Emma+T

V. Energy Resources and Consumption
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Pros & Cons of Renewable Energy Resources (from the Prezi)

 * Solar energy/electricity **
 * Pros || Cons ||
 * * Cost effective to install
 * Efficient
 * Free source of electricity
 * Less dependence on fossil fuels
 * No pollution || * Initial cost of solar cells is very high
 * Only generate electricity during daytime
 * Weather can affect the efficiency
 * Outdoor pollution can affect the cells ||

> Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles can get up to 480 miles on one tank
 * Hydrogen fuel cells **
 * Pros || Cons ||
 * * Hydrogen fuel cells only emit water vapor, no CO2 emissions-Hydrogen can be refueled quickly just like gasoline
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">It is the most abundant element on the planet
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Hydrogen is twice as efficient as gasoline, so even though it costs $6.98 per kg, its the equivalent to $3.49 per gallon of gasoline || * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">There is no hydrogen infrastructure, not enough refueling stations
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The vehicles are only available for lease through Honda, but not purchase through anyone just yet
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Electrolysis is the least efficient way of obtaining hydrogen
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Even though it’s the most abundant element, its always attached to something, exampleH2O. ||


 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Biomass **
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Pros || <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Cons ||
 * * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">It is an inexhaustible and renewable energy source. The products obtained are biogas and biofuel. Heat and electricity are generated during biomass energy production.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">There is plethora of organic waste and agricultural waste generated everyday. Biomass is produced from these wastes, which makes biomass an easily available resource.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">It helps in solid waste management by keeping us pollution free. Incineration of biological wastes everyday cuts down the levels of expulsion of carbon into the atmosphere. Thus, it maintains an ecological balance of carbon present in the environment.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Biomass briquettes are the substances, which produce electricity. The electricity generated by the briquettes is much cleaner than that obtained from fossil fuels.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">One of the most important advantages of biomass energy is that it is cost-effective. || * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Some of the gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are emitted into the atmosphere during biomass production, which may damage the ozone layer.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The process of extraction of biomass is very expensive.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The accumulation, harvesting, and storage of raw biomass materials are quite expensive compared to that of fossil fuels.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The set up of a biomass power plant requires huge space and the recycling of wastes requires a large amount of water.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Another biomass energy disadvantage is that the ethanol produced during the process, may increase the levels of nitrogen oxide in the atmosphere.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Although, biomass can produce 10 times more energy than the sun or wind, it is also known to release the highest levels of gases that contribute to global warming. ||


 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Wind **
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Pros || <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Cons ||
 * * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Sustainable
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Non-polluting
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Energy source is perpetual
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Low maintenance cost
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Well proven technology || * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Unreliable, and its strength depends on local weather patterns, temperature, time of year and location.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Equipment is very expensive compared to other energy sources.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Initial expense is high
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Can have a negative impact on aesthetics
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Lack of highly specialized maintenance personal ||


 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Hydroelectric **
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Pros || <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Cons ||
 * * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Sustainable
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Non-polluting
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Flood control
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Reservoirs are created by damming
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Recreational opportunities
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Low energy costs after initial start up || * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Changes to natural river flows
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Degraded water quality
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Blocks seasonal fish migration
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Impacts on fisheries
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Ecosystem damage
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Flooding large areas of land ||


 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Ocean **
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Pros || <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Cons ||
 * * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Non-polluting
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Sustainable
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Tides are very reliable
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Cost of technology likely to fall || * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Relentlessly harsh environment
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Not proven on a commercial scale
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Environmental and marine safety issues
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Technology is currently expensive and in its infancy
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Limited geographical ||


 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Waves **
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Pros || <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Cons ||
 * * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Non-polluting
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Sustainable
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Is constant
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Cost of technology likely to fall || * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Not proven on a commercial scale
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Installation would damage the sea-bed
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">locally Environmental and marine safety issues
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Technology is currently expensive and in its infancy
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Limited geographically ||


