edward g asked:


I am researching the current energy and renewable energy issues facing the world. The task is very extensive and complicated. Each region has renewable energy opportunities that can be important to environmental issues, economic development, and social needs for all humans. Government agencies, industry, agriculture, educational and research organizations are focused upon massive research efforts. This seems to provide a way to share information, thoughts and ways to help people to improve our lives by conserving energy, find alternative energy resources and realize that fossil fuels are depleting and non-renewable. Can renewable energy be a way to produce additional energy? Networking can provide valuable information to further the advancement of changing habits about energy. I am a farmer with a background in sustainable energy and educational degrees in agriculture. A sustainable energy for industrial and developing countries can improve the quality of life of all human beings.

Oscar

writergirlad asked:


I’m doing a project for my economics class and I have to explain several different ways in which transitioning to renewable energy and relying less on fossil fuels will effect the economy. So far all I really have is that it will create more jobs. I have to be able to write a 5 page paper on this. Please help, this is due tomorrow!

Madeline

Dennis Meizys asked:


How many times have you heard that the secret to weight loss is diet and exercise together? How many people actually take that advice? Or, do we Americans tend to look for the quick-fix, the fad diet?

Welcome to America’s latest fad-diet: Bio-fuels. The main entree these days seems to be Ethanol, which we are producing in ever increasing quantities each year at the expense of our own food supply, and ironically, the environment itself. This heavily government-subsidized fuel requires a large amount of energy to produce: Its feedstock, corn requires fertilizers derived from hydrocarbons (fuels) to grow, then more fuel to harvest and process, and finally to deliver it to the point of consumption. The most pessimistic estimates of how much fuel is required to produce 1 gallon of ethanol exceed 1 gallon of fossil fuels. That means we are actually losing energy by switching to ethanol, resulting in larger imports of oil and natural gas from our close friends in the Middle East, not to mention the inflationary pressure this puts on food products, especially on our ubiquitous corn staple (refer to The Carnivore’s Dilemma which claims that close to 90% of America’s diet is in some way connected to corn and soy.) So why does this process continue? Think of some of the most powerful lobbies in America: Agriculture and Energy. They benefit tremendously from this situation at our, the taxpayer’s expense.

So how do we find balance? Americans keep on tweaking the supply side of the equation: Produce more fuel! Let’s look at the dieting aspect of this now: If we are still far away from producing bio-fuels or hydrogen economically and ecologically, then let’s try saving some energy instead! To paraphrase Ben Franklin: “A Kilowatt Saved is Truly a Kill-a-Watt Generated!” It is said that more efficient use of our current resources could make America self-sufficient in energy without forcing the alchemists to magically concoct a viable renewable fuel. This is one reason Maryland Green Power Co. scrapped its plans to build a biodiesel production facility in Baltimore last year.

Ouch – that means we have to go on a starvation diet, right? Hopefully not. The goal of my newsletter is to examine techniques for reducing our energy usage and still maintaining a comfortable way of life. My current topic concentrates on air conditioning, which is for most of us the largest summertime energy hog in our homes and offices. Yet, with the heat waves we have been experiencing every summer, who wants to turn up the thermostat by a few degrees? You might not have to.

Hence, our goal is to save money and to save energy without sacrificing comfort, or breaking the bank in the process. With fuel and electricity prices increasing at their current rates, we are being financially squeezed into a recession. However, investments in energy should be viewed as an investment much like stocks and bonds. For instance, if you were presented with a piece of equipment which would save enough in electricity costs to pay for itself in one year, would you consider it a good investment? You should – it’s returning 100% ROI annually, which is hard to find in the stock market. Consider that after it pays for itself, it is generating profit at the rate of 100% annually! The exciting part is that these types of opportunities are plentiful in the green energy industry.

For example, using a company’s existing emergency power generators to shave peak demand surcharges off your energy bill, or contracting with your local energy supplier to be “on-call” on an interruptible electricity plan frequently pays for itself in months, not years! However, most of us do not own emergency generators, nor do we consume enough power for the utility company to be interested in giving us generous monetary incentives to disconnect from the power grid temporarily. We residential and small business customers have to content ourselves with small investments in energy efficiency such as the Enigin ACES unit, which can pay for itself in about a year of operation on an average size central air conditioner.

Specifically, a device such as an Enigin ACES is an intelligent version of what the utility company already wants you to do. Some of us have contracted with BG&E for installation of their air conditioner cut-off switch, which cycles your AC compressor on and off to reduce energy usage during hot days, typically periods of extreme peak power consumption, in order to prevent power shortages which contribute to rolling brown or black-outs. Baltimore Gas & Electric offers a small incentive for this operation, but I removed the device because I felt it decreased the cooling ability of my air conditioner unit and I was uncomfortable. However, MGPC ACES is a microprocessor controlled device, which learns the operational profile of your air conditioner over time, reducing over-cooling of the coils, leaving your air optimally cooled. It’s operation can be compared to a person riding his bike uphill. When the rider reaches the top, it is desirable to coast on the plateau as long as speed is maintained. An air conditioner without this kind of control will keep on pumping out the same power even on the plateau. The ACES Air Conditioner Efficiency System lets your air conditioner’s compressor enjoy its free ride.

In summary, opinions on green energy are separated into two extreme poles: Those who believe government should subsidize any environmental project or technology even if it loses money, and those who, in reaction to the first group, claim that the energy crisis and global warming were thought up by some mysterious group seeking to profit from scare-mongering and we should maintain our status quo. These two groups confuse the rest of us into inaction.

I’m hoping that our new generation of small green-energy companies will be the evangelists who tell you to relax, enjoy the ride, and take a deep breath of CLEAN, fresh air, because you can make a difference without making a sacrifice!



