 trillion kWh (2004 est.) Electricity - exports: 562.2 billion kWh (2004) Electricity - imports: 568.5 billion kWh (2004)

Oil - production: 83 million bbl/day (2004 est.) Oil - consumption: 82.59 million bbl/day (2004 est.) Oil - proved reserves: 1.326 trillion bbl (1 January 2002 est.)

Natural gas - production: 2.824 trillion cu m (2004 est.) Natural gas - consumption: 2.82 trillion cu m (2004 est.) Natural gas - exports: 810.9 billion cu m (2004 est.) Natural gas - imports: 828 billion cu m (2004 est.) Natural gas - proved reserves: 172.2 trillion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

Disputes - international: Stretching over 250,000 km, the world's 329 international land boundaries separate the 193 independent states and 73 dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and other miscellaneous entities; ethnicity, culture, race, religion, and language have divided states into separate political entities as much as history, physical terrain, political fiat, or conquest, resulting in sometimes arbitrary and imposed boundaries; maritime states have claimed limits and have so far established over 130 maritime boundaries and joint development zones to allocate ocean resources and to provide for national security at sea; boundary, borderland/resource, and territorial disputes vary in intensity from managed or dormant to violent or militarized; most disputes over the alignment of political boundaries are confined to short segments and are today less common and less hostile than borderland, resource, and territorial disputes; undemarcated, indefinite, porous, and unmanaged boundaries, however, encourage illegal cross-border activities, uncontrolled migration, and confrontation; territorial disputes may evolve from historical and/or cultural claims, or they may be brought on by resource competition; ethnic and cultural clashes continue to be responsible for much of the territorial fragmentation around the world; disputes over islands at sea or in rivers frequently form the source of territorial and boundary conflict; other sources of contention include access to water and mineral (especially petroleum) resources, fisheries, and arable land; nonetheless, most nations cooperate to clarify their international boundaries and to resolve territorial and resource disputes peacefully; regional discord today prevails not so much between the armed forces of independent states as between stateless armed entities that detract from the sustenance and welfare of local populations, leaving the community of nations to cope with resultant refugees, hunger, disease, impoverishment, and environmental degradation.

Climate: Two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones form a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates.

Natural resources: The rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address United States - North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico Geographic coordinates: 38 00 N, 97 00 W  North America Area: total: 9,826,630 sq km (2,428,203,441.84 acre) land: 9,161,923 sq km water: 664,707 sq km

Area - comparative: About half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China; almost two and a half times the size of the European Union.

Land boundaries: total: 12,034 km border countries: Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with Alaska) Mexico 3,141 km

US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is leased by the US and is part of Cuba; the base boundary is 28 km Coastline:  19,924 km  Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: not specified

Climate: Mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains Terrain: Vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii Elevation extremes: lowest point: Death Valley -86 m highest point: Mount McKinley 6,194 m Natural resources:  Coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber

Land use: arable land: 18.01% (437,319,439.88 acre) permanent crops: 0.21% other: 81.78% (2005)

Irrigated land: 223,850 sq km (2003) Natural hazards: Tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquake activity around Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts; tornadoes in the midwest and southeast; mud slides in California; forest fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska, a major impediment to development Environment - current issues: Air pollution resulting in acid rain in both the US and Canada; the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers; limited natural fresh water resources in much of the western part of the country require careful management; desertification.

Population: 298,444,215 (July 2006 est.) Age structure: 0-14 years: 20.4% (male 31,095,847/female 29,715,872) 15-64 years: 67.2% (male 100,022,845/female 100,413,484) 65 years and over: 12.5% (male 15,542,288/female 21,653,879)

Median age: total: 36.5 years male: 35.1 years female: 37.8 years

Population growth rate: 0.91% (2006 est.) Birth rate: 14.14 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 8.26 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate: total: 6.43 deaths/1,000 live births male: 7.09 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.74 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.85 years male: 75.02 years female: 80.82 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.09 children born/woman (2006 est.) American Ethnic groups: White 81.7%, black 12.9%, Asian 4.2%, Amerindian and Alaska native 1%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.2% (2003 est.) Note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American descent (including persons of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin) living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.)

