Renewable energy - Renewable energy Renewable energy is energy from a source which is not subject to depletion in a human timescale. Sources include the sun's rays, wind, waves, rivers, tides, biomass and the heat from radioactive decay in the Earth's core. Renewable energy does not include energy sources which are dependent upon limited resources, such as fossil fuels and nuclear fission power. Renewable energy may be used directly (as in solar ovens, geothermal heat pumps, and windmills) or be used to generate electricity or create fuels such as ethanol. Throughout human existence, wood has been critically important as a thermal energy source. Historically, only the power of falling water in rivers (hydroelectricity) has been significantly tapped for the generation of electricity. However, recent years have seen the rapid.
United States Department of Energy - United States Department of Energy Dept. of Energy Established: August 4, 1977 Activated: October 1, 1977 Secretary: Spencer Abraham Deputy Secretary: Kyle E. McSlarrow Budget: $19.8 billion (2003) Employees: 16,000 federal 100,000 contractors (2003) The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government responsible for energy policy and nuclear safety. Its purview includes the nation's nuclear weapons program, nuclear reactor production for the United States Navy, energy conservation, energy-related research, radioactive waste disposal, and domestic energy production. Many federal agencies have been established to handle various aspects of U.S. energy policy, dating back to the creation of the Manhattan Project and the subsequent Atomic Energy Commission. The impetus for putting them all under the auspices of a single department was the 1973 energy.
Free energy (disambiguation) - Free energy (disambiguation) The term Free energy includes: The thermodynamics term "free energy" denotes the total amount of energy which is used up or released during a chemical reaction. This describes the total energy of a system which is available for "useful work". Helmholtz free energy : Work content of any system. Gibbs free energy : State function of any system. "Free energy" generally means that a primary energy source is "free" (i.e. does not cost anything) for consumption. Free energy is, usually, produced in perpetual motion machines and these energy inquiries usually encourage serious discussion on the topic. Free energy, in a strict sense, is energy directly transceived from the environment, and utilized without any artificial aid (sometimes referred to as "radiant energy"). In a technical.
Energy crisis - Energy crisis An Energy Crisis is any great shortfall (or price rise) in the supply of energy to an economy. It usually refers to the shortage of oil, electricity or other natural resources. The crisis often has effects on the rest of the economy, many recessions are precipitated by an energy crisis of some form. In particular, the production costs of electricity rise, which raises manufacturing costs. From a consumer side, the price of petrol for cars and other vehicles rises, leading to reduced consumer confidence and spending. Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Economics 1.1 Oil supply 1.2 Oil demand 2 Historical Crises 3 Future and alternative sources of energy 4 See also Economics In a free market, the price of energy (oil, gas, electricity) s.
1973 energy crisis - 1973 energy crisis The energy crisis was a worldwide oil (petroleum) shortage which followed the Arab Oil Embargo that began on October 17, 1973. Prices of other fuels, as well as electricity, were also affected. The embargo began during the end of the Yom Kippur War between the Arab states and Israel. The Arabs were frustrated by their defeat and annoyed at the Western support of monies and materials that had aided the Israelis. In response, the states of OPEC declared an oil embargo on the West. This included many of the world's largest oil producers such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Kuwait. The crisis caused oil prices to quadruple, oil shortages, as well as rising prices for gasoline (petrol), electricity, and other fuels. This resulted in.
Solar thermal energy - Solar thermal energy The major applications of solar thermal energy at present are heating swimming pools, heating water for domestic use, and space heating of buildings. For these purposes, the general practice is to use flat-plate solar energy collectors with a fixed orientation (position). Where space heating is the main consideration, the highest efficiency with a fixed flat-plate collector is obtained if it faces approximately south and slopes at an angle to the horizon equal to the latitude plus about 15 degrees. Solar collectors fall into two general categories: nonconcentrating and concentrating. In the nonconcentrating type, the collector area (i.e. the area that intercepts the solar radiation) is the same as the absorber area (i.e., the area absorbing the radiation). In concentrating collectors, the area intercepting the solar.
