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Geothermal Energy: Construction Impacts - 0 views

teeic.anl.gov/...index.cfm geothermal pollution
shared by mcgarrdan98 on 12 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • Emissions generated during the construction phase include exhaust from vehicular traffic and construction equipment, fugitive dust from traffic on paved and unpaved roads, and the release of geothermal fluid vapors (especially hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, mercury, arsenic, and boron, if present in the reservoir). Activities such as site clearing and grading, power plant and pipeline system construction, and transmission line construction would have more intense exhaust-related emissions over a period of 2 to 10 years. Impacts would depend upon the amount, duration, location, and characteristics of the emissions and the meteorological conditions (e.g., wind speed and direction, precipitation, and relative humidity).
  • Most impacts to ecological resources (vegetation, wildlife, aquatic biota, special status species, and their habitats) would be low to moderate and localized during the construction phase (although impacts due to noise could be high). Activities such as site clearing and grading, road construction, power plant construction, ancillary facility construction, and vehicle traffic have the potential to affect ecological resources by disturbing habitat, increasing erosion and runoff, and creating noise at the project site. Impacts to vegetation include loss of native species and species diversity; increased risk of invasive species; increased risk of topsoil erosion and seed bank depletion; increased risk of fire; and alteration of water and seed dispersal.
  • Solid and industrial waste would be generated during construction activities. Much of the solid waste would be nonhazardous, consisting of containers and packaging materials, miscellaneous wastes from equipment assembly and presence of construction crews (food wrappers and scraps), and woody vegetation. Industrial wastes would include minor amounts of paints, coatings, and spent solvents. Most of these materials would likely be transported off-site for disposal.
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SOLAR POWER BENEFITS - 0 views

www.vivasolar.com/solarpowerbenifits.html solar sustainable cost pollution
shared by dextereli99 on 12 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • Advantages of solar power are many. Although solar power is an energy source that we have only recently tapped into, it may easily become the most important energy source of the future. • Solar power is a renewable and natural resource. • Solar power is non-polluting. Unlike oil, solar power does not emit greenhouse gases or carcinogens into the air. • Light and energy from the sun costs nothing. Once you purchase the equipment to collect and convert energy from the sun, it costs you nothing to run. • Solar cells require little maintenance. • Solar cells can last a lifetime. • Solar power is silent.
  • • Solar energy can be used to heat water, dry clothes, heat swimming pools, power attic fans, power small appliances, produce light for both indoors and outdoors, and even to power cars, among other things.
  • • Solar energy products can be very expensive. The initial cost is, perhaps, the main disadvantage of solar energy. • To reach maximum level of efficiency you need a relatively large area to install solar panels. • Depending where you live (Arizona vs. Alaska, around many shady trees or in the desert, etc.), you will get different results with solar energy systems.
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  • • If you have a really good solar energy system, one that produces even more energy than you use, your utility company might buy that extra energy from you. • When you use solar energy, you and your home become independent on foreign or other sources of energy which raise costs quickly. • To run solar water pumps, you do not even need to connect to a gas or power grid. • Solar energy cannot be produced at night or if there is a lot of pollution in the air or clouds over the sun.
  • • Of course, realize you can have a battery backup system for your solar energy system that will take care of the problems that could arise when the sun does not. • You can install solar energy in remote locations. • If there is a power outage, but you run on solar, you will still have electricity! • As your energy needs grow, you can add more solar panels
  • • Technology for solar energy is constantly improving.
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Wind Turbine Syndrome | Wind energy: The "least sustainable energy option" - 0 views

www.windturbinesyndrome.com/...east-sustainable-energy-option wind energy cost sustainable pollution co2
shared by mcdermottaar99 on 12 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • Wind turbine installations impact vast amounts of land, far more than traditional power plants.
  • Raptors, bats and other beautiful flying creatures continue to be sliced and diced by wind turbines.
  • Principal health issues are associated with noise – not just annoying audible noise, but inaudible, low-frequency “infrasound” that causes headache, dizziness, “deep nervous fatigue” and symptoms akin to seasickness. “Wind turbine syndrome” also includes irritability, depression, and concentration and sleep problems. Others include “shadow flicker” or “strobe effect” from whirling blades, which can trigger seizures in epileptics, “vibroacoustic” effects on the heart and lungs, and non-lethal harm to animals. Serious lung, heart, cancer and other problems have been documented from rare earth mining, smelting and manufacturing in China, under its less rigorous health, workplace and environmental regulations.
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  • Wind turbine installations require vast amounts of steel, copper, rare earth metals, fiberglass, concrete, rebar and other materials for the turbines, towers and bases.
  • Wind turbines are supposed to reduce pollution and carbon dioxide emissions. But because backup generators must repeatedly surge to full power and back to standby, as wind speed rises and falls, they operate inefficiently, use more fuel and emit more – much like cars forced to stop repeatedly on freeways.
  • Even huge subsidies cannot cure wind power’s biggest defects: its electricity costs far more than coal, gas or nuclear alternatives – and its intermittent nature wreaks havoc on power grids and consumers.
    • dpurdy
      dpurdy on 21 Mar 13
       
