Author: emwelenc

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!

The MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory has served the university for 52 years. No electricity is produced. The reactor is mainly used for educational and experimental purposes. The MITR-II is the second largest university research reactor in the United States. It is a light water cooled and moderated nuclear reactor that utilizes flat plate-type finned aluminum clad fuel elements. It currently operates at 6 MW located in the center of a gas-tight cylindrical steel building that is equipped with a controlled pressure relief system. The reactor core is located at the center of the light water tank, which is surrounded by a heavy water tank, a graphite reflector, a thermal shield, and a biological shield for additional safety.

The MITR-II supports a broad research program that supports most aspects of neutron science and engineering including materials testing and evaluations, fission engineering, nuclear medicine, neutron scattering, neutron activation analysis, and teaching.

Current research and service areas supported by the MITR-II include:

• Advanced Materials and fuel research.
• Trace element analysis, isotope production, and irradiation services.
• Neutron transmutation doping of silicon
• Neutron scattering
• Infrastructure to support the US initiative for designing and building the next generation of nuclear reactors as a means of reducing the country’s reliance on fossil fuels.

 

 

In the film “Pandora’s Promise” environmentalists and experts tell their own personal stories why they went from being fiercely anti to strong pro nuclear energy. In the film, the environmentalists explore the aftermath of atomic bombs and disasters like the Fukushima disaster in Japan and the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl. People have made nuclear power out to be a global disaster, and whether or not you believe nuclear power should be shut down, is your own personal opinion. But what Pandora’s promise is trying to tell us, is that Nuclear power is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be.

A study was done and the film shows that coal and oil are the most harmful out of all the conductors of electricity, and nuclear power is the least harmful. “Pandora’s Promise asks whether the one technology we fear most could save our planet from a climate catastrophe, while providing the energy needed to lift billions of people in the developing world out of poverty.” (PandorasPromise.com) The film is trying to tell us that yes, a large amount of radiation is bad, but we are exposed to various amounts of natural radiation every single day and we don’t even know it. After the disaster in Chernobyl, an entire city nearby was evacuated. When people visit the city today, they see the ruins and think that the disaster has caused this, but it was just the decaying of time and things being broken. People of Chernobyl decided to ignore the restrictions and move back into their old houses. None of these people who have been living there 25 years after the disaster have died of cancer or of any illness. They had tremendous consequences but none of which people expect. People are led to believe that what they hear about nuclear disasters and nuclear plants are a lot worse than what they are told. Hundreds of thousands of people were involved in the clearing of the operation and got some significant doses of radiation and their health had been studied ever since. Even in the large amount of people who were heavily rated, 40 to 50 people have died so far and a few thousand have shortened life spans due to cancer in future. People have been fed an urban myth about what the impacts of chernobyl actually were.

Pandora’s Promise was very eye opening but I am still not sure whether nuclear power is the best alternative. Every conductor of electricity has its pros and cons which makes it hard to really say what is the best alternative for the developing world today.

Tom Vales’ guest Demo, in my opinion, was very eye opening.  It is very scary to think that not too long ago, people were using everyday items in our houses that were made with Uranium, a very harmful element with toxic side effects. Uranium was being used in everything back then and was causing radiation poisoning. There are two different forms of Uranium which are U-235 and U-238.  What I learned about radioactive elements is that they are constantly decaying and changing chemical elements, and that they are unstable. All radioactive elements will eventually decay into led over time, some decaying faster than others. It takes 4.5 billion years for one pound of U-238 to turn into a half of a pound  of U-238 and give off radiation. There are 3 types of radioactivity. There is the Alpha particle, with a helium nucleus, 2 protons and 2 neutrons. Then there’s the Beta particle which has 1 electron. And then there is the Gamma Ray which has no mass and no charge.

Tom brought in some Geiger counters. Geiger counters are used for measuring ionizing radiation. He brought in some examples of everyday items that people used back in the day such as pocket watches, candle holders, flower vases and fiesta bowls. All of the items were surprisingly very reactive. Just by touching these items can be harmful to the body over time.

Items are not being used with Uranium anymore (I would hope), but still today many things can give off radiation. Radiation is around us all the time. Earth has always been radioactive. The natural radioactivity in the environment is just about the same today as it was at the beginning of the Neolithic Age more than 10,000 years ago. The water we drink, the food we eat and the air we breathe all contain radioactive elements that occur naturally. People in higher elevations of the world get more cosmic radiation from the sun than people in lower elevations. There are many different kinds of radiation. Some forms can be beneficial and some can be harmful.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster occurred in Japan on March 11, 2011. It all started with one of the largest earthquakes in the recorded history of the world. It was a rare double quake with a duration of 3 minutes. The earthquake caused a 15 metro major tsunami, causing nearly 20,000 deaths and over a million buildings destroyed. Electricity, gas and water supplies, telecommunications and railway services were all affected and completely shut down. These disruptions severely affected the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant causing a loss of all power and also a release of radioactive materials from three reactors. Fukushima Daiichi reactors 1,2, and 3 were shut down. Units 4, 5, and 6 were not operating at the time, but were still affected. The units lost the ability to maintain proper reactor cooling and water circulation functions. The accident was rated a 7 out of 7 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale due to high radioactive releases over a span of 4-6 days. After two weeks the three reactors were stable with water addition. Many weeks were spent focusing on restoring heat removal from the reactors and coping with overheated spent fuel ponds. Fortunately, there were no deaths or cases of radiation sickness from the nuclear accident, but over 100,000 people were evacuated from their homes.

