The Energy Crisis and Lyophilization

48
The Energy Crisis and Lyophilization By Thomas A. Jennings, Ph.D. It was just a few months ago (August, 200 0 - see INSIGHT Vol. 3 No. 8) that I addressed the question of the impact that a shortage of electrical energy may have on the field of lyophilization. My major concern was directed to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries because it is here that the impact would have its greatest effect on the health and welfare on people throughout the world. It seemed illogical to me to write another INSIGHT related to this topic after such a short time bu t the recent energy crisis that affected the entire state of California has driven me to once again address this issue of the relationship between a shortage in electrical power and the lyophilization process. I feel very strongly that the events of last summer in the state of Washington and that which h as happened recently in California will serve as a warning flag that an energy crises is upon us and we simply can no longer ignore it or say it won’t happen here. I would like to use this INSIGHT to make the reader aware as to some o f the major causes for such a crises and po ssible solutions to the problem. While I will mainly address problems facing the United States, these global effects and other industrial nations may soon find themselves in the very same position sometime in the future. Volume 4 No. 2 February 2001 About Local Energy Solutions..... We are a group of concerned private citizens who have followed the issue of Peak Oil over the last 2 years. The response of our political leaders to looming energy crises has been nothing short or negligent. They continue to promote an unsustainable life style failing to take on the task of educating and informing people of the repercussions of an energy shortage. As patriotic loyal concerned American Citizens we have undertaken this effort to inform the public about the situation and present possible solutions that will alleviate the stress people will find themselves under in the coming years. American's have pulled together before and worked in a cooperative effort during World War II This insured our success in that tumultuous time. We believe with the same perseverance and determination they can successfully navigate the challenges of a situation similar in scope .

Transcript of The Energy Crisis and Lyophilization

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The Energy Crisis and Lyophilization

By

Thomas A. Jennings, Ph.D.

It was just a few months ago (August, 2000 - see INSIGHT Vol. 3 No. 8) that I addressedthe question of the impact that a shortage of electrical energy may have on the field of lyophilization. My major concern was directed to the biotechnology and pharmaceuticalindustries because it is here that the impact would have its greatest effect on the healthand welfare on people throughout the world. It seemed illogical to me to write another INSIGHT related to this topic after such a short time but the recent energy crisis thataffected the entire state of California has driven me to once again address this issue of therelationship between a shortage in electrical power and the lyophilization process. I feelvery strongly that the events of last summer in the state of Washington and that which hashappened recently in California will serve as a warning flag that an energy crises is upon

us and we simply can no longer ignore it or say it won’t happen here.

I would like to use this INSIGHT to make the reader aware as to some of the major causes for such a crises and possible solutions to the problem. While I will mainlyaddress problems facing the United States, these global effects and other industrialnations may soon find themselves in the very same position sometime in the future.

Volume 4 No. 2 February 2001

About Local Energy Solutions.....

We are a group of concerned private citizens who have followed the issueof Peak Oil over the last 2 years. The response of our political leaders tolooming energy crises has been nothing short or negligent. They continueto promote an unsustainable life style failing to take on the task of educating and informing people of the repercussions of an energyshortage. As patriotic loyal concerned American Citizens we haveundertaken this effort to inform the public about the situation and presentpossible solutions that will alleviate the stress people will find themselvesunder in the coming years. American's have pulled together before and

worked in a cooperative effort during World War II This insured our success in that tumultuous time. We believe with the same perseveranceand determination they can successfully navigate the challenges of asituation similar in scope .

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Sources from which energy can be obtained to provide heat, light, and power. Sources of energy have evolved from human and animal power to fossil fuels, uranium, water  power, wind, and the Sun.

The principal fossil fuels are coal, lignite, peat, petroleum, and natural gas; other 

 potential sources of fossil fuels include oil shale and tar sands. As fossil fuels becomedepleted, nonfuel sources and fission and fusion sources will become of greater importance since they are renewable. Nuclear power is based on the fission of uranium,thorium, and plutonium, and the fusion power is based on the forcing together of thenuclei of two light atoms such as deuterium, tritium, or helium-3. See also Coal; Naturalgas; Nuclear power ; Oil sand; Oil shale; Petroleum.

 Nonfuel sources of energy include wastes, water, wind, geothermal deposits, biomass,and solar heat. See also Biomass; Geothermal power ; Solar energy; Wind power .

Fuels which do not exist in nature are known as synthetic fuels. They are synthesized or 

manufactured from varieties of fossil fuels which cannot be used conveniently in their original forms. Substitute natural gas is manufactured from coal, peat, or oil shale. Synthetic liquid fuels can be produced from coal, oil shale, or tar sands. Both gaseous andliquid fuels can be synthesized from renewable resources, collectively called biomass.These carbon sources are trees, grasses, algae, plants, and organic waste. Production of synthetic fuels, particularly from renewable resources, increases the scope of availableenergy sources.

Energy management includes not only the procurement of fuels on the most economical basis, but the conservation of energy by every conceivable means. Whether this is done by squeezing out every Btu through heat exchangers, or by room-temperature processes

instead of high-temperature processes, or by greater insulation to retain heat which has been generated, each has a role to play in requiring less energy to produce the sameamount of goods and materials.

sources of energy,origins of the power used for transportation, for heat and light in dwelling and workingareas, and for the manufacture of goods of all kinds, among other applications. The

development of science and civilization is closely linked to the availability of energy inuseful forms. Modern society consumes vast amounts of energy in all forms: light, heat,electrical, mechanical, chemical, and nuclear. The rate at which energy is produced or consumed is called power , although this term is sometimes used in common speechsynonymously with energy. 

Types of Energy

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Chemical and Mechanical Energy

An early source of energy, or prime mover, used by humans was animal power, i.e., theenergy obtained from domesticated animals. Later, as civilization developed, wind power was harnessed to drive ships and turn windmills, and streams and rivers were diverted to

turn water wheels (see water power ). The rotating shaft of a windmill or water wheelcould then be used to crush grain, to raise water from a well, or to serve any number of other uses. The motion of the wind and water, as well as the motion of the wheel or shaft,represents a form of mechanical energy. The source of animal power is ultimately thechemical energy contained in foods and released when digested by humans and animals.The chemical energy contained in wood and other combustible fuels has served since the beginning of history as a source of heat for cooking and warmth. At the start of theIndustrial Revolution, water power was used to provide energy for factories throughsystems of belts and pulleys that transmitted the energy to many different machines.

Heat Energy

The invention of the steam engine, which converts the chemical energy of fuels into heatenergy and the heat into mechanical energy, provided another source of energy. Thesteam engine is called an external-combustion engine, since fuel is burned outside theengine to create the steam used inside it. During the 19th cent. the internal-combustionengine was developed; a variety of fuels, depending on the type of internal-combustionengine, are burned directly in the engine's chambers to provide a source of mechanicalenergy. Both steam engines and internal-combustion engines found application asstationary sources of power for different purposes and as mobile sources for transportation, as in the steamship, the railroad locomotive (both steam and diesel), andthe automobile. All these sources of energy ultimately depend on the combustion of fuels

for their operation.

Electrical Energy

Early in the 19th cent. another source of energy was developed that did not necessarilyneed the combustion of fuels—the electric generator , or dynamo. The generator convertsthe mechanical energy of a conductor moving in a magnetic field into electrical energy,using the principle of electromagnetic induction. The great advantage of electricalenergy, or electric power, as it is commonly called, is that it can be transmitted easilyover great distances (see  power, electric). As a result, it is the most widely used form of energy in modern civilization; it is readily converted to light, to heat, or, through theelectric motor , to mechanical energy again. The large-scale production of electricalenergy was made possible by the invention of the turbine, which efficiently converts thestraight-line motion of falling water or expanding steam into the rotary motion needed toturn the rotor of a large generator.

Nuclear Energy

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The development of nuclear energy made available another source of energy. The heat of a nuclear reactor can be used to produce steam, which then can be directed through aturbine to drive an electric generator, the propellers of a large ship, or some other machine. In 1999, 23% of the electricity generated in the United States derived fromnuclear reactors; however, since the 1980s, the construction and application of nuclear 

reactors in the United States has slowed because of concern about the dangers of theresulting radioactive waste and the possibility of a disastrous nuclear meltdown (seeThree Mile Island; Chernobyl).

Environmental Considerations

The demand for energy has increased steadily, not only because of the growing population but also because of the greater number of technological goods available andthe increased affluence that has brought these goods within the reach of a larger  proportion of the population. For example, despite the introduction of more fuel-efficientmotor vehicles (average miles per gallon increased by 34% between 1975 and 1990), the

consumption of fuel by vehicles in America increased by 20% between 1975 and 1990.The rise in gasoline consumption is attributable to an increase in the number of miles theaverage vehicle traveled and to a 40% increase in the same period in the number of vehicles on the road. Since 1990 average fuel efficiency has changed relatively little,while the number of vehicles, the number of miles they travel, and the total amount of fuel consumed has continued to increase.

As a result of the increase in the consumption of energy, concern has risen about thedepletion of natural resources, both those used directly to produce energy and thosedamaged during the exploitation of the fuels or as a result of contamination by energywaste products (see under conservation of natural resources). Most of the energy

consumed is ultimately generated by the combustion of fossil fuels, such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas, and the world has only a finite supply of these fuels, whichare in danger of being used up. Also, the combustion of these fuels releases various pollutants (see pollution), such as carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide, which pose healthrisks and may contribute to acid rain and global warming. In addition, environmentalistshave become increasingly alarmed at the widespread destruction imposed on sensitivewildlands (e.g., the tropical rain forests, the arctic tundra, and coastal marshes) during theexploitation of their resources.

The Search for New Sources of Energy

The environmental consequences of energy production have led many nations in theworld to impose stricter guidelines on the production and consumption of energy.Further, the search for new sources of energy and more efficient means of employingenergy has accelerated. The development of a viable nuclear fusion reactor is often citedas a possible solution to our energy problems. Presently, nuclear-energy plants usenuclear fission, which requires scarce and expensive fuels and produces potentiallydangerous wastes. The fuel problem has been partly helped by the development of  breeder reactors, which produce more nuclear fuel than they consume, but the long-term

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hopes for nuclear energy rest on the development of controlled sources using nuclear fusion rather than fission. The basic fuels for fusion are extremely plentiful (e.g.,hydrogen, from water) and the end products are relatively safe. The basic problem, whichis expected to take decades to solve, is in containing the fuels at the extremely hightemperatures necessary to initiate and sustain nuclear fusion.

Another source of energy is solar energy. The earth receives huge amounts of energyevery day from the sun, but the problem has been harnessing this energy so that it isavailable at the appropriate time and in the appropriate form. For example, solar energy isreceived only during the daylight hours, but more heat and electricity for lighting areneeded at night. Despite technological advances in photovoltaic cells, solar energy hasnot become a more significantly more financially competitive source of energy. Althoughseveral solar thermal power plants are now in operation in California, they are not yetable to compete with conventional power plants on an economic basis.

Some scientists have suggested using the earth's internal heat as a source of energy.

Geothermal energy is released naturally in geysers and volcanoes. In California, some of the state's electricity is generated by the geothermal plant complex known as the Geysers,which has been in production since 1960, and in Iceland, which is geologically veryactive, roughly 90% of the homes are heated by geothermal energy. Still another possibleenergy source is tidal energy. A few systems have been set up to harness the energyreleased in the twice-daily ebb and flow of the ocean's tides, but they have not beenwidely used, because they cannot operate turbines continuously and because they must be built specifically for each site.