      Be cautious as this site is obviously anti wind power. The points might be valid though.
  • mcdermottaar99 on 12 Mar 13
     
    wind turbine impacts 
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Are Fuel Cell Vehicles Too Expensive For Mass Production by 2015? - 0 views

www.greencarreports.com/...ve-for-mass-production-by-2015 fuel cell cost
shared by olearydev99 on 12 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • olearydev99 on 12 Mar 13
     
    "An FCV is currently valued at around US$1.1 million. Toyota leases its FCV for US$9,400 a month, or US$110,000 a year.""
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Tidal Power - 0 views

www.surviveclimatechange.com/tidal-power.html tide cost current
shared by mchughkon99 on 12 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • Although this source of energy shows some promise in terms of "clean", renewable energy there have been some roadblocks to widespread use of energy from the tides. This type of energy should not be put on the back burner even though there appears to be limited opportunities at this time
  • mchughkon99 on 12 Mar 13
     
    can be cost effective
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Solar Homes and Solar Collectors - 0 views

jc-solarhomes.com/index.html solar solar power facts
shared by butlerlex99 on 12 Mar 13 - No Cached
  •    Solar energy is our birthright like the air we breathe or the water we drink. Solar Home Plans and  cost effective   Solar Hot Water Projects  are the gateway into a "Solar Age"  of energy independence. Fossil fuels are no longer necessary to keep the wheels of civilization turning. Build your own solar heating system.  Explore the Strawberry Fields Book Store  for more information. Alternative energies like solar energy will increase in value as fossil fuel prices escalate making energy efficient,  solar houses more valuable. Solar collectors, solar hot water systems, heat storage vaults, photovoltaic electricity, solar panels, and solar greenhouses will soon become the standard rather than the exception to the standard in the near future According to Buckminster Fuller "We have wondered too far from the roots." An energy crisis can only be avoided only if we learn to rely on a diffuse, sustainable resource like the sun. Become part of this green economy and travel on the  Green Train and learn about Solar Rebate Incentives and Cheap Electricity                                                                             
  • butlerlex99 on 12 Mar 13
     
    solar energy
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Environment for Kids: Wave and Tidal Energy - 0 views

www.ducksters.com/...wave_and_tidal_energy.php history
shared by gonzalezisa00 on 12 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • There are also three main ways that tidal energy is harnessed: Tidal Barrages - A tidal barrage works like a dam. When the tide goes high, the reservoir fills up. When the tide drops the dam lets the water out. In both directions the moving water can spin the blades of turbines to create electricity. Tidal Fences - These are smaller structures than a barrage. A number of vertical turbines form a fence between two land masses. When the tide moves in or out, the turbines spin and generate electricity. Tidal Turbines - These are individual turbines placed anywhere there is a strong tidal flow.
  • Tidal power to turn water wheels and grind grains was used as far back as Roman times and the Middle Ages. The idea of using tidal power for electricity is fairly recent, but the costs have been too high to make it a major energy source. Recent technological advances have shown that it could become a competitive and viable source
  • Tidal turbines are more expensive to build and maintain than wind turbines, but produce more energy. They also produce energy more consistently as the tide is continuous while the wind doesn't always blow.
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  • Concepts for wave energy have existed since the 1800s, however modern wave technology began in the 1940s with the experiments of scientist Yoshio Masuda
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Wind energy FAQ | EWEA - 0 views

www.ewea.org/...wind-energy-faq wind climate change
shared by carusonepay99 on 12 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • Each year we release millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels (oil, coal and gas). In 2010, on average, every single EU citizen emitted 9.4 tonnes of CO2 – that’s enough to fill ten three-storey buildings. For every kWh of wind energy that you use, you will save approximately 696g of CO2. EWEA estimates that wind energy avoided the emission of 140 million tonnes of CO2 in 2011 in the EU, equivalent to taking 33% of cars in the EU – 71 million vehicles – off the road. This avoided CO2 costs of around €3.5 billion (assuming a price of €25/t CO2). Choosing how your electricity is produced plays an important role in protecting the climate: it’s easy to switch to a green power provider; you request the change and your current and future providers will organise it themselves.
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How long have people been using solar energy - 1 views

