tinyurl.

com/o2qeg8z
EnergySource SolarPower Howdoesitwork?
Photovoltaiccellsinthe solarpanelsconvertlight intoelectricity.Lighthits thePVcellsandis absorbed.Theabsorbed lightcauseselectronsto flow,thereforecreating electricity.

Pros

Cons

Minimal Initiallyvery environmental expensive. impact.Nogenerator Notalwayssunny. neededtocreate electricity.Wateris notneeded. Ifthewindisnt blowing,thereisno energybeing produced.Italso hasanegative effectonthebird population.
Extremelyexpensive tobuildinitially,andif notbuiltproperlycan causelotsof environmental damage.Alsoduring droughts,they becomemuchless efficientduetothe lackofwaterflow.

WindPower

Kineticenergyinthe Windpowerdoesnt windcausesthe produceany turbinestospin.This pollutants. turnsthegenerators andcreates electricity.

Theenergyfromfalling wateriscapturedbya turbinewhichturnsthis kineticenergyinto mechanicalenergy. Thenageneratortakes themechanicalenergy fromtheturbineand convertsittoelectrical energy. Hydropowerisvery efficient(upto90% efficiency)andvery reliableasitistaken fromtheflowofwateroff ofdams.Itisalso environmentallyfriendly andthewaterfromthe lakebehindthedams canbeusedtoirrigate farming.After construction, hydropowerisalsovery lowcostandlow maintenance. Ifhandledproperly, biomassenergycanbe averyefficientandlow carbonemittingenergy source.Itisalsoavery cheapandabundant sourceofenergythat canbequicklyrenewed.

HydroPower

Biomass/Biofuels

Biomassessuchas grasses,cropresidue andmanureareburned atfactoriestoheat waterintosteam.Then theenergyfromthe steamisusedtopower turbinesandother generators.

Ifnotmanaged properlytheburningof biomassandremoval ofbiomassfromareas whereitsharvested canbeextremely harmfultothe environment.

GeothermalEnergy

Geothermalenergyis Geothermalenergyis Thecostofinitially

thermalenergy generatedandstored intheEarth.Steam fromunderground wellsthatwetapinto toaccessthisnatural steamandthehot water.Thehotwater andsteamrunsthe turbinestocreate electricity.

oneofthefewkinds ofrenewableenergy andhasno emissions.Thereis anenormousamount ofthesteamandhot waterinourearth. Cheaperthanmost energysources.

buildingthepower plantisvery expensive.You havetodrillveryfar intotheearthtofind thewells.Itcannot betransportedto othergeneration sitesunlikenuclear energyandfossil fuels.Thewater getsextremelyhot whichisvery dangerousto machineryand people. Petroleumisnota renewable resource.It releasedemissions whenburned, whichdisturbsthe earthsnatural carboncycleand trapsheatinthe atmosphere. Affectsareaswe drillfrom,by destroyingland and/orspillingtooil. Notarenewable resource,when burnedreleases pollutionand carbonemissions, whichtrapheatand harmthe environment.Also hasahigh explosionrisk. Drillingand collection processesdisrupt environment.

Oil/Petroleum (fossilfuel)

Wefinddeep underground reservoirsfullof crudeoil.Wepumpit outandtransportitto arefinery.Thenwe useitforthingssuch asgas.Itsburnedto heatwater,steam movesaturbine, whichcreates electricity.

Thereisawide varietyofusesforoil andpetroleum, includingeveryday itemssuchas gasoline,ink,dish soap,eyeglasses, tires,asphalt, crayons,bubblegum, etc.Itsusedin mechanicalengines. Itsportableand relativelycheap. Widevarietyofuses, suchaselectricity production,paint, fertilizers,plastics, dyes,explosives, medicines,etc.Its usedforfireplaces andstoves.Its portableandrelatively cheap.

