For years alternative energy has seen much criticism due to it’s high cost. It was too expensive compared with energy based on traditional fuels like coal and natural gas. However with modern research, technological advances, and the potential of rising oil prices, alternative energy is starting to look really good to a lot of people. While the US depends heavily on fossil fuels, renewable energy sources such as biomass, wind, geothermal and solar are likely to account for a larger share of the electricity supply in future years.
For a very long time, the cost of capturing the free energy and converting it into electricity has been too high to be truly worth the investment. Now the equation is showing significant signs of change. For many reasons, people are becoming more and more interested in alternative energy sources, which has caused an increase in research and technology. Costs are falling for some alternative-energy sources, driven by new technology and renewed development interest. Although alternative energy still is far from competing with fossil fuels in price, the margins are narrowing. If you consider the environmental costs of the two, the cost margin shrinks very quickly even more.
“According to the Energy Information Administration, renewable resources produced 2.3% of the U.S. electricity supply in 2005. Bio-mass was responsible for 1.5%, wind for 0.44%, geothermal for 0.36% and solar power for a scant 0.01%. In contrast, coal-fired generation produced 49.7% of U.S. electricity supplies in 2005, followed by nuclear power at 19.3%, natural gas at 19.1%, hydropower at 6.5% and oil-fired generation at 3%.”
As it can be easily seen, non-renewable resources still dominate the area of energy. Some day all of this will run out, and alternative sources of energy will be required. Hopefully, we have that technology fully developed by the time this happens. Luckily much effort (and money) is going into developing this technology.
Some things that are being done include the following:
The US government is requiring the blending of more plant-based biofuels like ethanol with gasoline.
One of the most well known (and most talked about) sources of alternative energy is wind energy. There have been many improvements and advancements in wind energy technology. In 1980, wind-power electricity cost 80 cents per kilowatt-hour; by 1991 it cost 10 cents; today the cost is about 6-9 cents per kilowatt hour. As opposed to fossil fuel energy (natural gas, coal, nuclear) costs of about 5 cents per kilowatt-hour, this cost is not far from being very competitive.
Advancement in the technology and production cost reduction are the reasons for this decrease in cost. Material and production costs have greatly decreased.
In general, solar energy costs around 35-45 cents per kilowatt hour to be produced.
Geothermal energy costs around 6-10 cents per kilowatt hour to be produced
Biofuels, such as ethanol cost up to $1.60 to be produced.
All in all, the monetary cost of alternative energy is much greater than the cost of using fossil fuels for energy. It seems to me that the use of alternative energy is nearing the day that it could be a very real possibility. As it can be clearly seen, the cost of producing wind energy is quickly nearing a point of being very competitive to the cost of using fossil fuels.
Links Used:
http://www.businessinsider.com/subsidies-for-alternative-energy-costs-less-than-subsidies-for-traditional-energy-2009-3
http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=8813
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/1028_041028_alternative_energy.html
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Alternative Energy Viability in the United States
1.Coal (51%)2.Nuclear (20%)
3.Natural Gas (17%)
4.Hydro (7%)
5.Petroleum (3%)
6.Renewables/other (2%)
Although fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum and natural gas have their advantages, the overall effects of these fossil fuels are harmful. Yes, presently there is a great amount of availability of these fuels, they are inexpensive, and they are very easily distributed, but in the end they are the greatest contributors toward climate change, acid rain, and in the end they are exhaustible fuel sources.
A great alternative to coal and other fossil fuels is nuclear energy. Although nuclear energy can be quite dangerous and money will have to be spent on safety measures, nuclear energy costs the same as coal, causes no pollution, uses little fuel for the great amount of energy it produces, causes very little waste, and this source of energy is reliable.
*darker areas resemble greater natural wind energy
Another great alternative is wind power. Wind energy is the cheapest form of alternative energy, and with reasonably aggressive expansion of wind power, the Midwest United States could easily supply 5-10% of its power needs with wind generators. The only problem with this source is that wind power is geographically dependant and it can be costly, but for areas with a great amount of wind, wind power is inexhaustible and causes no pollution.