Renewable resource - Renewable resource A renewable resource is a natural resource that is not depleted when used by human beings. To some extent it is a slippery concept. With enough technology and energy, any resource can be recycled. Some people consider such resources to be only those that recycle themselves with little or no help from human beings. Renewable resources include knowledge, people, energy from wind, solar energy, and burning of biomass. Renewable materials include wood, water, air, wax, paper, cardboard and leather. Some people do not count hardwoods as renewable because of the length of time they take to replenish. Some materials are relatively easy to recycle, such as steel, aluminum, copper and glass. Many persons consider these renewable as well. All of these can be recycled.
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion - Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 Introduction 2 Variation of ocean temperature with hieght 3 Types of OTEC systems 3.1 The Open/Claude Cycle 3.2 The Closed/Anderson Cycle 3.2.1 Working Fluids 3.3 Technical difficulties 3.3.2 Degradation of heat exchanger perofrmance by dissolved gasses 3.3.3 Improper Sealing 3.3.4 Parasitic power consumption by exhaust compressor 4 Other benefits Introduction Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion is a way to generate electricity using the temperature difference of seawater at different depths. See also Renewable energy and Heat engine for general additional info. The oceans, that constitute some 70% of the earth's surface area are a huge storage reservoir of the solar input. This, if economically tapped on a large scale, could be a solution to some of the human population's energy.
North American energy independence - North American energy independence North American energy independence is a goal of many advocates of enhanced North American economic and physical security seeking primarily to reduce U.S. reliance on (what is to Americans) foreign oil, without increasing fuel taxes. This is seen to have various benefits, including: Oil extraction resource development of countries friendly to the U.S., i.e. Canada and Mexico Limiting oil imperialism to the North American Free Trade Area, reducing exposure to terrorism abroad. Lower balance of trade and foreign exchange stresses on the U.S. economy especially as more suppliers price oil in Euros. Development of renewable energy sources to displace fossil fuels. Promoting energy conservation and technology (insulation, green roof, efficient lighting) exportable to energy-poor nations. Ability to ignore the Kyoto protocol, accepted by the.
Nuclear-fossil energy - Nuclear-fossil energy The category of nuclear-fossil fuels encompasses the main non-renewable sources of energy, namely: Nuclear energy and its nuclear wastes. Fossil fuels: Coal Petroleum (including natural gas)..
Hydrogen car - pressurised tank to store it as a gas. The main benefit of using pure hydrogen as a power source is that it uses oxygen from the air to produce only water as exhaust. An existing conventional car cannot easly be converted to run from hydrogen, due to a number of inherent differences in the technologies. Other renewable energy sources, like biodiesel, are more practical for existing automobile conversions. See also: Future of the car.
Hydroelectricity - or hydroelectric power, is a form of hydropower that use the energy released as a result of water falling, or flowing downhill, under the influence of gravity. The mechanical energy contained in the flowing water is used to the produce electricity by operating some form of generator. Hydroelectric power is usually generated at dams or other placed where water descends from a height. As the Water that flows in rivers has come from precipitation such as rain or snow, energy from the sun is harnessed as a renewable energy source by this process. The waters of Llyn Stwlan, the upper reservoir of the Ffestiniog Pumped Storage Scheme in north Wales, can just be glimpsed on the right. The lower power station has four water turbines which can generate 360 megawatts of.
Geothermal power - are testing whether deep wells into hot dry rocks can be economically used to heat water pumped down from the surface. It is a renewable energy method. Geothermal-generated electricity was first produced at Larderello, Italy, in 1904. Since then, the use of geothermal energy for electricity has grown worldwide to about 8,000 megawatts of which the United States produces 2700 megawatts. Geothermal power is generated over 20 countries around the world including Iceland, United States, Italy, France, New Zealand, Mexico, the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan. The largest dry steam field in the world is The Geysers, about 90 miles north of San Francisco begun in 1960 which produces 2000 MWe. See also Geothermal heating.
