Ending of fuels and lack of energy

Over the past 100 years many new electrical appliances such as dishwashers, microwaves, and air conditioners have been invented. Because of these inventions, we are using more energy than ever before. It is predicted that the fossil fuels we currently use for sources of energy will be used up within 50-200 years. When this happens, cities all over the world will need alternative sources of energy. Fortunately there are several renewable energy sources being developed and used all over the world.

It is the year 2080, and Electric City is in the midst of an energy crisis. Recent power outages have left outraged citizens without the use of computers, home entertainment centers, light, and cordless phones. Outages are blamed on the lack of fuel to run the Electric City Power Plant, which generates all electricity for the city. Up until now, coal has been the city’s only source of energy. It has always been cheap and easily accessible, but supplies are dwindling quickly.

Wind energy in USA

Wind is the world’s fastest growing alternative energy resource. In the United States wind turbines in twenty seven states create enough power for more than one million families. The Altamont Pass in northern California is home to the country’s oldest wind farm which is also the world’s largest inland installation with seven thousand turbines.

Cape Town wind energy

Several years ago, Cape Wind proposed America’s first offshore wind farm on Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound. Miles from the nearest shore, one hundred and thirty wind turbines that will reach a height of two hundred and sixty three feet would produce up to four hundred and twenty megawatts of clean, renewable energy. In average winds, Cape Wind will provide three quarters of the Cape and Islands electricity needs. The wind turbines will be spaced six to nine football fields apart, allowing navigational room for shallow draft boats that pass through or fish Horseshoe Shoal. The turbines would be located in 24 square miles of Nantucket Sound. General Electric wind generators designed for offshore use would be utilized. The site was chosen because it was highly favorable for wind development (maybe the best in the East Coast). The area has strong steady winds and is close to onshore power lines while being protected from high waves. The completion for permitting is scheduled in 2008 and the project completion timeline is 2010.

In a legal sense everything three nautical miles out are under the management of the State Of Massachusetts. Beyond three miles, where the project is proposed, is managed by the Federal Government. However, to the residents of the Cape and the Islands, the project is seen as being built in their back yard.

In fact, opposition to the project has been extensive and public opinion polls on Cape Cod have consistently shown the population evenly divided on Cape Wind. There are several reasons for the extent of the opposition to the project. The tourist trade on the Cape accounts for about nineteen thousand jobs and if the sight of the wind turbines hurts tourism on the Cape, jobs would be lost and the economy and property values would become depressed. While the initial environmental draft study said damage to wildlife in the area would not be significant, many people remain concerned about the effect of wind turbines on the marine environment of the area. Concern for birds flying into the turbines is also an issue. Some would argue that the solution is not wind power, but other alternatives like hydrogen and those solutions to energy problems will be found in solar power or fuel cells, not in wind power.

If you are an environmentalist and you live on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket, the proposed offshore wind farm presents a real dilemma for you. The project would provide clean energy but would invade a pristine, natural ocean area. It could be viewed as a way to reduce air pollution or a problem for marine and avian species. It can be viewed as a way to replace our dependency on foreign oil or another government financed equivalent to the Big Dig. It can be viewed as a progressive solution to problems in our environment or a way for greedy developers to spoil the Cape Cod area further.

The project of wind turbines on Nantucket Sound is unique in that it’s an argument of environmentalist against environmentalist. There is no pure “green” solution to the issue. You can see wind turbines as a progressive solution to the energy issues of our generation. However, wind turbines can also be seen an ugly invasion by man into an ocean where he does not belong with the potential to create havoc (in ways we do not yet understand) to marine and avian species.

These are the complex economic and environmental issues for the residents of Cape Cod and the Islands to consider concerning the Cape Wind proposal of America’s first offshore wind farm on Nantucket Sound.

Perhaps one of the most effective ways through which young people can learn about alternative energies would be to use PicoTurbine kits, books or even projects. This company, called PicoTurbine, is the main promoter of alternative energies, a company that has created awareness throughout the whole world of the numerous benefits of the large scale usage of such energies. The environment needs to be protected and alternative energies definitely take into account this aspect. Therefore, if humanity wants to benefit from the environment in the future, then active steps of protection need to be enforced.

PicoTurbine devices work on several concepts; for instance, they actively incorporate the knowledge on alternative energies and make sure people are remembered once in a while, of this approach. The company receives a lot of feedback from customers, thus modifying its solutions to traditional energies in a way young people seem to find fit. Therefore, young people get to put their hands directly on real life situation and be able to make a change. A suggestion the company has received was to conduct experiments on wind energy production, by using the common known picture wire necessary for the heating elements. PicoTurbines has also noted that when people think about wind energy, they generally conjure up the image of cold energy and therefore, are surprised to see in reality the benefits of this technology. A suggestion for the projects was to give the opportunity to young people to engage into group based projects and thus, conduct their own discoveries and pose their own questions to lead them to the creation of their own, virtual energy plant, capable of producing real time energy. The groups will then be able to see whether the experiments were efficient and which one of them was able to produce the biggest amount of electricity or the smallest amount of electricity. They could be then able to modify the projects once again and come up with revised versions of what they are working on.

PicoTurbine has even been implemented in school curricula; teachers are now starting to instill in the senses for their pupils the appreciation for the environment and the awareness for alternative energies. Children are being taught that alternative means solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric or biomass energies that can produce considerable quantities of electricity under given conditions .when combining alternative energies we are decreasing the dependence that countries have our traditional energy derived from fossil fuel. Foreign oil supplies are getting more expensive by the day, therefore it would be much less costly to produce the nation’s own importer and if possible, then become the importer of energy. Judging from long terms effects, alternative energies are certainly less expensive that fossil fuel energies.

The company has also encouraged the sales of wind farms as well as solar arrays; these products are penetrating the market at growing rates and they are already becoming best sellers. To give you one example of how time has helped reduce the total cost for certain things, tale photo voltaic cells. Twenty years ago, they were evaluated at one thousand dollars per cell; now, each one of those cells costs only four dollars. Therefore, economists and specialists in alternative energies have denoted that it is possible to have the kilowatt being sold at one dollar, in 2015. thus, one needs to imagine the extraordinary impact that alternative energies would have on the entire world. Fossil fuels are starting to use their popularity, mainly because they damage to a large extent the environment and the air we are breathing. Thus, many cases of asthma attacks and pneumonias have been reported recently and the risks of developing allergies is extremely elevated. Such long term effects can even lead to cancer, therefore, it is advisable to switch to the alternative because this would mean no pollution, more protection to the environment and less money spent on energy costs.