...Pollution is destroying our Earth and hurting us humans along with the habitats and lives of many species. Your energy sources are a major cause of the pollution. By running on fossil fuels your releasing harmful greenhouse gases into the environment. But don’t fret because you can help. Instead of using fossil fuels, you can switch to biofuel paired with wind energy in your town, Algona, Iowa! Biofuel will supply fuel to your vehicles, while wind energy will provide electricity to your needs. Both sources are ecofriendly. Wind energy uses a generator within the turbine to convert motion energy into electricity, which produces no carbon emission. Biofuel produces small amounts of carbon dioxide in the production and usage, but when new crop...
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...The Future of Energy Unit 4 Assignment Kaplan University Cleaster McConnell SC300: Big Ideas in Science: From Methods to Mutation Professor Michael Allen October 16, 2012 According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the fuels Iowans use fall into two main categories: nonrenewable in the form of fossil (coal, petroleum, and natural gas) and nuclear fuels and renewable energy resources (water for hydroelectricity, biomass, wind, and solar). The use of energy is divided into four sectors: Commercial usage is 15%, Residential usage is 22%, Transportation 22%, Industrial 41% Energy, in all its varied forms, is an essential part of every aspect of our lives. It’s the foundation for our economy and our lifestyles. In my home, most of my energy dollars goes to heat my home in the winter and make hot water. During the summer months the dollars spent on heating the home is switched to cooling the home. A small percentage goes to powering appliances and electronics. We use natural gas as a single heat source and all of my appliances are electric including the stove, washer, and dryer. I am very conscious about energy conservation in the home. We adjust the thermostat by lowering it in the winter to 68 and raising it in the summer to 78 by day and 60 and 82 during the evening. We change the furnace filter every 3 months and unplug TV’s, cell phone...
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...producing carbon dioxide which is a destructive greenhouse gas, it has historically dragged its feet when it comes to alternative energy. Wind energy is arguably the most important alternative energy source currently available. It is relativity inexpensive, abundant, and climate-benign, and most importantly, inexhaustible. By 2020, wind energy is expected to provide for half of Europe’s energy needs. The world’s wind-generating capacity is currently growing by 29 percent a year. Figueroa 2 According to a study conducted by the Department of Energy, the states of North Dakota, Kansas, and Texas alone receive enough wind to provide electricity for the entire nation. By the same token, offshore wind farms could provide enough energy to power the entire nation. Wind energy systems require very little maintenance, and could potentially produce electricity for as little as $0.02 per kilowatt-hour. The average US household consumes about 10,000 KWh of electricity each year. Fact, a 250-kw turbine installed at the elementary school in Spiril Lace, Iowa, provides an average of 350,000 KWh of electricity per year, more than is necessary for the 53,000-square-foot school. We have the potential to generate enough energy to meet our needs in such a way that is beneficial to both humanity and the environment. So why are we not developing wind power concept sooner rather than later? Figueroa 3 Authors: Morley, David C., and Rich, Alex K....
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...Wind Turbine Manufacturers in the U.S.: Locations and Local Impacts WINDPOWER 2010 Conference and Exhibition Dallas, Texas Suzanne Tegen May 26, 2010 NREL/PR-6A2-47913 NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC. Challenges to modeling Renewables Renewables represent new industries • Not isolated as an industry in conventional I/O codes Requires detailed knowledge of project costs and industry specific expenditures • Equipment, Engineering, Labor, Permitting, O&M, etc. The Wind JEDI Model • Provides a project basic project recipe for specific RE technologies • Applies Industry Specific Multipliers derived from IMPLAN National Renewable Energy Laboratory Innovation for Our Energy Future Jobs and Economic Impacts from the JEDI Model Wind Energy’s Economic Impacts JEDI Model Version W1.09.03e Local Revenue, Turbine, & Supply Chain Impacts Project Development & Onsite Labor Impacts •Construction workers •Management •Administrative support •Cement truck drivers •Road crews •Maintenance workers •Legal and siting •Blades, towers, gear boxes •Boom truck & management, gas and gas station workers; •Supporting businesses, such as bankers financing the construction, contractor, manufacturers and equipment suppliers; •Utilities; •Hardware store purchases and workers, spare parts and their suppliers Induced Impacts Jobs and earnings that...
