The greenhouse effect is a process where gases are ...



The greenhouse effect is a process where gases are absorbed by the atmosphere and trap heat next to the Earth. It is a natural process but excessive gasses are increasing the amount of gas trapped next to the Earth and raising its overall temperature. The primary gas that is being absorbed in the atmosphere is carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a by-product of the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil. 80% of the world’s energy is supplied by fossil fuels. (Time for change, 2010) Pre-industrial levels of carbon dioxide were ~280ppmv and current levels are ~380ppmv and increasing at 1.9ppmv per year. Seven of the eight warmest years on record have occurred since 2001, and the ten warmest have all occurred since 1995. The sea level is rising at a rate of 1.7mm/year over the past 100 years which is significantly larger than the average rate over the last several thousand years. (NOAA, 2011)

Retrieved April 9, 2011 from

Retrieved April 10, 2011 from

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Fig. 1. Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Concentration.

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Graphic from

What will be affected by climate change?

Plants and animals may become extinct due to lack of food habitat.

Polar bears and arctic animals - habitat

Sea turtles – lose beaches for laying eggs

Bacteria increases in the sea affect plankton and then each animal up the food chain.

Farmers may not be able to grow food crops. Wealthier countries will find solutions to the food shortage but poorer countries will see increased famine and mortality due to lack of food.

Kyoto Protocol – a legally binding treaty initiated in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan to force countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over time. The United States has not signed the KP. Japan and Russia probably will not attempt the new targets.

Technological Solutions:

Conservation- saving energy is as good as producing it. Of course, you can’t ever save more than you make initially. That is like trying to save a million dollars. You have to make several million to be able to save one million. Still, every watt saved can be used for the next need without making it new.

Solar Power- Solar power uses silicon panels and photovoltaic process to convert sunlight or light energy to electricity.

Pros-

Cons-

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Wind Power- Natural winds force turbines to rotate which in turn drive alternators and produce electricity.

Pros of Wind Energy

Here are some of the ways in which wind energy proves beneficial to us.

The biggest benefit one can reap out of wind energy is that it generates electricity, but does not release any harmful pollutants or gases as by products. This therefore makes it a safer and cleaner source of energy.

Wind energy is also one of the cheapest forms of energy available today and therefore it can be used by everyone, including poor farmers from rural areas.

Farmers can not only use the electricity for themselves, but can also earn income out of it, by providing electricity to several homes.

Wind energy does not involve the use of any fossil fuels or non-renewable sources of energy like natural gas, coal or oil. This proves that it is an efficient renewable energy.

Wind is a never ending resource, therefore power cuts and power failures are almost non-existent in areas that rely upon wind power to generate electricity.

With the use of larger electric grids, higher amount of electricity can be generated, which thus makes electricity accessible to a larger number of households in the vicinity.

Cons of Wind Energy

Let us now look at the flip side of the coin. Wind energy does have some shortcomings. Find out what are those.

Wind turbines can get damaged or completely destroyed when hit by a heavy storm or a severe lightning.

Wind energy helps to solve the electricity problems up to a large extent, but it does not eliminate it completely. It therefore signifies that, we still need to come up with other better options.

Wind does not necessarily flow in the same speed all the time. Therefore, the production of electricity would not always remain consistent, there might be ups and downs in its production, depending upon the speed of the wind. This inconsistency in electricity production affects its supply in the nearby high demand areas like cities and towns

There have been instances in the past, when the rotating blades of the turbines have proved fatal for birds that happened to hit it.

Wind turbines, on an average make a sound of about 50-60 decibel. Slower the wind's speed, larger is the sound produced.

In recent times, some people have claimed that wind turbines lower the aesthetic beauty of the land! However, I think that, it is a matter of individual perception and not everyone looks at things in the same way.



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Biomass- Plants and animals by-products can be used as fuel. Switchgrass can be converted into fuel for automobiles. Algae produce oils that can be made into fuel. Some insects have been found to secrete oils that can be burned as fuel

Pros- Locally cheap, CO2 neutral, and contributes to local employment, and the price is stable

Cons- Consists of fermented animal waste, agricultural crops, grains and other natural products. However, using the resulting fuel still produces greenhouse gases but they are considered neutral.



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Hydroelectric- Dams are built to create holding reservoirs in which the water has potential energy. The water is passed through a turbine which drives an alternator creating electricity

Pros and Cons of Hydroelectric Energy

Pros of Hydroelectric Energy

Electricity produced through the hydroelectric energy generation method is without any pollution or harmful environmental effects. Neither are any dangerous greenhouse gases emitted, nor burning of fossil fuels is necessary to generate electricity this way. Hydroelectric power plants generate renewable energy. Building this type of an energy plant is not very costly and there are government grants which help relax the financial burden of building a power station.

The dams are useful for storing water which is useful for proving nearby areas with water in case of a drought. In case lake water is not being used for supplying drinking water, there can be few recreational activities like boating, fishing or swimming that can be carried out.

It is simpler and cheaper to maintain a hydro electric power plant than a nuclear power plant and breakdown instances are also fewer. Hydro electric plants last long and since the power generation process is mostly automated, less labor is needed to operate and supervise the power station.

Cons of Hydroelectric Energy

Hydroelectric energy plants, at times, can alter the local environment of an area to a great extent. As hydroelectric energy plants require a reservoir to function, it could cause flooding in neighboring lands. If this is the case, then areas around the reservoir need to be evacuated, resulting in people having to shift to different areas. Ecosystems are also affected by dams and natural changes in the river according to seasons are disrupted. The dam ends up blocking the silt which flows through the river to the beaches. If there are instances of drought in the area, dams are not that effective in producing electricity.

Plants that get destroyed because of the dams, tend to decay in an anaerobic environment. Methane, a greenhouse gas, is produced because of this. The damage caused through this process is more harmful than what would have resulted if the forest was destroyed naturally.

Compensation needs to be provided for transferring people and necessary arrangements for the same need to be made as well, for areas around where the dam is to be built. This is a tough task and could result in major disagreement and opposition from people if their demands are not met.



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Geothermal- Natural heat within the Earth is used to heat water into steam. The steam is used to drive turbines and create electricity.

Pros- Safe, clean, very cheap, efficient, and one plant can produce a lot of steam by drilling more than one well

Cons- May cause aftershock earthquakes and minor damage that may take 1000 years to recover.



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Ethanol- Ethanol is a renewable fuel that comes from agricultural feed stocks, and thus can be produced domestically.

Pros - Results in less pollution, reducing smog-forming emissions by as much as 50 percent relative to gasoline, Net carbon dioxide emissions would be almost zero, and reduction in greenhouse emissions.

Cons - The first is price, the second drawback of ethanol, regardless of the price you pay for it, contains less energy than gasoline, and it is available only in the Midwest for the most part.



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Methane from landfills-

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State of energy in 2025? By 2025, most industrial sites and many households will have some way to create alternative energy. The most likely choice for homeowners is solar power for most houses in the south and southwest. Areas on the coast, mountainous regions, and cooler climates would benefit from wind power. Since a tremendous amount of the power generated is lost through long distance delivery, power production will become personal. We will reduce dependence on an energy producer 100’s of miles from our homes and factories.

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