 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Geothermal **
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Pros || <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Cons ||
 * * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Sustainable
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Non-polluting if performed correctly
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Energy can be produced continuously day and night with minimal downtime
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Energy produced is practically free, after initial start up costs
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Power stations are relatively small, and have a lesser impact on the environment than tidal or hydroelectric plants. || * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Geothermal reservoirs are limited
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Need to recharge the reservoir with water that previously escaped as steam
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Potential contamination of groundwater
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) and hydrogen sulfide can be released by geothermal plants
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Many geothermal reservoirs are located in sensitive and pristine wilderness areas ||

Helpful Videos
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**<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Nuclear Reactor ** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">[]

**<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Hydroelectric Power ** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">[]

**<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Nuclear Fission ** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">[]

**<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Area Strip Mining Coal ** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">[]

**<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Fuel Cell Vehicle ** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">[]

**<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Solar Heating System ** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">[]

**<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Photovoltaic Cells ** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">http://uccpbank.k12hsn.org/courses/APEnvironmentalScience/course%20files/multimedia/lesson67/animations/4e_Photovoltaic_Cells.html

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media type="custom" key="12318588"Projects


 * Elwha Dam Removal**
 * Olympic National Park, Washington State**

Built in the early 1900s, two dams along the Elwha River were constructed, the Elwha Dam and the Glines Canyon Dam, as well as another along the White Salmon River – about two hours south of the Elwha River. Created in order to provide hydropower to a local paper mill near by, the dam soon became useless as they found other sources of power. Both of these rivers have cause severe changes in the ecosystem around them. Both rivers, before being dammed, were full of salmon that thrived in the waters in Washington. However, once the flow of the river was inhibited, the salmon were not able to travel upstream due to the complete lack of salmon ladders, and those other organisms that were dependent upon them also suffered. Nutrients and food, such as the steelhead, Chinook, coho, sockeye, and pink salmon were lost to those both organisms and humans that lived down stream. Before any deconstruction occurred, in January of 1992 the Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act was passed in order to improve the wellbeing of the stream. While this bill to be able to remove the dams was passed by congress twenty years ago, there has been a struggle to be able to find the resources and the finances to be able to get it to come to fruition – the $185 million that it requires. The first part of the dam removal began in September of 2011 with the destruction of the Elwha River. Small parts of the dam are to be removed from each dam, a process that could take up to three years. If you begin to remove the dams too quickly, the surrounding area could be endangered due to the increased silt downstream. There would be a flood of almost 24 million cubic yards of sediment that has built up over almost ninety years. After the dams are completely removed from the rivers, it will take almost thirty years before the river is able to reestablish itself to the flow in which it was at before being dammed. Therefore, the number of salmon that are currently living in the river now will increase drastically from a mere 3,000 to almost 300,000 fish. Bob Irvin, the president of American Rivers referred to the idea,"Twenty-five years ago, the idea of removing this dam or any dam was really seen as a crazy idea by a bunch of wild-eyed environmental extremists. Now it is a mainstream idea, because people recognize the benefits of restoring healthy rivers—benefits not only to the environment, but to communities."

Overall, many of the supporters of the dam removal are thoroughly in tune with the idea that this project will go onto spur more projects throughout the country. More researchers, as they see the negative effects that have resulted from the dammed river and are doing everything they can to replenish the river such that it is back to the state it was in before the dam. A large-scale, long-term biotic survey and inventory of the Elwha River Valley has been initiated focusing on microorganisms, lichens, mosses, liverworts, fungi, insects, and spiders—taxa that are least known and most vulnerable to change when the dams are removed—that inhabit the riparian habitat above, between, and below the two dams. Plants flowers are being planted up and down the bank of the river in order to increase the organisms that are living there.



http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwspacific/6421464967/ http://www.nps.gov/olym/naturescience/dam-removal-blog.htm http://www.nps.gov/olym/naturescience/elwha-ecosystem-restoration.htm http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/09/110923-elwha-dam-removal/ []