Alternative Energy
...ll "burning" actually is chemical reactions with oxygen in the air. For the most part, the carbon combines with oxygen to form carbon dioxide (CO2), and the hydrogen combines with oxygen to form water vapor (H20). In both of these chemical reactions a substantial amount of energy is released as heat. Since heat is what is needed to instigate these chemical reactions, we have a chain reaction: reactions cause heat, which causes reactions, which cause heat, and so on. Once started the process continues until nearly all of the fuel has gone through the process (i.e., burned), or until something is done to stop it. Of course, the reason for arranging all this is to derive the heat. Our problem is that burning coal, oil, and gas produces carbon dioxide, which adds to the supply already in the atmosphere, increasing the greenhouse effect and thereby increasing the temperature of the Earth. Prior to the industrial age, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was less than 280 ppm (parts per million). This was determined from analyzing air bubbles, trapped hundreds or thousands of years ago in the Antarctic and Greenland ice caps. By 1958 the carbon dioxide concentration had risen to 315 ppm, and by 1986 it was 350 ppm. The average temperature of the Earth has been about 1 degree warmer in the 20th century than in the 19th century, which is close to what is expected from this carbon dioxide increase. As the rate of burning coal, oil, and gas escalates, so too does the rate of increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (2). Using nuclear energy to produce hydrogen as a fuel is the most environmentally beneficial method. CO2 emissions will not be reduced if the hydrogen that is substituted for gasoline and diesel fuel is produced by an energy source that emits CO2. Nuclear energy is economical, reliable, capable of producing large quantities of electricity on relatively small land area, and, most important, produces no pollutant or greenhouse gas emissions, because it does not burn anything. Electricity represents about 33 percent of America’s total energy use, while the other 67 percent is used for transportation and process heat. It makes sense to apply nuclear energy to the other two-thirds of our energy requirements. Relative economic cost and environmental consequences favor using nuclear energy to mass-produce hydrogen. Experts (see source below) calculate that 240 gigawatts of new electrical generation capacity—one-half of the current total U.S. generating capacity—would be required to manufacture by electrolysis the hydrogen required to power all transportation vehicles in the United States. Some 640,000 windmills occupying an area of 71,000 square miles (about the size of Indiana and Ohio) would be needed, or four times as much biomass plant material as U.S. farmers currently grow, or $4.8 trillion worth of solar panels and equipment occupying 3,000 square miles. Nuclear power plants, on the other hand, can generate electricity for electrolysis to produce hydrogen cleanly and efficiently. Moreover, the cost of waste disposal for nuclear energy is included in the cost of electricity produced by reactors, whereas waste disposal is not included in the cost of electricity from other fuels (3). Now that we have identified the sources of power and how they can effect the environment, we need to find alternatives. We realize that burning unsustainable fossil fuels or the use of nuclear power are beneficial to the environment. Environmentally friendly energy production can come from various sources, primarily solar (sun), hydro (water) and wind. Techniques of harnessing these power sources have been developing for decades and are now seen as viable alternatives to coal, oil, gas and nuclear power. Better yet, these alternatives do not use limited supplies or cause harmful emissions. A widespread move towards green power supplies could make issues like global climate change, acid rain, radioactive waste and oil spills a thing of the past, without compromising on performance. Perhaps the easiest way to lessen the impact that power generation has on our environment is to use less energy. Energy efficient furnaces, air conditioners and other appliances are now available for residential use, as well as insulation materials that prevent a home from losing energy. Solar. Solar technologies are those that collect solar radiation to produce energy. Solar technologies use the sun's energy and light to provide heat, light, hot water, electricity, and even cooling, for homes, businesses, and industry. Solar energy is free and clean. It is also renewable so we can never run out. (4,5). Wind. The uneven heating of the earth results in energy in the form of winds that can be captured by turbines and converted into electricity. This is the cheapest and fastest growing renewable energy technology. Costs have declined steadily since 1990, and wind power is now "on the verge of becoming a commercially established and competitive grid-power technology." Wind energy is a clean and renewable source of electric power, is also the world's fastest growing energy source! (5,6) Geothermal. Geothermal plants resemble conventional power plants and utilize steam that lies below the surface of the earth in certain locations, primarily in the western United States, to produce energy. Geothermal plants emit little air pollution. Because steam reservoirs are rare and most have already been exploited, a new approach injecting water into deep holes containing hot, dry rock is being developed. Research in all areas of geothermal development is helping to lower costs and expand its use. In the United States, most geothermal resources are concentrated in the West, but geothermal heat pumps can be used nearly anywhere. (5,7) Net metering. Net metering is not a renewable energy source, but a system that accounts for the renewable energy generated by an electricity customer. This system links the customer’s on-site renewable power generation to the electric power grid and keeps track of how much power comes from on-site renewables and how much comes from off the grid, so that the customer is only billed for the grid power. In the future, a customer generating enough renewable energy might actually be able to send power onto the grid, and receive a credit for that power. Net metering provides a simple, inexpensive, and easily administered mechanism for encouraging the use of small-scale wind energy systems, which provide important local, national, and global benefits to the environment and the economy. The advantages of renewable energy sources go beyond the fact that they have little or no emissions. Unlike fossil fuels, these sources are virtually inexhaustible. Because they are indigenous resources, they foster local control and economic growth. Another advantage of many renewable energy sources is that they c...