Another direction of research and experimentation is in the search for alternatives togasoline. Possibilities include methanol, which can be produced from wood, coal, or 

natural gas; ethanol, an alcohol produced from grain, sugarcane, and other agriculture plants and currently used in some types of U.S. motor fuel (e.g., gasohol and E85, amixture of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline); compressed natural gas, which is much less polluting than gasoline and is currently used by a 1.5 million vehicles around the world;and electricity, which if ever practicable would be cheaper and less polluting, especiallyif derived from solar energy, rather than gasoline.

Bibliography

See G. R. Harrison, The Conquest of Energy (1968); F. Barnaby, Man and the Atom: TheUses of Nuclear Energy (1971); W. G. Steltz and A. M. Donaldson,  Aero-

Thermodynamics of Steam Turbines (1981); T. N. Veziroglu, ed., Alternative Sources of 

 Energy (1983 and 1985) and Renewable Energy Sources (Vol. 4, 1984); G. L. Johnson,Wind Energy Systems (1985).

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Essay: Alternative energy sources

Most scientists believe that Earth's atmosphere is warming as a result of the greenhouseeffect induced by carbon dioxide from fossil fuel power stations and cars as well as other atmospheric gases. The major alternatives to fossil fuels now in use are waterpower andnuclear power. Waterpower, since the introduction of efficient turbines during the lastcentury, is still the most important energy source that does not use fossil fuels. Althoughwaterpower contributes little to global warming, its main environmental problem has been interference with the natural ecology of rivers (for instance, salmon spawning). Nuclear power, only slightly behind waterpower in terms of total energy production,creates problems with waste disposal and raises the possibility of extensive radioactivecontamination if disaster occurs at a plant. Researchers and engineers have been lookingat alternative energy sources that do not tax the environment or deplete natural fuel

reserves. Between 1986 and 2000 the use of alternative energy sources, such as wind,solar, and renewable biofuels, has increased from 370,000,000,000,000 Btus to2,990,000,000,000,000 Btus, but it still is not quite 1 percent of all energy.

Wind power, one of the oldest energy sources, has undergone a strong revival since the1980s. In the Netherlands the sleek rotating blades of modern wind turbines are now asmuch a mark of the landscape as the traditional windmills. The largest wind turbines cangenerate more than 2 megawatts of power. More commonly, smaller wind turbines producing about 50 to 100 kilowatts each are grouped in so-called wind farms. Windsupplies a much smaller fraction of electrical energy than nuclear or  hydroelectric power .All the wind power generated in 2001 around the world was about the equivalent of ten

ordinary nuclear power plants.

Solar energy also supplies a small fraction of the world's total energy demand. There aretwo main ways to collect solar energy. The most common solar method since the 1970shas been to let the Sun heat water in tubes mounted in special panels on roofs. During thewinter water from these solar collectors heats the building and supplies hot water. Insome versions, daytime heat is stored in a large insulated tank of water from which it isrecovered at night.

The other solar energy method, the use of  photovoltaic cells, converts solar energydirectly into electricity. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, scientists developed

experimental solar cells that convert more than 35 percent of sunlight falling on them intoelectricity, but practical solar cells available to consumers range from 8 percent to 20 percent efficiency. Solar cells are still too expensive for large solar power stations, butthey are now used to supply energy to devices at remote sites. Tax breaks have also madesolar cells practical for home use, where the solar cells are on the roof. Home solar systems usually have backup from a conventional power grid and may also sell power tothe grid when production of energy exceeds use.

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Another alternative source that has increased in usage since the 1970s has beengeothermal power , which is already cost effective, although the initial capital investmentmay be high. Geothermal power taps the interior heat of Earth to produce steam or expand compounds such as ammonia (which does not require as high a temperature assteam does). The expanded gases drive turbines to generate power without pollution. By

2000 geothermal power in the United States was already replacing the energy that wouldrequire 60,000,000 barrels of oil to produce.

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Wikipedia: energy development

It has been suggested that future energy development be merged into this articleor section. (Discuss)

Energy development is the ongoing effort to provide sustainable energy resourcesthrough knowledge, skills, and constructions. When harnessing energy from  primaryenergy sources and converting them into more convenient secondary energy forms, suchas electrical energy and cleaner  fuel, both emissions (reducing pollution) and quality(more efficient use) are important.

Environmental technology

• Air pollution control

• Air pollution dispersion modeling• Alternative energy

• Biofuel

• Composting

• Conservation biology

• Conservation ethic

• Ecoforestry

• Energy conservation

• Energy development 

• Environmental design

• Environmental impact assessment

• Environmental preservation

• Green building

• Hydrogen technologies

• Industrial wastewater treatment

•  Natural building

• Recycling

• Renewable energy

• Renewable energy development

• Remediation

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• Solid waste treatment

• Sustainable architecture

• Sustainable energy

• Sustainable development

• Waste water treatment

• Water purification

• Waste management

Environmental science

Dependence on external energy sources

Technologically advanced societies have become increasingly dependent on externalenergy sources for transportation, the production of many manufactured goods, and thedelivery of energy services. This energy allows people, in general, to live under otherwiseunfavorable climatic conditions through the use of heating, ventilation, and/or air 

conditioning. Level of use of external energy sources differs across societies, as do theclimate, convenience, traffic congestion,  pollution, production, and greenhouse gas emissions of each society.

Increased levels of human comfort generally induce increased dependence on externalenergy sources, although the application of  energy efficiency and conservation approaches allows a certain degree of mitigation of the dependence. Wise energy usetherefore embodies the idea of balancing human comfort with reasonable energyconsumption levels by researching and implementing effective and sustainable energyharvesting and utilization measures.

Limitations to energy development 

A key limit to the development of any particular energy source is availability of theunderlying resource. Most of the world's main energy sources are based on theconsumption of non-renewable resources ( petroleum, coal, natural gas, and uranium).While still a small segment of the energy supply, renewable sources such as wind power  and solar power are growing rapidly in market share.

Closely linked to energy development are concerns about the possible environmental 

effects of energy use, such as climate changes. Energy development issues are part of themuch debated sustainable development  problem.

Primary energy sources

Primary energy sources are substances or processes with concentrations of energy at ahigh enough potential to be feasibly encouraged to convert to lower energy forms under human control for human benefit. Except for nuclear fuels, tidal energy and geothermal

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energy, all terrestrial energy sources are from current solar insolation or from fossilremains of plant and animal life that relied directly and indirectly upon sunlight,respectively. And ultimately, solar energy itself is the result of the Sun's nuclear fusion.Geothermal power from hot, hardened rock above the magma of the earth's core is theresult of the accumulation of radioactive materials during the formation of Earth which

was the byproduct of a previous supernova event.

Fossil fuels Main article: Fossil fuel 

Fossil fuels, in terms of energy, involve the burning of coal or hydrocarbon fuels, whichare the remains of the decomposition of plants and animals. Steam power plantcombustion heats water to create steam, which turns a turbine, which, in turn, generateselectricity, waste heat, and  pollution. There are three main types of fossil fuels: coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Another fossil fuel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), is principally derived from the production of natural gas.

Pros

• Because it is based on the simple process of combustion, the burning of fossil

fuels can generate large amounts of electricity with a small amount of fuel. Gas-fired power plants are more efficient than coal fired power plants. [citation needed ] 

• Fossil fuels such as coal are readily available and are currently plentiful.

Excluding external costs, coal is less expensive than most other sources of energy because there are large deposits of coal in the world.[citation needed ] 

• The technology already exists for the use of fossil fuels, though oil and natural

gas are approaching peak production and will require a transition to other fuelsand/or other measures.

• Commonly used fossil fuels in liquid form such as light crude oil, gasoline, andLPG are easy to distribute.

• LPG can be transported, stored and used virtually anywhere. It does not require a

fixed network and will not deteriorate over time. As a result, it is particularlyuseful in regions which are not connected to fixed energy networks.[citation needed ] 

• LPG is clean burning and has lower greenhouse gas emissions than any other 

fossil fuel when measured on a total fuel cycle.[citation needed ] In fact, by 2010, all buses and taxis in the Southern Chinese city of Guangzhou will be LP Gas fueled.The city will host the 2010 Asian games and has taken the step in a bid to reduceair pollution in advance of the games.[1] LPG is also non-toxic and will notcontaminate soil or aquifers in the event of a leak.[citation needed ] 

• LPG can be accessible to everyone everywhere today without major infrastructureinvestment.[citation needed ] There are enough reserves to last many decades.[citation needed ] 

• LPG can be up to 5 times more efficient than traditional fuels, resulting in less

energy wastage and better use of our planet’s resources. [citation needed ] 

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Cons

• The combustion of fossil fuels leads to the release of  pollution into the

atmosphere. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, a typical coal plant produces in one year:[2] 

o 3,700,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary human cause of 

global warming.o 10,000 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2), the leading cause of acid rain.

o 500 tons of small airborne particles, which result in chronic bronchitis,

aggravated asthma, and premature death, in addition to haze-obstructedvisibility.

o 10,200 tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx), leading to formation of ozone

(smog) which inflames the lungs, burning lung tissue making people moresusceptible to respiratory illness.

o 720 tons of carbon monoxide (CO), resulting in headaches and additional

stress on people with heart disease.o 220 tons of hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds (VOC), which form

ozone.o 170 pounds of mercury, where just 1/70th of a teaspoon deposited on a 25-

acre lake can make the fish unsafe to eat.o 225 pounds of arsenic, which will cause cancer in one out of 100 people

who drink water containing 50 parts per billion.o 114 pounds of lead, 4 pounds of cadmium, other toxic heavy metals, and

trace amounts of uranium.• Dependence on fossil fuels from volatile regions or countries creates energy

security risks for dependent countries. Oil dependence in particular has led tomonopolization, war, and socio-political instability.

• They are considered non-renewable resources, which will eventually decline in

 production and become exhausted, with dire consequences to societies that remainhighly dependent on them. Fossil fuels are actually slowly forming continuously, but we are using them up at a rate approximately 100,000 times faster than theyare formed.

The Moss Landing Power Plant burns natural gas to produce electricity in California.• Extracting fossil fuels is becoming more difficult as we consume the most

accessible fuel deposits. Extraction of fossil fuels is becoming more expensiveand more dangerous as mines get deeper and oil rigs go further out to sea.[3] 

• Extraction of fossil fuels can result in extensive environmental degradation, such

as the strip mining and mountaintop removal of coal.

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Gas flare from an oil refinery.• The drilling and transportation of petroleum can result in accidents that result in

the despoilation of hundreds of kilometers of beaches and the death or eliminationof many forms of wildlife in the area.[citation needed ] 

• Safety measures are necessary in order to use LPG without incident. [citation needed ] 

• The storage of these fuels can result in accidents with explosions and poisoning of 

the atmosphere and groundwater .[citation needed ] 

Biomass, biofuels, and vegetable oil

Sugar cane residue can be used as a biofuel Main articles: Alcohol fuel  ,  Biomass , Vegetable oil economy , vegetable oil as fuel  , biodiesel  

Biomass production involves using garbage or other renewable resources such as corn or 

other vegetation, to generate electricity. When garbage decomposes the methane  produced is captured in pipes and later burned to produce electricity. Vegetation andwood can be burned directly, like fossil fuels, to generate energy, or processed to formalcohols.

Vegetable oil is generated from sunlight and CO2 by plants. It is safer to use and storethan gasoline or diesel as it has a higher flash point. Straight vegetable oil works in dieselengines if it is heated first. Vegetable oil can also be transesterified to make biodiesel which burns like normal diesel.

Pros

• Biomass production can be used to burn organic waste products resulting fromagriculture. This type of recycling encourages the philosophy that nothing on thisEarth should be wasted. The result is less demand on the Earth's resources, and ahigher carrying capacity for Earth because non-renewable fossil fuels are notconsumed.

• Biomass is abundant on Earth and is generally renewable. In theory, we will never 

run out of organic waste products as fuel, because we are continuously producing

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them. In addition, biomass is found throughout the world, a fact that shouldalleviate energy pressures in third world nations.