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...Tornadoes David Griswold April 20, 2014 Natural Disasters ES117-01-77 DR. Brazell Tornadoes A tornado is one of the few natural disasters that have taken place in the Midwest, but its effects can cause devastation that can be felt worldwide. Tornadoes destroy entire towns. In some cases they will level an entire block, but leave one house standing almost untouched. Their paths can be unpredictable, and cost of the destruction almost immeasurable. A major natural disaster such as this could wipe out people’s way of life and a food supply that helps to feed the world. In many cases flooding accompanies tornadoes. These super cell storms can drop several inches of water in a very short time. Tornadoes can also destroy water towers leaving communities without drinkable water, knock over power lines leaving communities in the dark and tear open gas lines creating a very high risk of fires and explosions. Tornadoes have been somewhat sensationalized in media. There have been books written about tornado events such as The Night of the Twisters by Ivy Ruckman, the story of her cousin’s families bout with the June 3, 1980 Grand Island, Nebraska tornadoes, to movies such as the made for TV movie of the same name and The Wizard of Oz, not to mention the Blockbuster Twister. Although these movies are entertaining, they are far from accurate. “A storm chasers dream come true is to get close enough to a mile-wide tornado to shoot unique video of nature's extreme fury. Maybe even take some...
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...There are several alternative energy sources to oil like solar energy, biofuels, wind energy, water, and geothermal. With finite natural oil, coal and gas reserves, humans must plan on alternative energy sources to survive. Carbon Emissions from fossil fuels are causing catastrophic global warming by tapping heat in the atmosphere, melting, polar and glacial ice with cascading effects. This paper discusses the various possible alternative energy solutions for a new sustainable way of life on planet Earth which must be launched as soon as possible. Solar energy is electromagnetic radiation from the sun, unlike the major conventional power source it produces no smoke stack emission, greenhouses gases, or radioactive wastes; and its production cannot be manipulated for profit or political leverage. Nevertheless, in the 20th century, the sun's energy has become an increasingly attractive source for small amounts of direct power to meet human needs. A number of devices for collecting solar energy and converting it into electricity have been developed, and solar energy is used in a variety of ways. Solar energy is used to heat houses, and in many countries specially designed solar ovens are used for cooking. The sun also supplies energy to electric generators that provide power for weather and communications satellites and for radio and television equipment. Biofuel is difficult to define. Most of the fossil fuels we use are biological in nature. These plant forms typically, remove...
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...Promoting Renewed E February 9, 20 Opposing and Promoting Renewed Energy Energy is broadly classified into two main groups: Renewable and Non-renewable. Renewable energy is generally defined as energy that comes from resources which are naturally replenished on a human timescale such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves and geothermal heat. Renewable energy replaces conventional fuels in four distinct areas: electricity generation, hot water/space heating, motor fuels, and rural (off-grid) energy services. Renewable energy provides 19% of electricity generation worldwide. Renewable power generators are spread across many countries, and wind power alone already provides a significant share of electricity in some areas: for example, 14% in the U.S. state of Iowa, 40% in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, and 49% in Denmark. Some countries get most of their power from renewables, including Iceland (100%), Norway (98%), Brazil (86%), Austria (62%), New Zealand (65%), and Sweden (54%).( Wikipedia 2013) There has been many debates concerning renewable energy; Whether it’s for the good or bad. Many believe that it would be for the good, on the other hand many believe that it would be too expensive for low income families. The difference between renewable and nonrenewable energy is that nonrenewable energy can be used up. Renewable energy sources are unlimited and cannot be used up. Nonrenewable energy cannot be used again once it is all gone. Coal and oil are prime examples...
