Inside View

There are no secrets

AS WILLIAM GIBSON politely states in the New York Times, it is becoming unprecedentedly difficult for anyone, anyone at all, to keep a secret. In the age of the leak and the blog, of evidence extraction and link discovery, truths will either out or be outed, later if not sooner. This is something I would bring to the attention of every diplomat, politician and corporate leader: the future, eventually, will find you out. The future, wielding unimaginable tools of transparency, will have its way with you. In the end, you will be seen to have done that which you did.

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William Gibson -- "The road to Oceania"

Bernie Goldbach likes transparency and studies secrecy.

Garbage Into Oil

Bernie Goldbach in Kilkenny (updated in Clonmel, 26 Jun 12) | Screenshot from YouTube 

THE RECIPE FOR MAKING crude oil is relatively simple: combine the remains of ferns, jellyfish, and dinosaurs; cover with sediment; bury deep in the earth's crust; and apply pressure for millions of years.

Or if you're pressed for time, run some turkey parts or used tires through the thermal process owned by Changing World Technologies of West Hempstead, New York or the Japanese company Blest. The system uses water, pressure, and heat to convert organic material into clean fuel gas, absorbent carbon (like that used in water filters), minerals for fertilizer, and a crude oil that is chemically similar to a mixture of disel fuel and gasoline. This oil can be sold to refineries and converted into fuel. The system produces no pollution emissions, and the only by-product is water.