How Energy Conservation Can Help Save the World
Energy efficiency is a worthy answer to the question of how to handle multiple environmental issues. To be energy efficient means getting the most productivity from every unit of energy, while eliminating energy waste. To do this, one must strive to use advanced state-of-the art technologies in order to reduce energy use, without the need to have to remember to do it daily on your own. When using the newest appliances and electronics, as well as a combination of the “common sense” energy practices such as turning off lights, televisions, computers, etc when not being used, the benefits are enhanced. Conserving energy protects the environment, enhances the economy and therefore can promote national security. A key in promoting conservative action is in implementing educational programs worldwide. Education can inform people of the wide spectrum of environmental issues as well as change attitudes and empower them to look at issues at a local level, and develop practical solutions.
The term “conservation” can be suggestive of a mode of behavior that requires an individual to give up personal comforts. Turning down the thermostat, walking instead of driving, and taking short showers is viewed as a sacrifice by some. Conservation should not be looked at as an inconvenience, but instead as a way of smart living. With the use of today’s energy efficient technology, it is easier than ever before to incorporate conservation into daily life. High-efficiency furnaces, hybrid vehicles, energy management control systems, lighting sensors are some examples. If there is a need to commute an hour to work in a community where there is no public transportation, an individual can feel free to avoid the car pools and just drive a gas/electric hybrid automobile or buy an auto with the best possible gas mileage. When a home happens to be a 4,000 square foot castle just make sure that the walls are insulated well and that the heating and cooling system has an aggressive energy-efficiency rating.
It is estimated that over the next 20 years much of the expected increase in energy needs will be met by coal-based electric generation, with another feasible option being nuclear power, which raises waste management worries. Increase of importation of energy from other countries can negatively affect the United States trade balance and can cause a serious national security risk. The development of new technologies can take several years before they are readily available to all, so it is imperative that conservation is a priority.
Conservation by the use of energy efficient improvement is the most inexpensive, fastest and safest way to extend the energy supplies, thus the public should insist on this approach by allowing Congress to address the energy dilemma aggressively. Governments are critical to conservation, yet they sometimes face huge burdens when merging conservation issues with financial limits and political realities. Law makers should continue to be encouraged to put policies in place that will place limits of size of automobiles, and American auto makers are introducing new hybrids each year. The IRS qualifies several models of hybrid autos for income tax deductions, which are positive steps in the right direction for reinforcing the importance of conservation.
Obviously, the problems of conservation are intricate and ever-changing challenges that involve politics, economics and cultures. Political leaders and business leaders worldwide will take the lead in initiating an active vision for research, policy advocacy, education, and communication that will enable public and private partnerships to collaborate with strategies to optimize renewable resources and provide continuing growth in technology to provide energy efficiency. The U.S. has significantly impacted the global conservation efforts and is the largest contributor of funding internationally. Working together globally, in the spirit of protecting the greatest resource this great planet Earth will influence future generations to come.
Great Ideas to Get your Kids on a Permanent Earth Friendly Kick
Teaching children to respect and appreciate this beautiful planet Earth will insure that future generations are empowered to take the actions needed to remain environmentally conscientious. Here are some fun and practical ideals to be sure the legacy of responsibility continues.
Plan a day to clean up the neighborhood, including the parks. Ask many friends to help out too. Have plenty of garbage bags ready for the clean up. This same plan can be used to have a clean up day at school. It can be fun to create posters and have contests with an environmental theme. Have these posters placed at nearby businesses to spread the word.
Help parents to choose plants and trees to place in the yard to create shade which will be helpful in cooling the home, as well as provide cleaner air. Grow a vegetable garden too. Start a compost pile to help with fertilization of the planting. Tell parents about using organic pesticides, such as the ones made from orange extract. Water the garden in the early morning to safe on water.
When shopping with parents, always look for symbols that state the product has been recycled. Use recyclable packaging and encourage the rest of the family to stay away from products that have excessive packaging. Buying everyday necessities in bulk supply is a great way to decrease package waste. Share the idea of the three R’s with the family: Recycle, reuse and reduce.
Ask parents to start using reusable cotton bags to bring home groceries. Plastic bags are a huge problem for the environment. Every year hundreds of thousands of marine mammals such as sea turtles and whales die from eating discarded plastic bags. Plastic bags are not biodegradable, instead then break down into smaller toxic bits that contaminate the soil and waterways, which endanger many animals. If it is necessary to purchase six-packs of soda, always take the extra time to cut the plastic rings into pieces, as they can pose dangers to raccoons, possums, and small animals with strangulation. It is estimated that each year 500 billion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter. In the United States, the estimated cost to retailers is $4 billion (100 billion bags). In Africa, plastic bags that have been blowing in the wind are so common that a young industry has sprung up harvesting bags and using them to weave hats, and even bags.
Instead of taking a bus or car to school, if possible, use a bicycle or walk. Ride and walk with a friend and be sure the route is safe; have friendly homes or businesses along the way in case assistance is needed.
