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President Barack Obama released a climate change action plan.  Though there is still a date about the effects of climate change , the administration acknowledged the impact it is having today.  President Obama’s  plan involves cutting back the use of greenhouse gas emission and has created many initiatives. Here are three that were mentioned in the plan:

Reduce carbon pollution by at least 3 billion metric tons cumulatively by 2030

The Department of Energy established new minimum efficiency standards for dishwashers, refrigerators, and many other products

Energy efficiency upgrades bring significant cost savings, but upfront costs act as a barrier to more widespread investment. This fall ” the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service will finalize a proposed update to its Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program to provide up to $250 million for rural utilities to finance efficiency investments by businesses and homeowners across rural America.”

Expanding the President’s Better Buildings Challenge

Better Building Challenge, helps buildings cut waste to become at least 20 percent more energy efficient by 2020.

Administration is launching the Better Buildings Accelerators, a new track that will support and encourage adoption of State and local policies to cut energy waste, building on the momentum of ongoing efforts at that level.

Expands the program to multifamily housing – partnering both with private and affordable building owners and public housing agencies to cut energy waste.

 Accelerating Clean Energy Permits

Directs the Interior Department to permit 10 gigawatts of wind and solar projects on public lands by 2020.

Already since 2099 the department “has approved 25 utility-scale solar facilities, nine wind farms, and 11 geothermal plants, which will provide enough electricity to power 4.4 million homes and support an estimated 17,000 jobs”

Additionally, federal agencies are setting a new goal of reaching 100 megawatts of installed renewable capacity across the federally subsidized housing stock by 2020. This effort will include conducting a survey of current projects in order to track progress and facilitate the sharing of best practices.

 

To read more of the President Obama’s plan click here: CLIMATE ACTION PLAN

Resources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/national/highlights-of-obamas-plan-to-cut-carbon/263/

Iceland is one of the most dynamic volcanic regions in the world. Which explains why Iceland is a leader in geothermal energy and resources. Currently  30 percent of  Iceland electricity is generated through geothermal , according to Iceland’s National Energy Authority. When transportation, heating and production of electricity are considered as a whole, geothermal provides half of all the primary energy used in Iceland.

Iceland is optimal for geothermal power due to it’s large “underground reservoirs of water that are continually renewed by levels of annual precipitation that range as high as 177 inches (450 centimeters) over Iceland’s glaciers, and shallow plumes of magma that heat the deepest reaches of these reservoirs to temperatures in excess of 750 degrees Fahrenheit”,  according to scientificamerican.org.

Geothermal springs for power plants. The most common way of capturing the energy from geothermal sources is to tap into naturally occurring “hydrothermal convection” systems, where cooler water seeps into Earth’s crust, is heated up, and then rises to the surface. Once this heated water is forced to the surface, it is a relatively simple matter to capture that steam and use it to drive electric generators. Geothermal power plants drill their own holes into the rock to more effectively capture the steam.

Three basic designs for geothermal power plants,

• known as dry steam, the steam goes directly through the turbine, then into a condenser where the steam is condensed into water.
•  Flash depressurized water into steam which can then be used to drive the turbine.
•  binary cycle system, the hot water is passed through a heat exchanger, where it heats a second liquid—such as isobutane—in a closed loop.

 

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/iceland-geothermal-power/

http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/renewable-energy/how-geothermal-energy-works.html#bf-toc-1

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

Fukushima was a nuclear power plant  that was destroyed by an earthquake and subsequent tsunami in March 2011. As a result of the natural distress a the power plant caused radioactive contamination across the country of Japan. Later that year in November 2011, “the Japanese Science Ministry reported that long-lived radioactive cesium had contaminated 11,580 square miles (30,000 sq km) of the land surface of Japan”, according to psr.org. The exposure limit in Japan is at the rate of 1 mSV (millisievert) per year but it was found the mainland exceeded those radiation levels.

The land within 12 miles (20 km) of the destroyed nuclear power plant, encompassing an area of about 230 square miles (600 sq km), and an additional 80 square miles (200 sq km) located northwest of the plant, were declared too radioactive for human habitation. The regions were evacuated and declared to be permanent “exclusion” zones.  Radioactive cesium contaminated their crops, hence killing their agriculture exports . According to psr.org, ” … the Fukushima disaster produced the largest discharge of radioactive material into the ocean in history. Fifteen months after 733,000 curies of radioactive cesium were pumped into the Pacific, 56 percent of all fish catches off Japan were found to be contaminated with it.[vii]  Fishing continues to be banned off the coast of Fukushima, where 40 percent of bottom dwelling fish (sole, halibut, cod) were recently found to have radioactive cesium levels higher than current Japanese regulatory limits. ”

In order to reverse the effects of the dissenter , Japan has continued to pour water in order to maintain the current state of cold shutdown   at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. They are also working towards the decommissioning has been accelerated by conducting rubble removal at the site concurrently with cooling down. TEPCO has created an on-site storage tank to store the contaminated water which in the future Japan has the hopes to purify and release back into the environment.

