What You Can Do To Conserve Energy:

Use energy star products.

Heat and cool properly using high efficient products and changing filters regularly.

Seal and insulate your home.

Use Green Power electricity and consider installing solar panels.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Use a push mower.

Use water efficiently, don’t let water run when it is not necessary and fix any leaky faucets.

Help others to conserve energy as well.

References:

EPA, . (2009). At Home what you can do climate control. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/home.html

Biomass for Alternative Renewable Biofuel

With the high priority to combat the global warming crisis alternative and renewable energy sources have become favorable to fossil fuels because they lack as many environmental risks and pollutions. Biomass is a favorable alternative because it is sustainable and more evenly distributed over the earths surface and use less capitol-intensive technologies. Thus, energy will provide a self-sufficient resource for local, regional, and national levels. Characterization of biomass is important to the climate and season and with understanding the environment specific crops to various regions can produce the most energy. The production of energy from biomass is a promising renewable energy with the largest and most sustainable source of energy. Increasing production will reduce the use of fossil fuels. This process will reduce the amount of greenhouse gases compared to fossil fuels.

References:

Naik, S., Goud, V., Rout, P., Jacobson, K., & Dalai, A. (2010). Characterization of Canadian biomass for alternative renewable biofuel. Renewable Energy: An International Journal, 35(8), 1624-1631. doi:10.1016/j.renene.2009.08.033

"The Use of Energy" by Wendell Berry

Wendell Berry, who wrote “The Use of Energy,” spoke of an energy source guaranteed to last for as long as we know; he preaches that biological energy--energy from plants, animals, and humans—is the most practical method for obtaining energy. Berry states that, “The difficulty with mechanically extractable energy is that so far we have been unable to make it available without serious geological damages, or to effectively restrain its use, or to use or even neutralize its wastes…we are carrying the physical and the moral poisons produced by our crude and ignorant use of this sort of energy.” (Berry). Like Berry described our usage of fossil fuels to create energy is polluting our environment and wasting energy that we do not know how to recycle or reuse—as of yet. Berry says that, “This mechanically rendered infinitude of energy is an ambition surrounded by terrific problems. Such energy cannot be used constructively without at the same time being used destructively.” Though the use of energy does cause destruction, it also creates a massive amount of construction throughout the globe. Without using energy and technology we wouldn’t be capable of producing higher levels of intelligence, and though we haven’t discovered a completely renewable energy source that is energy efficient, advancements have been made and the waste of energy could potentially become manageable. In particular energy from biomass. Like Berry says, “we cannot create biological energy any more than we can create atomic or fossil fuel energy. But we can preserve it in use…we cannot do this with machine-derived energy.” By generating energy from biomass we can preserve energy in a controlled setting; in this way we respect the energy economy, and the environment. Berry states that, “the use of biological energy, all bodies, plant and animal and human, are joined in a kind of energy community.” And the use of biomass energy in combination with plant and animal and human adds another link to the energy community without severely damaging the environment. Berry claims that, “By farming we enact our fundamental connection with energy.” And by farming natural energy we enact our fundamental connection with the environment adding another spoke to the “Wheel of Life” that rises out of the soil. “The soil is the great connector of lives…without proper care for it we have no life.” If biomass energy production is practiced properly we will be able to obtain self-sufficient and sustainable energy systems that are adapted to their own needs.

Biomass

Biomass is plant and animal waste. Biomass energy resources include tree and grass crops, forestry, agriculture and urban wastes. Biomass is a renewable energy source that comes from the sun. The plants convert the carbon dioxide from the air and water into carbohydrates, complex compounds made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen through photosynthesis. When the carbohydrates are burned, they turn back into carbon dioxide; this is the way biomass is produced. Biomass can be converted into liquid fuels and gases to generate energy. These crops can be grown in farms for energy purposes and as long as it is produced sustainably, using only as much as is grown, biomass energy production will last forever. The processes used to convert biomass into energy are: thermochemical, biochemical, and chemical methods. However, biomass does not contain as much energy per pound as fossil fuels do. Biomass reduces air and water pollution. Energy rich crops used to produce energy improve soil quality, building up topsoil and putting nutrients into the ground. If native crops are used for biomass production wildlife habitats can improve on land and in aquatic environments. Carbon dioxide is still emitted into the environment, though it is considered to be carbon neutral because it is recycled back into the environment. Biomass energy is expensive to produce and convert. And there is a net loss of energy on a small scale put into growing the plants in massive amounts.