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...Clicking Clean: How Companies are Creating the Green Internet April2014 greenpeace.org For more information contact: enquiries@greenpeace.org Lead Author: Gary Cook, Greenpeace Co-Authors: Tom Dowdall, Greenpeace David Pomerantz, Greenpeace Yifei Wang, Greenpeace Editor: David Pomerantz, Greenpeace Creative Direction & Design by: Arc Communications Published in April 2014 by Greenpeace Inc. 702 H Street, NW Suite 300 Washington, D.C. 20001 United States greenpeace.org 2 Contents Executive Summary 5 Company Scorecard 7 Cloud Source 9 Global Energy Snapshot 13 The Cloud’s Next Stop: China 17 The Road Map to a Green Internet 19 Your Online World: Green IRL, or #dirty? 25 Green Internet Leaders and Best Practices 29 Where the Cloud Touches the Ground -- Map: Global Data Center Hot Spots -- Map: US Data Center Hot Spots -- US Regional Profiles 35 36 38 40 Appendix 1: Methodology 42 Appendix 2: Company Scores Explained 44 Appendix 3: Company Data Center Facilities and Estimates of Power Demand 64 Notes 78 03 4 © Frank van Biemen / EvoSwitch / Greenpeace Greenpeace USA Clicking Clean: How Companies are Creating the Green Internet Executive Summary Executive Summary For the estimated 2.5 billion people around the world who are connected to the internet, it is impossible to imagine life without...
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...Energy Agnese Strayer University Dr. Andrey R. Pavlov Science 110 April 21, 2012 We recognize energy through the concepts of force and motion. When work is done on an object, it gains energy. Energy is made of two types, potential energy which is stored energy and kinetic energy which consists of moving energy. Food is stored energy. It is stored as a chemical with potential energy. When your body uses that stored energy to do work, it then becomes kinetic energy.(Integrated Science, 2008) Any form of energy can be converted to another form. Most technological devices that we use are recognized as energy converters. Energy cannot be created, nor destroyed. This is the reason why it exists in many forms. For example, a light bulb converts electrical energy to radiant energy. It can come in various forms, mechanical, chemical, radiant, electrical, and nuclear. Thermodynamics is the study of energy being converted from one form to another. There are three laws of thermodynamics. The first law states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be converted from one form to another. The second law states that heat energy can be transferred only from body at high temperature to the body at lower temperature. Heat can only be moved from high to low without external work being performed. If you want to move the heat energy from low temperature reservoir to high temperature reservoir, then something external must intercept in order for that to work. (Definition...
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...Winds of Change Sonya Marquis BUS440-801 Introduction Wind energy is a renewable resource, which means that future supply will not be affected by current use. The rising concerns about global warming, pollution, and depletion of natural resources makes wind a viable and logical source of energy for the near and distant future. There are many advantages to wind energy; it is a sustainable energy source that is non-polluting. With a 30 percent annual increase, wind is the world’s fastest-growing bulk power electricity source. Montana has a bright future in wind energy. The American Wind Energy Association ranked Montana’s wind-energy potential in the top five in the nation. Currently, the state has several utility-scale wind farms in operation. History of Wind Energy Wind energy has been used by civilizations throughout time. As early as 5000 B.C., wind energy propelled boats up and down rivers. Simple windmills pumped water in China in 200 B.C. Wind energy technology and its applications continued to grow and diversify throughout the ages. By the late 19th century, settlers of the New World were using windmills to pump water, and eventually, to generate electricity. Small windmills were used until the late 1920s to bring electricity to rural Americans. Farm and ranch communities in Montana used wind generators that produced direct current (DC) electricity that was often stored in batteries. However, these systems were short-lived due to the Rural Electrification...
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...On February 4, 1789 George Washington become the first president of the United States. Over 200 hundred years later after taking the same oath I stand before you as the first female president to be elected. In this time America has faced numerous adversities and accomplished great feats. We have fought through the depression and survived numerous wars. Women have earned to right to vote and men have been sent into space. However, we must face that fact that new problems have arisen and it is up to us to face them and determine our future. Over the course of presidential terms many famous quotes have been said, but I quote one today that is not so well remembered. Over a hundred years ago our 23rd president Benjamin Harrison said “Not all of...
