The Keystone XL Pipeline is an oil pipeline system in Canada and in the U.S. It runs from Alberta, Canada to Steele City, Nebraska, Pakota, Illinois and the Gulf Coast of Texas. On February 5^th, 2014 the pipeline recently received a positive environmental study review from the State Department. Although this is great, who knows the payment of the study behind this or if this is 100% true.  Along with many other decisions  governments and higher authorities make, there are always pros and cons to the subject:

Pros

• The Keystone XL can open a direct link between Hardisty and Steele Citi and transfer 830,000 barrels of oil daily.
• The pipeline could secure and safer way to ship oil.
• Pipelines normally generate great sums of money and would create accretive cash flows

Cons

• Building the pipeline and opening tar sands will negatively impact national and local economies
• After ready some studies, it has been proven that the fossil fuel interest that is pushing the pipeline to be made is cutting, not creating jobs. Although it has the possibility of generating billions of dollars, many large gas companies like Chevron, Exxonmobil and Shell have already cut the workforce.
• It has the possibility of accessing oil in Canada, therefor increasing U.S. and north American energy security.
• The oil it not necessarily needed
• Many Americans still do not want it
• The economic benefits may not live up to the expectations

http://investorplace.com/2014/02/trp-tcp-keystone-xl/2/#.U15hPxabyfQ

http://www.labor4sustainability.org/articles/5-reasons-why-the-keystone-pipeline-is-bad-for-the-economy/

http://harvardmagazine.com/2013/11/the-keystone-xl-pipeline

Demand response, also known as load response, is end-use customers reducing their use of electricity in response to power grid needs, economic signals from a competitive wholesale market or special retail rates. In more simpler words, demand response provides an opportunity for consumers to play a relevant role in the operation of the electric grid by reducing or shifting their electricity usage during peak periods.

The programs for demand response are being used by electric systems as resources options for balancing supply and demand. These programs have the benefit of lowering the cost of electricity in wholesale markets resulting in lead to lower retail rates.

The United States Department of Energy states that “the electric power industry considers demand  response programs as an increasingly valuable resource option whose capabilities and potential impacts are expanded by grid modernization efforts”.

Something I found interesting about demand response was that some companies offer incentives for load reduction during times of peak demand. With incentives I feel this is more of a push for the customer.

Demand response is especially necessary for California since heat waves, storms, or even power plant repairs can affect the supply of demand for electricity. Building enough power plants to satisfy every possible supply and demand scenario is one possibility, but the cost and environmental impact of that would be tremendous.

One of the goals of the Smart Grid R&D Program is to develop grid modernization technologies, tools, and techniques for demand response and help the power industry design, test, and demonstrate integrated, national electric/communication/information infrastructures with the ability to dynamically optimize grid operations and resources and incorporate demand response and consumer participation.

http://energy.gov/oe/technology-development/smart-grid/demand-response

Along with finding how shakes increase and how it affects the voltage, this experiment was also a great arm workout! During the lab experiment my group and I connected the generator to the NXT and shook the generator to create power. The power was created when the magnet went inside the coil surrounding it. LabView recorded the power produced and used Excel to take note of the voltage output.

While shaking the generator for 30 seconds, each time afterwards we increased the shakes. In our group we shook the generator 34 times, 70 times, and 88 times. Overall we found that as the number of shakes were high, the voltage also increased. We also found that Lara gained more arm muscle in those 30 minutes!

During our lab experiment we built a ‘pulley’ system and tested:

– the acceleration & mass

– the acceleration & force

– battery discharge & mass

– power & power level

Four out of the seven tests the mass remained .23kg and the power level changed several times from 50-100%. While testing the acceleration the results were 41, 2, 83 and 15. During these testings we found that the mass remained the same and with smaller acceleration the power level remained small.

In our lasts tests the power level was 50% and the mass was equal to .23kg, .14kg and 11kg. For acceleration our numbers were 15,18, and 22. The power remained the same and the lwer the mass the greater acceleration.

1. The relationship between Acceleration and Mass.

2. The relationship between Acceleration and Force

3. The relationship between Battery Discharge and Mass (the battery sensor was not 100% accurate)

4. The relationship between Power and Power Level

With only an hour and a half to explore the Museum
of Science, my and my group were able to surprisingly conquer many things. And when I say conquer, I mean act like little kids in disneyland, fascinated by all with the desire to touch and play with everything.

I learned the power of wind and fun facts about things I would have never questioned. Some fun things were that:

• Humans have been catching the wind for thousands of years, and are continuing to perfect wind power technology.
• The first windmills were developed around the year 500 A.D. and that sails from sailing ships were modified and used to pump water and grind grain.
• The first windmill to generate electricity was built in 1888 in Ohio and that 144 cedar blades covered an area of 50 feet in diameter. The turbine generated up to 12 kilowatts of electricity!

When reading more on the Museums of Science’s webpage, everything we have learned in class was stated right in front of me. Things like:

• We need energy for our everyday lives – to power our buildings and personal lifestyles, transport goods and to travel. Yet, the energy sources we’ve come to rely upon, like oil, gas and coal, will eventually run out.

• And that, our planet enjoy resources that replenish constantly, including sunlight, wind, moving water, and geothermal heat.

It was interesting visiting the Museum of Science and fel

t I learned more about renewable sources and was inspired to find new ways to solve local and global energy needs.

“THE MORE YOU PEEL THE ONION, THE MORE STRANGE THINGS YOU FIGURE OUT”

Directed by Robert Stone, Pandora’s Promise is a documentary about the history and future of nuclear power. The movie stars Stewart Brand, Gwyneth Cravens, the author of Power to Save the World, Mark Lynas and other notable individuals. In this documentary, many are questioned about Nuclear Energy and there are many scenes from the past that give us a better understanding of how once and perhaps still views the negativities of nuclear energy. What’s interesting about this film is that it shows how lifelong environmentalists fearing climate change have reversed their opposition to nuclear power, which encourages the viewer to question why.