Fukushima Daiichi reactors

The Fukushima Daiichi reactors were GE boiling water reactors of an early 1960’s design by GE, Toshiba and Hitachi. The six reactors that were affected in the accident had different powers. Unit 1 reactor power was 460 MWe, 748 MWe for units 2-5, and 1100 MWe for unit 6.

Inside a Fukushima reactor:

After Japan’s nuclear plants were shut down after the accident, The Nations greenhouse gas emissions spiked, as utilities relied more on  fossil fuels for energy, like coal and natural gas. The Japanese government is working to restart their reactors despite public opposition.

The New National Energy Strategy is expected to reduce their oil dependency rate to 40% or less by 2030 from the current 50% and secure energy resources abroad through the fostering of more powerful energy companies.

 

 

Sources:

http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Fukushima-Accident/

http://fukushima.ans.org/

http://mashable.com/2014/03/11/three-years-after-fukushima/

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan/HA13Dh01.html

Geothermal energy is heat that is generated from the earth. Geothermal power generates 25% of Iceland’s total electricity production. Geothermal energy has been used for thousands of years for cooking and heating. To produce geothermal- generated electricity, wells, sometimes a mile deep, are drilled into the ground to tap steam and very hot water that drive turbines linked to electricity generators. There are three types of geothermal power plants: dry steam, flash, and binary. 87% of Iceland’s heat and water needs are met with geothermal energy. Iceland itself is 100% powered by renewable energy because the 75% of the electricity that is not provided by geothermal energy, is provided by hydropower. Due to the high availability of geothermal and hydro energy, energy costs for the average person in Iceland are extremely low. The people of Iceland are debating whether or not they should begin exporting their resources to other countries, but many are worried that it will lead to increased pricing for the people of Iceland. That being said, geothermal energy has proven to be an extremely efficient and cost-effective type of energy.

 

Sources:

http://www.nea.is/geothermal/

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/geothermal-profile/

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2013/03/geothermal-energy-in-iceland-too-much-of-a-good-thing

Stirling Engine:

There are two types of engines. There are external combustion engines, which burn the fuel in one place and produce the power in another part of the same machine. And then there are the internal combustion engines, which burn the fuel and make the power in exactly the same place, like a car for example. Both types of engines rely on the heat energy from making gas expand and then cool down.  The stirling engine does not use any steam. Instead, it heats, cools, and recycles the same air or gas to produce power that can drive a machine. It reuses air sealed into a closed system, using heat from fire to power the cylinder. In modern days, stirling engines are attached to solar panels in the desert and the heat of the sun is used to generate electricity without fuel.

 

The Peltier Device:

The Peltier device is a device that uses two dissimilar pieces of bismuth-telluride and runs a direct current though them. This causes either a cooling or heating a effect. It was discovered that running a direct current through two dissimilar metals will cause a heating or cooling effect at the junction point of the two metals. This is caused because the electrons in one metal are forced to change their energy levels when transferring to the other metal, which either causes the emission or absorption of thermal energy. This is what allows the device to be used for either heating or cooling.

The Peltier device is used to generate small amounts of electricity as well as used as a small scale cooling device for things such as drinks and food or electronic devices.

 

 

Sources:

http://www.explainthatstuff.com/how-stirling-engines-work.html

http://www.santarosa.edu/~yataiiya/E45/PROJECTS/peltier.ppt

http://www.survival-manual.com/electricity/peltier-elements.php

http://www.robertstirlingengine.com/applications1_uk.php

The purpose of this lab was to measure the relationship between light intensity and the voltage output of the solar cell, as well as the relationship between the wavelength of light and the voltage output of the solar cell.

For this experiment, we used an NXT adaptor with a light sensor and a flashlight. To find our data, we held a flashlight up to the NXT adapter at a certain distance, and the Labview application on our computers took the data for light intensity,or voltage, for 10 seconds.

For the first test, we tested the light intensity(voltage) for the adaptor when the light sensor was all black/ no light hitting it. We came up with a rating of 0.096931 joules.

For test two, with light straight up against the sensor, we produced the outcome of 0.602433 joules.

For the next four tests, we measured the distance between the light and the NXT adaptor at 5 cm, 8 cm, 11 cm, and 14 cm. The next four tests after that, we placed different colored filters over the flashlight, to see if there was any change in voltage output. These were our results:

Distance(cm): 5, 8, 11, 14

Voltage(j): 0.386889, 0.315041, 0.249608, 0.230363

This graph shows that as the light gets further and further away from the sensor, the voltage gets lower and lower.

Next test:

Color: Red, Pink, Blue, Orange

Voltage(j):0.48568, 0.566509, 0.467718,  0.52417

 

The different colored filters changed the voltage output because the filter determined how much light passed through to the NXT adaptor. If the filter was darker, like the dark blue for example, the voltage output would be much lower than the yellow or pink because less light passed through, making the light sensor hard to read.