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Montrose Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
188 Posts
Laurie
Montrose
CO
188 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 07 2010 : 6:06:33 PM
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As part of the new badge under cleaning up "Green Energy" we must compare and contrast different energy supplies. As a recent graduate with and Environmental Science Degree I'll tell you it's nice to get to use some of that education!
Nuclear Power - There are actually two different process with different limitation and advantages. Fission is slitting atoms into smaller ones releasing energy. The other is Fusion which combines smaller nuclei into larger ones, also releasing energy. One a chain reaction is started is it can be sustained. It does take a certain type of uranium for this to work. Of course the disadvantage is the waste that comes out. The government is still trying to develop a long term storage facility for spent nuclear waste and transportation cross countries is one of the largest concerns in case of a spill or attack.
Solar energy - My favorite as I use passive solar to heat my house int he winter. It will be 23 degrees outside and my house with no heat on will be 80 degrees. Solar can be directed to heat a black wall or other absorbing material and then those materials release the heat throughout the night. Your house still gets cold as the temperature drops but it is at a slower rate and if the clouds are out passive solar is not as effective. (But then I'm cold by nature). There is also active solar with the utilization of solar panels for space heating, hot water heating, the largest consumer of electricity in most homes, and generating electricity. Not all areas are well adapted to solar as I am with the sun shining many more days than not.
Hydroelectic - My BF is really big on this one. Water can move a turbine that generates electricity. There are some drawbacks depending on the scale. In the past hydroelectric was used on a farm scale turning mills or generating power for the farm itself. This was the best use as always -local. Today we have dams. There are many problems with dams and many groups fight to have them removed. Siltation, warming of water, habitat degradation, the list goes on of disadvantages. They do produce a large part of the electricity for folks in the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes region.
A spin off of hydro is wave power. There are limited areas that can utilize wave because of the requirements that go with it. There are a few locations such as in the Netherlands that gain most of their power this way.
The largest limitation for hydro is a steady supply of water is needed and with seasonal fluctuations this can make hydro difficult. This is why dams were constructed in the first place.
Geothermal - This is becoming more popular in my area. Since I live in the high desert it is used mostly for winter heating by tapping the heat in the earth and circulating ground water through baseboards. Geothermal can also be used to cool a home. Geo is limited to an area and can not be moved around the country like coal or natural gas. This limits the number of sites available for building geo plants.
Coal and natural gas both come from the earth and are non-renewable resources. Once we use the supply we won't have any more. Coal is the dirties of the sources and the most environmentally harmful in my opinion. I also consider the harm to humans (the miners) in those env harms. Natural gas is the least harmful of the non-renewable resources, but it too has limits.
For me, I think a combination of alternative energies are the way to go. Solar, wind, hydro, geo. Every new construction should include solar panels. They do this in Germany and the cost then just becomes a part of the house. No one alternative will save us from oil and coal and I don't believe we will move away from these in my lifetimes, but we can very much reduce.
One year I bought my brother and his wife and my sister and her husband wind credits. It offset their energy useage from coal with those produced by wind.
Laurie
Best Growing |
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Alternative Energy