George W. Bush's 2000 Election Platform - Americans have an average of $25 in dividend income, while the richest fifth have $1,188. The Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center produced the following table describing the impact of Bush's plan on average taxpayers: Debate : Will Bush's stimulus proposal work? - News Hour with Jim Lehrer (PBS) Education: policy named No Child Left Behind, includes mandatory national testing and some support for school vouchers. It also makes high school academic records available to military recruiters. Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and other domestic fields is claimed to decrease dependence on oil imports, particularly from the Middle East. However, many environmentalists hold that it will produce such small amounts of petroleum as to be effectively useless and will certainly do far greater harm to irreplaceable and finite.
Green tax shift - income including wages and profit, and raises taxes on consumption, particularly on the consumption of non-renewable or unsustainable consumption. Examples of taxes to be lowered are: payroll and income taxes. Examples of taxes to be implemented or increased: Carbon taxes on the use of fossil fuels; Royalties on the extraction of mineral, energy, and forestry products; Licence fees for fishing and hunting; Specific taxes on technologies and products which are associated with substantial negative externalities; Garbage disposal taxes; Taxes on effluents, emissions and other hazardous wastes. Tax shifting may include balancing taxation levels to be revenue-neutral for government, industry or consumer groups. Taxes on consumption may take the feebate approach advocated by Amory Lovins in which additional fees on less sustainable products -- such as sport utility vehicles -- are pooled.
Green electricity - describe what they deem to be environmentally friendly sources of power. In particular green energy must be renewable and non-polluting. Green energy is generally considered to include: Geothermal power Wind power Small-scale hydropower Solar power Biomass power Tidal power Wave power Some versions may also include power derived from waste incineration. For green energy to be truly "ecological electricity" it must not include medium or large-scale hydroelectric power (which could produce waste water) or sources of air pollution such as burning biomatter or petroleum. In several countries, current electricity retailing arrangements make it possible for consumers to buy green electricity, either by purchasing their electricity from a generating company that uses only renewable technologies, or by buying from a general supplier who undertakes to buy at least as much power from.
Fire - gases ejected from a fuel. It starts by subjecting the fuel to heat or another energy source, e.g. a match or lighter, and is sustained by the further release of heat energy. Controlling fire was one of humankind's first great achievements and made possible migration to colder climes which otherwise would have remained out of reach for colonization. Fires and burning have often been used in religious sacrifices, as the smoke of the fire disperses into the heavens. Fire is one of the four classical elements, as well as one of the five Chinese elements. The burning of wood is often the first association to the word fire, and trees have since ancient times supplied much of the energy needed by humans. In the past, metal smelting and charcoal production consumed.
Fossil fuel - mills and wood or peat burning for heat. With nuclear power, it makes up the category of nuclear-fossil energy. When generating electricity, energy from the combustion of fossil fuels is often used to power a turbine. Older generators used steam generated by the burning of the fuel to turn the turbine, but in newer power plants the gases produced by burning of the fuel turn a gas turbine directly. The burning of fossil fuels is the major source of emissions of carbon dioxide which is one of the greenhouse gases. Origin There are two theories on the origin of fossil fuels: the biogenic theory and the abiogenic theory. The two theories have been intensely debated since the 1860s, shortly after the discovery of widespread petroleum. According to the biogenic theory, fossil.
Franz Alt - (born July 17, 1938) is a German renewable energy activist and journalist. External Link Franz Alt's homepage (in German).
Earth - mantle, and an inner core. The planet is big enough to have the core differentiated into an liquid outer core, which gives rise to a weak magnetic field due to the convection of its electrically conductive material, and a solid inner core. New material constantly finds its way to the surface through volcanoes and cracks in the ocean floors (see seafloor spreading). Much of the Earth's surface is less than 100,000,000 years old; the very oldest parts of the crust are as much as 4.4 billion years old [1]. Interior The interior of the Earth reaches temperatures of 5270 K. The planet's internal heat was originally released during its accretion (see gravitational binding energy), and since then additional heat has continued to be generated by the decay of radioactive elements such.
