|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 11:16 am
So we know that the burning of fossil fuels contributes to a lot, if not most, of the CO2 levels into the atmosphere. One of the greatest uses of coal and gas reserves is in power stations, making electricity for our homes.
Now for a quick science lesson. If you have magnetism and movement, you always get a current. Right, now if you get a magnet, find a few wires and coil them round and then rotate the magnet, the wires will cut the magnetic field and thence create electricity.
In a power station, you have a magnet that is rotated through a wire coil, therefore making electricity. The magnet is attached to a turbine that spins it, and the way that the turbine moves is by having a jet of hot steam turning it. This hot steam is created by having water boiled, and it's this boiling process that uses fossil fuels.
Now, I suggest that if we can come up with an alternative way of producing electricity then this would dramatically reduce the amount of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. How could we go about doing this and would these measures be able to come into use before we've all drowned? Also, if we could find an alternative way of destroying nuclear waste, would we be less reluctant to use nuclear power was a useful resorce for energy and not just killing our dear friends in the east?
What other ways of producing green electricity have been suggested? Would they solve the problem or not?
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 12:01 pm
I think that manual labour would be a great way of spinning turbines. Also hydroelectricity is always good.
I think that harnessing natural events for enery is always great. A few examples being Geothermal, Tidal and Wind. People say that wind turbines are too expensive and produce too little, but Glasgow now has/ is building a wind farm with several hundred turbines that will power the whole city. And this is on land! Out to see the potential is huge.
Manual labour would rock though! People in prisons could spin turbines! Yay!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Le Aristocrat Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 12:18 pm
Ah, yes, the hamster wheel effect is indeed a good plan.
Hydro is good, however it can't be used everywhere. You need to have high enough water pressure for it to fall strong enough to give enough power to the turbines. Wind and tidal are good, but have their shortfalls too.
As you say, man power is probably bestXD
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 10:51 am
donnythephoenix I think that manual labour would be a great way of spinning turbines. Also hydroelectricity is always good. I think that harnessing natural events for enery is always great. A few examples being Geothermal, Tidal and Wind. People say that wind turbines are too expensive and produce too little, but Glasgow now has/ is building a wind farm with several hundred turbines that will power the whole city. And this is on land! Out to see the potential is huge. Manual labour would rock though! People in prisons could spin turbines! Yay! I'm fullly supportive of the use of natural resources, especailly Geothemal and Tidal, to produce energy. Eventually the fossil fuels will run out and we need to be prepared. Wind tends to be, as Jon mentioned, a lot of effort for not much product. My question to you: Do we have enough land to build enough turbines to effectively produce enough energy? Manual labor from prisoners is a cool idea, but not entierly realistic. Maybe you could create enough energy to power the jail though. ninja
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Le Aristocrat Vice Captain
|
Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 1:02 pm
moon_child113 donnythephoenix I think that manual labour would be a great way of spinning turbines. Also hydroelectricity is always good. I think that harnessing natural events for enery is always great. A few examples being Geothermal, Tidal and Wind. People say that wind turbines are too expensive and produce too little, but Glasgow now has/ is building a wind farm with several hundred turbines that will power the whole city. And this is on land! Out to see the potential is huge. Manual labour would rock though! People in prisons could spin turbines! Yay! I'm fullly supportive of the use of natural resources, especailly Geothemal and Tidal, to produce energy. Eventually the fossil fuels will run out and we need to be prepared. Wind tends to be, as Jon mentioned, a lot of effort for not much product. My question to you: Do we have enough land to build enough turbines to effectively produce enough energy? Manual labor from prisoners is a cool idea, but not entierly realistic. Maybe you could create enough energy to power the jail though. ninja One of the greatest things about Wind Turbines is that they are most effective out at sea, so we can harness energy where no one can complain about how ugly they are. I also like nuclear fusion...Using Isotopes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 1:18 pm
Ah, yes, Fusion. The saviour of us all. Hopefully. If they can make it work. ninja
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 1:35 pm