• When methods of biomass production other than direct combustion of plant mass,

such as fermentation and pyrolysis, are used, there is little effect on theenvironment. Alcohols and other fuels produced by these alternative methods are

clean burning and are feasible replacements to fossil fuels.

• Since CO2 is first taken out of the atmosphere to make the vegetable oil and then

 put back after it is burned in the engine, there is no net increase in CO2. Sovegetable oil does not contribute to the problem of  greenhouse gas. 

• It has a high flash point and is safer than most fuels.

• Transitioning to vegetable oil could be relatively easy as biodiesel works where

diesel works, and straight vegetable oil takes relatively minor modifications.• The World already produces more than 100 billion gallons a year for food

industry, so we have experience making it.• Algaculture has the potential to produce far more vegetable oil per acre than

current plants.• Infrastructure for  biodiesel around the World is significant and growing.

Cons

• Direct combustion without emissions filtering generally leads to air pollution similar to that from fossil fuels. 

• Producing liquid fuels from biomass is generally less cost effective than from

 petroleum, since the production of biomass and its subsequent conversion toalcohols is particularly expensive.[citation needed ] 

• Some researchers claim that, when biomass crops are the product of intensive

farming, ethanol fuel production results in a net loss of energy after one accounts

for the fuel costs of fertilizer production, farm equipment, and the distillation process. [22] 

• Direct competition with land use for food production.

• Current production methods would require enormous amounts of land to replace

all gasoline and diesel. With current technology, it is unfeasible for biofuels toreplace the demand for petroleum.

• Growth in vegetable oil production is already resulting in deforestation.

• Converting forest land to vegetable oil production can result in a net increase in

CO2.• Demand for vegetable oil used as a fuel may drive up prices of vegetable oils in

the food industry• Costs to modify existing engines may outweigh fuel cost savings

Hydroelectric energy Main article: Hydroelectricity

In hydro energy, the gravitational descent of a river is compressed from a long run to asingle location with a dam or a flume. This creates a location where concentrated

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 pressure and flow can be used to turn turbines or water wheels, which drive a mechanicalmill or an electric generator .

Pros

• Hydroelectric power stations can promptly increase to full capacity, unlike other 

types of power stations. This is because water can be accumulated above the damand released to coincide with peaks in demand.

• Electricity can be generated constantly, so long as sufficient water is available.

• Hydroelectric power produces no primary waste or   pollution.

• Hydropower is a renewable resource.

• Hydroelectricity assists in securing a country's access to energy supplies.

Cons

• The construction of a dam can have a serious environmental impact on thesurrounding areas. The amount and the quality of water downstream can be

affected, which affects plant life both aquatic, and land-based. Because a river valley is being flooded, the delicate local habitat of many species are destroyed,while people living nearby may have to relocate their homes.

• Hydroelectricity can only be used in areas where there is a sufficient supply of 

water.• Flooding submerges large forests (if they have not been harvested). The resulting

anaerobic decomposition of the carboniferous materials releases methane, agreenhouse gas.

• Dams can contain huge amounts of water. As with every energy storage system,

failure of containment can lead to catastrophic results, e.g. flooding.• Hydroelectric plants rarely can be erected near load centres, requiring large

transmission lines.

Nuclear energy

Diablo Canyon Power Plant  Nuclear power station. Main article: Nuclear power 

 Nuclear power stations use nuclear fission to generate energy by the reaction of uranium-235 inside a nuclear reactor . The reactor uses uranium rods, the atoms of which are splitin the process of fission, releasing a large amount of energy. The process continues as achain reaction with other nuclei. The heat released heats water to create steam, whichspins a turbine generator, producing electricity. A relatively small number of nuclear 

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 power plants (about 50) has the potential to supply the entire U.S. (or other nation) withrelatively clean electricity.

Higher electricity use per capita correlates with a higher score on the HumanDevelopment Index(1997). Developing nations score much lower on these variables thandeveloped nations. The continued rapid economic growth and increase in living standardsin developing nations with large populations, like China and India, is dependent on arapid and large expansion of energy production capacity.

Developing nations also use less total energy per capita. FSU/EE stands for Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Source: EIA.

Developing nations use their energy less efficiently than developed nation, getting lessGDP for the same amount of energy. One important cause is old technology. Notable isthe very low energy efficiency in the former communist states. Source: EIA.

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An increasing share of world energy consumption is predicted to be used by developingnations. Source: EIA.

Depending on the type of fission fuel considered, estimates for existing supply at knownusage rates varies from thousands of years for uranium-238 to several decades for the

currently popular Uranium-235. At the present use rate, there are (as of 2007) about 70years left of known uranium-235 reserves economically recoverable at an uranium priceof US$ 130/kg.[4] The nuclear industry argue that the cost of fuel is a minor cost factor for fission power, more expensive, more difficult to extract sources of uranium could be usedin the future, such as lower-grade ores, and if prices increased enough, from sources suchas granite and seawater .[5] Increasing the price of uranium would have little effect on theoverall cost of nuclear power; a doubling in the cost of natural uranium would increasethe total cost of nuclear power by 5 percent. On the other hand, if the price of natural gaswas doubled, the cost of gas-fired power would increase by about 60 percent. [6] Another alternative would be to use thorium as fission fuel. Thorium is three times more abundantin Earth's crust than uranium,[7] and much more of the thorium can be used (or, more

 precisely, converted into Uranium-233 and then used).

Current light water reactors  burn the nuclear fuel poorly, leading to energy waste. Nuclear reprocessing [8] or burning the fuel better using different reactor designs wouldreduce the amount of waste material generated and allow better use of the availableresources. As opposed to current light water reactors which use uranium-235 (0.7 percentof all natural uranium), fast breeder reactors convert the more abundant uranium-238 (99.3 percent of all natural uranium) into plutonium for fuel. It has been estimated thatthere is anywhere from 10,000 to five billion years worth of Uranium-238 for use in these power plants[9] . Breeder technology has been used in several reactors. However, the breeder reactor at Dounreay in Scotland, Monju in Japan and the Superphénix at Creys-

Malville in France, in particular, have all had difficulties and were not economicallycompetitive and have been decommissioned. The People's Republic of China intends to build breeders.[10]

The possibility of nuclear meltdowns and other reactor accidents, such as the Three MileIsland accident and the Chernobyl disaster , have caused much public fear. Research is being done to lessen the known problems of current reactor technology by developingautomated and passively-safe reactors. Historically, however, coal and hydropower  power generation have both been the cause of more deaths per energy unit produced thannuclear power generation.[11] [12] Various kinds of energy infrastructure might be attacked by terrorists, including nuclear power plants, hydropower plants, and liquified natural gas tankers. Nuclear proliferation is the spread from nation to nation of nuclear technology,including nuclear power plants but especially nuclear weapons. New technology likeSSTAR ("small, sealed, transportable, autonomous reactor") may lessen this risk.

The long-term radioactive waste storage problems of nuclear power have not been fullysolved. Several countries have considered using underground repositories. Nuclear wastetakes up little space compared to wastes from the chemical industry which remain toxicindefinitely.[13] Spent fuel rods are now stored in concrete casks close to the nuclear 

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reactors.[14] The amounts of waste can be reduced in several ways. Both nuclear reprocessing and fast breeder reactors can reduce the amounts of waste. Subcriticalreactors or fusion reactors could greatly reduce the time the waste has to be stored.[15] Subcritical reactors may also be able to do the same to already existing waste.

The economics of nuclear power is not simple to evaluate, because of high capital costsfor building and very low fuel costs. Comparison with other power generation methods isstrongly dependent on assumptions about construction timescales and capital financingfor nuclear plants. See Economics of new nuclear power plants.

Depending on the source different energy return on energy investment (EROI) areclaimed. Advocates (using life cycle analysis) argue that it takes 4-5 months of energy production from the nuclear plant to fully pay back the initial energy investment.[16] Opponents claim that it depends on the grades of the ores ,the fuel came from, so a fully pay back can vary from 10 to 18 years.[17]

Advocates also claim that it is possible to relatively rapidly increase the number of plants.Typical new reactor designs have a construction time of three to four years.[18] In 1983, 43 plants were being built, before an unexpected fall in fossil fuel prices stopped most newconstruction. Developing countries like India and China are rapidly increasing their nuclear energy use.[19][20] However, a Council on Foreign Relations report on nuclear energy argues that a rapid expansion of nuclear power may create shortages in buildingmaterials such as reactor-quality concrete and steel, skilled workers and engineers, andsafety controls by skilled inspectors. This would drive up current prices.[21]

Pros

• The energy content of a kilogram of uranium or thorium, if  spent nuclear fuel is

reprocessed and fully utilized, is equivalent to about 3.5 million kilograms of coal.

• The cost of making nuclear power, with current legislation, is about the same as

making coal power, which is considered very inexpensive (see Economics of newnuclear power plants). If a carbon tax is applied, nuclear does not have to payanything because nuclear does not emit toxic gases such as CO2, NO, CO, SO2,arsenic, etc. that are emitted by coal power plants.

•  Nuclear power plants are guarded with the nuclear reactor inside a reinforced

containment building, and thus are relatively impervious to terrorist attack or 

adverse weather conditions (see Nuclear safety in the U.S.).

• Because of the fear of a nuclear disaster, nuclear safety has become a major issue.

•  Nuclear power does not produce any primary air pollution or release carbon

dioxide and sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. Therefore, it contributes only asmall amount to global warming or acid rain.

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• Coal mining is the second most dangerous occupation in the United States. [22] 

 Nuclear energy is much safer per capita than coal derived energy.

• For the same amount of electricity, the life cycle emissions of nuclear is about 4%

of coal power. Depending on the report, hydro, wind, and geothermal are

sometimes ranked lower, while wind and hydro are sometimes ranked higher (bylife cycle emissions).[23] [24] 

• According to a Stanford study, fast breeder reactors have the potential to power 

humans on earth for billions of years, making it sustainable.[25] 

Cons

• The operation of an uncontained nuclear reactor near human settlements can be

catastrophic, as shown by the Chernobyl disaster  in the Ukraine (former USSR),where large areas of land were affected by radioactive contamination.

• Waste produced from nuclear fission of uranium is both  poisonous and highlyradioactive, requiring maintenance and monitoring at the storage sites. Moreover,the long-term disposal of the long-lived nuclear waste causes serious problems,since (unless the spent fuel is reprocessed) it takes from one to three thousandyears for the spent fuel to come back to the natural radioactivity of the uranium ore body that was mined to produce it.[citation needed ] 

• There can be connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapon 

 proliferation, since both require large-scale uranium enrichment facilities. Whilecivilian nuclear facilities are normally overseen internationally by the IAEA, acouple of countries with such facilities refuse oversight.[citation needed ] 

• Large capital cost. Building a nuclear power plant requires a huge investment and

the costs of safe disassembling (called decommissioning) after it reaches end of usable life must be factored into the full lifecycle budget (see Economics of newnuclear power plants).[citation needed ] 

•  Nuclear fuels are a non-renewable energy source, with unknown high

concentration ore reserves.[citation needed ] There is a large amount of traceconcentration nuclear material in seawater and most rocks; however, extractionfrom these is not currently economically competitive.[citation needed ] 

• The limited liability for the owner of a nuclear power plant in case of a nuclear accident differs per nation while nuclear installations are sometimes built close tonational borders.[26] 

• Waste heat disposal becomes an issue at high ambient temperature thus at a time

of peak demand the reactor may need to be shut down or have reduced output [27] 

Fusion power 

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Fusion power could solve many of the problems of  fission power (the technologymentioned above) but, despite research having started in the 1950s, no commercial fusionreactor is expected before 2050[28] . Many technical problems remain unsolved. Proposedfusion reactors commonly use deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen, as fuel and in mostcurrent designs also lithium. Assuming a fusion energy output equal to the current global

output and that this does not increase in the future, then the known current lithiumreserves would last 3000 years, lithium from sea water would last 60 million years, and amore complicated fusion process using only deuterium from sea water would have fuelfor 150 billion years.[29]

Wind power 

Wind power: worldwide installed capacity and prediction 1997-2010, Source: WWEA Main article: Wind power 

This type of energy harnesses the power of the wind to propel the blades of windturbines. These turbines cause the rotation of  magnets, which creates electricity. Windtowers are usually built together on wind farms.

