Could a handful of engineers change the world?

Two essential elements to our survival are oxygen and water.

One hears a lot of talk about the depletion of the Amazon rainforest and how it will affect our oxygen supply globally, and while its destruction is terrible, bordering on criminal, most of the oxygen produced by that rainforest is actually consumed back into the rainforest itself - essentially adding very little to the net sum of available oxygen globally.

It might surprise you to know that our oceans produce anywhere from 50% or more of the oxygen we breathe. The majority of this production is from oceanic plankton — drifting plants, algae, and some bacteria that can photosynthesize.

When we speak of global warming, that statement necessarily includes the warming of our oceans, and combined with pollutants and entire islands of waste plastic and plastic particulates which are choking our oceans and killing the marine life necessary to continue to oxygenate our planet - that should be a prime focus.

In my book Twilight Visitor, the 2nd edition just published, a group of Swedish oceanic-bioengineers, develop a brilliant technique which accomplishes two vital things: 1) removing pollutants from ocean water and restoring it to its natural form, and 2) producing sustainable and clean energy sufficient to power entire nations. How does it work? Well, I’m not a scientist, but as an author I can put 2 and 2 together to come up with 4, and it seems to me that if I can present this approach in terms of a speculative fiction, then it must be possible to accomplish.

Here is how the Swedes described the process, in layman terms.

Large underwater conduits are set up along coastlines which can accommodate a massive volume of sea water. As the water passes through the conduit, panels affixed to each side of the conduit charge the water, briefly altering its ionic polarity. This change in polarity is brief, measured in terms of nanoseconds, but in that time, the particulates or pollutants which have affixed themselves to the molecules of sea water are also polarized, causing a repulsion, like when you put two magnets against each other, positive to positive or negative to negative, they repel one another. The molecules of pollutants are momentarily ionized, causing them to separate from the water molecules, and then captured by filters along the entire conduit, whereby they are funneled off to be dispensed with. The sea water coming out the other end is free of toxic pollutants.

They go on to describe how the process products limitless energy, by simply altering the formula just slightly, the ionization process along the way also actuates a momentary isotopic mutation in the hydrogen atom, measured in terms of a billionth of a second, but one which releases a quantum amount of energy, not unlike the quantum energy released when an atom is split in a nuclear device, but without the destructive downside. The energy is captured in large capacitors along the way and funneled off to power grids to be used in homes, businesses, industry etc.

It is not only clean and sustainable, the energy source is infinite. The process does not alter the molecular or atomic structure of sea water, only briefly ionizes it while discharging pollutants and capturing the energy released.

Of course, the theme of the book embraces a much larger geopolitical scenario - but that’s the thrilling part - this however, is the practical one.

In the face of a burgeoning global population, global warming reaching a crisis level, and fossil fuels with an expiration date, we need this kind of approach to save our planet while enhancing our civilization.

Oh, and as a final note, in the book, the Swedes provide this technology at no cost to every nation in the world, with the stipulation that this technology, which they refer to as SCER or Saltwater-Catalyst-Energy-Release, can never be monopolized by any government, any private or corporate conglomerate, but is the domain of every citizen on Earth - in other words, the oil tzar’s worst nightmare.

Réal Laplaine

Author of high-concept thrillers

www.reallaplaine.com