These are just two alternative sources that the U.S. can take advantage of. As a country and as the world’s leading Carbon Dioxide emitter, the country has a responsibility to embrace alternative energy.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Green Power and Other Ways to Save Engergy in Our Homes
Did you know that approximately 21% of the world’s global warming pollution roots from the homes here in the United States? By making energy efficient changes in our households we can reduce this pollution by almost 800 million tons! (www.fightglobalwarming.com)
Fossil fuel based energy sources are widely used in U.S. homes: electricity, natural gas, and oil. Currently, our sources of energy – i.e. power plants – are much too inefficient for us to continue using them the way we are. Coal is one major source the United States is highly dependent on for electricity. However, the lengthy process to convert coal into steam into eventually electricity only produces a minimal amount of electricity. There are alternative ways to heat, cool, cook, and provide light that will use less energy in order to achieve the results we are already used to.
Green power, according to the Environmental Defense Fund, may be more costly than what most homes are used to paying for energy sources, but is a highly beneficial alternative: reduces smog, soot, mercury, and acid rain pollution, reduces financial risks by giving us a way other than fossil fuels that can quickly fluctuate to use energy, will create new jobs which in turn will create greater income levels because green power relies on local labor forces. Wind energy, solar energy, geothermal energy, and energy from biomass will decrease heat-trapping pollution significantly.
Although at one time we did not have choice of who, or what “brand,” would supply our energy for our homes, that is no longer the case anymore. Gradually, this green power is becoming more widely available.
In addition to green power, there are a number of simple tasks people could get in the habit of in order to save energy…and money. In the summertime, keep the shades drawn to keep the cool air inside. In winter months, do the opposite – open the shades so natural light can heat up a room, and try to keep the thermostat cool in the nighttime or when no one is home. There are also programmable thermostats that can be installed now that heat or cool only when needed. Planting a few extra trees in the yard can give a little extra shade to reduce air conditioning costs in the summer. Insulating both your home’s walls and ceilings will keep either cool or warm from escaping. By replacing your old roof with one lighter in color, or more reflective, you will also keep unwanted heat out.
There is no reason why the United States should account for up one-fifth of the world’s global warming pollution. If we all make some changes by rethinking energy sources we use in our homes, it will make have a positive impact on our earth, and also our wallets.
www.fightglobalwarming.com
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Alternative Energy Cartoons
1. I included the first comic because it shows how much we still need to accomplish in terms of alternative energy. We cannot just be satisfied with the products we know of because they still don't completely solve our problems. We can't just "stay the course" but need to be inventive and come up with new research.2. Comic 2 depicts the U.S as a giant solar panel. This comic is showing how although solar energy may be a good alternative source of energy since Sun is free and abundant, it requires too much surface area to be the only source of energy.
3. The third comic is funny to me because this man who is obviously an environmentally friendly person who is ignoring the potential of nuclear energy that is right in front of him.
links:
http://planetforlife.com/images/h2cartoon.gif
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkrIvGVIi7BuiLp9u0PwIIT3uSB2y_ERVo5qi-XXLTQRyX73WpMEGyFu7cNOhkJEcO14aOFmDMZY0lrso5lsgAI0o4nlILK5lRzsdykMhgWBk3y-3iEwIxrd1fhhlKPpay5FwLMto915rr/s400/solar.jpg
http://media.townhall.com/Townhall/Car/b/20070824RZ1AP-NukeEnergy.jpg
http://planetforlife.com/images/h2cartoon.gif
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkrIvGVIi7BuiLp9u0PwIIT3uSB2y_ERVo5qi-XXLTQRyX73WpMEGyFu7cNOhkJEcO14aOFmDMZY0lrso5lsgAI0o4nlILK5lRzsdykMhgWBk3y-3iEwIxrd1fhhlKPpay5FwLMto915rr/s400/solar.jpg
http://media.townhall.com/Townhall/Car/b/20070824RZ1AP-NukeEnergy.jpg
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
What are our options?
One of the biggest problems for me in terms of alternative energy is that I never understood the purpose - I always thought, does the government just want to make more money off of us? Are they pushing different fuel sources just so we are forced to buy new cars, since gasoline won’t be available? And there was always the suspicion in my mind that the “energy crisis” was just some tree-hugging lunatics trying to scare us.
I have kind of grown out of these fears, and as I learn more about renewable energy sources the more sense the concept makes to me. Not only does gasoline produce high amounts of air pollution, but it is not a renewable energy source and will eventually run out - then where will we be? Well, we’ll be using one of our alternative energy sources, that’s where.
