The Future Of Renewable Fuels?
August 29, 2009 by Hanna08
One advantage unique to renewable energy but not fully appreciated is the phenonemon of community renewable power project. Community renewables projects can be a great force for social cohesion, and they can create a wide range of social benefits that transcend the economics of a particular project. These advantages include decreased dependence on foreign natural gas and oil, a power infrastructure that is far less subject to large-scale disruption or terrorism because of its distributed and diverse nature, local control of generation facilities, creation of much needed high-quality jobs in rural areas, and a supplemental revenue stream for agricultural community members that allows them to maintain their rural lifestyle. These projects include projects as diverse as willow coppicing and gasifying the wood chip produced, using power plants built mostly on farms, learning how to make biodiesel to community anaerobic digesters processing the food and organic waste of a community feeding electric power into the local power grid and hot water via CHP schemes into their homes for low cost heating.
However this form of energy can be implemented badly, and if it is it can be inefficient and destructive. One example is if biomass is burnt but the forests are not replanted. To power a large proportion of the United States by biomass, vast areas would need to be taken from food production and harvested annually to feed our energy cravings while food prices would still rise higher and higher. Biodiesel use is small now, but its use in diesel engines and for heating is increasing. Biodiesel and bioethanol do produce carbon dioxide when they are combusted in a car engine.
Geothermal energy uses hot water deep within the earth’s crust to spin turbines and produce power 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It produces few carbon emissions and can re-inject used-water back into the earth to be used again, making it fully sustainable. solar power is generated when utilities are in highest demand – in the middle of the day. In terms of the energy to make these solar cells, it is said that in about the same time it takes to pay them off – four to five years – the cells provide back the energy that was required to make them in the first place. One place in which solar energy is being heavily used is Hong Kong.
There’s a load of great tech news happening out there every day, and, unfortunately, we just can’t cover it all. Here are a few of the other noteworthy things we saw today on our never-ending journey through the wild, wild Web. Wired examines YouTube’s incredible popularity, and finds 5 secrets behind the video sharing site’s success. [From: Wired] ‘The Phantom Menace’ reviewer is back with a brutal 9-part review of ‘Attack of the Clones.’ RedLetterMedia picks apart the the ridiculous plot, painful romance and poorly drawn characters of the second ‘Star Wars’ prequel. [From: YouTube] The latest NES controller mod finds the retro gaming device inside a car engine. [From: ubergizmo] Graphic Designer Veerle Pieters offers a glimpse into the design of the new Adobe Creative Suite 5 (CS5) icons. [From: Veerle] Got a tip? Want to talk to us? In need of more choice links like these? Drop us a line on Twitter and check out our Tumblr blog. Secrets to YouTube’s Success, ‘Attack of the Clones’…
Man claims to have had no food or drink for 70 years
hahuaaaaaaaaaa
I am an American and I am absolutely sure that WWII was WON because the Russian people bled out the Germans. The war would NOT have been won without the Russians. PERIOD. Not even debatable. We should have sided with the Russians and left the Serbs alone in Bosnia.
New Oil Spill Job : Oil and Gas Accountant (Denver, CO)
I think we need to be looking at alternatives. NOW. There is a finite amount of oil in the world. Isn't it better to start moving to alternatives before we start fighting over oil?
“…Sure, he continued as Stephen Harper's mouthpiece, inevitably having to take responsibility for the actions of a governing party that thinks climate change is a good thing (it gets makes it easier to get to Arctic gas and oil). But at least Prentice had the decency to look like he was embarrassed by the role…”
http://www.desmogblog.com/environment-minister-pr...
IFC Helps Expand Solar Power Generation Infrastructure in India's Rajasthan State
A Pipeline Merger Meets a Need, and Perhaps Resistance – New York Times -