Introduction: We use energy everyday to power of car, heat our homes, use appliances, or power our electronics. As Americans, we are the 2nd largest consumption of energy in the world starting in 2010. We about 312 million British thermal units (Btu) of it a year and that number is growing. There are many methods of occurring the energy to power the country, including wind, solar, hydroelectric, natural gas, and many others. But most of the energy we use comes from fossil fuels which most companies use because of its cheapness. But is this truly the most environmentally and economically the best for the world?

 

 

Emily Mellinger

 

http://www.altaterra.net/blogpost/288668/63061/Geothermal-Energy-for-Green-Data-Centers

Geothermal Energy for Green Data Centers

by: Zen Kishimoto

    According to the Environmental Protection Agency, data center power consumption doubled from 2000 to 2006, and will most likely continue to double about every five years if we don’t do something to slow down the consumption. We talk a lot about using renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power, but what we have not considered is geothermal energy, that is the heat produced deep within the Earth. Companies are known to avoid using certain types of renewable energy because of the cost, but geothermal energy is not as expensive as other renewable energy sources. In this course we talk a lot about looking for different ways of doing things to benefit our environment more, well this is one of those ways. Geothermal energy is much safer than nuclear energy and is very abundant where it is available. I know that I feel guilty using too much electricity in my house sometimes, so it would be great if I knew that the company supplying my power was using a cheaper and smarter renewable energy source. Populations around the world are growing rapidly and more and more people are using large amounts of energy, so if there is any way for us to be able to use more energy from renewable sources rather than nonrenewable ones we need to take advantage of that. That is why geothermal energy is another solution to add to the list of ways to slow down the waste of energy around the world.

Kelsey Salembier

 

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/10/the-red-faces-of-the-solar-skeptics/?ref=solarenergy

The Red Faces of Solar Skeptics by Nancy Folbre

In previous years, solar photovoltaics has been viewed as a "boutique fantasy," feeling that it costs more than it's worth. But in today's world, solar-powered energy has improved environmentally and economically which threatens power source companies who use fossil fuels and nuclear energy. The price of solar panels decreased by 60% and have made the same amount of energy as some nuclear plants. More companies are using solar panels and now with a shorter payback period, middle class families can now afford them. Now that public subsides are given to solar-energy users, the cost for solar panels and decreased. But the US still fund nuclear power plants construction, even after plant disasters have occurred, like in Japan. Solar photovoltaics are still cost effective in Europe even though demand is mostly driven by economics instead of receiving subsidies. Actually unsubsidized solar energy has been able to supply as much as 18% of Germany's, Spain's, and Italy's energy. The use of photovoltaic technologies has been used by households to power air conditioning and other utilities, as wells being invested in by Google, Apple, and Microsoft. Public support for solar power has reached its goal which causes development to continue to increase. Solar installations have created many more jobs (143,000 in 2013) from being relatively labor intensive. Carbon taxes more be more successful in promoting solar power than subsidies, but for now it's the appropriate action. Overall solar energy is becoming more affordable as well as many a greater positive impact on the environment.


Haley Signorelli

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26921145

Coal gasification: The clean energy of the future?  By: Richard Anderson

    Coal is the world's main source of power, providing a quarter of our primary energy and more than 40% of our electricity. Coal is a very cheap source of energy but burning fossil fuels is terrible for the environment. In order to prevent the pollution caused by burning fossil fuels, a method called coal gasification was created. Instead of burning the fossil fuel, it is chemically transformed into synthetic natural gas. The National Energy Administration has plans to produce 50 billion meters of gas from coal by 2020, which is enough to satisfy more than 10% of China's total gas demand. However, coal gasification actually produces more carbon dioxide than a traditional coal plant. The International Energy Agency said, "It can be a nice solution to local pollution, but its overall carbon intensity is worse [than coal mining], so it is not attractive at all from a climate change point of view". The industry claims that the coal can be accessed “cleanly” by pumping oxygen and steam through a small hole into the coal seam to produce small, controlled combustion. The actual coal is converted from a solid state into gas. The hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide is then siphoned off through a second hole. In the long run, this could relate to all of us because pollution will slowly decrease making the air healthier for us to breathe. In class we discuss how to make the environment healthier and what we can do to stop or prevent pollution which is exactly what coal gasification is trying to do.  I think that this is a great idea to take the place of burning fossil fuels. Even though it may not be as successful as some people think, I think it would be worth a shot to try to slow down pollution in any way possible.

Sara Callahan

http://www.aei.org/article/energy-and-the-environment/alternative-energy/production-of-corn-ethanol-as-an-automotive-fuel-source-should-cease/

Production of corn ethanol as an automotive fuel source should cease By: Mark J. Perry

    Throughout the years, ethanol energy from corn has been shining a very positive outlook on the overuse of energy and global warming in our environment. However, recently, ethanol energy may not be the best type of energy. In this article, the author emphasizes that ethanol's effects may outweigh out its benefits. According to the Automobile Association, ethanol E15, 15% alcohol and 85% gasoline, has detrimental effects on the car’s engine and cause failure. If a car’s engine fails, it can have costly effects on consumers, or worse, can cause fatal accidents if something goes wrong with the car while driving. This raises the question of whether Congress should repeal the use of ethanol energy from corn, and it most are leaning towards repealing.

While ethanol is energy efficient, it takes copious amounts of it for it to work effectively. This raises the question of whether ethanol should even be considered an alternative fuel source. Would fossil fuels be any worse? It takes time and money to extract ethanol, and now currently has effects on our car’s engine that may outweigh the benefits. This relates to me personally because every day I drive to school, if my car was running on that energy I would be scared that something could happen to my car, or cause me to get in an accident. This relates to the topics we’re discussing in class because we are always researching alternatives that do not pollute the earth and use less energy. Well, if this alternative source may end up being worse, then more research has to be done on other alternatives that can be used.

Discussion Questions:

 

1. After reading the articles, which energy resource do you think is the most environmentally friendly?

2. If solar energy has become cheaper and is safer for the environment, why do you think that so many people don’t use it to power their homes?

3. So many power companies don’t want to use safer energy because it is more expensive, would you rather pay an energy company that saves money  or saves the environment?  In other words, is it more important to think about how we will be affected right now or in the future?

 

 

Works Cited

 

Anderson, Richard. "Gas from Coal: The Future or Fantasy?" BBC News. BBC, 14 Apr. 2014. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. <http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26921145>.

Folbre, Nancy. "The Red Faces of the Solar Skeptics." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 10 Mar. 2014. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. <http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/10/the-red-faces-of-the-solar-skeptics/?ref=solarenergy>.

Kishimoto, By. "Geothermal Energy for Green Data Centers." Geothermal Energy for Green Data Centers - AltaTerra Research. AltaTerra Research, 30 Mar. 2009. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. <http://www.altaterra.net/blogpost/288668/63061/Geothermal-Energy-for-Green-Data-Centers>.

Perry, Mark J. "Production of Corn Ethanol as an Automotive Fuel Source Should Cease." AEI. American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 16 Jan. 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. <http://www.aei.org/article/energy-and-the-environment/alternative-energy/production-of-corn-ethanol-as-an-automotive-fuel-source-should-cease/>.