When many people thing of the United States, they envision a land of freedom, prosperity, and wealth. However, environmentalists see a different land, one containing six percent of the world's population, and yet producing twenty-five percent of the world's pollution. This is because much of our prosperity is direct result of our exploitation of fossil fuels. They provide us with about ninety-three percent of the energy we consume. For this reason, our environment is becoming increasingly polluted, natural habitats are being destroyed, and health problems resulting from pollution are increasing steadily. If our current trends continue, our nation and planet will eventually become uninhabitable. In order to prevent this, we need a new primary energy source that is environmentally benign. This source is renewable energy and is already readily available. The increased use of renewable energy, mainly wind and solar energy, and reduction of dependence on oil is the best way to solve our current energy dilemma.
For the past fifty years, fossil fuels have been the main source of energy in the U.S. They are a great source of power, but unfortunately they also have many setbacks. The finite reserves of fossil fuels are being depleted at a rate one hundred thousand times faster than they are being formed. As supplies decrease we become more and more dependent on the Middle Eastern countries for our supplies of oil, recently, fifty-two percent of imported oil came from such countries. The most significant drawback is the amount of pollution produced by fossil fuels.(5)
These negative impacts can be lessened and even eradicated through the use of renewable energy. There are several forms of renewable energy, with wind and solar power being the most effective.
Wind power is produced by numerous large structures known as wind turbines. Wind turbines consist of rotor blades, a power shaft and a generator. As wind passes through the rotor, aerodynamic lift is created and the rotor spins. This spinning in turn drives the generator and produces electricity. A suitable site for wind power must have at least an annual average wind speed of twelve miles per hour, and in order to fully take advantage of wind, the turbines are built on large towers.(3)
Solar power is the most abundant form of energy on earth. Each day, more solar energy falls to earth than the total amount of energy used by the world's population in twenty-seven years. The fastest growing solar technology is photovoltaic cells. These cells use semiconductor material to directly convert sunlight into electric current. Other technologies include concentrating solar collectors and flat-plane solar collectors. A concentrating solar collector consists of mirrors and lenses that focus light on a receiver. The receiver converts the light to heat and the heat is used to power electricity producing generators or engines. Flat-plate solar collectors are flat boxes containing dark colored metal inside to absorb heat, and glass on top to prevent the heat from escaping. Running pipes underneath these provides hot water, space heating, and several other useful applications. Keep in mind though, solar and wind power is not the only forms of renewable energy.(3)
The other forms that have potential are geothermal power, small-hydro power, and the use of hydrogen gas for fuel. Small-scale hydro development has been recently revived. Although ...
There is currently much debate on the desirability of landfilling particular wastes, the practicability of alternatives such as waste minimisation or pre- treatment, the extent of waste pre-treatment required, and of the most appropriate landfilling strategies for the final residues. This debate is likely to stimulate significant developments in la...
, the thunderbolt from mythology, has long been feared as an atmospheric flash of supernatural origins. In the East, early statues of Buddha show him carrying a thunderbolt with arrows at each end. Indian tribes in North America believed that was due to the flashing feathers of a mystical whose flapping wings produced the sound of thunder. Today,...
Purpose: The objective of this experiment were: a) to review the concept of simple acid-base reactions; b) to review the stoichiometric calculations involved in chemical reactions; c) to review the basic lab procedure of a titration and introduce the student to the concept of a primary standard and the process of standardization; d) to review the c...
A parent cell divides to make two smaller daughter cells that then grow into full size cells and may or may not divide like their parent. A nucleotide is made up of a phosphate a pentose or five carbon sugar and a one ring purimidie or a two ring purine In a the DNA double helix a purine always bond with perimedines this is known as complimentary...
One morning my mom said "Andy, get up and clean the bathroom!" It was always an essential and important labor to the family. I got up and gathered all the normal cleaning agents we used; Ajax, ammonia, and this liquid bleach that my mom said worked wonders. The toilet I cleaned using the Ajax the sink I cleaned using the Ajax there seemed to be no...
Black Light. What is it? It is a portion of the Ultra-Violet Spectrum that is invisible to our eyes. We can not distinguish it. However, when this radiation impinges on certain materials visible light is emitted and this is known as "fluorescence." Fluorescence is visible to the human eye, in that it makes an object appear to "glow in the dark...
may be created by substituting some or all of the hydrogen of a phosphoric acid by metals. Depending on the number of hydrogen atoms that are replaced, the resulting compound is described as a primary, secondary or tertiary phosphate. Primary and secondary contain hydrogen and are acid salts. Secondary and tertiary phosphates, with the exception o...
The chemical make-up of sodium chloride is NaCl. Sodium Chloride is composed of is composed of a negatively charged chloride ion (Cl) and a positively charged sodium ion (Na). So I believe that when sodium chloride is dissolved in water the two ions that compose the sodium chloride should separate, and support an electrical current that would be s...
"Traces of the Stealth_c Virus have been found in memory. Reboot to a clean system disk before continuing with this installation'" This was the message staring back at me from one of the computer monitors at my office. Questions raced through my mind. "Stealth_c?" "What's a system disk?" "How am I supposed to install anti-virus software if the com...
Excessive Alcohol Consumption? Its Effects and Social Acceptance Rumors and old wives? tales such as stress makes women heavier drinkers, divorce prompts heavy alcohol use, people drive better when they are drinking, and teenagers are the main group of drunk drivers, are being thrown at today?s society left and right in an effort to blame the other...
In the essay "A Planet for the Taking," David Suzuki describes Canadians' odd appreciation for this great natural bounty we call our own. He is an internationally acclaimed scientist who is concerned about the welfare of Canada. Suzuki's intended audience is the Canadian population that does not realize the grave danger they are instilling upon t...
INTRODUCTIONThis report will strive to clearly discern the differences between the average home Video Cassette Recorder (VCR) and the recently developed Digital Video Disc (DVD) system. These two home entertainment components have very clear differences. It is important for consumers to carefully consider each of these concerns before deciding on t...
Introduction-Computers are changing the world as we know it, and they provide an interesting field of occupations. I. Definition of a computer engineer II. Change in society A. Internet B. Advertising C. Web sites D. Chat rooms III. Community and technology A. Schools 1. Homework 2. College applications B. Church IV. New technolog...
It is always a mystery about how the universe began, whether if and when it will end. Astronomers construct hypotheses called cosmological models that try to find the answer. There are two types of models: Big Bang and Steady State. However, through many observational evidences, the Big Bang theory can best explain the creation of the universe....