Pros

• Wind power produces no water or air pollution that can contaminate theenvironment, because there are no chemical processes involved in wind power generation. Hence, there are no waste by-products, such as carbon dioxide. 

• Power from the wind does not contribute to global warming because it does not

generate greenhouse gases. 

• Wind generation is a renewable source of energy, which means that we will never run out of it.

• Wind towers can be beneficial for people living permanently, or temporarily, in

remote areas. It may be difficult to transport electricity through wires from a power plant to a far-away location and thus, wind towers can be set up at theremote setting.

• Farming and grazing can still take place on land occupied by wind turbines.

• Those utilizing wind power in a grid-tie configuration will have backup power in

the event of a grid outage.

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• Due to the ability of wind turbines to coexist within agricultural fields, siting costs

are frequently low.

Cons

• Wind is unpredictable, therefore wind power is not predictably available. When

the wind speed decreases less electricity is generated.

• Wind farms may be challenged in communities that consider them an eyesore or 

view obstructor.[30] 

• Wind farms, depending on the location and type of turbine, may negatively affect

 bird migration patterns and may pose a danger to the birds themselves. Newer,larger wind turbines have slower moving blades which are visible to birds.

Solar power 

The CIS Tower , Manchester , England, was clad in PV panels at a cost of £5.5 million. Itstarted feeding electricity to the national grid in November 2005.

 Main articles: Solar power  ,  Photovoltaics 

Solar power involves using solar cells to convert sunlight into electricity, using sunlighthitting solar thermal panels to convert sunlight to heat water or air, using sunlight hittinga parabolic mirror to heat water (producing steam), or using sunlight entering windowsfor  passive solar heating of a building. It would be advantageous to place solar panels inthe regions of highest solar radiation. In the Phoenix, Arizona area, for example, theaverage annual solar radiation is 5.7 kWh/m2/day [31], or 2080.5 kWh/m2/year. Electricitydemand in the continental U.S. is 3.7*1012 kW·h per year. Thus, at 100% efficiency, an

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area of 1.8x10^9 sq. m (around 700 sq miles) would need to be covered with solar panelsto replace all current electricity production in the US with solar power, and at 20%efficiency, an area of approximately 3500 sq miles (3% of Arizona's land area). Theaverage solar radiation in the United States is 4.8 kwh/m2/day [32], but reaches 8-9kWh/m2/day in parts of Southwest.

The monetary cost, assuming $500/meter², would be about $5-10 trillion dollars.

Pros

• Solar power imparts no fuel costs.

• Solar power is a renewable resource. As long as the Sun exists, its energy will

reach Earth.• Solar power generation releases no water or  air pollution, because there is no

combustion of fuels.• In sunny countries, solar power can be used in remote locations, like a wind

turbine. This way, isolated places can receive electricity, when there is no way to

connect to the power lines from a plant.• Solar energy can be used very efficiently for heating (solar ovens, solar water and

home heaters) and daylighting.• Requires no fuel.

• Coincidently, solar energy is abundant in regions that have relatively largest

number of people living off grid - in developing regions of Africa, Indiansubcontinent and Latin America. Hence cheap solar, when availabile, opens theopportunity to enhance global electricity access considerably, and possibly in arelatively short time period. [33] 

Cons

• Solar electricity is expensive compared to grid electricity.

• Solar heat and electricity are not available at night and may be unavailable due to

weather conditions; therefore, a storage or complementary power system isrequired for most applications.

• Limited power density: Average daily insolation in the contiguous U.S. is 3-7

kW·h/m² [34][35] (see picture)• Solar cells produce DC which must be converted to AC (using a grid tie inverter )

when used in currently existing distribution grids. This incurs an energy loss of 4-12%.[36] 

• A photovoltaic power station is expensive to build, and the energy payback time -

the time necessary for producing the same amount of energy as needed for  building the power device - for  photovoltaic cells is about 1-5 years, depending primarily on location.[37] 

• Solar panels collect dust and require cleaning. Dust on the panels significantly

reduces the transfer of energy from solar radiation to electric current.

Geothermal energy Main article: Geothermal power 

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Geothermal energy harnesses the heat energy present underneath the Earth. The hot rocksheat water to produce steam. When holes are drilled in the region, the steam that shootsup is purified and is used to drive turbines, which power electric generators. When thewater temperature is below the boiling point of water a binary system is used. A low boiling point liquid is used to drive a turbine and generator in a closed system similar to a

refrigeration unit running in reverse.

Pros

• Geothermal energy does not produce air or water   pollution if performed correctly.

• Geothermal power plants run continuously day and night with an uptime typically

exceeding 95%.• Once a geothermal power station is implemented, the energy produced from the

station is practically free. A small amount of energy is required in order to run a pump, although this pump can be powered by excess energy generated at the plant.

• Geothermal power stations are relatively small, and have a lesser impact on the

environment than tidal or hydroelectric plants. Because geothermal technologydoes not rely on large bodies of water, but rather, small, but powerful jets of water, like geysers, large generating stations can be avoided without losingfunctionality.

Cons

• Geothermal energy extraction is only practical in certain areas of the world,

usually volcanic, where the heated rock is sufficiently close to the surface such asto be reached by current drilling technology . [citation needed ] Enhanced geothermaltechnology uses deeper drilling and water injection to generate geothermal power in areas where the earth's crust is thicker.[23] 

• Drilling holes underground may release hazardous gases and minerals from deep

inside the Earth. It can be problematic to dispose of these subsidiary products in asafe manner.[citation needed ] 

Energy transportation

While new sources of energy are only rarely discovered or made possible by newtechnology, distribution technology continually evolves. The use of fuel cells in cars, for example, is an anticipated delivery technology. This section presents some of the morecommon delivery technologies that have been important to historic energy development.

They all rely in some way on the energy sources listed in the previous section.

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An elevated section of the Alaska Pipeline.• Fuels 

Shipping is a flexible delivery technology that is used in the whole range of energy development regimes from primitive to highly advanced. Currently, coal,  petroleum and their derivatives are delivered by shipping via boat, rail, or road.Petroleum and natural gas may also be delivered via  pipeline and coal via a Slurry

 pipeline. Refined hydrocarbon fuels such as gasoline and LPG may also bedelivered via aircraft. Natural gas pipelines must maintain a certain minimum pressure to function correctly

• Electric grids 

Electricity grids are the networks used to transmit and distribute power from production source to end user, when the two may be hundreds of kilometres away.Sources include electrical generation plants such as a nuclear reactor , coal burning power plant, etc. A combination of sub-stations, transformers, towers, cables, and piping are used to maintain a constant flow of electricity.

Electric Grid: Pilons and cables distribute power Grids may suffer from transient blackouts and brownouts, often due to weather 

damage. During certain extreme space weather  events solar wind can interferewith transmissions.Grids also have a predefined carrying capacity or load that cannot safely beexceeded. When power requirements exceed what's available, failures areinevitable. To prevent problems, power is then rationed.Industrialised countries such as Canada, the US, and Australia are among thehighest per capita consumers of electricity in the world, which is possible thanksto a widespread electrical distribution network. The US grid is one of the most

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advanced, although infrastructure maintenance is becoming a problem. Theelectrical power industry is one of the most heavily subsidized.[citation needed ] CurrentEnergy  provides a realtime overview of the electricity supply and demandfor California, Texas, and the Northeast of the US. African countries with smallscale electrical grids have a correspondingly low annual per capita usage of 

electricity. One of the most powerful power grids in the world supplies power tothe state of Queensland, Australia.

Energy consumption from 1989 to 1999

Energy production from 1989 to 1999

Energy consumption per capita (2001). Red hues indicate increase, green hues decreaseof consumption during the 1990s.

Energy storage

 Main articles: Energy storage , grid energy storage 

Methods of energy storage have been developed, which transform electrical energy intoforms of potential energy. A method of energy storage may be chosen based on stability,ease of transport, ease of energy release, or ease of converting free energy from thenatural form to the stable form.

Battery-powered Vehicles Main articles: battery, battery electric vehicle 

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Batteries are used to store energy in a chemical form. As an alternative energy, batteriescan be used to store energy in  battery electric vehicles. Battery electric vehicles can becharged from the grid when the vehicle is not in use. Because the energy is derived fromelectricity, battery electric vehicles make it possible to use other forms of alternativeenergy such as wind, solar , geothermal, nuclear , or hydroelectric.

Pros

• Produces zero emissions to help counteract the effects of  global warming. 

• Batteries are a mature technology, no new expensive research and development is

needed to implement technology.• Current lead acid battery technology offers 50+ miles range on one charge. [38] 

• The Tesla Roadster  has a 200 mile range on one charge.

• Batteries make it possible for stationary alternative energy generation such as

solar , wind, hydroelectric, nuclear , or hydroelectric. • Electric motors are 90% efficient compared to about 20% efficiency of an internal

combustion engine. [39] •  No new major infrastructure is needed to charge battery electric vehicles.• Battery electric vehicles have fewer moving parts than internal combustion

engines, thus improving the reliability of the vehicle.• Battery electric vehicles are quiet compared to internal combustion engines.

• Multiple electric vehicles sold out including the General Motors EV1 and the

Tesla Roadster proving the demand for battery electric vehicles.• Operation of a battery electric vehicle is approximately 2 to 4 cents per mile.

About a sixth the price of operating a gasoline vehicle.  [40] • The use of Battery Electric Vehicles eliminates the dependency on foreign oil.

Cons

• The energy used in electric vehicles needs to be derived from other sources.

• Current battery technology is expensive.

• Battery electric vehicles have a relative short range compared to internal

combustion engine vehicles.

Hydrogen economy Main article: Hydrogen economy

Hydrogen can be manufactured at roughly 77 percent thermal efficiency by the method of steam reforming of natural gas [41]. When manufactured by this method it is a derivative

fuel like gasoline; when produced by electrolysis of water, it is a form of chemical energystorage as are storage batteries, though hydrogen is the more versatile storage mode sincethere are two options for its conversion to useful work: (1) a fuel cell can convert thechemicals hydrogen and oxygen into water, and in the process, produce electricity, or (2)hydrogen can be burned (less efficiently than in a fuel cell) in an internal combustionengine.

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Pros

• Hydrogen is colorless, odorless and entirely non-polluting, yielding pure water 

vapor (with minimal NOx) as exhaust when combusted in air. This eliminates thedirect production of exhaust gases that lead to smog, and carbon dioxideemissions that enhance the effect of  global warming. 

• Hydrogen is the lightest chemical element and has the best energy-to-weight ratioof any fuel (not counting tank mass).

• Hydrogen can be produced anywhere; it can be produced domestically from the

decomposition of water. Hydrogen can be produced from domestic sources andthe price can be established within the country.

• Electrolysis combined with fuel-cell regeneration [24] is more than 50% efficient.

Cons

• Other than some volcanic emanations, hydrogen does not exist in its pure form in

the environment, because it reacts so strongly with oxygen and other elements.• It is impossible to obtain hydrogen gas without expending energy in the process.

