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Green Energy
The World’s Access To Electricity
An astounding 1.6 billion people in the world are without some form of reliable access to electricity. There are a number of setbacks for communities that lack constant and reliable electricity: * They can’t charge cell phones if they have them. * Students don’t have lights to use for studying at night. * They can’t easily create markets or sell goods. * Hospitals are greatly limited without regular power. * Vaccines can’t be kept cold without a refrigerator. * Agriculture is peasantry without powered machinery. These setbacks will cause communities to stay poor. Surprisingly, working on solutions for energy poverty isn’t among the United Nation’s ambitious Millennium Development Goals. The realities of climate change suggest that even developing communities need to seek out cleaner energy sources because Western style growth that is led by fossil fuels is detrimental to the environment. Some innovative organizations, such as New Jersey based E+Co, lends out financial support to entrepreneurs in developing countries to help spur the growth of clean energy businesses. The loans provided by this company help to create businesses, reduce energy poverty, and prevent carbon emissions from rising. This company grew out of the Rockefeller Foundation in the 1990s, with the mission of discovering entrepreneurs who are on the ...- Bookmark :
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Young Algae: An Emerging Biofuel
The algae industry is getting support from the government as a potential replacement for part of the 18 million barrels of crude oil used everyday in the United States. The federal government has invested in the emerging biofuel and the military, big oil companies, and commercial users like manufacturers and airlines are interested in its potential. Algae biofuel is an experimental type of renewable energy that’s created when algae produce a substance that can be harvested and processed into crude oil. The crude oil is then processed at traditional oil refineries where it’s converted into transportation fuels like gasoline, diesel, or jet fuel. The biofuel from the algae can also be used to replace the oils in foods, pharmaceuticals and soaps. One benefit of algae is that it can be grown domestically, which would cut back on the amount of petroleum the country needs to import. Another benefit is that algae utilizes less carbon overall than fossil fuels do. This is because plants absorb carbon while they grow and then they release it when their fuels are burnt. The petroleum-based fuels release carbon during use. Recently, the Navy tested a river patrol boat that was powered by algae bodies. The ship ...- Bookmark :
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Advances In Wind Energy
Kites and blimps are on their way to becoming the next big force behind wind energy. This is because the higher up in the sky you go, the stronger and steadier the wind and as a result, more energy can be reached. Scientists suggest that a wind turbine placed high up in the sky could potentially generate 20 times the energy of a traditional wind turbine model standing 200 feet off of the ground. This suggestion has inspired a multitude of inventors and entrepreneurs who are now making efforts to capitalize on this potential energy business. Building new systems can help decrease our reliance on fossil fuels. The United States Department of Energy expects wind to provide 20% of the country’s energy by the year 2030. Wind provides 1.8% currently. Makani Power received a $20 million investment from Google in addition to a $3 million grant from the Department of Energy. Makanis engineers built an airborne wind turbine that can sweep across the sky, similar to a kite, but at 800 feet. The motion collects wind energy on the wing and sends it to the ground via an electrically conductive tether. Magenn Power in Mountain View, California is constructing helium blimps that ...- Bookmark :
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Coal
Coal is burned to generate power. It is commonly thought that massive amounts of coal are burned because it is cheap. The actual price of coal is much more than what it is actually purchased and sold for. The cost we’re referring to is related to the effects of burning coal on people’s health and the environment. The resulting consequences from burning coal costs over half a trillion dollars every year in the United States. That means each individual person living in the United States is responsible for $1500 of that cost to the environment and their health every single year. These numbers were derived from the results of climate change, including negative effects to the public health from sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury, and other emissions and toxins. Other reasons for the high costs include accidents that occur during transporting coal, government subsidies, the public health cost in regions that have coal mining, and the decline in value of the land near abandoned coal mines. This substantial impact makes other sources of energy that are renewable and clean like solar power much more appealing than burning coal, not to mention cheaper. The subsidies aspect of fossil fuels is one of ...- Bookmark :
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Pickens Plan
T. Boone Pickens is an oil tycoon, who in 2008 came on very strong in his television commercials purporting his idea to break the United States free of foreign oil imports and replace them with wind energy and natural gas. The plan for wind energy has since lost some traction after Pickens plans for the world’s largest wind farm in the Texas panhandle didn’t work out. Now Pickens has modified his plan, known as the Pickens Plan, to focus on natural gas, his other big business interest. The Pickens Plan is backed by 1.7 million supporters, which Pickens is leveraging in order to persuade Congress to pass legislation that would offer incentives to convert fleet vehicles and 18-wheelers to run on compressed natural gas rather than diesel fuel. Pickens suggests that converting just 8 million of said trucks could cut the amount of foreign oil imported by the United States in half. The Pickens Plan is backed by $80 million in promotional funds as well as 2 years of advertising, lobbying Congress and visiting the White House. Critics suggest that Pickens aim is purely financial gain, while Pickens suggests that money is not his main goal, evidenced by the fact that he ...- Bookmark :
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