Month: November 2014

The Keystone XL pipeline project is a proposed 1,179 Mile oil pipeline extended from Alberta to Nebraska. It is an extremely important infrastructure project for the energy security of The United States and for strengthening the American Economy.  The pipeline transports oil from Canada but will also support production in The United States from producers in the Montana and North Dakota regions. It will allow Canadian and American oil producers access to large refining markets found in the American Midwest and along the U.S Gulf Coast. In 2012, TransCanada filed a new application for a Presidential Permit with the U.S Department of State as a requirement for building a cross-border pipeline. In 2013 the U.S Department of State approved TransCanada’s proposed route in Nebraska. The revised route will minimize disturbance of land, water resources and special areas in the state.

The pipeline will have enough capacity to transport up to 830,000 barrels of oil per day to Gulf Coast and Midwest refineries, reducing American dependence on oil from Venezuela and the Middle East by up to 40%. Keystone XL Pipeline will be the safest and most advanced oil pipeline operation in North America. It will not only bring essential infrastructure to North American oil producers, but it will also provide jobs, long-term energy independence and an economic boost to Americans.

 

Some quick facts About the Keystone XL Pipeline:

• 329 miles in Canada
• 840 miles in the Unites States
• 36-inch diameter pipeline
• capacity of 830,000 barrels per day
• 

 

Some Disadvantages of the Pipeline:

•  Building the Keystone pipeline and opening up the Tar Sands will negatively impact national and local economies. Burning tar sands oil will increase the earth’s temperature by a minimum of two degrees Celsius.
•  The same fossil fuel interests pushing the Keystone pipeline have been cutting, not creating, jobs. In 2010 alone, the top five oil companies slashed their global workforce by 4,400 employees.
•  Unemployment will rise
• Poor and working people will be disproportionately affected
• Building the sustainable economy, not the Keystone pipeline, will create far more jobs.Approving the Keystone pipeline locks our nation into a trajectory of guaranteed job loss and threatens the stability of the US economy.the solar industry continues to be an engine of job growth — creating jobs six times faster than the overall job market. Research by the Solar Foundation shows a 13% growth in high-skilled solar jobs spanning installations, sales, marketing, manufacturing and software development bringing total direct jobs to 119,000 people.

There are some hesitations though, about the Pipeline. It is questionable whether or not the project will make as much of a difference as they expect. Since June of 2014, crude oil has declined by 28%. This means that oil from new wells in Canada may command below what the expected cost will be to produce it. Also, the heavy oil extracted from sand in Alberta will cost between $85 and $110 to produce, depending on which drilling technology used not including the prices of drilling new wells.

Sources:

About the Keystone XL Pipeline

5 Reasons Why the Keystone Pipeline is Bad for the Economy

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102181913#.

No single step can reverse the damage of climate change but there are ways we can cut carbon pollution to leave future generations with a planet that is not damaged or polluted.

CUTTING CARBON POLLUTION IN AMERICA

In 2009, President Obama made a commitment to cut down U.S greenhouse gas emissions in the range of 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. The Obama administration has made some significant progress by doubling generation of electricity from wind, solar, and geothermal and by establishing historic new fuel economy standards.

Cutting Carbon Pollution from Power Plants 

Power plants are the largest source of emissions in the U.S. Although there are limits to using arsenic, mercury and lead, there are no federal rules preventing power plants from releasing as much carbon pollution as they want. Many states have taken steps to move to cleaner electricity sources. More than 35 states have renewable energy targets in place and more than 25 states have set energy efficiency targets. Despite these states and their progress, there are still no federal standards set in place for reducing carbon pollution from power plants. The Obama Administration proposed a carbon pollution standard for newer power plants. In order to make continued progress in reducing power plant pollution to improve public health and the environment while supplying reliable, affordable power needed for economic growth, is to drive American leadership in clean energy technologies such as efficient natural gas, nuclear, renewables, and clean coal technology. To accomplish these goals, President Obama is issuing a Presidential Memorandum directing the Environmental Protection Agency to work to complete carbon pollution standards for both new and existing power plants.