There are three ways to manufacture hydrogen;o By breaking down hydrocarbons — mainly methane. If oil or gases are

used to provide this energy, fossil fuels are consumed, forming pollutionand nullifying the value of using a fuel cell. It would be more efficient touse fossil fuel directly.

o By electrolysis from water — The process of splitting water into oxygen

and hydrogen using electrolysis consumes large amounts of energy. It has been calculated that it takes 1.4 joules of electricity to produce 1 joule of hydrogen (Pimentel, 2002).

o By reacting water with a metal such as sodium, potassium, or boron.

Chemical by-products would be sodium oxide, potassium oxide, and boron oxide. Processes exist which could recycle these elements back intotheir metal form for re-use with additional energy input, further erodingthe energy return on energy invested.

• There is currently modest fixed infastructure for distribution of hydrogen that is

centrally produced,[42] amounting to several hundred kilometers of pipeline. Analternative would be transmission of electricity over the existing electricalnetwork to small-scale electrolyzers to support the widespread use of hydrogen asa fuel.

• Hydrogen is difficult to handle, store, and transport. It requires heavy,

cumbersome tanks when stored as a gas, and complex insulating bottles if storedas a cryogenic liquid. If it is needed at a moderate temperature and  pressure, ametal hydride absorber may be needed. The transportation of hydrogen is also a problem because hydrogen leaks effortlessly from containers.

• Some current fuel cell designs, such as proton exchange membrane fuel cells, use

 platinum as a catalyst. Widescale deployment of such fuel cells could place astrain on available platinum resources. [43] Reducing the platinum loading, per fuelcell stack, is the focus of R&D.

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• Electricity transmission and battery electric vehicles are far more efficient for 

storage, transmission and use of energy for transportation, neglecting the energyconversion at the electric power plant. As with distributed production of hydrogenvia electrolysis, battery electric vehicles could utilize the existing electricity griduntil widespread use dictated an expansion of the grid.

Energy Storage Types• Chemical 

Some natural forms of energy are found in stable chemical compounds such asfossil fuels. Most systems of chemical energy storage result from  biological activity, which store energy in chemical bonds. Man-made forms of chemicalenergy storage include hydrogen fuel,  batteries and explosives such as cordite anddynamite.

• Gravitational 

Dams can be used to store energy, by using excess energy to pump water into thereservoir. When electrical energy is required, the process is reversed. The water then turns a turbine, generating electricity. Hydroelectric power is currently animportant part of the world's energy supply, generating one-fifth of the world'selectricity. :[25]. 

• Electrical capacitance 

Electrical energy may be stored in capacitors. Capacitors are often used to produce high intensity releases of energy (such as a camera's flash).

• Mechanical 

Pressure:

Energy may also be stored pressurized gases or alternatively in a vacuum.Compressed air, for example, may be used to operate vehicles and power tools.Large scale compressed air energy storage facilities are used to smooth outdemands on electricity generation by providing energy during peak hours andstoring energy during off-peak hours. Such systems save on expensive generatingcapacity since it only needs to meet average consumption rather than peak consumption.

• Flywheels and springs

Energy can also be stored in mechanical systems such as springs or flywheels.Flywheel energy storage is currently being used for uninterruptible power supplies.

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Future energy development 

World energy consumption.

Extrapolations from current knowledge to the future offer a choice of energy futures.Some predictions parallel the Malthusian catastrophe hypothesis. Numerous are complexmodels based scenarios as pioneered by Limits to Growth. Modeling approaches offer ways to analyze diverse strategies, and hopefully find a road to rapid and sustainabledevelopment of humanity. Short term energy crises are also a concern of energy

development. Some extrapolations lack plausibility, particularly when they predict acontinual increase in oil consumption.

Existing technologies for new energy sources, such as renewable energy technologies, particularly wind power  and solar power , are promising. Nuclear fission is also promoted,and each need sustained research and development, including consideration of possibleharmful side effects. Jacques Cousteau spoke of using the salinization of water at river estuaries as an energy source, which would not have any consequences for a millionyears, and then stopped to point out that since we are going to be on the planet for a billion years we had to be looking that far into the future.  Nuclear fusion and artificial photosynthesis are other energy technologies being researched and developed.

It should be noted that between 1950 and 1984, as the Green Revolution transformedagriculture around the globe, world grain production increased by 250%. The energy for the Green Revolution was provided by fossil fuels in the form of fertilizers (natural gas), pesticides (oil), and hydrocarbon fueled irrigation.[44] The peaking of world hydrocarbon production (Peak oil) may test Malthus critics.[45]

See also

 Main list: List of basic energy development topics • Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change

• Comparison of power plants

• Energy planning

• Environmental concerns with electricity generation

• List of environment topics

•  Nuclear energy policy

• Renewable energy development

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• World energy resources and consumption

Notes

1. ^ Zhan Lisheng, Date set for LPG-fueled buses, taxis China Daily, July 6, 2007.Retrieved September 7 2007.

2. ^ http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/coalvswind/c02c.html 3. ^ http://www.rigzone.com/analysis/rigs/insight.asp?i_id=213 4. ^ [1] 5. ^ [2] 6. ^ [3] 7. ^ [4] 8. ^ [5] 9. ^ [6] 10. ^ http://www.nti.org/db/china/fbrprog.htm 11. ^ [7] 12. ^ [8] 

13. ^ [9] 14. ^ [10] 15. ^ [11] 16. ^ [12] 17. ^ http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/537/gl/clean.html "World Information Service on

Energy" 10-18 years for payback on nuclear energy18. ^ [13] 19. ^ [14] 20. ^ [15] 21. ^ [16] 22. ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10725454/ 

23. ^http://www.nei.org/keyissues/protectingtheenvironment/lifecycleemissionsanalysis/ 

24. ^ http://dailyreferendum.blogspot.com/2007/08/go-nuclear-go-green-life-cycle.html 

25. ^ John McCarthy (2006). Facts From Choen and Others.  Progress and its

Sustainability. Stanford. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.26. ^ Schwartz, J. 2004. "Emergency preparedness and response: compensating

victims of a nuclear accident." Journal of Hazardous Materials, Volume 111,Issues 1-3, July, 89-96.

27. ^ "TVA reactor shut down; cooling water from river too hot" 

28. ^ [17] 29. ^ [18] 30. ^ [19] 31. ^ www.nwic-research.org/npsec/html/human/renew/solar.htm32. ^ http://ocsenergy.anl.gov/documents/docs/OCS_EIS_WhitePaper_Solar.pdf  33. ^ Solar Revolution, by Travis Bradford 34. ^ DOE's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Solar FAQ 35. ^ [20] 

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36. ^ Renewable Resource Data Center - PV Correction Factors 37. ^ [21] 38. ^

http://www.kingoftheroad.net/charge_across_america/charge_html/nimh_test2.html 

39. ^ http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/102spring2002_Web_projects/Z.Yates/Zach's%20Web%20Project%20Folder/EICE%20-%20Main.htm 40. ^ Idaho National Laboratory (2005) "Comparing Energy Costs per Mile for 

Electric and Gasoline-Fueled Vehicles" Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity reportat avt.inel.gov accessed 11 July 2006.

41. ^ http://cta.ornl.gov/data/index.shtml 42. ^

http://www.praxair.com/praxair.nsf/d63afe71c771b0d785256519006c5ea1/2a5df 393598d7f3b85256baf000827be?OpenDocument&Highlight=2,hydrogen 

43. ^ Study: World May Run Out of Copper  44. ^ Eating Fossil Fuels | EnergyBulletin.net 

45. ^ Peak Oil: the threat to our food security 

References

• Serra, J. "Alternative Fuel Resource Development", Clean and Green Fuels Fund,

(2006).• Bilgen, S. and K. Kaygusuz, Renewable Energy for a Clean and Sustainable

 Future, Energy Sources 26, 1119 (2004).•  Energy analysis of Power Systems, UIC Nuclear Issues Briefing Paper 57 (2004).

Relevant journals

•  Energy Sources, Part A: Recovery, Utilization and Environmental Effects[26] 

•  Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning and Policy[27] 

•  International Journal of Green Energy [28] 

External links

• RECaBS REcalculator Interactive Renewable Energy Calculator - compare

renewable energy to conventional energy sources• White Paper Discussing Carbon Finance For Energy Development

‹ The template below (Sustainability and Energy Development ) is being considered for deletion. See templates for deletion to help reach aconsensus. ›

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Sustainability and Energy developmentFuture 2000 Watt society · Hubbert peak · Peak oil · Kardashev scale

Transportation

Air car · Alternative fuel · Alternative propulsion · Battery electric vehicle · Bicycle  · Bioalcohol · Biodiesel · Bioethanol · Biogas · Biomass toliquid · Bus rapid transit · Community bicycle program · Ecodriving · Electric power-assist system · Electric vehicle · Hybrid electric vehicle · Hydrogen station · Hydrogen vehicle · Low-energy vehicle · Plug-inhybrid · Production battery electric vehicle · Public transport · Trolleybus ·

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TWIKE · utility cycling · Vegetable oil used as fuel

Energy Conversion

Electricity

generation

Distributed generation · Microgeneration · Sustainable community energy system · Environmental concerns with electricity generation

Biological

energy

Anaerobic digestion · Biomass · Mechanical

 biological treatmentChemical energyBlue energy · Fuel cell · Hydrogen production

Geothermal

powerDeep lake water cooling · Earth cooling tubes

HydroelectricityRun-of-the-river hydroelectricity · Tidal power · Water turbine · Wave power 

Nuclear powerInertial fusion power plant · Fusion ·  Nuclear reactor · Radioisotope thermoelectric generator 

Solar energy

Active solar · Barra system · Central solar heating plant · Energy tower · Ocean Thermal  · Passivesolar · Passive solar building design · Photovoltaics ·

Photovoltaic module · Solar cell · Solar combisystem · Solar hot water panel · Solar pond · Solar power satellite · Solar power tower · Solar roof · Solar shingles · Solar thermal collector · Solar thermal energy · Solar tracker · Solar updraft tower · Trombe wall

Waste-to-energyAnaerobic digestion · Gasification · Incineration · Mechanical biological treatment · Pyrolysis

Wind power Wind farm · Wind turbine · Laddermill

Storage

Batteries · Flywheel energy storage · Grid energystorage · Hydrogen storage · Seasonal thermal store ·

Thermal energy storage

Sustainability

Ecological

footprint

Ecosystem services · Ecovillage · Energy conservation  ·

Energy Demand Management · Green map · HumanDevelopment Index · Infrastructural capital · Permaculture · Renewable energy · Self-sufficiency · Simple living · Sustainable development · Sustainableliving · The Natural Step · TPE · Value of Earth · Worldenergy resources and consumption  · Zones(Permaculture)

Appropriatetechnology

Air engine  · Autonomous building · Cob (building) · Composting toilet · Cool roof · Earth sheltering · 

Energy-efficient landscaping · Green roof · Hypermodernity · Low energy building · Passive house ·

Rammed earth · Sheet composting · Solar chimney · Straw-bale construction · Superinsulation · Technological singularity · Windcatcher 

Sustainable

agriculture

Food security · Forest gardening · Humanure · List of companion plants · List of repellent plants · Seed ball · Vermicompost · Zero energy building

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Sustainable

design

Environmental design  · Sustainable architecture · Sustainable landscape architecture

Sustainable

econonomics

Development economics · Green economics · GreenGross Domestic Product · Hydrogen economy · Liquidnitrogen economy · Low-carbon economy · Triple

 bottom line

Sustainable

industries

Agroforestry · Ecoforestry · Exploitation of naturalresources · Green building · Green chemistry · Greencomputing · Industrial Ecology ·  Natural building · Sustainable energy · Sustainable forest management · Sustainable procurement · Sustainable transport

Sustainable

wasteLiving machines · Mycoremediation

Management

Commission on Sustainable Development · Human development theory · Intermediate Technology Development Group  · Maldevelopment · Precautionary principle · Rio Declaration on Environment and

Development · Rocky Mountain Institute · Sim Van der Ryn · Underdevelopment · World Business Council for SustainableDevelopment · World Summit on Sustainable Development

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Sci-Tech Encyclopedia. McGraw-Hill Encyclopediaof Science and Technology. Copyright © 2005 byThe McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rightsreserved. Read more

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Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia ElectronicEncyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003,Columbia University Press. Licensed from ColumbiaUniversity Press. All rights reserved.www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more

Essay. History of Science and Technology, edited byBryan Bunch and Alexander Hellemans. Copyright ©2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published byHoughton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.Read more

Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNUFree Documentation License. It uses material fromthe Wikipedia article "Energy development". Readmore

Ethical Dimensions of Our Energy andEnvironmental Crises

R. McCluney 

Through a series of historical social and technological developments, we as aspecies have developed especially in the industrialized countries a belief system and a social structure that are contributing directly to our global energy

and environmental problems. The problems are not just problems of technology,they include the inappropriate ways that technology is used. Much of this stemsfrom a value system which gives more priority to the rights of humans, and eventheir automobiles, than to those of nature. However, the needs of humans andthe needs of nature are inextricably connected. Our current earth-depleting,environment-damaging social structure evolved from a sequence of valuesystems that developed naturally within western societies. However, we now findourselves with a set of beliefs, portions of which are inappropriate andincompatible with the long-term viability of our earthly life-support system. Thesevalue systems and social structures have become major barriers to the kinds of reform that are needed to protect the earth for future generations. It is time that

we add to our list of research topics, studies of the social, moral, philosophical,and ethical questions that lie at the heart of our energy and environmental crises.