wiki.answers.com/...people_been_using_solar_energy solar history convert form energy
shared by hayespay99 on 12 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • It depends what you mean by "solar energy." Humans have always used solar energy in some sense: to warm themselves, to grow food, etc. However, I'm assuming that's not really what you mean (although it is important to realize that all energy on earth, with the exception of nuclear fission and geothermal, is ultimately driven by the sun's energy -- even fossil fuels, which after all were plants that grew with sunlight millions of years ago). Solar power has been used directly in various forms for over 100 years.
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Photovoltaics - Timeline of the History of Photovoltaics - 0 views

inventors.about.com/...Photovoltaics.htm solar convert
shared by whalenkil98 on 12 Mar 13 - Cached
  • 1839: Nineteen-year-old Edmund Becquerel, a French experimental physicist, discovered the photovoltaic effect while experimenting with an electrolytic cell made up of two metal electrodes. 1873: Willoughby Smith discovered the photoconductivity of selenium.
  • kenyonlau99 on 12 Mar 13
     
    "Today's photovoltaic systems are used to generate electricity to pump water, light up the night, activate switches, charge batteries, supply power to the utility grid, and much more. 1839: Nineteen-year-old Edmund Becquerel, a French experimental physicist, discovered the photovoltaic effect while experimenting with an electrolytic cell made up of two metal electrodes. 1873: Willoughby Smith discovered the photoconductivity of selenium. 1876: Adams and Day observed the photovoltaic effect in solid selenium. 1883: Charles Fritts, an American inventor, described the first solar cells made from selenium wafers. 1887: Heinrich Hertz discovered that ultraviolet light altered the lowest voltage capable of causing a spark to jump between two metal electrodes. 1904: Hallwachs discovered that a combination of copper and cuprous oxide was photosensitive. Einstein published his paper on the photoelectric effect. 1914: The existence of a barrier layer in PV devices was reported. 1916: Millikan provided experimental proof of the photoelectric effect. 1918: Polish scientist Czochralski developed a way to grow single-crystal silicon. 1923: Albert Einstein received the Nobel Prize for his theories explaining the photoelectric effect. 1951: A grown p-n junction enabled the production of a single-crystal cell of germanium. 1954: The PV effect in Cd was reported; primary work was performed by Rappaport, Loferski and Jenny at RCA. Bell Labs researchers Pearson, Chapin, and Fuller reported their discovery of 4.5% efficient silicon solar cells; this was raised to 6% only a few months later (by a work team including Mort Prince). Chapin, Fuller, Pearson (AT&T) submitted their results to the Journal of Applied Physics. AT&T demonstrated solar cells in Murray Hill, New Jersey, then at the National Academy of Science Meeting in Washington, DC. 1955: Western Electric began to sell commercial licenses for silicon PV technologies; early successful products included PV-powered dolla
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Energy Studies - How Fuel Cell Works - 2 views

intraweb.stockton.edu/...page.cfm energy fuel cell fuel cell form
shared by ricciardellinick on 12 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • Hydrogen is the simplest of all elements with one electron and one proton. Two hydrogen atoms form one hydrogen gas molecule, or H2, but this gas is rarely found in large quantities in nature. Hydrogen’s chemical properties allow it to combine easily with other elements to form other molecules.
  • ricciardellinick on 12 Mar 13
     
    "Hydrogen is the simplest of all elements with one electron and one proton. Two hydrogen atoms form one hydrogen gas molecule, or H2, but this gas is rarely found in large quantities in nature. Hydrogen's chemical properties allow it to combine easily with other elements to form other molecules"
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Sierra Club Green Home » Blog Archive Fuel Cells: Environmental Benefits » Si... - 0 views