PREPARING THE UNITED STATES FOR THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Although we are doing our best to reduce greenhouse gas pollution, we must also prepare for the impacts that are too late to avoid.

Conserving Land and Water Resources

America’s ecosystems are critical to our nations economy and the lives and health of our citizens. The Administration has invested in conserving ecosystems including working with Gulf State partners after the Deepwater Horizon spill to enhance barrier islands and marshes that protect communities from severe storms. The administration is also taking climate- adaptation strategies that promote resilience in fish and wildlife populations, forests, and other plant communities, freshwater resources, and the ocean. The president is also searching for more ways in which we can improve our natural defenses against extreme weather, protect biodiversity, and conserve natural resources.

LEADING INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS TO ADDRESS GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

 Expanding Clean Energy Use and Cut Energy Waste

It is important to work with other countries to take action to address Climate Change. In the past three years we have reached agreements with more than 20 countries including Mexico, South Africa, and Indonesia, to support low eission development. Roughly 84% of current carbon dioxide emissions are energy related and about 65% of all greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to energy supply and usage.

The ways in which the Obama Administration has promoted the expansion of renewable energy sources and technologies woldwide are through:

• Financing and regulatory support for renewable and clean energy projects
• Actions to promote fuel switching from oil and coal to natural gas or renewables
• Support for the sale and secure use of nuclear power
• Cooperation on clean coal technologies
• Programs to improve and disseminate energy efficient technologies

Some of the many initiatives that we have launched with other countries are the U.S Africa Clean Energy Finance Initiative. This provides assistance with project planning expertise and financing and risk mitigation tools that could potentially unlock up to $1 billion in clean energy financing. We have also the initiative to the U.S.-Asia Pacific Comprehensive Energy Partnership, which has identified $6 billion in U.S export credit and government financing to promote clean energy development in the Asia-Pacific region.

Going to the Museum of Science with the class was pretty exciting because even though I live in the area, I never get to go enjoy the museums in Boston as much as I would like. I learned quite a lot and took a lot of pictures while at the museum. The first exhibit I visited was Catching the Wind. It was all about wind powered energy and wind turbines. Wind power is a natural and clean resource generated by wind turbines to perform tasks or convert wind into usable electricity. When sunlight hits the earth and hits the air unevenly, the temperature difference starts moving the air, as warmer air rises and cooler air moves in to take its place, creating wind. Wind turbines catch the energy of the wind and change it into a form we can use. As the wind turns a turbines blades, the machinery inside the nacelle converts the energy into electricity. The first Windmill to generate electricity was built in 1888 in Cleveland, Ohio by Charles F. Brush and it generated up to 12 kilowatts of electricity.

The parts of a turbine include:

• Blades- airfoil-shaped wings that are moved by the wind.
• Tower- holds the blades up high where the wind is steady.
• Nacelle- holds the turbine’s machinery on top of the tower. The nacelle sits on yaw motors that turn the turbine to face into the wind.
• Hub(Nose Cone)- center where the blades connect with the low-speed shaft. The blades, hub, and low-speed shaft all turn as one piece.
• Low-Speed Shaft- strong, heavy shaft that supports the weight of the blades and connects to the gearbox.
• Gearbox- a group of gears that uses the slow rotation of the low-speed shaft to help speed up the rotation of the high-speed shaft.
• High-Speed Shaft- Spins faster than the low-speed shaft, enough to generate electricity in the generator. A brake stops the shaft when the wind is too strong, protecting it from damage.
• Electric Generator- produces electricity when the high-speed shaft spins a magnet inside it. The electricity can either be added to the electric grid or stored in batteries.
• Yaw Motors- turn the turbine to face into the wind
• Electronic Controller- a computer that allows the turbine to function without an operator on-site. The controller has many tasks: monitoring the amount of electricity generated, controlling the yaw motors, and adjusting the blade angle.
• Anemometers and Wind Vane- sit on top of the nacelle, measuring wind speed and direction. This information is transmitted to the electronic controller to keep the turbine functioning optimally.