INTRODUCTION 

 An expanding human population, and the complex, technologically based societythat it has developed, threaten severe damage to the earth's biosphere, our planetary life-support system. The long-range consequences of thesedevelopments on a global scale are now becoming evident. The human species,

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acting as a global civilization, is depleting stored solar energy (fossil fuels) andother resources faster than they can be replaced by natural means. The wasteproducts of our technologically based society are beginning to exceed in quantityand toxicity the ability of the planet's natural physical, chemical, and ecologicalsystems to assimilate them. Furthermore, our expanding population is damaging

or removing major portions of the world's major ecosystems, threatening much of the regenerative capacities these systems afford. Finally, I believe that wehumans have disrupted the natural global process of biological evolution. By thisI mean that the human introduction of new species of plants and animals, and thehuman-induced extinction of naturally existing species, is now occurring at apace which is very much faster than anything the planet has experienced in itsrecent past (since the evolution of multicellular life forms, for example). It is as if we have taken control of evolution away from Mother Nature. This view issupported by Norman Myers in his essay, "Tropical-forest species: going, going,going...." He points out that we are eliminating the planet's genetic stock morerapidly than at any other time, except for those few cases of geologic cataclysm

when a mass extinction reduced biotic diversity. "By the middle of the nextcentury the earth seems likely to lose at least a fourth, probably a third, perhapshalf, and conceivably a still larger part of the millions of species that inhabit it," hesays. The current rate of human-induced species extinction is at least 1000 timesgreater than the "background" rate of about one per year, according to Myers.The possible consequences of this are spelled out in his essay and are verysevere for human life on earth. Switching to more appropriate alternativetechnologies can alleviate some of these impacts, if it is carried out on a trulymassive scale. Further major improvements in energy conservation, through bothincreased efficiency and modest lifestyle changes, can help. So can major effortsat reducing the adverse environmental impacts of technology and reducing globalpopulation growth. However, there is growing evidence that these alone will beinsufficient to prevent major adverse environmental modifications, a substantiallydegraded biosphere for future generations of humans. We may no longer havethe option available to let nature take its course and hope that this will result inthe continued viability of our life-giving atmosphere and a healthy water system.Roberta Miller points out that ongoing scientific research on changes to theearth's surface and atmosphere have heretofore not adequately addressedhuman activities. She puts the problem this way: "Physical scientists arebeginning to recognize that their knowledge of the physical processes of terrestrial or atmospheric change is incomplete without some understanding of the ways human action sets those processes in motion or modifies them.Similarly, biologists and ecologists have begun to realize that the critical elementin their study of ecological systems is human action. Social scientists argue thatthe research task is broader than natural scientists know; we must understandpatterns of behavior and interactions far more complex than the relativelystraightforward nexus between individual and environment." It is clear that pastapproaches to environmental reform will be insufficient for future success. A newapproach is clearly needed, one that addresses the root causes of the problemswe are facing: inappropriate human behavior patterns and the misplaced values

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and belief systems that produce these behaviors. Shrader-Frechette has put itthis way: "If environmental degradation were purely, or even primarily, a problemdemanding scientific or technological solutions, then its resolution would probablyhave been accomplished by now. As it is, however, our crises of pollution andresource depletion reflect profound difficulties with some of the most basic

principles in our accepted systems of values. They challenge us to assess theadequacy of those principles and, if need be, to discover a new framework for describing what it means to behave ethically or to be a moral person." It wouldclearly be desirable if we could wait the several decades needed to obtain adefinitive understanding of all the links between human behavior andenvironmental degradation before we address the values and belief systems thatlead to these behaviors. However, few earth scientists believe that we have thatlong. We must begin now examining the human value systems that are leadingus as a species to threaten the life-support system of Planet Earth.

VALUES, BELIEFS, AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR 

Values and beliefs lie at the core of human behavior. Dictionary definitions of these concepts explicitly make the connection between beliefs and behavior patterns. When our value systems become inappropriate for the situations inwhich we find ourselves, inappropriate behavior patterns can be expected toresult. Thus, if we wish to change our environmentally destructive behaviors,both collectively and individually, we must deal with the inappropriate valuesystems which produce these patterns. This leads us into a study of ethics andphilosophy, and more particularly the portions of those fields dealing with therelationship of humans to the rest of the natural world. To engineers, scientists,government planners, and others working to reduce the adverse impact of humans on the earth by mostly political and technological means, this emphasis

on such fuzzy-seeming subjects as belief systems and philosophy may appear tobe idealistic and impractical. I share these concerns. However, I don't believethat most of the changes proposed within mainstream thinking on this issue willbe possible without some massive shift in belief systems. And I don't think mostof the proposed solutions will be adequate. It seems quite clear that our earthcannot remain a viable platform for human life without fundamental changes inour values. At the heart of our reluctance to address the values aspects of our energy and environmental crises, I think, is the very human fear of the unknown,the unfamiliar. It is not surprising that people wish to work within their currentsystems of social interaction and commerce, retaining their inherited anddeveloped systems of values and lifestyles. It can be frightening to confront too

great or too rapid a change in beliefs and patterns of living and behavior.However, it is absolutely essential that we begin the process of clarifying our values and goals as a species. One of the greatest problems in doing this is thatthe very structure of the western socio-economic system seems to becontributing directly to the destruction of the earth's life-support system."Business as usual" is an ethic that can destroy us if it is not substantiallymodified, and soon. Julia Field once put it this way: "We are using the earth as if we were the last generation." We are a short-term, crisis oriented society that

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needs to develop long-term, sustainable values if it is to survive. A major goal of the energy and environmental reform movement should therefore be to identifyand codify an ethical framework that will support the societal and individualbehaviors needed for environmental preservation, minimizing the perceived andactual sacrifices involved and leading to maximum public enthusiasm for the

needed changes. I fear that these may not be compatible goals that for the newethic to be widely accepted and quickly, it cannot be very effective. This is thechallenge facing us. A great deal of work needs to be done. Reasonable stepsmust be taken to encourage people to examine their values in the light of currentand future knowledge about human impacts on the natural environment. Thesesteps must be followed by real and lasting behavior changes that will produce amore sustainable situation on this planet. This is only possible through someshifts in beliefs and values. Fortunately, a lot of work has already been done inthis area. Books have been written, college courses have been and are beingtaught, and major scientific societies are beginning to address these issues. Acomprehensive annotated bibliography has been provided by Thomas Berry.

SOME DEFINITIONS 

 Academicians studying ethics define it simply as a set of rules governingbehavior. For example, to conserve electricity, we might establish an ethic aboutthe importance of turning the lights out when leaving the room. To reduce thequantities of solid waste we produce, we might invoke an ethic aimed atincreased recycling as an inherently "good" or "right" thing to do. To conservefossil fuels, we could invoke an ethic on the need to use bicycles and masstransit. The academicians also point out that the rules of behavior must followfrom one or more general principles. There are numerous sources from which todraw the guiding principles upon which our earth ethics are to be based.

Scientific investigation can lead us to information about human impacts upon thebiosphere and the likely long-range consequences of these impacts. Pureconservatism, as a philosophy, could lead us to avoid actions whoseenvironmental consequences we are not sure about. The religious concept of stewardship of the earth could provide another source of the guiding principlesneeded to sustain life on earth. In order to continue with this discussion, I think itis important to distinguish three terms that are frequently confused in discussionsof social reform. 

1. Material standard of living can be defined as the quantity of goodsand services consumed by an individual, per unit time.  

2. Quality of life can be defined as the degree of enjoyment,

satisfaction, and fulfillment achieved by an individual in the processof living. 3. Lifestyle is the general pattern of daily behaviors followed by an

individual. 

There is a hierarchy of needs that humans have in order to live and achieve ahigh quality of life. It is clear that a good quality of life is not possible if one'sbasic material needs are not satisfied. Above some minimum level, however, it is

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my contention that quality of life and material standard of living become less andless coupled as the standard of living increases. I think that the standard of livingfor most Americans is so high that these two concepts have become almostcompletely decoupled, in spite of our protestations (and materialistic behaviors)to the contrary. The point is that we do not need to continue our consuming,

earth-depleting lifestyles to be happy to have a high quality of life. However, weneed major shifts in our values and behavior patterns before we will be able toachieve a higher quality of life at a lower material standard of living to live better with less. It is easy to ignore the interdependence of lifestyle with the other twoconcepts. However, some affluent people choose lifestyles that require highmaterial standards of living, and other affluent people choose lifestyles that leadto lower material standards of living. The difference lies in their value systems.There are other ways in which lifestyle is linked to standard of living and qualityof life. Many would say that freedom to choose different lifestyles is an importantprerequisite to quality of life. In spite of these statements, I believe there to besome lifestyle changes with little impact on material standard of living or quality of 

life. On the other hand, if we choose a lifestyle which is in conflict with our beliefs,quality of life suffers as a result of this conflict. Our beliefs, and the resultinglifestyles, can be in conflict with the (external) physical, social, and environmentalsituations in which we find ourselves. This also can lead to diminished quality of life, since our daily behaviors are in conflict with the realities of the world in whichwe live and the resulting environmental degradations can affect us personally. Isee this as a cause of much mental anguish and of the energy andenvironmental crises we now face. The society around us is changing faster thanmany of us can keep up with. We are being called upon to adopt moreappropriate value systems faster than we can comfortably do. So we search for rationalizations to deny our need to change. Or we try not to admit that currentsocietal beliefs, such as "maximize short-term gain", are destroying our futures.However, change we must, or we will destroy the very basis of our existence.Some people have difficulty accepting this statement. They generally believe, for instance, that technology will somehow advance to such a state that we will beable to accommodate current and even future population levels. This is notsomething that is easily proved or disproved, but I am convinced that it is arationalization used to keep us from having to confront fundamental changes inour beliefs about what it is to live, prosper, and be fulfilled. Let us accept ideallythat we cannot continue on indefinitely as we have, destroying major portions of our life-support system, increasing the human population indefinitely, andincreasing the average global standard of living. In this case it should be obviousthat an earth ethic most desperately needs to be developed. We very badly needa set of guiding principles and rules of behavior to help us act so as to supportour continued survival. Of course, survival alone is not enough. It must be at anacceptable overall standard of living and with a high quality of life.

