Manufacturing Engineering: Voting to Bell the Thermodynamic Cat

There is an eminently simple solution to the purported greenhouse gas problem: abolish the First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics. This would allow the construction of perpetual-motion machines and the generation of electricity by air conditioners (since the heat could easily produce shaft work as it moves spontaneously from the cold to the hot reservoir). The United States could then sign the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty, because our power plants would not emit any carbon dioxide whatsoever.

They would, in fact, convert carbon dioxide and water into coal and oil. Who needs trees and rain forests as carbon sinks once you've repealed the laws of thermodynamics? That's an important consideration, because South American countries that are among Kyoto's most vocal advocates are burning down rain forests to clear land for agriculture. This suggests that they don't really take the global warming "threat" very seriously.

Brian Hogan's "Wake Up, Brie Eaters!" (Manufacturing Engineering, June 2003) paints a vivid picture of people whose technological and economic ignorance is so profound that we could probably keep them busy with this project for quite a while. All we need to do is float the idea at a few wine-and-brie parties and let the momentum build. The legislative abolition of the laws of thermodynamics would occupy the Kyotoist politicians, and prevent them from doing real damage by regulating carbon dioxide emissions.

The Kyotoists say we can reduce our emissions by making our manufacturing and generation processes "more efficient." Perhaps they know how to reduce the amount of electricity that is necessary to separate a pound of aluminum from bauxite, or a pound of chlorine from brine. In 2002, high retail energy prices in California actually induced aluminum plants to stop separating aluminum from bauxite and, instead, resell electricity for which they had long-term contracts.

Henry Ford wrote that inexpensive transportation and energy were his key considerations in locating a manufacturing plant and the high-wage jobs that went with it. He didn't worry about wages. A competitor's cheap labor advantage could be overcome by lean manufacturing, which the Ford Motor Company developed. Ford would not, however, build a plant where inexpensive power and reliable transportation (a pre-requisite for just-in-time manufacturing) were not available.

Nothing has happened to change this, as shown by the wholesale destruction of jobs in California because of costly and unreliable energy. "The New Job Reality" (U.S. News and World Report, August 11 2003) shows, in fact, that the country lost more than two million manufacturing jobs during the past two years. The Kyotoists, however, want carbon dioxide regulations that will make power even more costly and unreliable. They are like blackjack players with 22 or more points who tell the dealer to hit them again.

The "Green" movement thinks solar and wind power will solve the world's problems. The wind and sun are free. What is the net present value of free electricity (discounted by the required rate of return) for the life of the project minus the necessary capital investment? The ability to do this calculation was once a requirement for getting a professional engineer's license, but it was obviously never a prerequisite for getting into wine-and-brie parties.

Free market forces are already inducing companies to invest in fuel cells, which circumvent the efficiency limits of the Rankine and Otto power cycles by turning chemical energy directly into electricity. As an example, the reaction of coal with steam produces hydrogen that will work in fuel cells. Scrubbing and sequestration of the carbon dioxide, however, adds no value for the electricity customer. There is no reason to do this until the rest of the world's actions, as opposed to lip service, show that it thinks global warming is a real problem.

There are exactly three ways to produce real wealth: grow it, mine it, or make it. Anything that undermines manufacturing, including misguided efforts to make power more expensive, is a danger to the security of the United States. There is nothing about "ship jobs offshore" that blue-collar workers do not understand, but it is our duty as manufacturing professionals to educate them about the relationship between cheap and reliable energy and manufacturing.

William A. Levinson, PE. CMfgE, CEI

PRINCIPAL

LEVINSON PRODUCTIVITY SYSTEMS, P.C.

WILKES-BARRE, PA

E-MAIL: BILLLEVINSON@IX.NETCOM.COM