So far the energy plan for the next 15 years involves the use of renewable sources, but will still draw heavily on the country’s traditional energy suppliers: unpopular nuclear power and imported fossil fuels. One of the alternative  resources is the electricity supply however the shift  would  involve restarting most of the country’s idle nuclear-power plants.

In addition the plan includes reducing it reliance on Mideast oil, but “envisions imports of liquefied natural gas and coal accounting for more than 50% of Japan’s needs, far lower than current levels of coal and LNG usage but slightly higher than pre-Fukushima levels.”, as wsj.com mentions.

Furthermore Japan also plans to continue its use of coal, reduce carbon-dioxide emissions, and reduce its reliance on more-expensive liquefied natural gas. However this doesn’t stop companies’ plans to spend billions of dollars on new plants powered by cheap coal from countries like Australia and the U.S.

 

http://fukushimaontheglobe.com/the-earthquake-and-the-nuclear-accident/whats-happened#sthash.wtLG03Ww.dpuf

http://www.psr.org/environment-and-health/environmental-health-policy-institute/responses/costs-and-consequences-of-fukushima.html

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/nuclear/safety/accidents/Fukushima-nuclear-disaster/

http://www.wsj.com/articles/japan-struggles-to-find-balanced-energy-strategy-1431545581

Sweden – The Ripasso Dish Solar Generators

The dish combines a parabolic mirror with a Stirling engine. The Stirling engine ,originally developed in 1816 , “is a closed-cycle regenerative heat engine that uses an enclosed gas to drive pistons and turn a flywheel.” The dish continuously  turns to absorbs solar energy captured from the sun which the hot point powers the Stirling engine, and electricity is produced.

The Ripasso Dish can generate 75 to 85 zero-emission megawatt hours of electricity a year, or enough to power 24 typical homes in the UK. Which is more efficient in comparison to the same amount of electricity used by burning coal that releases about 81 metric tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere, as mentioned  The Guardian and Ecowatch.com.

Haiti –  Field Ready’s Solar Powered 3D-Printer

Field Ready is trying to use a solar powered 3D-printer to make a whole range of simple, life-saving medical supplies at a fraction of the cost. Normally thee 3-D Printers are battery r generator run but connect the solar panels allow the printer to function despite natural disasters that normally happen disaster prone countries such as Haiti. Below is a video that further explains the work that Field Ready is doing.

Netherlands – SolaRoad’s Solar Road

 

SolaRoad,  has developed the world’s first “solar road,” has defied expectations and has generated about 3,000 kWh of power according to EcoWatch.com,  This power is enough to provide a single-person household with electricity for a year. Considering it’s only a 230-feet bike path, the potential for this technology could be big, kind of like photovoltaic technology itself.

The solar road consists of  a cycle path with two lanes, one of which is  connected to the national grid. The lanes are made of slabs of concrete with an integrated layer of crystalline silicon solar cells and has a top layer of translucent, tempered safety glass (~1cm thick). The crystalline silicon solar cells is made of two semiconductors, “p” and “n”. As explained by phys.org

“The movement of electrons across the p-n junction creates a built-in electric field that is always present across the cell. When photons from the sun strike the solar cell, there is a release of electrons from the junction back to the n-type semiconductor and holes back to the p-type semiconductor. The resulting separation and consequently fluctuation of positive and negative charges across the junction creates a potential difference or voltage .”

http://phys.org/news/2014-11-solaroad-world-solar-path-netherlands.html#jCp

http://www.geek.com/science/most-efficient-solar-energy-dish-in-the-world-uses-engine-developed-in-1816-1622697/

http://ecowatch.com/2015/05/20/solar-innovations-revolutionizing-world/

It’s 1816, and boilers are blowing up left and right, in steps Rev. Robert Stirling, who’s engine doesn’t use combustion and is easier to make. The key to his engine is the natural reaction of a fixed amount gas, to heat, inside a a sealed container. When heated the gas would expand propelling a piston, which turns a shaft that cycles compressed cold air in using another piston. Simply put, the gas is being heated then cooled, and in turn expanding and compressing, driving the pistons. The reason they are not mainly used today is because it needs an external heat source to operate, takes time to start, and does not generate enough power for its size. Stirling engines can be found on submarines, since there is no combustion they do not make noise, allowing a stealthy provider of energy. Also they are used to generate electricity utilizing the thermal heat captured by solar panels. Imagine all the other things it could be used for.

