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renewable energy -- alternative energy sources (transition to renewable…
renewable energy -- alternative energy sources
transition to renewable enrgy
environmental benefits:
saves lives by reducing air pollution
help keep climate change from spiraling out of control and creating ecological and economic chaos
slow the increase in ocean acidity
economic benefits
save money
create jobs and business opportunities
energy priorities
improving energy efficiency, reducing energy waste
decreasing our dependence on nonrenewable fossil fuels
relying more on a mix of renewable energy
energy efficiency and energy conservation are the biggest sources of renewable energy
energy efficiency
is a measure of how much
useful work
we can get from each unit of energy we use
energy conservation
means reducing or eliminating the unnecessary wasting of energy
energy
efficiency
generally concerns
unavoidable loss
that happens as a result of inefficient technology and systems
energy
conservation
generally concerns
avoidable loss
that happens as a result of carelessness or ignorance
energy-inefficient technologies:
internal combustion engine
nuclear, coal, and natural gas power plants
data centers
ways to improve our energy-efficiency
power plants and industry:
variable-speed electric motors
reduce, reuse, recycle
cogeneration
upgrade the electrical grid to an energy-efficient smart grid
- transportation
CAFE vehicle fuel efficiency targets
electric and hybrid vehicles
mass transit systems -- discourage car use
- buildings
insulate building for more efficient heating and cooling
use energy-efficient appliances, devices and lights
switch off unused energy-consumers, especially computers and servers
industries and power plants
fuel economy
(mpl, kilometers per liter)
utilities: power plants
industries: all facilities and equipment used to produce, process, or assemble goods
transportation
ways for industry to save money and fuel:
variable-speed electric motors
recycling materials
energy-efficient in offices
cogeneration
cogeneration is to produce two useful forms of energy (electricity and heat) from the same fuel source
corporate average fuel economy (CAFE)
energy-efficient vehicles
gasoline-electric hybrid cars
plug-in hybrid electric vehicle
all-electric vehicle
reducing weight of vehicle
consumers and their car usage
tax breaks
fuel-efficient vehicles
raise taxes on gasoline
importe mass transit systems
-bicycle-only routes and areas
buildings
biggest energy costs at home
heating, cooling, electronics and appliances
home insulation
green architecture
energy star
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
solar energy
passive solar heating system
- absorbs and stores heat from the sun directly
cooling buildings naturally (wind)
solar cookers
solar thermal systems / concentrated solar power
parabolic mirrors
moving mirrors
solar cells for electricity
photovoltaic cells/solar cells
advantages:
no greenhouse gases or pollutants
no toxic materials
easy-to-use, low maintenance
disadvantages:
low energy efficiency
cannot produce electricity at night
wind power
wind turbines and wind farms
wind power has the potential to produce 40 times the world's current for electricity
advantages of wind power
wind is abundant, widely distributed, and inexhaustible
carbon-free and pollution-free
fast and relatively cheap
increasing energy efficiency and reducing costs
disadvantages
wind turbines kill birds and bats :cry:
geothermal
geothermal energy
geothermal heat pump system is the most energy-efficient, reliable, environmentally clean, and cost-effective way to heat or cool a space
hydrothermal reservoirs
advantages:
medium net energy
low CO2 emissions
disadvantages:
drilling geothermal wells is expensive and risky
not many hydrothermal sites with concentrations of heat high enough to make it affordable
can be non-renewable if heat is extracted faster can be restored
deep heat
biomass
energy can be produced by bringing the soil biomass or organic matter or converting it to gaseous or liquid biofuels
liquid biofuels:
ethanol
biodiesel
advantages:
can be grown throughout much of the world
no net increase in CO2 emissions
easy to store and transport
bad idea tho
20% more greenhouse gases
uses huge amount of water
ecosystems destroyed
algae
advantages:
can grow year-round
10 times more energy
disadvantages:
too costly
biodigesters -- biogas
fed with organic material, which is broken down by bacteria to produce biogas, can be used as fertilizer
advantages: reduces amount of waste
helps get rid of and make use of food and plant waste
reduces amount of livestock and human waste entering water ecosystems
disadvantages:
too low net energy for mass scale
impurities can damage
hydropower
uses flowing rivers, tidal flow, waves
dams - least expensive
tidal energy and wave energy
hydrogen
advantages
no CO2 emissions or air pollutants
more efficient
little maintenance
renewable energy and the economy
shift could be accelerated by
full-cost pricing to include health and environmental costs
tax carbon emissions
subsidize renewable energy
eliminate subsidies for fossil fuel industries
feed-in-tariff system
mandate that a certain percentage of the electricity generated by utility companies