The Man Who Fed the World Chapter 2

Well I liked this chapter a lot better then the first one. Since I got accepted to the University of Minnesota it was interesting to see how the college worked back then. Norman Borlaug made a huge impact on the University through wrestling and his future. Also Norman and Margaret's love story is really cute. Meeting in the University coffee shop and then knowing 2 years later that they would be married is just amazing. It seems like love at first sight for both of them. A more modern day fairy-tale. Once they did get married they didn't have a honeymoon; not that it really mattered since they loved each other so much. Norman's side jobs are rather fascinating at well. Working out in the forest and surveying everything. It's very interesting how he talks about that he became 'in balance with nature' like many poets I've learned about in English talk about from the Transcendentalists to the Romantics. This chapter embodies universal themes of love, perseverance, and nature. A reminder that love , nature, and all that are involved in more than art and literature they can also be involved in science. :)

Thoughts on The Man Who Fed The World

I found it really interesting that Norman Borlaug didn't believe that he had won the Nobel Peace Prize and then went back to work. His high school education may have been "worse" by today's standard but , for him, he made use of it to solve a global issue. Norman was a family person and did everything for them. Also thanks to him and his family there is still a market for farming in the U.S. since they preserved through the depression. I'm really excited to see how his past effect him later on and helps him fed the world.

Solar Power From Space

National Geographic reported that it may be possible to collect solar power from space (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2011/12/111205-solar-power-from-space/?source=hp_dl3_news_solar20111208 ). Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency plans on launching demo satellites "scheduled to be up by the end of the next decade". According to National Geographic "The most frequently cited barrier to deploying—or even testing—many of the existing space-based solar platforms is the cost of launching the necessary equipment into orbit.". This Technology could be a great solution for the energy crisis. Since the power would be collected in space there would not be problems, such as cloud cover. Also no solar energy would be lost to the atmosphere , since space acts like a vacuum. One downside of this is how to get the power to earth. Stephen Sweeney's team belives a narrow beam would be the best solution. However he also stated "which means you have a particular point on Earth where you can target energy delivery." which may be hard to do for such a distance. Some people believe it wll be great for disasters. The energy could be "rolled up" and sent to disaster sites a lot faster then generators and other equipment. The same could be done for the energy , which would most likely become cheaper in the long run.

While many flaws still exist with this technology the future for it looks very bright. Solar power from space may be costly to start but I believe the benefits would be worth it. Fossil fuels will not be around forever and this is a very plausible and efficient alternative. There is so much that can be done with this technology that would help save our environment.