http://www.mpoweruk.com/stirling_engine.htm
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/stirling-engine1.htm
http://www.robertstirlingengine.com/applications1_uk.php

FAQ

The Tesla electric car is the way of tomorrow, in use today. Though they are currently on the pricey side, costing upwards of 70,000 dollars, there are plans to mass produce them and drop the price to the more affordable 40,000 dollars, which is just above the average price of a new car. The real value comes from the money you save never going to the pump. The average price of gas is $2.20 a gallon, now imagine how much you would save never having to fill up again. Tesla Motors is the brain child of Martin Eberhard ad his business partner Marc Tarpenning. The Tesla electric car can be broken down into two parts the electric motor that propels it and the lithium batteries which power the vehicle. The idea behind the electric motor used in the tesla electric car is pretty simple, rotational motion is created by switching the polarity on a rotor or axle that is suspended within an electromagnet. To simplify the magnetic poles on the rotor are being continuously attracted and repelled by the poles on the electromagnetic. The power for the motor is supplied by set of batteries called the Energy Storage System. In lieu of a gasoline pump you must visit a charging station or charge it at your house. There are typically three levels of charging: AC Level one is 120 volts, which charges about 2-5 miles per an hour of charging, AC level two is 240 volts and charges at about 10-20 miles per an hour, and DC charging, which is the fastest, flows at about 480 volts, replenishing 50-70 miles in about 20 minutes. Most of the charging stations work like the wall sockets at your house providing alternating current or AC, which is converted and stored in the electric car as direct current or DC. The cool thing about the stations is that as the battery fills up, the flow of electricity is lowered to ensure that the battery gets every ounce of electricity. The Tesla super charger, the quickest charger, uses several smaller chargers simultaneously to fill the battery. Additionally there is a system in the electric car that allows the kinetic energy produced when braking to charge the battery. The only downside is that the higher the level of charging the harder it is to actually find a charger. Level 1 chargers take long periods of time to charge but they can be plugged into regular wall sockets. Level 2 are the chargers that are usually at rest stops and must be professionally installed if you would like to charge at your house. The DC chargers are scarce, the closest free one in the near the Boston area is in Dedham. That being said a Tesla electric car
would be a sound investment, the money you save in gas would pay off the car in time, and soon the Tesla will be more affordable.
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/tesla-roadster.htm
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/motor1.htm
http://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/516961/how-tesla-is-driving-electric-car-innovation/
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/tesla-roadster2.htm

In an experiment to  measure distance in relation to velocity  my partner and I used a Lego NXT Robot car that we built the week prior in SCI 184.

These were the instructions:

1. Launch the VI wheel_rotation_straight.vi

2. Study (with the instructor) the VI to understand how it works to measure the distance the wheels travel, and the speed at which the car travels.

3. With a ruler measure the diameter of the wheel and compute the circumference of the wheel in meters (circumference= p*diameter). Record that distance in the front panel of the VI.

4. Run the VI and record:

a. The wheel rotation (in degrees and in number of turns). How are the degrees that the wheel rotated related to the number of turns of the wheel?

b. The time it took for the wheels to turn (in seconds and milliseconds). How are seconds related to milliseconds?

c. The distance the car moved. How is the distance related to the number of turns

5. Measure the distance with a ruler and compare your results with that of the VI. What could account for the discrepancies?

6. Repeat (5) for two other power levels of the motors (keep both motors at the same power level though).

The Results:

When running the test my partner  and I realized that the power on the wheels affected how straight it ran across the desk. Therefore we applied more power to the weaker wheel in hopes that it straighten the course of the robot. Fortunately this had some affect but still veered off at an angle at longer distances . We tested the robot at three different time spans of one, two, and three seconds. After calculating  the velocity error at 14%-16% and distance error at 7%-9% are observation was that our time was not concussive for accurate testing . Had we had given the robot a  longer run time it would have had smaller margins. Another variable in the high margin of error was the power applied to the wheel  one wheel turned at an angle and caused our measurements to be less than precise.