NaturalGas(fossil fuel)

Founddeep undergroundin reservoirs,accessed bydrilling.Usedfor manypurposes, burnedasfuelor usedforeveryday products.Usedasa heatingoil.Itsburned toheatwater,steam movesaturbine, whichcreates electricity.30%ofall electricityisproduced byNaturalgas.We

alsotransfernatural gasesintopeoples housesforusesin fancyfireplacesand naturalgasburning stoves. Coal(fossilfuel) Coalisextracted produceselectricity fromtheEarth cheapasheck throughtheprocess stableinfrastructure ofmining.Once extracted,thecoalis shippedtopower plantstobeburned forenergy.Thecoal burnsunderapotof water,bringingtoa boilcreatingsteam. Thesteamrisesand turnsaturbine creatingelectricity andpower.37%ofall electricityisproduced bycoal. destroys landscape makesalotofair pollutants causesacidrain finiteamount

Nuclear/Uranium

Theyproduce electricitythrougha processcalled fission.Fissionisthe actofsplittingan atomorit'sheavy nuclei.

generatesalotof power Produceverylittle pollutants Lowrisk verylowcostto producepower

processing uraniummakes wasteandthat wasteisextremely dangerousto anythingalive,itis burieddeep underground,its alsoradioactive highstartupcost takesthousandsof yearsforwasteto notbedeadly whenthingsgo wrong,thingsgo REALLYWRONG

Whybuildahousewithoutelectricity? Cost/Economics:Electricitycostsmoney,theaverageUShouseholdspentjustover100dollars onelectricityeachmonth.Weuseabout955kilowatthourspermonth.Weuseabout11,460 kilowatthoursperyear.Everyyearwespendaround1,200dollarsayear. EnvironmentalImpact: ClimateChangeWhyithappens(explainthegreenhouseeffectandhowitgetsinfluencedby emissions)

Thesolarradiationfromthesunisabsorbedintotheearthsatmosphereandcombined withemissions(greenhousegases)fromtheearth.Theradiationandtheemissionscombined afterbeingabsorbedintotheearthtrytoleavetheatmospherebutwillalmostcompletelyremain there.Somegreenhousegasesinclude:CO^2,NitrousOxide,Carbon,Watervapor,andCarbon Monoxide.

ClimateChangeConsequenceswhatcouldhappenasaresultofthechangingclimate?

Climatechangeisbasicallythealarmingriseoftemperaturesonearth.Ithappensbecauseofall thefossilfuels(suchascarbondioxide,methane,nitrusoxide,etc.)thatfactories,cars,etc. releaseintotheatmosphereonadailybasis.Thegreenhousegasesformablanketaroundthe earthandtrapthesun'srays/heat,inaprocesscalledthe"greenhouseeffect."Weneedthis

process,butbecauseoftheoverabundanceoffossilfuels,nowthereistoomuchheattrapped onearth,thereforecausingtheproblemofclimatechange.Therearemanyconsequencesthat happenduetoclimatechange: 1.Glaciersarerapidlymelting,andifthisglacialretreatcontinuesatitscurrentrate,100%ofthe glaciersattheNationalGlacierParkwillbegoneby2070. 2.Theincreaseintemperaturewillcausedroughts.Californiaisonlyoneexample. 3.Becauseglaciersaremelting,polarbearsaredyingduetotheirlossofhabitat.Iftheglaciers continuetomelt,thepolarbearwillbecomeextinctinAlaskaby2050. 4.Climatechangeseverelyaffectsmarineecosystems.Coralbleachinghappensduetothe risingoceantemperatures,causingwholecoralreefstodie. 5.Duetoglacialmelting,oceanlevelsarerising.Ifthiscontinues,countlessplacesbythecoast andbelowsealevelwillbefloodedover. (ex.NewOrleans) 6.Moreintensestormsoccurduetoclimatechange.Hurricanes,forexample,gatherenergy fromtheheatofthewater.Withrisingoceantemps,hurricaneswillbemorepowerfulandcan domoredamage.(Ex.HurricaneSandy,HurricaneHaiyanthathitthePhilippines)