One source of alternative energy is natural gases and propane. They generally emit fewer pollutants into the air, and are safe to use in cars. The problem here, however, is that they release considerably higher amounts of nitrous oxide. Another problem is that this option does not produce as much energy as gasoline, so more is needed to power a car, and since natural gas still emits pollutants, this does not seem like the greatest or more efficient source. But still we try.
Alcohol fuels are another option. They lower ozone concentrations (in the troposphere, I assume) and carbon monoxide emissions as well. On the down side, many alcohol fuels emit carcinogens that can be equally as harmful to our health as the air pollutants emitted by gasoline. Alcohol fuel also emits high amounts of nitrous oxide.
Ethanol is yet another option. Ethanol is considerably better for the environment than gasoline, but it is much more expensive and not as energy-efficient.
Hydrogen is ok as an alternative fuel source. It is easy to produce, but very costly to store, especially in liquid forms. Also, like all the other alternative fuel methods, hydrogen is not as potent as gasoline when it comes to energy, so a considerably higher amount of hydrogen is needed to power an automobile than gasoline.
There seems to be many alternatives to gasoline, however none of them fit our needs perfectly. Obviously, we will have to find an alternative fuel source eventually, because the oil present on the earth will eventually run out. Also, one of the biggest problems with alternative fuel right now is that there is no economic demand for them - few people own cars that can operate on anything but gasoline, and in today’s economy not many people are spending lots of money on new cars, especially not the expensive hybrids and other environmentally friendly automobiles. However, this problem would disappear if hybrids and alternative fuels were the only products on the market - if gasoline was no longer produced, and ALL cars were made to run on alternative fuel, then people would be forced to buy them because they have no other option. This will probably not happen incredibly soon, but in my opinion it seems like we’re headed in this direction, especially as fuel-emission standards are constantly being lowered and “going green” becomes more and more popular.
References:
http://wf2dnvr14.webfeat.org/
Accessed 3-11-09
I have kind of grown out of these fears, and as I learn more about renewable energy sources the more sense the concept makes to me. Not only does gasoline produce high amounts of air pollution, but it is not a renewable energy source and will eventually run out - then where will we be? Well, we’ll be using one of our alternative energy sources, that’s where.
One source of alternative energy is natural gases and propane. They generally emit fewer pollutants into the air, and are safe to use in cars. The problem here, however, is that they release considerably higher amounts of nitrous oxide. Another problem is that this option does not produce as much energy as gasoline, so more is needed to power a car, and since natural gas still emits pollutants, this does not seem like the greatest or more efficient source. But still we try.
Alcohol fuels are another option. They lower ozone concentrations (in the troposphere, I assume) and carbon monoxide emissions as well. On the down side, many alcohol fuels emit carcinogens that can be equally as harmful to our health as the air pollutants emitted by gasoline. Alcohol fuel also emits high amounts of nitrous oxide.
Ethanol is yet another option. Ethanol is considerably better for the environment than gasoline, but it is much more expensive and not as energy-efficient.
Hydrogen is ok as an alternative fuel source. It is easy to produce, but very costly to store, especially in liquid forms. Also, like all the other alternative fuel methods, hydrogen is not as potent as gasoline when it comes to energy, so a considerably higher amount of hydrogen is needed to power an automobile than gasoline.
There seems to be many alternatives to gasoline, however none of them fit our needs perfectly. Obviously, we will have to find an alternative fuel source eventually, because the oil present on the earth will eventually run out. Also, one of the biggest problems with alternative fuel right now is that there is no economic demand for them - few people own cars that can operate on anything but gasoline, and in today’s economy not many people are spending lots of money on new cars, especially not the expensive hybrids and other environmentally friendly automobiles. However, this problem would disappear if hybrids and alternative fuels were the only products on the market - if gasoline was no longer produced, and ALL cars were made to run on alternative fuel, then people would be forced to buy them because they have no other option. This will probably not happen incredibly soon, but in my opinion it seems like we’re headed in this direction, especially as fuel-emission standards are constantly being lowered and “going green” becomes more and more popular.