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...America’s primary sources of energy come from fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. The cost of using fossil fuels includes labor cost to mine for coal or to drill for oil, labor and material cost to build plants to generate and transport coal and oil to plants; these hidden costs are included in electricity bills or in the purchase price of gasoline. However, some costs are not included in utility or gas bills, and they are not paid for by companies that produce or sell these energy sources (Payne, Dutzik, & Figdor, 2009). This external cost creates additional problems; such as, health issues related to the air pollution caused by the burning of coal and oil, the damage to land from coal mining and to the miners from lung disease, environmental problems like global warming, acid rain, and water pollution including national security cost to protect foreign sources of oil. This pricing system hides the true costs of fossil fuels which results in damage to human health, the environment, and the economy (Payne, Dutzik, & Figdor, 2009). This paper will examine each hidden cost and evaluate their effects to enlighten individuals on the true cost of America’s dependency on fossil fuels. America’s dependency on fossil fuels began innocently enough with the start of the Industrial Revolution. These changes were small at first with the invention of machines that replaced the hard labor of hand tools. Next were new sources of energy to power the new inventions which...
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...Barack Obama is about to deliver his South Carolina victory speech, and here is the text of his remarks as prepared. Over two weeks ago, we saw the people of Iowa proclaim that our time for change has come. But there were those who doubted this country’s desire for something new – who said Iowa was a fluke not to be repeated again. Well, tonight, the cynics who believed that what began in the snows of Iowa was just an illusion were told a different story by the good people of South Carolina. After four great contests in every corner of this country, we have the most votes, the most delegates, and the most diverse coalition of Americans we’ve seen in a long, long time. They are young and old; rich and poor. They are black and white; Latino and Asian. They are Democrats from Des Moines and Independents from Concord; Republicans from rural Nevada and young people across this country who’ve never had a reason to participate until now. And in nine days, nearly half the nation will have the chance to join us in saying that we are tired of business-as-usual in Washington, we are hungry for change, and we are ready to believe again. But if there’s anything we’ve been reminded of since Iowa, it’s that the kind of change we seek will not come easy. Partly because we have fine candidates in the field – fierce competitors, worthy of respect. And as contentious as this campaign may get, we have to remember that this is a contest for the Democratic nomination, and that all of us share...
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... Company profile REinVEnTinG A GREAT coMPAnY The year 2008 saw the definitive reinvention of a great company. Less than a decade ago, ACCIONA was one of Spain’s leading construction companies and was actively diversifying and seeking business opportunities worldwide. In the last year, and after divesting Endesa in 2009, ACCIONA has culminated the transformation into a company that is a pioneer in development and sustainability, and a global leader in the development, production and management of renewable energy, water and infrastructure with the minimum environmental impact. This achievement would not have been possible without ACCIONA’s pioneering background. It was created by the first merger in Spain’s construction industry and, in the 1990s, it was the first non-utility to move into renewable energy. ACCIONA is the construction company that has most successfully diversified followed by a process of concentration. Sustainability is a core axis of its strategy, and energy, infrastructure and water are the vectors of future growth. In 2004, José Manuel Entrecanales was appointed Chairman, and he spearheads the Company’s transition towards these three pillars of growth. In 2005, ACCIONA strengthened its position using an innovative strategy based on orienting those businesses towards sustainable development, with a strong international approach. This sweeping transformation was also possible thanks to the enormous investment effort and social commitment as a creator of quality...
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...ENERGY Renewable Energy: An Overview DOE/GO-102001-1102 FS175 March 2001 EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLE ENERGY What is Renewable Energy? Renewable energy uses energy sources that are continually replenished by nature—the sun, the wind, water, the Earth’s heat, and plants. Renewable energy technologies turn these fuels into usable forms of energy—most often elec- tricity, but also heat, chemicals, or mechanical power. Why Use Renewable Energy? Today we primarily use fossil fuels to heat and power our homes and fuel our cars. It’s convenient to use coal, oil, and natural gas for meeting our energy needs, but we have a limited supply of these fuels on the Earth. We’re using them much more rapidly than they are being created. Even- tually, they will run out. And because of safety concerns and waste disposal prob- lems, the United States will retire much of its nuclear capacity by 2020. In the mean- time, the nation’s energy needs are expected to grow by 33 percent during the next 20 years. Renewable energy can help fill the gap. Even if we had an unlimited supply of fos- sil fuels, using renewable energy is better for the environment. We often call renew- able energy technologies “clean” or “green” because they produce few if any pollutants. Burning fossil fuels, however, sends greenhouse gases into the atmos- phere, trapping the sun’s heat and con- tributing to global warming. Climate scientists generally agree that the Earth’s average temperature has risen in the past century...
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