RESPONDING TO OUR READERS

Global Consulting has been receiving numerous requests from our clients all over the globe, and we are very thankful for that to all our clients, and to those who visit and read our site. We also express our gratitude to the politicians, here in the USA, who send us letters of support for our activities.

Below are given most common questions in the requests we receive and very brief answers presented here for you just to better understand our vision on those issues. We do not intend to give you a full description of the answers in this short article.

What are the major tasks, which the humanity on the planet Earth found itself trying to resolve by the end of the second millennium of the modern time?

First is how to survive when the fossil energy resources on Earth became countable, and how to keep the planet clean and safe with the planetary climate change and spread of unsafe nuclear wastes.

Second, with further exploration of space, is how to effectively prolong a short human life to be able for humans to reach other planets while being alive and to meet with new possible civilizations.

Where the solution for both those tasks eventually led to?

Eventually, the solution for both these tasks led to hydrogen – most abundant element of the Universe.

What is the world’s biggest joint clean energy project currently being started to resolve the energy crisis and to minimize the global warming?

On the last days of June 2005, the six-party consortium has signed the contract of the 13-billion-dollar project for the construction and operation of the first-ever-on-planet thermonuclear reactor to be built in Cadarache, France, from 2005 to 2015 with the plant operation lasting until 2035. The six parties are the European Union, the United States, Russia, China, Japan and South Korea. Shortly later, India addressed its wish to join the consortium. Hydrogen fusion cycle happens when four hydrogen nuclei (protons) come together to make a helium nucleus, this releases energy similar to what is in the core of the star or in our Sun. The sun-alive energy of fusion, but now controlled by a man, is to be kept in the reactor capable to supply with energy half of Europe. The energy and the plant itself are told to be clean and safe. The project is called ITER – International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor.

What are the next steps of this project?

It is now foreseen that if this experiment will be a success, than the majority of industrialized countries of the word will have such reactors of their own by 2050. Imagine that a hundred years after the first thermonuclear fusion device – a hydrogen bomb - was made and tested on our planet, there will be no need in burning fossil fuels any longer and to pollute the air.

So far, how the countries worldwide currently turn their economies to the hydrogen and green technologies? Where can we presently find the world’s most successful industrial use of the new technologies?

While most industrialized countries have scheduled closure of their nuclear power plants, generally for the reason of highly expensive treatment and storage of nuclear waste, the world turned its attention to hydrogen as to the alternative clean energy supplier among with other green technologies. Also the car makers worldwide are turning to hydrogen burning engines to limit greenhouse gas emissions…

On transport progress goes further from first hydrogen cells buses in Canada and Iceland, and first world’s biggest car station in Germany to first-ever-in Europe hydrogen trains in Denmark…

What is the most potential fuel for the Earth power plants and for the space exploration in the future?

From 2018, NASA has plans to land the expeditions on the Moon, to create a human colony there, and to start excavation of the rocket fuel on the Moon.  Our neighbor Moon is rich with isotope of Helium-3, that is practically absent on Earth. Helium-3 can be used as a fuel for thermonuclear reactors, when the fossil resources on Earth will be exhausted. It is also primarily planned to be used as a rocket fuel. When hydrogen is the most basic and ubiquitous element in the Universe, the spaceships with thermonuclear engines can make the space exploration practically unlimited in distances. The fuel elaboration on the Moon is in the plans of both the Americans and the Russians. The Russians plan to build a permanent base on the Moon by 2019, and from 2020 to begin excavation of Helium-3 on the industrial level. By the year 2020, China and Japan plan to land on the Moon as well.

Positive side: As an example, one load of the Shuttle with the isotope of Helium-3 would be enough to annually supply with energy such country as the United States. “Burning” of one ton of Helium-3 releases energy equivalent to burning of 14 million tons of oil. Helium-3 is a stable isotope, clean and practically not radioactive, comparing with deuterium and tritium, so there will be no problems with its waste storage.

Negative side: To start the reaction of “burning” of Helium-3, the initial temperature should reach the level, which is 5 times higher than to “burn” deuterium and tritium. The humanity has not invented yet the process of reaching those temperatures; so far, the scientists simply do not know how to “burn” Helium-3, and the world science is presently at the research stage on this issue. To extract one ton of Helium-3 from the Moon soil, about 100 million tons of the Moon soil should be excavated and purified first.

Another source of a huge potential for the Earth power plants and in the space has been a solar energy transformed into heat and electricity, however the presently existing methods should be improved to highly increase the efficiency of this transformation.

Can the politicians and the scientists find the balance-surviving solutions for the oil industry worldwide?