donnythephoenix moon_child113 donnythephoenix I think that manual labour would be a great way of spinning turbines. Also hydroelectricity is always good. I think that harnessing natural events for enery is always great. A few examples being Geothermal, Tidal and Wind. People say that wind turbines are too expensive and produce too little, but Glasgow now has/ is building a wind farm with several hundred turbines that will power the whole city. And this is on land! Out to see the potential is huge. Manual labour would rock though! People in prisons could spin turbines! Yay! I'm fullly supportive of the use of natural resources, especailly Geothemal and Tidal, to produce energy. Eventually the fossil fuels will run out and we need to be prepared. Wind tends to be, as Jon mentioned, a lot of effort for not much product. My question to you: Do we have enough land to build enough turbines to effectively produce enough energy? Manual labor from prisoners is a cool idea, but not entierly realistic. Maybe you could create enough energy to power the jail though. ninja One of the greatest things about Wind Turbines is that they are most effective out at sea, so we can harness energy where no one can complain about how ugly they are. I also like nuclear fusion...Using Isotopes. Recently the London Array offshore wind farm got the go ahead Yay! biggrin From Friends of the Earth Press Release: Friends of the Earth has welcomed the decision to grant offshore planning permission to the World's largest windfarm in the Thames Estuary. The London Array windfarm could generate enough electricity to meet the needs of nearly 750,000 homes - or a quarter of the homes in Greater London. The Government also gave the go-ahead to the Thanet windfarm, seven miles from North Foreland on the Kent coast, which will consist of up to 100 turbines. Friends of the Earth's climate campaigner, Martyn Williams, said: "Wind energy has a vital role to play in cutting UK carbon dioxide levels. London Array could generate enough electricity every year to meet the needs of a quarter of London's homes, and cut up to 1.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year. There are lots of clean, safe solutions to the climate change challenge, but we must start investing in them now. "UK carbon dioxide emissions have risen under Labour. The Government must show that it is prepared to take action that will lead to substantial cuts. Schemes like London Array can play a significant part, but we must go further. Ministers should start by ensuring that the recently-announced new climate change law will require successive Government's to make annual cuts in UK emissions." The 1.3bn London Array windfarm, would be sited 20 kilometres offshore in the Greater Thames Estuary. It will consist of 341 turbines and cover 232 square kilometres. It will have a 1,000MW capacity - enough to meet ten per cent of the Government's 2010 renewables target.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 1:39 pm
Whoop! Go wind farm in the Thames Estuary!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Le Aristocrat Vice Captain
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 1:51 pm
donnythephoenix Whoop! Go wind farm in the Thames Estuary! Yeah! blaugh I didn't realise until recently that it's going to be the world's largest offshore wind farm. eek It's good to see examples of the UK playing it's part in tackling climate change.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 1:53 pm
Badgerkin donnythephoenix Whoop! Go wind farm in the Thames Estuary! Yeah! blaugh I didn't realise until recently that it's going to be the world's largest offshore wind farm. eek It's good to see examples of the UK playing it's part in tackling climate change. Really? Wow, that's going to be really good. England will not be so useless after all, yay!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 4:00 pm
donnythephoenix moon_child113 donnythephoenix I think that manual labour would be a great way of spinning turbines. Also hydroelectricity is always good. I think that harnessing natural events for enery is always great. A few examples being Geothermal, Tidal and Wind. People say that wind turbines are too expensive and produce too little, but Glasgow now has/ is building a wind farm with several hundred turbines that will power the whole city. And this is on land! Out to see the potential is huge. Manual labour would rock though! People in prisons could spin turbines! Yay! I'm fullly supportive of the use of natural resources, especailly Geothemal and Tidal, to produce energy. Eventually the fossil fuels will run out and we need to be prepared. Wind tends to be, as Jon mentioned, a lot of effort for not much product. My question to you: Do we have enough land to build enough turbines to effectively produce enough energy? Manual labor from prisoners is a cool idea, but not entierly realistic. Maybe you could create enough energy to power the jail though. ninja One of the greatest things about Wind Turbines is that they are most effective out at sea, so we can harness energy where no one can complain about how ugly they are. I also like nuclear fusion...Using Isotopes. Aye, if only we could make it work.........
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 8:32 pm
Seeing wind farms while driving north of Perth, Australia was truly a dazzling sight!
