GREEN TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH
Domenique A. Sanchez
ENG122
April MacGrotty
May 16, 2010
Green Technology
The world we live in today is full of wasted energy and resources that are slowly but surely destroying our habitat. It is the job of everyone to do what they can in order to preserve the beauty and diminishing natural resources in order to maintain a healthy and enjoyable planet for our children’s children to be able to strive on. Modern technologies have been developed in order to better make use of the resources that we have been using. Nothing that we have moved towards has been able to ultimately destroy waste but to bring it to an acceptable level so we can continue to make leaps and bounds to respecting each other and our one and only planet.
Modern technology has been able to provide us with a means to prevent polluting the atmosphere and conserve our fossil fuels. As per the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), during the year 2006, there were 250,844,644 registered passenger vehicles in the United States. This should be an indication of how important vehicles are to our society as a whole. The problem we face is that most of our vehicles are traveling so much that we are damaging our ozone layer and depleting our fossil fuels. Hybrid cars have come to light over the last few years and have tried to help the world decrease its dependency on using large amounts of gasoline or diesel fuel. The way that these cars work is in two different ways: in parallel or in series. When a hybrid car is in parallel, both the gasoline and the battery power sources work together in order to make the vehicle move forward. In a series hybrid vehicle, the gasoline works to propel the vehicle forward or power a generator that charges the batteries that will in turn move the car. These cars have other features that make hybrids stand out beside regular gas powered vehicles. Hybrid cars have a regenerative braking system that allows its
The Essay on Technology Makes Man Lazy
Everything seems to be moving so much more quickly nowadays. Why throw a grilled cheese sandwich on an actual grill when you can just toss it into an automatic sandwich maker? Why have mom over to show off your new apartment when you can just pop into FaceTime for a quick video chat? Why drive over to the library when you can pull up Wikipedia or do a Google search? In fact, why open a window when ...
brakes to not only stop the car, but provide extra energy to the batteries as opposed to a total loss of energy like in normal gas powered automobiles. When these cars come to a stop, for instance at a stop light, the engine has a shut off feature to conserve gasoline. Once the car is put back in gear to move forward again, the engine will turn itself back on. These vehicles have also had updates in order to reduce drag and aid in the overall aerodynamics of the car. Low rolling resistance tires are narrower and inflated to a higher capacity than standard tires and lighter weight materials help to assist in getting the engine to push the vehicle through the wind. Hybrid cars are saving the environment and are here to provide an alternate means for society to better them by helping the environment.
General Electric has been looking for answers when it comes to using different sources of energy and maintaining our natural resources. Wind turbines chimed in as the obvious choice as an untapped power source. According to General Electric’s website, “A 100 MW wind farm will, over the course of 20 years, displace the need for nearly one million tons of coal, or nearly 600 million cubic meters of natural gas.” What this is saying is that we can possibly reduce our deadly emissions by close to twelve tons per year! This is amazing conservation. One of General Electric’s 1.5MW turbines can produce enough electricity to power up to 400 homes annually. The way a wind turbine works is that winds blow in towards the face of the turbine. The blades of a wind turbine are controllable and use certain pitches in order to accept or reject winds that will come in to rotate and control the speed of the blades. When the blades spin, the shaft that they are connected to spin up a generator located inside the gear box housing assembly, or the Nacelle. The shaft spins a set of gears that in turn spin the armatures in the generator.
The Essay on Summary Of Wind Power Puffery
In the article Wind Energy puffery written by H. Sterling Burnett , one of the leaders of the National Center for Policy Analysis , Burnett discusses wind energy is not easy to exploit or benefit as environmentalists say . Build it expensive and do not provide a reason good enough to be used . Burnett believes that the benefits are often exaggerated , and its adverse effects are ignored .Burnett ...
This electrical energy is then stored and sent off to various power lines and generators that go to houses or buildings attached to the source. Most General Electric wind turbines have brakes installed in them in order to stop the blades should the winds reach past fifty five miles per hour or during an emergency or corrective procedure. It’s geniuses like this that can literally make power sources appear out of thin air.
It is always said that a person should shut off a light if they are no longer in the room. This is a very good statement as it conserves electricity and keeps light bulbs in a good working condition for as long as they can. The only problem is not just solely inside the bulb, but in the power it requires to light said bulb. According to Energy Star, “If every American home replaced just one light with an ENERGY STAR light, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, about $700 million in annual energy costs, and prevent 9 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per year, equivalent to the emissions of about 800,000 cars.” CFLs or Compact Fluorescent Lights and LEDs or Light Emitting Diodes are the new revolution when it comes to light bulb technology. Both are different, energy efficient avenues for saving energy as opposed to the standard 100 watt incandescent light bulb. CFLs are more efficient than standard bulbs and last up to ten times longer so even though they cost a little more, they save you money in the long run. Old bulbs released harmful CO2 gas into the atmosphere but CFLs do not harm the Earth like that. “Replacing a single incandescent bulb with a CFL will keep a half-ton of CO2 out of the atmosphere over the life of the bulb,” as per EarthEasy.com. Even more energy efficient than that is the LED lamp. LEDs can last up to ten times as long as a CFL and even more for standard incandescent bulbs. The heat that is a factor
The Term Paper on Fossil Fuel Energy Solar Power
Alternative Energy – The Solution To The Alternative Energy – The Solution To The Fossil Fuel Dilemma Alternative Energy – The Solution to the Fossil Fuel Dilemma If the United States continues to employ fossil fuels for energy, the nation will ultimately become more dependent upon fuel imports from the troublesome nations of the Middle East, and we will continue to damage our ...
with regular bulbs is not a factor with LEDs because they do not generate heat build up. Everyone can appreciate the fact that LEDs only use about 2 Watts of power which will balance out the high cost of the mercury-free light bulbs. Who knew that changing your light bulbs can really give you and the environment back so much?