When you leave a room in the house be sure to turn off all the lights, fans and the television. Remind siblings to do the same. Help your parents look through the home for leaky faucets and toilets, then help them fix them. While washing your face and brushing
teeth, do not leave the water running. Turn it off until needed for rinsing. Take quick showers. Use less water when doing household chores; use a broom instead of the hose for cleaning the porch, sidewalks, driveway. Save water by asking parents to wash the car less often, and remind them that it will save them money too. Another way for parents to save money is by raising the thermostat a few degrees in the summer and lower it in the winter. This will save energy. When the sun is out and strong, lower the window blinds to keep the heat out of the house. Open them up in the winter months. Replace air filters often to aid in more efficient heating and cooling
Saving the World Starts at Home
Environmental problems can sometimes appear overwhelming or too far away for an individual to be able to do anything about. But, when the focus of the environment is brought closer to the house there are a many ways to protect that small piece of the planet, which is called home.
To use less energy, look for energy efficient products for your home. The right choices can save families about 30% and also decrease emission of greenhouse gases. Use the Energy Star Program when replacing old appliances, remodeling or buying a new house. Energy Star s the government backed plan for energy efficiency. This program makes it easy to know which products to buy without sacrificing features style or comfort that today’s consumers expect. Turn off appliances and lights when you leave the room. Use the microwave to cook small meals, as it uses less power than an oven. Purchase “Green Power” for your home’s electricity, by contacting a power supplier to see where and if it is available. Have leaky air conditioning and refrigeration systems repaired and/or cut back on air conditioning and heating use when possible. Insulate the home, water heater and pipes. Keep in mind that every trip in the automobile adds to air pollution. Use a bicycle or public transportation when possible.
To use less water, do not allow the water run while shaving or brushing teeth. Take short showers instead of tub baths. Keep drinking water in the refrigerator instead of letting the faucet run until the water is cool. Scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading into the dishwasher; wash only full loads. Wash only full loads of laundry or use the appropriate water level or load size selection on the washing machine. Buy high-efficient plumbing fixtures & appliances. Repair all leaks (a leaky toilet can waste 200 gallons a day). Water the lawn or garden during the coolest part of the day, such as early morning. Water plants differently according to what they need. Set sprinklers to water the lawn or garden only and not to water the street or sidewalk. Use soaker hoses or trickle irrigation systems for trees and shrubs.
Exercise the three R’s: first reduce how much you use, and then reuse what you can, and then recycle the rest. Then, dispose of what’s left in the most environmentally friendly way. To reduce: Buy permanent items instead of disposables. Buy and use only what you need. Buy products with less packaging. Buy products that use less toxic chemicals. To reuse: Repair items as much as possible. Use durable coffee mugs. Use cloth napkins or towels. Clean out juice bottles and use them for water. Use empty jars to hold leftover food. Reuse boxes. Purchase refillable pens and pencils. Participate in a paint collection and reuse program. Donate extras to people you know or to charity instead of throwing them away. To recycle: Recycle paper (printer paper, newspapers, mail, etc.), plastic, glass bottles, cardboard, and aluminum cans. If your community doesn’t collect at the curb, take them to a collection center. Recycle electronics. Recycle used motor oil. Compost food scraps, grass and other yard clippings, and dead plants. Close the loop - buy recycled products and products that use recycled packaging. That’s what makes recycling economically possible.
Common household items such as paints, cleaners, oils, batteries, and pesticides contain hazardous components and need to be handled properly. Although we cannot completely stop using hazardous products, we can make sure that leftovers are managed properly. The best way to handle household hazardous waste is to give leftovers to someone else to use. Many communities have set up collection programs to keep hazardous products out of landfills and combustors. Learn more at the Environmental Protection Agency
Renewable Energy to Renew the World
Sources of renewable energy include biomass, solar, wind, hydro and geothermal energy. Renewable energy is constant and is self-replenishing. It is also cleaner and more friendly to the environment. Renewable energy sources have made a huge impact in decreasing emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the Earth’s atmosphere. It is expected that renewable energy sources, especially wind energy, small hydro electrid power stations, biomass energy and solar energy will become economically competitive to conventional energy sources in the future, however they are not expected to overtake fossil fuels in keeping up with the global energy demand due to the fact that renewables have limitations.
Sun radiation is major contributor to energy sources. Solar technology uses the sun’s energy to provide heat, light, hot water, electricity and also for cooling homes, business and industries. Solar power is expanding as technology advances and cost becomes more competitive. These methods use photovoltaic systems, passive solar heating and solar process heat and space cooling.
Using the wind as a source of energy provides a clean, inexhaustible way to generate enough electricity to power millions of people. Wind power is the world’s fastest growing source of energy after solar. The United States can currently generate more than 10,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity from the wind, which is enough to power 2.5 million average American homes. Industry experts estimate that, with proper refinement and development, wind energy could provide 20% of the U.S. energy needs.