References:
http://wf2dnvr14.webfeat.org/
Accessed 3-11-09
Monday, March 9, 2009
Alternative Energy Comics
(1.) This comic was interesting. It shows us how our actions we have been taking to help our environment may actually be harming the environment at the same time. Different forms of alternative energy may have its benefits, but simultaneously, there may be negative effects, such as getting in the way of birds’ lives. (2.) The Dilbert comic covers a variety of topics. For example, the comic states that fuel efficient cars make a statement, and it almost seems as if fuel efficient cars are a fad. The comic also touches on the idea that there’s a civic duty for us as American’s to help the world we live in. Lastly, Dilbert talks about funding toward other countries and that by us investing in these fuel efficient cars there’s no real solution to our links with other countries. A number of countries provide us with these cars and our oil we use on a day- to- day basis, and we will forever have to be connected these countries. (3.) This comic shows people the different types of alternative energy there are out there: solar power, biomass, wind power, and geo-thermal energy. In a way, I think that the comic is comparing the popularity of energy drinks to the new popularity of alternative energy. The picture displays the options we have now as consumers of energy. (4.) This comic in particular really made me laugh. We all know that body- heat is not a form of alternative energy, but the whole idea of the comic was very amusing.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Alternative Energy Cartoons
These cartoons, although did make me laugh at a first look, kind of got me to thinking... It seems as though we acknowledge there are more effiecient and eco-friendly sources of energy now available, however, we do not utilize them! Especially in the United States, we strive for new solutions to create energy, but when we come across one it just is never good enough. We are stuck in our old habits. If things keep up the way they are going now, we will never gravitate towards a healthier energy source for our environment. We are wasting too much time being stuck in our old ways, and even if we believe we are doing something good for our environment looking for alternative options, we are actually still doing harm to our environment by not adapting the alternative options we have already found.
Nascar Energy
This is supposed to be a blog about anything in regards to alternative energy. So I am making good on that option to write about anything by expanding on something our class touched upon in our discussion on emissions regulations: Nascar.
Nascar itself does a poor job on its website to inform those interested in how it is making the sport more ecofriendly. There are no links to facts or FAQs, no type of public statements and there is only a time limited selection of articles that pertain to any press releases that Nascar makes. So I turned to Google, and I found a lot of information just not a lot of subjects.
The key thing that nascar is starting is the research into alternative fuels. By 1996 everybody in America has switched from leaded to unleaded fuels because of the potentially hazardous levels of pollutants that are produced by leaded fuels. Everybody, that is, but Nascar. Like the military, Nascar is one of the very few organizations that is not monitored or regulated by the EPA. That being said their automobiles do not have to have catalytic converters, emissions monitoring systems or even minimum miles per gallon. It was not until 2007 that a viable unleaded alternative was chosen for Nascar cars to race on.
That is a whole ten years later. In one interview article I found via Google cache, Mike Lynch states this:
"[Alternative Fuel] is one of the long-term initiatives that is very important to us. As Brian France has said, we'll be working with Sunoco to step up our efforts, making sure we're doing everything we can to look at alternative fuel options. That solution may be well down the road, but it's very important."
Out of context this statement sounds promising, however in the rest of the interview, Mike states that he largely plans to leave the ecofriendly tasks up to the individual raceways. That means that it will be up to them how they integrate with their surrounding environments, how green they are and how big their carbon footprint is. The biggest plan overall the raceways is currently at Grand Prix Arizona where the track management is trying to balance out the emission produced by educating the crowds and giving them seeds to plant back at their homes. In my opinion it is both not the most effective and among the most optimistic of human responsibility. I say this for two reasons; the crowds who go to the races are generally not the type of people who are concerned for the impact one person will do to the environment. (Sorry to all the nascar fans out there, but it’s the truth) So the likelihood of those seeds making it past their container is slim. Second, even if the seeds do make it past the bag, it takes decades for trees to become carbon eating machines. By that time this world is going to be a completely different place and a small population of trees is likely not going to be very useful.