Michael

Max Loodlin asked:


The price of energy is rising at an exponential rate. What can we do about this? Well, we can start by going green. Making your own natural energy is the way to go, and is bound to explode within the next year or so. Here are three reasons why you should go green right now.

1. Green Money

Making your own natural energy is one of the best ways to save money especially now that the economy isn’t doing so hot. Energy bills are rising every month making it harder and harder for millions to get by. By making your own natural power you can save up to 80% on your energy bill every single month. You can even earn money from a renewable energy source if it is producing enough energy. This means that your energy company will be paying you rather than you paying them!

2. Everlasting Environment

Fossil fuels and other finite forms of energy are slowly killing our planet every single day. Renewable energy sources are healthy and just as effective as fossil fuels but do not harm the environment at all. By creating a natural energy source you will be on your way to helping out the environment. As people we need to do our part to protect planet earth and creating a green energy source is one of the best ways to do it!

3. It’s Cheap…For Now

The most important reason why you should go green right now is because this market is bound to explode. This means that in a few months it will be very difficult to find the resources you need for a reasonable price. At this very moment it is possible to find a very reliable guide to making your own energy source for around $50, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this price increases by 10x within the next year. The resources are there and the prices are dirt cheap. Will you go green when the time is ripe, or when the prices begin to soar?

If you would like to learn more about a reliable renewable energy guide then click the link below. Your natural energy source will pay for itself within a month, and you will be saving more money than ever!

http://www.squidoo.com/howtomakenaturalpower



Whitney

James Copper asked:


In the United States, Canada and Australia both commercial and residential consumers can buy green energy from their standard local utility provider of from a provider that specializes in green energy. Many third party suppliers of energy provide green energy electricity that is produced from renewable resources. This energy is delivered to consumers by way of their local electric utility company. The consumer who opts for this green energy course pays a small premium each month on her or his utility bill as the additional cost of the green energy they are getting. The other option is to buy directly from the green energy supplier.

Of course, when a consumer buys the green energy via the local utility company he or she can not know its really green energy in other words, they do not know that they truly got what they paid extra for. It is a matter of trust. The local electric company buys the electricity from the various producers. These can be nuclear, coal, hydroelectric power on a large scale or green energy providers such as solar and wind energy producers.

Must electricity from the local utility company in any country comes from fossil fuels or nuclear power that is not renewable and or pollutes the environment to a high and dangerous level. Green energy is the current provider of a minimal percentage of our worlds electricity. In fact, when utility companies buy green energy for the consumers that request it they generally only buy 25 percent of what they ultimately provide to all.

Consumers who sign up with their local utility provider to pay a premium each month for green energy are not only helping to save their environment but they are also sending a message to the utility companies and the legislature that they are willing to pay extra for healthy air for us all.

There are environmentally conscious, forward thinking countries such as the Netherlands that have committed themselves to matching their consumers purchase of green energy with an equal amount of green energy buy for governmental use. The government of Holland exempts green energy producers and users from its pollution tax. This exemption brings the cost of green energy consumption down considerably.

Several organizations in Europe promote the consumption of green energy, and there are a number of green energy providers, although the high cost of electricity in those countries has kept the use of the less expensive gas and oil the majority provider.

At work now are efforts to distribute cheap renewable electricity in these countries so the average electrical consumer can afford to support the environment and clean air efforts with the use of green energy products. Consumers can install their very own renewable green energy system, based locally.

This may be solar, wind or even water power. Geothermal heat pumps also provide green energy by tapping a few feet into the earths temperature.

Many U.S. states now offer monetary incentives for those who want to use the more costly green energy electricity sources.



Norma

drohilm asked:


We live in a world eager for new resources of energy. But despite the huge progress and development of green energy and renewable resources, we did not yet reach the goal of good fossil fuels replacements.

There are several directions of research for new energy sources, but all of them cannot supply enough energy to make a real change. The real “green” resources are wind, waves, hydro and geothermal power, which are good resources, but certainly not sufficient to supply the demands.

The more promising sources of energy are:

1.Solar energy – which is for now very inefficient and expensive.

2. Hydrogen – which is hard to produce right now.

3. biofuels – that can compromise our food supply.

The question is – what is the most promising? – in what resource we should invest?

Before we all start to walk in the solar power road, we first must understand that for now, biofuels are the real solar power supply.

why is that? well, our solar harvesting devices are very insufficient comparing to engines using fossil fuels. but from where these fuels came from? well, these fuels come from ancient plants and animals that were much more efficient in term of harvesting the sun’s energy. I am talking about photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis is one of the most efficient processes on earth, maybe the most competent. Cyanobacteria, algae and plants can use almost 100% of the sun’s energy to produce chemical energy. nearly hundred percents of the light captured buy the photosynthesis apparatus, is transformed to electric currents and then to chmical energy stored in sugars and fats. these sugars and fats turn to be our fuels millions of years later.

But today’s plats and algae can still produce this solar energy as good as they did millions of years ago, and we use this energy in our foods to maintain our lives. Agriculture was the driving force that first let humans to control this enormous energy supply, and probably was the main trigger for the development of the human society.

In order the satisfy the ever growing demand for energy in the modern and post-modern society, we must increase a little beat our agricultural skills. Why we need to re-invent new ways to harvest the sun’s fruit, when evolution already sis it for us, and created an amazing machinery in plants?

The real goal of the people who seek for new energy sources should be dramatically increasing the yield of the agricultural production, in order to be able to use plants sugars and fats to produce ethanol, biodiesel and other bio-fuels to use in the modern industry and transportation.

Let change our investments from traditional engineering approaches to bio-engineering, guiding our research toward more proficient production of biodiesel and ethanol, the easily accessible solar power.



Gabrielle