EARTH ETHICS 

 At the core of ethics lie the concepts of worth and rights. In his history of environmental ethics, Roderick Frazier Nash presents two diagrams, showing his

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view of how ethical concepts and the concept of rights have developed and aredeveloping. He argues that there has been and will continue to be an expansionof the human acceptance of the rights of others.  

Nash suggests that the trend is toward an idea that morality should include the

relationship of humans to nature. Nash identifies an ongoing expansion of concern, for the natural rights of a growing number of entities, from a limitedgroup of humans, to the rights of all humans, to those of parts of nature and,finally, to all of nature. At the ultimate end of the evolutionary sequence identifiedby Nash is a belief, supported by authors in a variety of disciplines, that allmanifestations of the natural universe derive from the same basic entity. Thisbrings us then to the idea that all parts of this entity have inherent and equalrights and worthiness and deserve moral consideration. Thus all aspects of thenatural world have rights and deserve protection from abuse according to thisphilosophy. It remains to be seen how much farther the human species willprogress toward this point. This brings us to the core of current thinking on earth

ethics. According to Nash: "Of course, nature does not demand rights, and somemoral philosophers even question whether anything so general as the 'rights of nature' can exist at all. But...others use the term confidently. At the same timethey recognize that wolves and maples and mountains do not petition for their rights. Human beings are the moral agents who have the responsibility toarticulate and defend the rights of the other occupants of the planet. Such aconception of rights means that humans have duties or obligations towardnature. Environmental ethics involves people extending ethics to the environmentby the exercise of self-restraint." Nash is aware of the controversial nature of these ideas. He says that "Ideas like these, to be sure, are on the far frontier of moral history, environmental ethics is revolutionary; it is arguably the most

dramatic expansion of morality in the course of human thought. ... in recent yearsmany people have found compelling the notion that nonhuman life and nonlivingmatter have moral standing. The majority still regards this idea as incredible. Buthistorians are aware that the same incredulity met the first proposals for grantingindependence to American colonists, freeing the slaves, respecting Indian rights,integrating schools, and adding the Equal Rights Amendment to theConstitution." John Stuart Mill once said that "every great movement mustexperience three stages: ridicule, discussion, adoption." According to Nash,"What happens in the process, Christopher Stone reminds us, is that theunthinkable becomes conventional sometimes gradually and peacefully throughlegislative and legal processes, as Stone proposed, but often, violently." At aworkshop on environmental ethics, Dr. Gary Varner identified four categories of earth ethics that he felt are being used to justify various actions by individuals, bybusiness people, by environmentalists, by researchers, and by governmentalagencies dealing with environmental problems. Using his words:Anthropocentrism is the view that, when it comes to making decisions aboutthe environment, only the interests of human beings matter. An anthropocentricdefense of environmental preservation would appeal to or focus on the ways inwhich environmental preservation benefits human beings while environmental

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degradation harms humans. So if we argue that an endangered species ought tobe preserved because people think it is beautiful, or because people are happyto know that it exists, or because it might someday be useful to people, we wouldbe arguing anthropocentrically. Sentientism [is the view that] all and onlyconscious creatures count. [Sentientists] argue that if all human beings have

rights (including newborn infants and the severely retarded), then so too do someanimals, since intellectual capacities of a normal mammal or bird appear tosurpass those of [these humans). To be sentient is to be conscious of pleasureand pain, [so these people claim] that all creatures who can feel pleasure andpain have interests to be considered. Animals with very rudimentary nervoussystems insects, for instance may not be conscious at all, and therefore maynot deserve moral consideration in this view. Biocentric Individualism [includes] all living things, including the "lower" animals and all plants [in thegroup of organisms that] have interests and deserve moral consideration. Holism[includes] the entire biotic community, taken as a whole system, [in what countsand should be protected]. The most famous example of holism is the "land ethic"

espoused by Aldo Leopold in A Sand County Almanac . When Leopold writes that"A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of thebiotic community," he is focussing on the welfare or interest of a system of livingthings, rather than on the welfare of the individuals who are members of thatsystem. A view like this is called holism because the whole is being taken to besomehow greater than the sum of its parts. There is conflict among theproponents of the four different categories of earth ethics, both within and outsideof the environmental movement. Arguments over which of the above earth ethicsis the "correct" one threaten to dilute the energy of the reform movement andfractionate it, reducing its effectiveness. I do not believe that much effort shouldbe wasted in these pursuits. The biggest argument seems to be between theanthropocentrists and the holists. However, if one takes anthropocentrism to itslogical conclusion one would have to accept that humans are totally dependentupon the ecological viability of the entire biotic system and the physical resourcesupon which this system depends. Thus, the goals and methods of the two groupsshould merge and become one. That they have not yet done so is another problem inhibiting concerted action in dealing with our multiple crises. Apparentlythe problem is that we do not yet have sufficient scientific evidence to show allthe detailed connections between minute elements of the biotic community andthe survival and quality of life of the human species. To what extent, for example,does human survivability depend upon the survivability of the many species of insects living in Amazonia? There is as yet no definitive answer to this questionand many others like it. Thus the anthropocentrists are not yet ready to becomeholists and vice versa. This then, is an area where research scientists andengineers could be very effectively employed establishing the connectionsbetween human survival and the preservation of all aspects of the bioticcommunity, as well as the earth's physical systems (air, earth, water) on whichthey depend.

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NEW RESEARCH NEEDS 

It is clear that we now have two areas of needed research. First is a search for allthe ways humans depend upon the earth's natural systems for survival. Secondis a detailed examination of the specific ways that human behavior is disrupting

these systems. 

Many knowledgeable people say that we have so altered the planet's naturalsystems already that we have put ourselves in charge of operating the planet.We are now the pilots of Spaceship Earth and we had better learn how to guide itsuccessfully through the hazards that face it. The next question is whether wehave enough information, and the ability, on a global basis, to operate our spaceship correctly. I fear that we don't even know what "correct" operation reallyis. What should the goals of our planetary operation be? Viability for the entirebiotic community, or of only those parts of it that humans clearly need to supportan acceptable quality of life? This brings up other vexing questions, such as what

is an acceptable quality of life, and what members of the global humanpopulation deserve to have it? If we accept this goal for all living humans, whatare the implications? Is this even physically possible, given the declining carryingcapacity of the earth? I believe that much new research needs to be pursued ineach of these areas if we are to develop a sustainable society capable of surviving into the distant future. We don't have to wait until all this research iscompleted to see that human civilization is having a large impact on the globallife-support system right now, and that major, global human-behavior changesare needed. This then opens up another area of research: research specificallyaddressing human behavior modification what stimulates it, what inhibits it, andwhat sustains it.

 AIDS AND EARTH ETHICS BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION STRATEGIES 

"What has AIDS got to do with Earth Ethics?" one might ask. Well, a lot. First of all, there is some evidence that overpopulation of the planet, coupled with a verymobile society, promotes the spread of viral infections faster than we candevelop effective defenses. This was pointed out by Anne and Paul Ehrlich in1971. Their predictions seem to be coming true as the AIDS epidemic spreadsrapidly and scientists have trouble finding effective defense mechanisms.Secondly, AIDS is a clear and immediate threat to society. Amelioration of itsconsequences at the present time depends exclusively upon drastic changes in

the compulsive behavior patterns of many people. Because of the magnitude of the threat, the U. S. government is spending $480 million per year, trying toeducate the public and prevent the spread of the virus. Mind-altering drug use isanother behavioral problem with rapidly growing adverse impacts on society.Scientists and social engineers are embarked upon a grand experiment to getlarge numbers of people to change some very unhealthy behaviors. The methodsthey use and how well they succeed should be of great interest toenvironmentalists and earth ethics scholars. There are other parallels. One might

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say that the current growth-is-good, more-growth-is-better, earth-depleting,economic system is as addictive as drugs and as compulsive as sex. It may be

 just as difficult to change earth-depleting behavior patterns as it is to stop drugabuse. According to a recent article on AIDS-related social engineering inScience: It seems that altering deeply ingrained behaviors is not like flipping a

switch. Some individuals are recalcitrant, a few will never change, many do noteven believe that they are at risk, and others need a lot of help," says ThomasCoates of the University of California at San Francisco. Researchers know thathumans are capable of dramatic behavior modifications. But the scientists arenot really sure why. Nor are they in agreement about how to speed up theprocess.... In order to change a behavior, the experts say, people must firstrecognize the fact that they are at risk; then they must be told how best tonavigate around the danger.... They must then believe in their own ability tochange and in the value of the new and improved conduct.... Finally, the newbehaviors must become the 'normative' ones in the community, so that they areconstantly reinforced.... In the business of behavior change, researchers say that

these community norms are the most important thing of all. "One of the biggestproblems is that information doesn't do much," says Nathan Maccoby of theStanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention. "In order for theinformation... to begin working, the threat... must be perceived as real,immediate, close to home. The problem is that people deny risk." "People arevery creative when it comes to reasons why their own risk is not high," says NeilWeinstein of Rutgers University.... "Unfortunately, something must break into aperson's own life before he'll do anything about it," says Howard Leventhal of Rutgers. The real trick, say public health workers, is to get people's attentionfocused on behavior modification before rates of [personal disaster] becomesuch that [the problem] is nearly impossible to ignore. But there is a great deal of debate about exactly how to do this. These are not very encouraging words for those of us concerned about altering the earth-depleting behavior patterns of humans. The ultimate threats are real but distant in time and space. In modernindustrialized societies we are separated from the environmental consequencesof our actions by complex and elaborate systems of manufacture, distribution,and waste disposal. "Out of sight out of mind" seems to be the current motto.Without direct feedback on the consequences of our actions, how are we toconvince ourselves that there is a real and present danger out there, that it isimmediate and threatening? According to the Science article, AIDS researchersare finding that the most effective factor in achieving behavior change lies notwith working on a relatively small number of individuals. "If we think aboutchanging behavior one by one, the epidemic will be over before we're through.You've got to change community norms and standards," says Larry Bye, founder of a Stop AIDS project in San Francisco. Perhaps this provides the key to apossibly successful strategy. Although accurate information is a necessary firststep to environmental reform, it is in itself insufficient to stimulate the changesthat are needed. We must also help people see the linkages between their actions and the destruction of the earth's life-support system. (An example of thislinkage can be found in the purchase of a hamburger at a fast-food chain, if the

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beef was grown on deforested land in Arizona and the foam plastic container produces air pollution in its manufacture and ground and possibly air pollution inits disposal.) They must be helped then to use this as an incentive for examiningtheir belief systems. If we can cause massive changes in beliefs then the politicalchanges required for the needed behavior changes will take place naturally.

SOLAR ENERGY, ENERGY CONSERVATION, AND EARTH ETHICS 

The above discussion may appear to have departed considerably from theresearch and promotion of widespread conversion from nonrenewable energysources to renewables and conservation. I would like to try and bring these backtogether, to show how energy and ethics are connected, to make the connectionmore understandable. The motivation for most mainstream energy resource workis utilitarian, it results from knowledge that nonrenewables cannot last indefinitelyand that they tend to pollute more than most renewables. Both the resourcedepletion and the pollution are bad for humans. Thus, so the argument goes,humans should reduce their dependence upon nonrenewable energy sources.