Throughout the first minute of the documentary you see strikes, hear people cussing, and the narrator questions Obama’s ways. What shocked me the most was the outcome or possibilities of the first plant in 1956 in Pennsylvania. Immediate deaths for 3,000 people, property damage of 7 billion, early death for another 30,000 from cancer radiation, and genetic consequences affecting.

The quote that stuck with me after the film was “There is no compromise of Mother Earth” which is nothing but the truth. I haven’t learned much about nuclear energy but this semester taking this class and ENT352, I have opened my eyes and become more aware.

When first seeing Tom Vale I thought he was fixing something outside of our classroom with his cart or that he was making coffee. For some odd reason I connected his tools and smell of coffee in the hallway to that conclusion. On March 19^th instead of doing our class routine with Professor Shatz, Tom Vale, also a Professor at Suffolk. He showed us several engines and energy sources that excited the class and made me feel like a little girl again.

He presented the Stirling Engine, the Tesla Coil, and the Mendocino Motor. The stirling engine was created by Robert Sterling many many years ago and it works with different heated cylinders. The left cylinder has the heated gas which builds pressure and momentum, the right cylinder holds the cooler gasses and the pressure is removed by the cooling side. The whole process is very silent, calm. Tom Vale explained that the air displacement between hot and cold air allow the power piston to generate power and that it is still used in cars today. The Tesla Coil, invented by Nikola Tesla in 1891, is used to produce a high voltage and frequency but at a low current. This technology is used in flashes in modern technology like in phones and cameras. The Mendocino Motor used magnets and solar cells to produce power. This technology has its own magnetic field and also captures electricity from the light that make the motor spin. The professor explained that this technology is not very practical because solar power is not always reliable.

His enthusiasm and happiness really showed me that he loved that he was doing it and has definitely been doing it for years. I was really intrigued to hold the pole and touch it, and felt like I was at an amusement park excited like a little kid. This was great to mix things up in class and it was relevant to what we were learning. When visiting his room downstairs it made me realize that there are hidden treasures at Suffolk.

For our final project, my group and I decided to question how we create electricity with three balloons, all different sizes, by creating friction with different fabrics and to see how long the duration of the electricty is conducted. As this is my first time meeting my team partners, it should be a fun experiment to see the results and to work together in general. The next time we meet we are planning on testing our ideas out and taking professional pictures or video of our progress. Hopefully all will workout and we will have awesome results!

While entering the MIT Nuclear Reactor I felt like I was going on an under cover mission. Signing in, putting my clothes away, no cell phone, no food, no drinks, and then going through air compressed doors, I was very curious as to what was going to happen. Created in 1958, the MIT Nuclear Reactor operates a high performance 6MW research reactor known as the MITR. It has supported educational training and research in the areas of nuclear fission engineering, radiation effects in biology and medicine, geochemistry, and environmental studies.

One room that fascinated me the most was the Medical Irradiation Rooms. The one we went to was located in the basement and uses a neutron beam from the reactor core. The “epithermal beam” from the fission converter is the highest intensity beam available in the world. This was crazy to find out because I leave down the street from the MIT NR and I had no idea the potential of what some buildings have inside. The basement facility’s beam can be thermal, or epithermal depending on the filters that are used. Both facilities are available to support research in the medical uses of neutrons in cancer therapy.

In the United States, it is the second largest university research reactor in the U.S. and the only one located on the campus of a major research university. I thought it was very cool that students are allowed to work there and fascinating that there has to be someone working and supervising the system at all times.

After the past two years living in Cambridge, I finally know what the white oval building represents while passing MIT to go to Central Square. Now when walking with friends I am able to tell them a thing or two about whats inside.

Today companies and businesses are trying to do good the the environment, reduce their carbon footprint, and create a better eco-friendly image in general. One of the biggest companies here in the United States that creates a large carbon footprint is the vehicle industry. As it is stated in ‘Carbon Dioxide Emissions’ by the Environmental Protection Agency, the main human activity that emits CO2 is the combustion of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and oil) for energy and transportation.

The EPA said it expects fuel economy to continue to improve under the Obama administration’s National Clean Car Program standards. In addition to dramatically increasing fuel economy standards by 2025, the program will cut vehicle greenhouse gas emissions by half, agency officials said this week. Expectations are that the standards are to save a vehicle owner an average of $8,000 by 2025. EPA officials also expect to reduce oil consumption by more than 2 million barrels a day by 2025.

I would like to think and it has been said that every automaker is doing whatever it can to make those vehicles more fuel efficient. Some ways the automobile industry has improved their miles per gallon, allowing the vehicle owner to save money, is by creating engines that stop running while a vehicle is at a standstill, aerodynamic elements, vehicle weight, and hybrid cars. One car for example is the 2015 Ford F-140, which is 700 pounds lighter than the previous version due to its aluminum body.

There are several benefits of turning off or simply having an engine that stops running while the vehicle is at a standstill. Environmentally, switching off your engine at a standstill uses less fuel, cost you less in gas, and above all, the car automatically becomes zero-emissions. Hybrids are the most gasoline efficient of all cars, 48 to 60 mpg. Much of the fuel efficiency with the hybrids comes from improvements in aero dynamics, weight reduction and, the biggest change: a smaller, less powerful gas engine. It is said that any car will get substantially better mileage just by reducing the engine size.

Some say hydrogen or methane fuel cell powered cars are probably the cars of the future. What is really the future and better for the environment is using more public (improved) transportation, car pooling, riding a bike or even walking.