---
Hamster Wheels you say? Well we once used hamster wheels in prisons as punishment, we could set them up as required work, and generate electricity...
(I dont know the truth of this statement, I just heard it from someone else)
----
Bringing windmills out to sea raises a good point (by the way, seas are generally rough... not good for *flimsy* poles jutting out of some foundation.
Technologies are developing that use the sea itself to create power through the use of waves. underwater currents are extremely powerful... Waves are also powerful. Basically enormous floaties attached to one another get raised and lowered as waves go by. This motion can easily be converted into energy. one of the best parts of this solution is that it is hard to break down since it rides the waves instead of resisting them.
-----
I've always had my own little solution that I've always wanted to explore.
There are thousands of miles of road in the United States, right?
These roads are constantly under direct sunlight, right?
Why not cover these roads in solar panels? No, not glass sheets solar panels but new methods. One of my sister's professors is working on this, whose name escapes me. Basically a patent has been issued for this material that you literally can spray on to a surface and, with minimal wiring, converts the sunlight into energy as conventional solar panels do.
After hearing about that invention this idea came to me ( as I'm sure it has the professor as well)
Some roadblocks I foresee in this are...
-the expansion/ contraction of the road during seasonal climate shifts
-normal wear and tear of roads would probably be increased, because you are basically covering the road in a black sheet. Temperature rising, it would break down.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Le Aristocrat Vice Captain
|
Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 4:04 am
Wet Lettuce Seeing wind farms while driving north of Perth, Australia was truly a dazzling sight! --- Hamster Wheels you say? Well we once used hamster wheels in prisons as punishment, we could set them up as required work, and generate electricity... (I dont know the truth of this statement, I just heard it from someone else) ---- Bringing windmills out to sea raises a good point (by the way, seas are generally rough... not good for *flimsy* poles jutting out of some foundation. Technologies are developing that use the sea itself to create power through the use of waves. underwater currents are extremely powerful... Waves are also powerful. Basically enormous floaties attached to one another get raised and lowered as waves go by. This motion can easily be converted into energy. one of the best parts of this solution is that it is hard to break down since it rides the waves instead of resisting them. ----- I've always had my own little solution that I've always wanted to explore. There are thousands of miles of road in the United States, right? These roads are constantly under direct sunlight, right? Why not cover these roads in solar panels? No, not glass sheets solar panels but new methods. One of my sister's professors is working on this, whose name escapes me. Basically a patent has been issued for this material that you literally can spray on to a surface and, with minimal wiring, converts the sunlight into energy as conventional solar panels do. After hearing about that invention this idea came to me ( as I'm sure it has the professor as well) Some roadblocks I foresee in this are... -the expansion/ contraction of the road during seasonal climate shifts -normal wear and tear of roads would probably be increased, because you are basically covering the road in a black sheet. Temperature rising, it would break down. Wind turbines are far from being "Flimsy poles", seeing as they are great steel structures as thick as a full grown oak. Yes, we are already harnessing the great power of the oceans. There are plans to build two tidal power plants off the coast of Wales. The problem with this is the thread proposed to sea life. Solar gives results, and your idea is fantastic, but as well as the set backs that you have given, my big quabble with solar is the dangerous waste products that it can produce.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 8:34 am
Wet Lettuce Hamster Wheels you say? Well we once used hamster wheels in prisons as punishment, we could set them up as required work, and generate electricity... (I dont know the truth of this statement, I just heard it from someone else) Indeed, you are correct, that's what happened to Oscar Wilde because he was gay. (hah, I watched the Importance of Being Ernest the other night, it's greatXD) Today at the gym (I'm being healthy for once, lord shoot me) I did seven minutes on the rowing machine and managed to produce 58 watts of electricity. Now, think about it, that was just seven minutes and by one person, mulitply that and you could get quite a bit of electricity out of the whole man power thing. I think it could work.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 5:40 pm
Since US prisoners cost, isnt it 22k a year to be kept, wouldn't it make sense that they would help "pay off" that amount?
Then again, I'm absolutely posative if I follow through with this line of thought , someone will put the words "hard work will set you free" into my mouth.
*eep*
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
