enviab

= Clean Energy and Global Warming =

THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT
T  his is one of the buzzwords that you hear when on the subject of Global warming. However, the greenhouse effect is necessary for our survival. The basic idea is that sunlight from the sun enters Earth’s atmosphere, and bounces off the surface. When entering the atmosphere again, greenhouse gases scatter the heat, sending it back to Earth, thus heating the planet. This is better understood with a diagram.

This is necessary because without it, the planet would cool off too much at night. The Greenhouse effect is a good thing, but the problem here, is the overabundance of greenhouse gasses. A list of said gases follows · Carbon dioxide (CO2) · Carbon monoxide (CO) · Nitrous oxide (N2O) · Methane (CH4) · Water vapor (H2O) All of the numbers should be in subscript, but I couldn't figure out how to do it in a wiki

GLOBAL WARMING: THE BIG PICTURE
Global warming is the heating of our planet due too greenhouse gasses. Levels have risen in recent years, as shown below. Here are the specifics. The Reason the annual cycle looks as such is that the vast majority of the Earth’s land is in the northern hemisphere. Thus, most of the Earth’s trees are in the northern hemisphere. During the summer, trees are active, and remove CO2 from the atmosphere. During the winter, they lose their leaves, which are the centers for photosynthesis. Anyway, the massive increase in carbon dioxide is causing an increase in temperature due to the greenhouse effect mentioned above. Below is a diagram that shows CO2 levels for the past 400,000 years. As you can see, we are putting excess amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to various industrializations, which I mention below.

CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
So what’s causing the increase in carbon dioxide levels? Many people say that it is due to the regular rise and fall in levels. While this is true, humans are also releasing stored carbon (See graph below) from a variety of sources. They are listed here: All of the previously mentioned release greenhouse gases, which are building up in our atmosphere. This picture explains how that happens.
 * Transportation[[image:yutian-pollution.jpg width="357" height="231" align="right"]]
 * Cars, trains, buses, airplanes
 * Produces CO2 and N2O
 * Power generation
 * I will be covering this in the greatest detail
 * Creates all types of greenhouse gases
 * The world uses 473,908,560,000,000,000 btu of energy annually. That is roughly equal to 500,000,000,000,000,000,000 joules, or 138.88 petawatt hours (enough energy to supply 138.88 quadrillion watts for 1 hour) This is also roughly equivalent to the force generated by detonating 119,502,100,000 tons of dynamite
 * The majority of this is generated with fossil fuels
 * Waste processing
 * Produces Methane
 * Domestic use
 * You know, heating the house, powering electric devices, etc.
 * Mostly CO2
 * Deforestation
 * This is the double whammy- cutting down trees prevents them from taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, which is what we need. Burning the wood releases all of the carbon dioxide stored in the trunk
 * Agriculture
 * Tractors pollute too
 * Cow poop contains methane due to the bacteria used in digestion of grass fibers

** Effects **
The planet, however, has been cooling slightly in recent years. This lead many people to believe global warming was a hoax to sell Al Gore movies and Japanese hybrids. This is unrelated to global warming, as it turns out. Most experts pin the blame on a weaker solar cycle, not greenhouse gas emissions. CO2 levels are rising, and when the sun picks up again, we’re gonna be screwed. Here are some unpleasant effects.