On April 7th, 2010, in Payerne, Switzerland, a German and Swiss pilot made history that is as futuristic as it is cool. The World’s first solar powered plane soared 3937 feet above the Swiss countryside for 87 minutes. Reuters.com says, “The Solar Impulse, which has 12,000 solar cells built into its wings, is a prototype for an aircraft intended to fly around the world without fuel in 2012.” The Solar Impulse was built by, “mechanical engineers, aeronautical engineers, physicists, specialists in structures and aerodynamics, in design and calculating tools, leading-edge specialists in composite materials, pilots with a passion for renewable energy,” as per the Solar Impulse website. With a 20 foot wingspan, this machine uses its 12,000 solar cells to make up 6kW of energy. It has four 10HP electric engines that actually put out approximately 8HP, which is, according to SolarImpulse.com, “roughly the amount of power the Wright brothers had available to them in 1903 when they made their first powered flight.” Even though the total power out is just as much as when we first learned to fly, this new technology allows its pilot to fly day and night without using a drop of fossil fuel. You are now looking at the new face of Green Technology.
Plasma, DLP, 3D TV: What television is best for you? Is that really the question we should be asking ourselves? Maybe the real thing society should look for in a TV is its power saving features and overall functionality as a device that will be good for the environment.
LEDs, which have already been discussed, have been making their way into more and more electronics. Although the television sets are sold as “LED TVs,” this is not entirely true. The words that should be used are “LED backlight LCD TVs.” LEDs are being used in one of two ways in television sets: dynamic RGB LEDs which are positioned behind the panel or white Edge-LEDs positioned around the rim of the screen which use a special diffusion panel to spread the light evenly behind the screen. According to David Katzmaier, Senior Editor at CNET.com, “LEDs use less power, but their main picture quality advantage is the capability to deliver deep black levels that rival and in some circumstances surpass those of the best plasma sets.” Power use and the fact that mercury is not a factor when dealing with these bulbs makes these television sets part of team Green Technology. The only set back with these sets are the fact that they are rather new and pretty pricey, up to $3000 per set.
The Essay on Solar Power Assisted Electric Scooter
INTRODUCTION “Because we are now running out of gas and oil, we must prepare quickly for a third change, to strict conservation and to the use of coal and permanent renewable energy sources, like solar power.” – JIMMY CARTER, televised speech, Apr. 18, 1977 In times such as today, cumulative solar energy production accounts for less than 0.01% of total Global Primary Energy demand. And the ...
Most of all the technological advanced talked about have something in common; they are all part of a home that is just begging to be “green.” Homes are where people can find that saving money and going green go hand in hand. Solar panels are being put on houses in order to better provide energy while giving the owner the freedom to never have to make payments to a government source. In fact, when photovoltaic solar power systems are used, homeowners can actually sell back energy to a power grid. With this power in the homeowner’s hands and the fact that these solar powered systems are saving the environment, some states are even helping people join in the conservation project. “The vast majority of the solar PV installations occurring in the U.S. at present are in California and New Jersey,” says Ryan Wiser, author of the Solar Energy Industries Association’s 2006 Solar Energy Report. “Many other states also
have aggressive programs to encourage solar photovoltaics, but the results in California and New Jersey probably deserve particular note.” These States are actually offering incentives to homeowners to join in the fight. The federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 grants a one-time 30%-of-cost tax credit to homeowners installing photovoltaic solar-power panels, according to Forbes magazine. Solar powered systems are not inexpensive but they can eventually pay for themselves and give homeowners avenues and alternatives to conventional home electricity use. Who said harnessing the power of the sun was for comic books and Hollywood?
The Essay on Solar Energy: Powering Our Future
Today nearly half of the world’s energy is provided by petroleum. What began as a cheap and abundant way to provide energy, has become expensive, environmentally harmful, and finite. With population explosions and the demands of modern lifestyles, the world’s need for energy production has become far too much for fossil fuels to keep up with. Experts say that the Earth’s stores of petroleum will ...
All and all, the World is finding new ways to take a stand against waste and global deterioration. Going green is not the only way to save planet Earth, but it is definitely a way to slow down the rate of damage that we are doing. Using the Earth’s natural resources of energy is a way of conserving other types. Fossil fuels may be damaging to the environment but they are definitely necessary to the way things move and work in the world. The problem is that fossil fuels are being depleted and soon we may not be able to turn to them for help. It is imperative that we, as society, start moving our way towards a better, more energy efficient way of life. If not for us, then for our future.
References
Jack R. Nerad. “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Hybrid & Alternative Fuel Vehicles”. Penguin Group, 2007.
http://ge.ecomagination.com/products/wind-turbines.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6362S420100407
http://www.solarimpulse.com/
http://reviews.cnet.com/4321-6482_7-6661380.html?tag=centerColumnArea1.2
Scott Wilkinson. “Ultimate Vizio”. UltimateAVmag. Posted Fri May 29, 2009. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/16/solar-energy-homes-forbeslife-cx_mw_0816solarrealestate.html