Religions: Protestant 52%, Roman Catholic 24%, Mormon 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 1%, other 10%, none 10% (2002 est.)

Languages: English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7%

Literacy:  Age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99%

Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition

Economy - overview: The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $43,500. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, to lay off surplus workers, and to develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to enter their rivals' home markets than foreign firms face entering US markets.

US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment; their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The response to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 showed the remarkable resilience of the economy. The war in March-April 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq, and the subsequent occupation of Iraq, required major shifts in national resources to the military. The rise in GDP in 2004-06 was undergirded by substantial gains in labor productivity. Hurricane Katrina caused extensive damage in the Gulf Coast region in August 2005, but had a small impact on overall GDP growth for the year. Soaring oil prices in 2005 and 2006 threatened inflation and unemployment, yet the economy continued to grow through year-end 2006. Imported oil accounts for about two-thirds of US consumption. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, sizable trade and budget deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $12.98 trillion (2006 est.)

(Author note – at the same time, the Secretary of the Treasury reports nearly $9 trillion in “on the books” federal debt, and around $50 trillion of “off the books” debt. The U.S. federal government debt is around 5 times the entire economic productivity of the nation.

In other worlds, were the interest rate to be 20%, and the federal government were to tax at 100% all economic activity, it would perhaps just pay the interest debt.

If the interest rate were to be 5%, the federal government would have to take 25% of the GDP just to pay interest.)

$13.22 trillion (2006 est.) GDP - real growth rate: 3.4% (2006 est.) GDP - per capita (PPP): $43,500 (2006 est.) GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 0.9% industry: 20.4% services: 78.6% (2006 est.)

Labor force: 151.4 million (includes unemployed)

Labor force - by occupation: farming, forestry, and fishing 0.7% manufacturing, extraction, transportation, and crafts 22.9% managerial, professional, and technical 34.9% sales and office 25% other services 16.5%

Industrial production growth rate: 4.2% Electricity - production: 3.979 trillion kWh Electricity - consumption: 3.717 trillion kWh Electricity - exports: 22.9 billion kWh Electricity - imports: 34.21 billion kWh (2004) Oil - production: 7.61 million bbl/day Oil - consumption: 20.73 million bbl/day Oil - exports: 1.048 million bbl/day Oil - imports: 13.15 million bbl/day Oil - proved reserves: 22.45 billion bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production: 531.1 billion cu m Natural gas - consumption: 635.1 billion cu m Natural gas - exports:  24.18 billion cu m (2004 est.) Natural gas - imports: 120.6 billion cu m (2004 est.) Natural gas - proved reserves: 5.451 trillion cu m (2005 est.)

Current account balance: $-862.3 billion (2006 est.) Exports: $1.024 trillion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities: agricultural products (soybeans, fruit, corn) 9.2% industrial supplies (organic chemicals) 26.8% capital goods (transistors, aircraft, motor vehicle parts, computers, telecommunications equipment) 49.0% consumer goods (automobiles, medicines) 15.0% (2003)

Disputes - international:  Prolonged drought, population growth, and outmoded practices and infrastructure in the border region strain water-sharing arrangements with Mexico; the US has stepped up efforts to stem nationals from Mexico, Central America, and other parts of the world from crossing illegally into the US from Mexico; illegal immigrants from the Caribbean, notably Haiti and the Dominican Republic, attempt to enter the US through Florida by sea; 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement in the Bering Sea still awaits Russian Duma ratification; managed maritime boundary disputes with Canada at Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and around the disputed Machias Seal Island and North Rock; US and Canada seek greater cooperation in monitoring people and commodities crossing the border; The Bahamas and US have not been able to agree on a maritime boundary; US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease; Haiti claims US-administered Navassa Island; US has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other state; Marshall Islands claims Wake Island.

WEBSITES:

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hframe.html

WIRE GAUGE

Gauge           OHM              Max Safe Resistence     Current Per 100ft. 14             .253                  15     12              .159                  20     10              .100                  30       8              .063                  55       6              .040                  75       4              .025                  95       2              .016                130       0              .010                170     00              .008                195   000              .006                225 0000              .005               260