 

What is Fracking?

Hydraulic fracturing also know is a “fracking” is a technique designed to recover gas and oil from shale rock.

How does it work?

Drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the gas inside. Water, sand and chemicals are injected into the rock at high pressure which allows the gas to flow out to the head of the well.

Fracking Awesomes

Fracking has increased the supply of natural especially for the U.S. at 65%.Increasing reliance on natural gas, rather than coal,  as the burning of natural gas produces fewer harmful particles in the air.

Fracking makes countries less dependent on oil imports thus making energy cheaper for consumers.

What’s the Friction?

Fracking is an environmental cost because of It requires a huge amount of water to operate  In one drill, fracking can use up to 2- 8 million gallons of water and wells fracked frequently.  The constant drilling also means that local water wells are at risk . Carcinogenic chemicals used may escape and contaminate groundwater around the fracking site.
There are also worries that the fracking process can cause small earth tremors. Two small earthquakes of 1.5 and 2.2 magnitude hit the Blackpool area in 2011 following fracking.

Though fracking is an effort to provide more energy resource funding these drills can keep energy firms and governments from investing in renewable sources of energy, and encouraging continued reliance on fossil fuels.

 

Over 1.1 Million Active Oil and Gas Wells in the US

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-14432401

http://www.livescience.com/34464-what-is-fracking.html

http://blog.worldwidemetric.com/trade-talk/the-pros-and-cons-of-fracking-for-oil/

Pros and cons of fracking: 5 key issues

We use energy day in and day out most of it being fuel energy but some of it being electricity. From turning on a light switch to charging your phone or electricity, electrical power is a part of our daily lives. However how does it work? Magic? Currently electricity in the U.S.  is generated mainly through the power grid. The power grid is “network of power plants and transformers connected by more than 450,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines”.  The electricity formed by theses power plant are never stored ,which means electricity is served by demand. We use bout 110 volts per household  however the high voltage is need to transmit the power long distances. To control the level of energy being sent to the need source , transformers are put in place between the power plants and the various power towers that supply energy to households and businesses.Here is a video that best explains the process:

Though the energy grid model has worked for quite some time there is room fro improvement. Consumer demands are increasing rapidly and the infrastructure is unable to meet these demands efficiently . Thus the need of  a change. As stated by energy.gov , “the Recovery Act, the Department invested about $4.5 billion in grid modernization to enhance the reliability of the nation’s grid. Since 2010, these investments have been used to deploy a wide range of advanced devices, including more than 10,000 automated capacitors, over 7,000 automated feeder switches and approximately 15.5 million smart meter.”

Seeing the need for an improved method of delivering energy, alternatives such as wind and solar power have become options. The most prominent and controversial alternative the Smart Grid. As explained by smart grid.gov , The Smart Grid is ” digital technology that allows for two-way communication between the utility and its customers, and the sensing along the transmission lines is what makes the grid smart. Like the Internet, the Smart Grid will consist of controls, computers, automation, and new technologies and equipment working together, but in this case, these technologies will work with the electrical grid to respond digitally to our quickly changing electric demand.”

The video below further explains this alternative:

So what would this switch mean? How will it affect us? Is it the best alternative ?

Pros:

• More efficient transmission of electricity
• Quicker restoration of electricity after power disturbances
• Reduced operations and management costs for utilities, and ultimately lower power costs for consumers
• Reduced peak demand, which will also help lower electricity rates
• Increased integration of large-scale renewable energy systems
• Better integration of customer-owner power generation systems, including renewable energy systems
• Improved security

Cons:

• utilizing the internet to provide real time grid data increases the risk of privacy and security breaches.
• rebuilding the existing electrical grid will be extremely time consuming and expensive.
• real-time pricing of smart meters may negatively affect particular industries. (i.e. hospitals and patients that need temperature controlled rooms.

References:

“Top 9 Things You Didn’t Know About America’s Power Grid.” energy.gov. Web. 17 Sept. 2015.

“What is the Smart Grid?”.smartgrid.gov. Web. 17 Sept. 2015. www.smartgrid.gov/the_smart_grid/smart_grid.

“Pros and Cons of the Smart Grid – a National Power Grid for the U.S.”.electrical-systems-lighting.knoji.com. Web. 17 Sept. 2015 . electrical-systems-lighting.knoji.com/pros-and-cons-of-the-smart-grid

“The Pros and Cons of Smart Grid Technology”. artemia.com. Web. 17 Sept. 2015. http://artemia.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-smart-grid-technology

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