www.sierraclubgreenhome.com/...fuel-cells-eco-benefits fuel cell sustainable
shared by labrumbra99 on 12 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • The use of fuel cells can significantly diminish our dependency on foreign oil. Since fuel cells make energy electrochemically and do not burn fuel like conventional combustion systems, they are much more efficient. Admittedly, some fuel cells need fossil fuels to start their functions; most residential systems run partially off of natural gas. If just 20% of the cars in America used fuel cells, we could cut oil imports by 1.5 million barrels per day. This is $44 billion per year that could remain in the country!
  • The use of fuel cells can significantly diminish our dependency on foreign oil. Since fuel cells make energy electrochemically and do not burn fuel like conventional combustion systems, they are much more efficient. Admittedly, some fuel cells need fossil fuels to start their functions; most residential systems run partially off of natural gas. If just 20% of the cars in America used fuel cells, we could cut oil imports by 1.5 million barrels per day. This is $44 billion per year that could remain in the country!
  • The use of fuel cells can significantly diminish our dependency on foreign oil. Since fuel cells make energy electrochemically and do not burn fuel like conventional combustion systems, they are much more efficient. Admittedly, some fuel cells need fossil fuels to start their functions; most residential systems run partially off of natural gas. If just 20% of the cars in America used fuel cells, we could cut oil imports by 1.5 million barrels per day. This is $44 billion per year that could remain in the country!
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • fuel cells
  • metimes produce a by-product of water or heat, though hydrogen fuel cells are considered more difficult to work with because of transportation and storage. More user friendly fuel cells which use natural gas with emissions that are much lower than those produced by conventional engines or energy sources and can reduce your carbon footprint by around 40%. Additionally, there are only negligible levels of NOx, SOx, Volatile organic compounds and particulates, which is a drastic improvement over traditional means of grid power production. Besides the decreased CO2 emissions and high efficiency rates, fuel c
  • The use of fuel cells can significantly diminish our dependency on foreign oil. Since fuel cells make energy electrochemically and do not burn fuel like conventional combustion systems, they are much more efficient. Admittedly, some fuel cells need fossil fuels to start their functions; most residential systems run partially off of natural gas. If just 20% of the cars in America used fuel cells, we could cut oil imports by 1.5 million barrels per day. This is $44 billion per year that could remain in the country!
  • The use of fuel cells can significantly diminish our dependency on foreign oil. Since fuel cells make energy electrochemically and do not burn fuel like conventional combustion systems, they are much more efficient. Admittedly, some fuel cells need fossil fuels to start their functions; most residential systems run partially off of natural gas. If just 20% of the cars in America used fuel cells, we could cut oil imports by 1.5 million barrels per day. This is $44 billion per year that could remain in the country!
  • labrumbra99 on 12 Mar 13
     
    " The environmental impact of fuel cells depends on the type of cell and the fuel being used. Fuel cells can run on a variety of sources, from natural gas to hydrogen to ethanol to biogas. Those that run on hydrogen can sometimes produce a by-product of water or heat, though hydrogen fuel cells are considered more difficult to work with because of transportation and storage. More user friendly fuel cells which use natural gas with emissions that are much lower than those produced by conventional engines or energy sources and can reduce your carbon footprint by around 40%. Additionally, there are only negligible levels of NOx, SOx, Volatile organic compounds and particulates, which is a drastic improvement over traditional means of grid power production. Besides the decreased CO2 emissions and high efficiency rates, fuel cells offer plenty of positive environmental impacts that should be considered by investors and consumers as solutions for cleaner energy are being further researched. 1. Fuel Conservation The use of fuel cells can significantly diminish our dependency on foreign oil. Since fuel cells make energy electrochemically and do not burn fuel like conventional combustion systems, they are much more efficient. Admittedly, some fuel cells need fossil fuels to start their functions; most residential systems run partially off of natural gas. If just 20% of the cars in America used fuel cells, we could cut oil imports by 1.5 million barrels per day. This is $44 billion per year that could remain in the country! 2. Combined Heat and Power The greatest benefit from high powered, well designed fuel cells is the heat and power produced. This means that a property can reduce additional investments to heat their indoor areas or water. In this case, less is more. Since the heat can be redirected to heat water, the environmental benefit from this is the ability to heat the hot water supply without a need for a separate system as is the case with home solar."
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How can you convert geothermal energy to electrical energy - 0 views

wiki.answers.com/...al_energy_to_electrical_energy geothermal
shared by dittrichcai99 on 12 Mar 13 - No Cached
  • dittrichcai99 on 12 Mar 13
     
    "In geothermal energy plants, water is injected into the ground. Underground, there are areas of rock that are heated by the presence of volcanic activity, such as magma near the surface. This heats the water, which comes back out of the ground very hot. A heat exchanger cools the water, which goes back into the ground. The heat from the heat exchanger boils another pipe of water into steam. The steam spins a turbine, which is connected to a generator, which creates electricity. "
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