Yes, they can. And yes, they do. With the amount of oil on our planet countable and the prices for oil going up, with the greenhouse gas emission rising, the oil industry will surely die similar to what happened with the coal mine industry worldwide in the recent decades. The huge money involved in the industry will make it highly resisting to modern innovations in energy research. It will certainly influence on the politics and the economics of the world’s countries for the balance or the compromise to be found for the money given into development of that industry not to be lost with the world’s energy technologies improvement. The ITER project does not seem contradicting with the oil energy projects. It seems a way for all humanity to survive. However, it may not be that safe as earlier predicted. It might repeat the history of nuclear industry, which from the very beginning was told to be safe for the environment… It is no doubt, the politicians worldwide understand what the collapse of the oil industry may mean, as well as they understand that the fossil fuel on the planet is definitely countable. It is quite visible that the leaders of the world are trying to find out the solution for the oil industry least painful, however, the demands for the clean energy technologies and the drastic global climate change can make the decision making sooner than widely expected. The UN Global Climate Change Panel scientists play major role as to give timely warning signals: the humanity can not wait any longer.

The period of time left for the transformation of the world’s oil industry is quite short: 7-12 years. Already now, the world’s oil-exporters think on the next steps, which allow their national economies survive. Russia is definitely turning its attention to the nuclear power plants with the plans to practically re-build and strengthen its nuclear industry by 2020-2025, and with a special emphasis to the thermonuclear industrial aspect upfront for the future. Russia’s decision to re-build its nuclear industry is also based on the necessity of re-cycling of its hugely-accumulated nuclear wastes. Norway and Canada are turning to the new green technologies, and to the new hydro power plants projects.

What are currently the most important projects that can boost the world’s economies?

1. The project ITER – International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor that can supply with energy half of Europe. Countries-participants: the European Union, the United States, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea and India.

2. Transformation to the “green” energy technologies worldwide.

3. Hydrogen-burnt engine transportation systems.

4. The Bering Straight Tunnel – the underwater 102 km (61.9 miles) tunnel that will join the Western and Eastern hemispheres, can boost economies of Russia, the USA and Canada when connecting the railroads of those countries into one system. This is a US$10-12 billion project, being introduced by the Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development in May 2007. The project foresees that the tunnel will come out onto the land surface on the two islands in the Bering Straight. It is planned that this line can carry up to 3% of all the planet Earth freights. It is not clear so far, however, how many participants can join   this Russian initiative in the future. In 2007, the members of the Bering Tunnel Group have officially asked the United States and Canada for permission to present the idea  for consideration at the 2008 G-8 summit in Japan.

5. Turkey has built the world's deepest immersed tube tunnel under Bosporus. The $3.3 billion project for 8.25 miles tunnel has been built to connect Europe and Asia. First train services has began in 2012-2013.

6. The Loetschberg Base Tunnel, Switzerland, has been opened in June 2007. This is a 34.6 km (21-mile) long rail link tunnel under the Alps that cost US$3.5 billion and took 8 years to build, which is definitely a “connecting Europe” project. The planned speed of transportation inside the tunnel is 160 km/h (100 ml/h) for freight trains and up to 250 km/h (150 ml/h) for passenger trains.

7. The Gotthard Tunnel, Switzerland, is to be built parallel to the Loetschberg Base Tunnel by 2017. The Gotthard Tunnel will be 57 km (36 miles) long.

8. The “Dubailand” project of the Middle East. This is a US$64 billion project to be completed by 2025 to attract tourists from all over the world.

9. Norway has built the world’s biggest CO2 Capture Facility to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions which cause the global warming.  The cost of the project is US$594 million. It was planned that the facility will capture 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide by 2010, and 1.3 million tons by 2014.

 10. Australia has built the world’s biggest solar power station of the capacity 154 Megawatt. The station cost US$420 million. The project was completed in 2008-2013.

 11. Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe Ltd. is to invest £100 million (US$153 million) in an offshore wind turbine project in the UK. Mitsubishi plans to build a giant factory testing the largest wind turbines in the world. It is in the plans of the British Wind and Energy Association that wind could power half of the UK's homes by 2020.

What are the centers conducting the most reliable research on human life longevity?

It has to be noticed that thousands of scientists on the planet have been elaborating the remedies for a human life longevity.  The British, Russians, Japanese, Americans and other scientists are conducting their experiments by the order of the government or as a private research behind the closed doors… Not all information is open for the general public, and there are certain and obvious reasons for that.

Among  most important Centers on human longevity are:

      ·          Institute for Ageing and Health, University of Newcastle, UK

      ·          Institute of Human Genetics, University of Newcastle, UK

      ·          University of Leicester, UK

      ·          Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, UK

      ·          Oxford University: The James Martin Institute for Science and Civilization

      ·         The United Kingdom Human Genetics Commission

      ·          Institute of Genetics, Nottingham University, UK  

·          US National Institute of Aging

·          International Longevity Centre - UK