This is a purely anthropocentric argument. The work is done solely for the benefitof humans. Some narrow the argument even further, into a nationalistic justification: it would free a given country from dependence upon resources fromoutside that country's border, without any reference to the environmental issuesinvolved. One result of this perspective is that funding for energy research dropswhen there are short-term increases in nonrenewable energy availability. Toindividuals with a more global and long-term view, this is inappropriate. Of coursethere is more to it than this. We are beginning to realize that large per capitanonrenewable energy (and energy-based material) consumption patterns aregenerally injurious to the earth's life-support system. Ozone depletion and globalwarming are two currently prominent examples. The connection between

nonrenewable energy use and the destruction of nature is beginning to beunderstood. Now we need to take this understanding a bit further. The processesof providing energy and energy-intensive products all have adverseenvironmental impacts, even when renewable energy sources are being used.The renewable sources are thought to generally have less impacts, but theimpacts are there. So, in addition to switching from nonrenewables torenewables, we need to reduce the impacts of the new sources and to reducehuman dependence on them. Many people believe that we must go still further and reduce our per capita energy consumption patterns (or greatly reduce thehuman population) to insure a viable life-support system for future generations.Some of these changes can be accomplished by purely technological means,

and Amory Lovins has extensive and detailed information that shows how to goabout it. Implementation of the Lovins recommendations will require somechanges in beliefs and societal structures, but most of his recommendations are

 justified on purely conventional economic bases. These are inherentlyanthropocentric arguments. It is becoming clearer, however, that purelytechnological changes will be insufficient. Human behavior changes will beneeded, not only to implement the proposed technological changes but toachieve needed changes that technology and economics alone cannot

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accomplish. We can try and make more energy-efficient houses and offices, butif we keep building them farther and farther apart, transportation energy costs willeat up building energy savings. We can switch to biodegradable plastics, tominimize the environmental impacts of their disposal, but we will still be usingenergy-intensive nonrenewable raw materials to manufacture them. Thus, human

behaviors, and the corresponding value systems, are necessary components of an effective energy policy. It is important to examine how inappropriate belief systems, in the individual, and in the society at large, produce behaviors that areinconsistent with an earth-sustaining energy policy. Then the beliefs that lead tothese behaviors can be addressed by the means indicated previously. Central tothis work is a need to avoid narrowly-based anthropocentrism. We must do whatwe do for the whole earth's ecological system, not necessarily because non-human species have rights, but because human interests are also at stake.Finally, energy planners, economists, researchers, and businessmen are alreadyembarked upon a massive program of social engineering, attempting to makedrastic changes in the ways humans obtain and use energy. Denying this fact, or 

denying that there are ethical considerations to be made in the process, is clearlyirresponsible. Paraphrasing Strong and Rosenfield, we have two choices beforeus, to begin now to seek guidelines for meeting the fundamental problem of howto protect the world's physical resources from ultimate exhaustion, or wait untildrastic change is forced upon us by the severity of the problems we have helpedto create. "We can adopt new social and environmental ethics now or wait untilhuman degradation and environmental deterioration threaten our very existence.Whichever path we elect to follow, we must recognize that the future dependsupon our present decisions, and that neither as individuals nor as a society canwe escape responsibility for them."

CONCLUDING REMARKS 

I have attempted to make a case for the study of ethics, in the context of aplanetary life-support system that is under attack by one animal species on thatplanet: homo sapiens. I believe that every person on earth who has enough foodto eat and adequate shelter must become familiar with this subject and seek todevelop a personal earth ethic, one that will contribute to the protection of our life-support system, the biosphere. In order to support our attempts at individualreform, we must join with others in local, regional, national, and internationalnetworks to derive the strengths from each other that will be needed to make thedesired changes. I believe that every organization should set aside someresources (money, time, and/or personnel) to pursue an organizational earth

ethic that makes sense in the context of that organization's interests and mode of operation. This should then be turned into a plan of action, a phasedimplementation of some organizational guidelines or procedures. If these effortswill be undertaken, I think a better world can result, a world which is capable of providing for a sustainably high quality of life for its human inhabitants. In spite of our many problems, the future looks very bright. It is an exciting time to be alive.We are on the threshold of a social, psychological, and spiritual breakthrough like

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none other experienced in the history of this earth or of our species. Let usembrace these new ideas with optimism and hope.

REFERENCES 

Berry, Thomas, The Dream of the Earth, Sierra Club Books, 1988. Booth, Wiliam,

"Social Engineers Confront AIDS," Science, Vol. 242, 2 December 1988, pp.1237-1238. Capra, Fritjof, The Tao of Physics, Bantam, Rev. ed. 1984. Ehrlich,P. R., and A. H. Ehrlich, Population, Resources, Environment , San Franscisco:Freeman, 1971. Erdoes, Richard, and Alfonso Ortiz, American Indian Myths and Legends, New York: Pantheon, 1984. Leopold, Aldo, A Sand County Almanac ,New York: Oxford University Press, 1949. Lovins, Amory and Hunter Lovins:"Leading the Soft Energy Revolution," Mother Earth News, July/August, 1984,pp. 17-24. RMI Newsletter and Competitek Information Services, RockyMountain Institute, 1739 Snowmass Creek Rd., Snowmass, CO 81654-9199.Maslow, A. H., Motivation and Personality , New York, Harper & Bros., 1954.McCluney, W. R., The Environmental Destruction of South Florida, The

University of Miami Press, 1971, p.i. Miller, Roberta Balstead, "Global ChangeResearch Challenges Social Science", The AAAS Observer , 7 July 1989, p. 5.Myers, Norman, "Tropical Forest Species, Going, Going, Going...," Scientific 

 American, December 1988, p.132. Nash, Roderick Frazier, The Rights of Nature: A History of Environmental Ethics, The University of Wisconsin Press, 1989.North American Association for Environmental Education, Workshop onEnvironmental Ethics, 14-15 October 1988, Orlando, Florida. Regan, Tom, TheCase for Animal Rights, Berkeley, CA, 1983, p. vi . Shrader-Frechette, K. S.,Environmental Ethics, Pacific Grove, CA, The Boxwood Press, 1981. Stone, C.D., Should Trees Have Standing? - Toward Legal Rights for Natural Objects , Los

 Altos, CA, W. Kaufmann, 1974, p.6. Strong, D. H., and E. S. Rosenfield, "Ethics

or Expediency: An Environmental Question", Environmental Ethics, PacificGrove, CA, The Boxwood Press, 1981. Swimme, Brian, The Universe is a GreenDragon, Bear & Co., Inc., 1984. Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre, The Phenomenon of Man, New York: Harper, 1959. Theobald, Robert, The Rapids of Change: Social Entrepreneurship in Turbulent Times, Indianapolis: Knowledge Systems, 1987.Zukav, Gary, The Dancing Wu Li Masters, Bantam, 1980. 

FootnotesThis document is SS-EES-22, an FSEC Publication provided for the EnergyResource CD-ROM by the Florida Energy Extension Service, FloridaCooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences,University of Florida. Publication date: June 1994. First published: December 

1989. 2. R. McCluney, Program Director, Florida Solar Energy Center, StateUniversity System, 300 State Road 401, Cape Canaveral, Florida 32920

. Telephone: (407) 783-0300. © Copyright 1989, Florida Solar Energy Center.The Florida Energy Extension Service receives funding from the Energy Office,Department of Community Affairs, and is operated by the University of Florida's

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Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences through the Cooperative ExtensionService. The information contained herein is the product of the Florida EnergyExtension Service and does not necessarily reflect the view of the Florida EnergyOffice. 

Florida Cooperative Extension Service / Institute of Food and Agricultural

Sciences / University of Florida / Christine Taylor Waddill, Dean 

Disclaimer 

The use of trade names in this publication is solely for the purpose of providingspecific information. UF/IFAS does not guarantee or warranty the productsnamed, and references to them in this publication does not signify our approvalto the exclusion of other products of suitable composition.  

Path: Home>Education>Energy Information>Ethical Dimensions of Our Energy andEnvironmental Crises

Solar and Geothermal Stocks

Greenness Is Next to Godliness

By Nick HodgeFriday, November 2nd, 2007 

This week on the Hill, a group of the nation's religious leaders pushed for Congress to make sure thecountry's poor and most vulnerable are protected from the consequences of climate change.

Gathered in Washington were leaders from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Association of Evangelicals, the National Council of Churches, and the Union for Reform Judaism.

 And while these groups normally don't agree on much--not even on how to worship the same God--they've all bonded together to request Congress set an official reduction limit for greenhouse gasemissions.

It seems to me that an organization of such devotion could just take their case to the really High Court,but their earthly route certainly goes to illustrate a major point.

Greenness Is Next to Godliness

If that's really the case, then the world's leading banks are in the midst of a great religious awakening.

Even though major banks are still in the middle of massive mortgage and credit crises, they are stillmore than willing to lend to and invest money in the green and clean-tech industries.

 According to Phil Spector of Troutman Sanders, "Banks consider renewable ventures to be well worththe upfront money. They are able to invest in green assets and achieve some public heroism whilethey make smart investments."

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Wells Fargo has found a way in by backing solar energy initiatives by SunEdison that allow companiesto avoid high initial costs for installing solar, while enabling them to purchase electricity at long-termprices that are frequently lower than many utilities' rates. Wal-Mart and Walgreens are some of thecompanies taking advantage of the program.

These types of projects are done through what is called a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Acompany (SunEdison) seeks out customers that want solar power (Wal-Mart). The company then getsfinancing to purchase and install turnkey solar systems on the customer's facilities. For its part, thecustomer agrees to a long-term PPA--usually for 15 years or longer.

The company makes money from the sale of power. The lender makes money from the interest on theloan. And the customer benefits by getting the advantages of powering their business with solar,without incurring the high upfront costs.

Yet without a national renewable portfolio standard (RPS), which would mandate that a certainpercentage of the nation's energy needs be generated renewably, the number of companies looking toenter into PPAs cannot grow as quickly as the big banks would like, limiting the opportunities in thisinvestment area.

But with green being so hot, big banks are looking for any way possible to get into it, including granting

funding to projects they would have been avoided a few years ago.

The Race Is On

With renewables still making up only about 2% of the energy mix and oil all but straining to break the$100 barrier, alternative energy options are looking better than ever. And there's been a mad dash tobuy up as much as possible.

You see, when oil rises like it has recently, renewable sources become that much more competitive inthe eyes of investors, and the money starts flowing in their direction.

Let's take a look a just a few of the companies you've missed out on in the past month if you're not agreen investor.

Solar has been one of the main benefactors of oil's recent ascendance. Yingli Green Energy Hold. Co.Ltd (NYSE: YGE) has gained 41.2% since the beginning of October, climbing from $27.30 to $38.57.

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Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd (NYSE: STP) has risen hand-in-hand with oil for a 39.5% gain in thelast month.

But it isn't just feast or famine. The geothermal stocks have been going crazy as well, including thesegems straight from the Green Chip Stocks portfolio.

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US Geothermal Inc. (OTCBB: UGTH) hit an all-time high of $4.78 this week after making anextraordinary gain of 68.9% for the month. That left our readers sitting on gains of well over 455%.

Making sure not to disappoint, the geothermal big boy, Ormat Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: ORA)reached an all-time high as well, touching $59.93 while rising nearly 30% for the month.

The bottom line is there are plenty of charts like this I can show you. But they just don't have the samemeaning if you're not the one making the gains.

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Oil is going to continue to rise. Climate change is going to continue to be an issue. And theseproblems aren't going to fix themselves on their own. It's going to take real solutions and trillions of dollars of investment. So why wouldn't you want to be a part of this financial megatrend?

Billions of dollars from investment banks can't be wrong. And if you want to consistently make the kindof gains I've shown in this article, you have to be a Green Chip Stocks subscriber.

No other service knows as much about the industry as we do. We're constantly sending updates andtelling our readers how to profit from companies in a variety of clean-tech sectors.

 And now we've got the nation's religious leaders behind us.

To take advantage of profits that are growing even faster than the price of oil, click here. 

Until next time,

Nick

"Energy stocks... The only way a human is going to makeany money."

-- Matt Simmons, Peak Oil's first and most vocal proponent,and founder of the country's last pure play energy investment banking fi rm.

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