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Energy Justification 2018 6 2f7th
Energy Justification 2018 6 2f7th
Wind Power Wind turbines convert the ● Good for the ● Deadly/harmful to
kinetic energy in the wind environment birds
into mechanical power.This ● Renewable ● Wind is unpredictable
is done by using a large wind ● Cost effective and cannot be
turbine usually consisting of ● Profit for controlled
propellers; the turbine can be landowners ● Not cheap like other
connected to a generator to ● Use of modern energy sources
generate electricity, or the technology ● Take the beauty out of
wind used as mechanical ● Huge the landscape
power to perform tasks such potential/ ● Turbines can be quite
as pumping water or growth rates loud
grinding grain. As the wind ● Low costs ● Impact on local
passes the turbines it moves ● Abundant weather and
the blades, which spins the domestic temperatures
shaft. supply
● Power is free
● Can be used
almost
anywhere
Hydro Power “Hydropower plants capture -The most used -Environmental consequences
the energy of falling water to renewable energy
generate electricity. A source in the world -Expensive Initial Cost
turbine converts the kinetic
energy of falling water into -Reliable -May lead to Droughts
mechanical energy. Then a
generator converts the -Safe -Limited Reservoirs
mechanical energy from the
turbine into electrical - Low cost of -Carbon dioxide and methane
energy.” -Wisconsin Valley maintenance and emission
Improvement Company operation
- Risk of floods and
- Can last 50-100 relocation due to strong water
years, due to the fact currents released from the
that they are built for dam
long-term use
-Ecosystem damage due to
-Can help remote interruptions of natural water
areas grow flow, and draining of water
economically
- Risk of dam failure due to
Recreation high levels of water, natural
disasters, or construction
errors
Disrupts recreation
Biomass/Biofuel “Biofuels are combustive fuels ● Bio-based fuel ● Need to be grown under
Group 2 made from recently harvested with essentially controlled temperature
plants. They work much like carbon neutral conditions
fossil fuels: they burn when combustion ● Requires a considerable
ignited, releasing energy that ● Drop in amount of land and
can be converted to motion in a replacement for water
car, or heat for a house. Biofuel petroleum-base ● Cold flow issues with
can be sourced from a number d liquid fuels algal biofuel
of different crops, as well as ● Inherently ● Fertilizer production is
excess plant matter from other renewable carbon dependent
industries.” ● Absorbs carbon ● Relatively high upfront
dioxide as it capital costs
Heat boils water to create grows ● Not clear yet what the
steam, steam and heat rises ● Both waste ultimate cost per gallon
pushing on a turbine, creating a CO2 and will be. Presently too
current and electricity. wastewater can high.
be used as
nutrients
● Higher energy Link=https://www.triplepundit.c
per-acre than om/special/energy-options-pros-
other biofuels and-cons/algae-based-biofuel-pr
os-cons/
Geothermal energy is the ● Energy ● Bad for earthquakes
Geothermal heat from the Earth. It's clean efficient ● Expensive upfront
Energy and sustainable. Resources ● Earth-friendly prices
Group 3 of geothermal energy range ● Renewable ● Needs a certain
from the shallow ground to ● Takes up less location
hot water and hot rock found space, ● If not properly
a few miles beneath the partially managed, the
Earth's surface, and down underground reservoirs can break
even deeper to the extremely ● Reliable down
high temperatures of molten ● Free after
rock called magma. upfront
payment
Heat boils water to create
steam, steam and heat rises
pushing on a turbine, creating a
current and electricity.
Nuclear power/ Nuclear power plants obtain the ● Clean Energy ● Nuclear Waste
Uranium heat needed to produce steam Source ● People can be affected
through a physical process. ● Energy in the event of a
This process, called fission, Efficient meltdown or plant
entails the splitting of atoms of ● Low cost to failure
uranium in a nuclear reactor. run ● Limited uranium
The uranium fuel consists of ● More resources
small, hard ceramic pellets that
proficient than ● Japan Crisis
are packaged into long, vertical
other energy ● High cost to create
tubes. Bundles of this fuel are
inserted into the reactor. This
sources ● Non- renewable
steam is used to spin a turbine
which uses motion to create
energy.
3. Climate change - how does it happen?(greenhouse effect, carbon cycle, use of sun’s
energy):
Climate change is a real problem that if not addressed can lead to the declination of our planet. A conclusion from
scientific investigations of the causes of climate change show over 95% of the experiments showed the high probability
that humans’ actions over the past 50 years have influenced climate change(Nasa). These actions include aren’t limited
industrial smoke stacks, nuclear waste, and green gas emissions. A NASA informational article stated the fact, “The panel
also concluded there's a better than 95 percent probability that human-produced greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide,
methane and nitrous oxide have caused much of the observed increase in Earth's temperatures over the past 50 years.”
Some greenhouse gases include methane and carbon dioxide. They help retain the heat of the planet. The gases absorb
heat from the earth surface and hold it in with the greenhouse effect. Climate change is when there is an unnatural balance
of gases in the atmosphere. They can affect the climate of the earth. Climate change is caused when there are changes in
average conditions over many years. How climate change works is humans release gases into the atmosphere by burning
fossil fuels or other activities. This creates and unbalanced amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and it will
affect the climate.
4. Climate Change - Consequences - what could happen as a result of the changing climate?
Many things have already happened because of climate change. The icy glaciers have shrunk in size,
the ice over the ocean and lakes is breaking up earlier and earlier, the lifestyles and habitats of countless animals
and plants have changed, and the trees are all coming into bloom earlier. The effects of climate change are
likely to be quite significant, and will definitely get worse over time. Some of these effects will probably
include a temperature increase of about 2.5 - 10 degrees Fahrenheit over a century, which will impact different
regions in different ways, some in good ways, but most in bad ways, in total, increasing the net cost of annual
living. Another effect will be the increase of a “frost-free” period, or time without snow, due to the increase of
heat-trapping gas emissions. Places of low elevation may be in danger due to rising sea levels from the melting
solar caps, by 2100, it is projected that the sea level will increase by 1-4 feet. Heavy rainfall events will increase
in number as well, however the time between them will increase over time.
https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/