** WHAT WE CAN DO DIFFERENTLY **
In generating power for everyday use, we burn a whole lot of oil, natural gas, and coal. This is obviously a big part of the problem. However, you may have heard of alternatives. There are renewable, environmentally friendly energy sources that would also reduce our dependence on oil from other countries, if you want to get political about it. Alternative energy generally costs more at current prices, but with advances in technology and mass production, that could change. Here is some basic info on various alternative energy sources: 1 watt of power-$10-$12 A smaller, portable panel (for computer + a few small things)- $700-$1000 || || A 10 kilowatt turbine-$50,000 || ||  This diagram is a good graphical representation of prices: Here are some videos (from youtube) about alternative energy: media type="custom" key="3950885" width="86" height="94"media type="custom" key="3950857" width="91" height="95" Here are the pictures I promised would be below:
 * Source: || Info || Cost || Picture/diagram ||
 * solar || Can be used on roof, or anywhere else there is sun. This obviously doesn’t work at night. The good thing is, there is almost an unlimited supply, as far as we are concerned. There is also almost no pollution. The amount of power you can generate depends on where you live. || A good system-$20,000
 * wind || Can kill birds. Only works when wind is blowing, maximum of 59.3% efficiency. That is still a substantial amount of power, when the wind is blowing. || Commercial turbines- $1-2 million per megawatt of nameplate capacity.
 * Hydro || Dams have other uses as well, with is helpful. They can store water for droughts, and control flooding. However, building them requires flooding of certain areas. They kill fish sometimes. Repairs are generally cheap and maintenance blocks flow of silt. || The construction of a dam varies with the size of the project. It could be $20 million to $200 million. || See below. ||
 * Biomass || Comes from burning stuff. Pollutes, but not as much as fossil fuels. Certain animal wastes contain methane, which can be used as fuel, instead of releasing it. || Most biomass fuel is considered waste of a bi-product of something else, so in many cases, it’s free. || See below. ||
 * Geothermal || Creates steam from heat within the Earth. This is used in places over hot spots quite frequently. This doesn’t negatively impact the Earth, since there is so much magma. || As low as $3400 per kilowatt || See below. ||
 * Nuclear || This works by splitting apart uranium or plutonium atoms in special power plants. The one major downside is that it produces nuclear waste, which isn’t too great. || $2000 per kilowatt and dropping. || [[image:nuclear-power-plant.jpg width="126" height="96"]] ||



There is more to it than just saving the environment. These alternative sources have other benefits. Eventually, fossil fuels will run out. We only have a certain amount. Many of these could be used constantly, without hurting the environment. Utilization of these would also create more jobs. However, the most important thing about this is less CO2 being released into the atmosphere. It’s quite a problem to remove what we’ve already put there. The first step is stopping this from getting any worse. The alternative forms of energy mentioned above don’t release CO2 which prevents even more light from being reflected back to Earth. A SUMMARY OF THE ABOVE We are heating our planet through the burning of fossil fuels. This releases greenhouse gases. This will change the climate globally, which is a problem. We can cut back on emissions by using alternative forms of energy. These have other benefits besides saving the environment, and would benefit us greatly. This video summarizes global warming fairly well. media type="custom" key="3935249" ** BIBLIOGRAPHY ** [] Found at: [|www.chemie-im-alltag.de/english/articles/0024/] [] Found at: [|heartspring.net/global_warming_greenhouse.html] “Greenhouse Gas Emissions" __EPA.__ Tuesday, May 12th, 2009. Monday, June 1st, 2009. <[]> [] Found at: [|www.climatecentral.org/.../temp-projections.php] [] Found at: [|mayogn.com/] [223] = Found at: [418|www.sustainablefootprint.org/en/cms/gebruiker...] = [] Found at: [|www.alternative-energy-news.info/.../hydro/] [] Found at: [|www.eia.doe.gov/.../renewable/biomass.html] [] Found at: [] [] Found at: [mcdonough|thinkorthwim.com/?s=mcdonough] = [] Found at: [es&nav=1|www.globe.gov/fsl/html/templ.cgi?carboncycleD...] = [] Found at: [|sxmprivateeye.com/node/15642] [] Found at: [|ecoble.com/.../] "Solar cost FAQ" __The solar guide.__ No publication date give Viewed 6/4/2009 < [cost+solar+panels&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a]> = Peterson, Mark "How Much Do Wind Turbines Cost?." __How Much Do Wind Turbines Cost?__. 27 Jul. 2008. //EzineArticles.com//. 4 Jun 2009 <[1360858]>. = "Global warming 101" __Youtube. No publication date given__ Viewed 6/4/09 < [oJAbATJCugs]> = "Power plant costs." __Geothermal energy association.__ Viewed 6/4/09 < []> [] Found at: [] [] Found at: [|www.lightandmatter.com/.../4em/ch02/ch02.html] Multiple Authors; none listed. "Cost of nuclear power." __Nuclearinfo.net.__ 2009. Viewed 6/4/09 <[]> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIU5fFmDeSc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_fvbO2VXjc