The decision to install a wind turbine is generally based on a location’s wind speed and duration over the course of a year. Other factors considered before installing wind turbines include:

• how much electricity a wind turbine is capable of generating
• a wind turbine’s efficiency
• the cost of the turbine
• the time it will take for the turbine to return a profit
• how wildlife populations will be affected
• acceptance by the community

 

The next exhibit I visited was Energized! This exhibit was all about energy we use today and solar energy. We use energy every day as electricity for our appliances or fuel for our cars. The amount of energy we use every day continues to increase . The fossil fuels we currently rely on-including petroleum, coal, and natural gas- are damaging the environment. This is why renewable energy is so important. It helps to balance our needs for energy and cleans the environment. These renewable energy sources are found all around us. Such as the motion of wind and water, the light and heat of the sun, and in the heat underground.

Solar panels, also called photovoltaic panels, transform sunlight into electricity. When the sun’s radiation hits the panel, electrons get energized and start to move. Flowing electrons create an electrical current which we call electricity. The angle at which sunlight hits solar panels makes a big difference in how much electricity is generated. Some installations have motors that move the panels throughout the day so the sun always shines directly on them. The potential of solar energy is that wherever there is sunshine, solar energy can be harnessed to generate electricity.

 

Sunlight can also be used to generate electricity without photovoltaics. Conventional power plants use their fuel to create heat to boil water. The steam from the boiling water turns the blades of a turbine, which generates electricity. Solar collectors use this same process, but the sun is the fuel source. They use mirrors to focus sunlight at a central point, generating enough heat to boil water.  There are three main types of solar collectors: towers, troughs, and parabolic dishes. Solar collectors can be different shapes and sizes, but they all use mirrors to concentrate and intensify the sun’s energy.

 

The next exhibit I visited was Microrobotics Takes Flight. This exhibit was about the “RoboBee”. A RoboBee is a small robotic “insect” that a team from Harvard University is developing. They can be used for crop pollination, search and rescue missions, environmental exploration and military surveillance. The team still needs a tiny battery to power the RoboBee, but I think that it has huge potential. The RoboBee is very small, no bigger than a penny!

 

The last exhibit I visited on my journey through the Museum of science was Conserve at Home. I liked this exhibit the best out of the other three because you could interact with it and it was very playful. The exhibit had very interesting information about the uses of different resources. Conserving energy is a very important part of our everyday lives because it really makes a difference. Conserving energy not only saves money, but it also helps save our natural resources. The exhibit had some very interesting facts when you walked around and was set up to look like a house and it’s yard which I thought was adorable. Apparently the average American uses about 500 plastic bags every year! (But if you’re like my mom, she re-uses her Market Basket bags for everything….) A great alternative for plastic bags is to carry reusable bags. They’re fashionable and they’re better for the environment! Another great way you can conserve at home is to use energy efficient light bulbs and rechargeable batteries. One rechargeable battery can save about 800 disposable batteries!

When we think of conserving at home we usually think of recycling. And although that is a very important thing to do, their are a hierarchy of actions you could take before recycling. First you should start reducing the amount of waste you generate which is the most effective. Then you should reuse the materials by finding another use for them and then recycle all you can from whatever is left. Reducing may take more effort, but it can have a huge impact. The exhibit showed what the different recycling materials would turn into, which I thought was very interesting. A milk bottle could potentially be recycled into plastic decking for furniture. Soda cans can potentially be recycled into window frames, rain gutters, and new cans. Glass bottles can potentially be recycled into counter tops and glass jars. Steel cans can potentially be recycled into steel bicycles, paper clips, and new steel cans. Plastic water bottles and soda bottles can potentially be recycled into fleece and carpets!

Visiting the Museum of Science on Friday was a very fun experience because it brought back a lot of memories from when I used to go as a kid, but also because I learned a lot of useful information. I also liked that I could link the information that I learned at the museum back to the information that I learned in class about photovoltaics and energy resources!