References:

How Biomass energy works. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/technology_and_impacts/energy_technologies/how-biomass-energy-works.html

Energy matters. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://library.thinkquest.org/20331/types/biomass/advant.html

Methane Hydrates

Methane hydrates located in permafrost, continental shelves and under sea floors are a potentially promising energy source. Methane hydrates look and form like ice, but they can be lit on fire. The utilization of methane hydrates to produce energy would provide a significant benefit to the environment and the economy. There have been two main methods that successfully extracted these hydrates. Depressurization, which is drilling a pipe down to the deposits causing the hydrates to dissociate and flow up the pipe as a gas that can be used as energy. Thermal injection pumps hot water into the deposit causing it to destabilize. A proposed third method, which has only been experimented in labs, appears to be promising. In this method carbon dioxide is injected into the hydrate formation, displaces the methane, and buries carbon dioxide, the abundant greenhouse gas. The map provided shows the areas on the planet that contain methane deposits, many of which are located around North America which would provide us with an extreme economic advantage if production is developed commercially.

References:

Popular mechanics: methane hydrates. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/earth/2558946.html

Energy Production from Methane: A Greenhouse Gas

Methane is a greenhouse gas that heats the atmosphere, aiding in the environmental crisis of global warming. Methane comes from a variety of natural and manmade procedures. In nature it comes from gas hydrates located in permafrost and under continental shelves. Massive amounts of methane gas hydrates are located in these areas. The enormous amounts of methane hydrates are located below the sea floor, in arctic permafrost, and continental shelves threaten global warming; as sea levels fluctuate, permafrost melts, and off shore drilling occurs methane gas is released into the atmosphere. This is extremely dangerous to the environment, however, methane gas hydrates are potentially being considered to be used as an energy resource, and could become the most important energy resource for the future.

References:

Demirbas, A. (2010). Methane hydrates as potential energy resource: Part 1 – Importance, resource and recovery facilities. Energy Conversion & Management, 51(7), 1547-1561. doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2010.02.013.

Solar Energy

Conducting electricity from the sun has become a more common topic on obtaining energy to power homes, business, and even cars. Solar energy seems ideal to the energy consumer; it is a safe renewable resource that will aid in the efforts to control global warming issues.

How it works: Solar Thermal Energy

Solar power plants work in producing energy by using a parabolic trough (curved mirror) with a pipe running though the center. The mirror focuses the sunlight to strike the pipe, which gets so hot that it will boil water into steam, which is used to turn a turbine to generate energy. While solar energy seems to be a faultless solution, it only works when the sun is shining and is ineffective when it is cloudy or nighttime—probably not the best option for Alaskan winters. Some advancements have been made to power solar plants by burning natural gas to boil the water so that they will continue to produce electricity when the sun is not shining. Another form of solar power plant works by building a tall tower and encircling nearly 2,000 mirrors that turn and move throughout the day to capture the sun. The reflections of light are directed to the tower in the middle where a basin of water is heated by the suns rays. The water is heated into steam and used to turn turbines and produce electricity. These power plants are used to provide electricity for thousands of residential homes.

Photovoltaic Energy:

Solar cells can be used to power many different things from calculators to spacecrafts. These are made of silicon and specific types of sand that produce energy when sun strikes the cell knocking the electrons loose. The electrons move towards the surface and an imbalance of electrons is created between the front and the back of the cell. A connector that collects a current of electricity joins the positive and negative surfaces of the solar cell. These can be set up to follow the sun throughout the day to generate as much energy as possible. The energy obtained can be used directly in homes and businesses; it can be stored in batteries to be used at night.

References:

The Energy story. (2006). Retrieved from http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/chapter15.html