Biomass energy uses plant matter like trees, grasses, agricultural crops or other biological material. This can be used as a solid fuel, or converted into liquid or gaseous forms, for the production of electric power, heat, chemicals, or fuels. By incorporating a diversity of biomass conversion processes, all of these products can be made in one facility, which is called a biorefinery. This technology will provide a cost effective, environmentally friendly way of obtaining energy, and will decrease the dependence on foreign oil, improve air quality and support rural economies.
Geothermal energy, which derives heat from the earth’s inner core, is meeting a vast portion of electrical power demand in several developing countries. Approximately 8,000 megawatts of geothermal electricity is now being produced globally. To use geothermal energy, several new technologies have been developed to produce electricity from hydrothermal (hot water/steam) resources. In the future, it might be possible to use the heat of the deep, hot, dry rock formations of Earth’s crust, and possibly the even the deeper and nearly unlimited energy in the Earth’s magma. There are two basic types of geothermal power plants used today: Steam and binary. The steam plants use very hot (more than 300° F) steam and hot water resources. The steam then turns turbines, which drive generators that generate electricity. The only significant emission from these plants is steam (water vapor). Minute amounts of carbon dioxide, nitric oxide, and sulfur are emitted, but are nearly 50 times less than the traditional fossil-fuel power plants. Energy produced this way currently costs about 4-6 cents per kWh. Binary plants use lower temperature, but much more common, hot water resources (100° F – 300° F). The hot water is passed through a heat exchanger in conjunction with a secondary fluid with a lower boiling point. The secondary fluid vaporizes, which turns the turbines, which drive the generators. The remaining secondary fluid is simply recycled through the heat exchanger. With binary plants nothing is emitted. Energy produced by binary plants currently costs about 5 to 8 cents per kWh.
In the future, the use of renewable energy will significantly increase because the number of non-renewable energy supplies will diminish over time, as well as the desire to provide a less damaging effect on the environment.
Defining the Different Types of Water Power
Using water to harness power is a tradition, which goes back over two thousand years ago when the Greeks learned how to turn massive wheels to rotate shafts for their wheat flour grinders. In the 18th century, there were literally thousands of communities around the world that used water energy (hydro energy). Hydro power uses the form of falling water by gravity to produce useful energy. The falling water is directed through a turbine, causing it to spin. The spinning turbine is connected to a generator, which produces energy. Small-scale hydro systems have several advantages. The generation process produces no pollution. It doesn’t require a large dam or reservoir; some systems can be powered by only a small stream so that a little bit of water goes a long way. More recently, many people have been using water on a smaller scale to generate electricity without the problems and costs involved with fossil fuels or large dams. Small-scale water power is one of the most environmentally sound and friendly ways to produce electricity.
In today’s world, there are small hydropower projects are in place in remote communities such as India, China, Peru and Nepal, Malaysia, Vietnam, and also in highly industrialized counties including the United States. This type of hydro power offers an emissions-free solution. Hydro power systems take the energy in flowing water to make electricity.
Hydro energy is a significant renewable energy source, competitive to fossil fuels and nuclear energy. In approximately the last thirty years, the production of energy in water power plants has tripled. Nuclear power plants have, in that same period, almost hundred times more production growth, due to restrictions that hydro energy has. It can not be used in all locations due to the need of an abundance of fast flowing water, and the need to have the power to last throughout the year. To negate effect of water level’s fluctuation, water gates, as well as accumulation lakes are built, which significantly increases whole power plant’s expenditures, and also raises the level of underground waters near the accumulation. Underground water level has a large influence on flora and fauna, so hydro-energy isn’t completely harmless for environment. It is estimated that only about 25% of world’s hydro energetic potential is used. Most of the unused potential is located in the under developed countries.
There are three main kinds of hydro electrics: Fluid, accumulative (hydro electric dam), and the reversible (pumped-storage plants) hydro electric. By explanation, fluid hydro electrics are the ones that do not have upstream accumulation or its accumulation can be emptied for less than two hours with nominal power. This means that almost direct use of kinetic energy of the water is used for the turbine’s movement. These hydro electrics are the simplest to construct, but are very dependant upon the fluidity of the water. With hydro electric dams the critical parts are accumulation, dam, clench, gravity intake, water chamber, rail chamber, pressure pipelines, engine room and water vent. There are two types of hydro electric dams: Near the dam and derivational. Near the dam is located under the dam itself, and derivational is located much more below the dam with pipelines as connectors to accumulation. Hydro electric dams are the most often used source of gaining electricity from water’s energy. Problems occur during the summer months, when natural flow gets too small for hydro electric’s functioning. In that case, the dam must be sealed and it is necessary to at least maintain water level, which is biological minimum. A problem can arise when the underground water level decreases, but the growing desire for renewable fuel, as well as the concern for a cleaner environment, makes the performance of hydro power an exceptional solution for solving energy needs.