Nascar needs to modernize. Yes they may have the fastest cars and the most loyal fan base in America, but the sport is exactly what is wrong with America's perception of driving. In fact, I will be so bold as to say that across the world, racing organizations are what is wrong with the world's perception on driving. Everybody is saying that alternative fuels are needed for our cars but imagine what would happen if people realized the benefits of alternative transportation. For most humans, the majority of the times we use our cars is for small distance trips. Trips that could be achieved on public transportation, bicycles, electric scooters or *GASP* walking. Only once people realize that cars are not as essential to our daily live and are definitely not to be used for thrill or that speed induced adrenaline rush, will change start to happen. So am I saying that Nascar needs to simply close up shop? In one word, yes. It is a sport that uses large amounts of fuel and produces exceedingly large amounts of pollution. All for seemingly unnecessary reasons. Unless they come out with an amazing car that produces insignificant to zero emissions there is no real reason for Nascar to stick around in this Green 21st century.
http://thephoenix.com/Boston/Life/40854-NAScar-bon-neutral/?page=2#TOPCONTENT
http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/headlines/cup/01/20/nascar.fuel/index.html
http://atmoz.org/blog/2007/02/18/nascar-contribution-to-co2-emissions/
http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/headlines/official/01/22/bfrance.transcript.media.tour/index.html
http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/official/11/11/mlynch.q.a/index.html
Nascar itself does a poor job on its website to inform those interested in how it is making the sport more ecofriendly. There are no links to facts or FAQs, no type of public statements and there is only a time limited selection of articles that pertain to any press releases that Nascar makes. So I turned to Google, and I found a lot of information just not a lot of subjects.
The key thing that nascar is starting is the research into alternative fuels. By 1996 everybody in America has switched from leaded to unleaded fuels because of the potentially hazardous levels of pollutants that are produced by leaded fuels. Everybody, that is, but Nascar. Like the military, Nascar is one of the very few organizations that is not monitored or regulated by the EPA. That being said their automobiles do not have to have catalytic converters, emissions monitoring systems or even minimum miles per gallon. It was not until 2007 that a viable unleaded alternative was chosen for Nascar cars to race on.
That is a whole ten years later. In one interview article I found via Google cache, Mike Lynch states this:
"[Alternative Fuel] is one of the long-term initiatives that is very important to us. As Brian France has said, we'll be working with Sunoco to step up our efforts, making sure we're doing everything we can to look at alternative fuel options. That solution may be well down the road, but it's very important."
Out of context this statement sounds promising, however in the rest of the interview, Mike states that he largely plans to leave the ecofriendly tasks up to the individual raceways. That means that it will be up to them how they integrate with their surrounding environments, how green they are and how big their carbon footprint is. The biggest plan overall the raceways is currently at Grand Prix Arizona where the track management is trying to balance out the emission produced by educating the crowds and giving them seeds to plant back at their homes. In my opinion it is both not the most effective and among the most optimistic of human responsibility. I say this for two reasons; the crowds who go to the races are generally not the type of people who are concerned for the impact one person will do to the environment. (Sorry to all the nascar fans out there, but it’s the truth) So the likelihood of those seeds making it past their container is slim. Second, even if the seeds do make it past the bag, it takes decades for trees to become carbon eating machines. By that time this world is going to be a completely different place and a small population of trees is likely not going to be very useful.
Nascar needs to modernize. Yes they may have the fastest cars and the most loyal fan base in America, but the sport is exactly what is wrong with America's perception of driving. In fact, I will be so bold as to say that across the world, racing organizations are what is wrong with the world's perception on driving. Everybody is saying that alternative fuels are needed for our cars but imagine what would happen if people realized the benefits of alternative transportation. For most humans, the majority of the times we use our cars is for small distance trips. Trips that could be achieved on public transportation, bicycles, electric scooters or *GASP* walking. Only once people realize that cars are not as essential to our daily live and are definitely not to be used for thrill or that speed induced adrenaline rush, will change start to happen. So am I saying that Nascar needs to simply close up shop? In one word, yes. It is a sport that uses large amounts of fuel and produces exceedingly large amounts of pollution. All for seemingly unnecessary reasons. Unless they come out with an amazing car that produces insignificant to zero emissions there is no real reason for Nascar to stick around in this Green 21st century.
http://thephoenix.com/Boston/Life/40854-NAScar-bon-neutral/?page=2#TOPCONTENT
http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/headlines/cup/01/20/nascar.fuel/index.html
http://atmoz.org/blog/2007/02/18/nascar-contribution-to-co2-emissions/
http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/headlines/official/01/22/bfrance.transcript.media.tour/index.html
http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/official/11/11/mlynch.q.a/index.html
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