This document discusses various alternative energy sources that can help reduce carbon emissions, including solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, biomass and hydrogen power. It provides details on how these different technologies work to generate electricity and explains their benefits in addressing climate change over carbon-based fuels. The document also notes that continued development is needed for alternative energies to meet more of the world's growing energy demands.

1. Alternative Energy
Making a smaller carbon footprint by Kella Randolph M.Ed.

2. Make a smaller carbon footprint.
Wasteful use of carbon based fuels is
damaging our planet.
Smart use of alternative energy can
reduce our use of carbon based fuels.
July 22, 2 2012 Footer text here

3. There are many sources of cleaner energy.
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4. greener-4 home.info300 × 275

5. Here are the
percentages.
We can do better.
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6. We have choices.
6 Energygrant.com

7. Take a look at this diagram (courtesy of the Tennessee Valley
Authority) of a hydroelectric power plant to see the details:
• Drawing of a turbine, which the water turns.
The theory is to build a dam on a large river
that has a large drop in elevation (there are not
many hydroelectric plants in Kansas or
Florida). The dam stores lots of water behind it
in the reservoir. Near the bottom of the dam
wall there is the water intake. Gravity causes it
to fall through the penstock inside the dam. At
the end of the penstock there is a turbine
propeller, which is turned by the moving water.
The shaft from the turbine goes up into the
generator, which produces the power. Power
lines are connected to the generator that carry
electricity to your home and mine. The water
continues past the propeller through the
tailrace into the river past the dam. By the way,
it is not a good idea to be playing in the water
right below a dam when water is released!
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8. As to how this generator works, the Corps of
Engineers explains it this way:
• "A hydraulic turbine converts the energy
of flowing water into mechanical energy.
A hydroelectric generator converts this
mechanical energy into electricity. The
operation of a generator is based on the
principles discovered by Faraday. He
found that when a magnet is moved past a
conductor, it causes electricity to flow. In a
large generator, electromagnets are made
by circulating direct current through loops
of wire wound around stacks of magnetic
steel laminations. These are called field
poles, and are mounted on the perimeter
of the rotor. The rotor is attached to the
turbine shaft, and rotates at a fixed speed.
When the rotor turns, it causes the field
poles (the electromagnets) to move past
the conductors mounted in the stator.
This, in turn, causes electricity to flow and
a voltage to develop at the generator
output terminals."
http://water.usgs.8 gov/edu/hyhowworks.html

9. Tidal power
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10. Wave motion can be used to create electrical
energy.
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11. Different models capture wave energy.
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12. Another way to capture wave power:
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13. Inside a wind turbine
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14. Small windmills can power household electric
needs.
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15. Does wind power work?
• 2006 Wind Installations Offset More Than 40 Million Tons of CO2
• by Worldwatch Institute on July 25, 2007
• WASHINGTON, D.C.—The 15,200 megawatts of new wind turbines installed worldwide
last year will generate enough clean electricity annually to offset the carbon dioxide
emissions of 23 average-sized U.S. coal-fired power plants, according to a new Vital Signs
Update from the Worldwatch Institute. The 43 million tons of carbon dioxide displaced in
2006 is equivalent to the emissions of 7,200 megawatts of coal-fired power plants, or
nearly 8 million passenger cars.
• "Wind power is on track to soon play a major role in reducing fossil fuel dependence and
slowing the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere," according to Worldwatch
Senior Researcher Janet Sawin. "Already, the 43 million tons of carbon dioxide displaced by
the new wind plants installed last year equaled more than 5 percent of the year’s growth in
global emissions. If the wind market quadruples over the next nine years—a highly
plausible scenario—wind power could be reducing global emissions growth by 20 percent
in 2015."
• (http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5258)
July 22, 15 2012 Footer text here

16. Some people do not want wind farms
• In Massachusetts in 2006:
• Proposed wind farm could generate 75% of the power needed for the region
• 17wind_submap.jpg
• " The developer of a proposed "wind farm" off the Massachusetts coast dodged a bullet
recently when Congressional leaders removed a provision from a Coast Guard
reauthorization bill that would have granted Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) veto
power over the project.
• Romney opposes developer Jim Gordon's Cape Wind project, which would erect 130 giant
electricity-generating wind turbines in Nantucket Sound. Romney has said he would veto
the plan if given the chance.
• Cape Wind needs permits from 17 federal and state agencies, under the National
Environmental Policy Act and the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act, before
construction may begin. Company plans call for operation to begin in 2009.
• Although the project recently overcame a political hurdle, financial and economic ones
remain. Despite high oil and gas prices, questions remain about the financial viability of
the wind power project. "
(http://www.heartland.org/policybot/results/19666/Proposed_Mass_Wind_Farm_Generat
es_Intense_Criticism.html)
July 22, 16 2012 Footer text here

17. These windmills are not attractive
Contributions to http://reich-chemistry.wikispaces.com/ are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 3.0 License. Creative Commons Attribution 17 Share-Alike 3.0 License

18. Wind and solar combination
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19. Continued
improvements to solar
power are imperative
to future space travel.
HowStuffWorks "How has NASA
improved solar energy?"
science.howstuffworks.com360 × 240
July 22, 19 2012 Footer text here

20. Concentrating Solar
Power (CSP) ·
Using reflective materials like mirrors and
lenses, these systems concentrate
sunlight to generate thermal energy,
which is in turn used to generate
electricity. Similar to traditional power
plants, many CSP plants are hundreds of
megawatts (MW) in size and some can
continue to provide power after sunset.
20 www.seia.org548 × 365

21. Nissan Smart House
With a power supply system that combines
double power generation (solar power and
fuel cell power) with the LEAF to Home
system, this home can maintain stable in-house
power supply that is not affected by
weather, and can rely on solar power and
power stored in an EV’s batteries if power is
cut off during a disaster. With an energy
management system that uses next-generation
mobile communications, the
home’s electric appliances also employ
energy-saving and remote-controlled
maintenance features.
21 fareastgizmos.com450 × 330

22. How has NASA
improved solar energy?
Space Exploration Image Gallery For
decades, NASA has invested heavily in
research to improve solar panels. Those
investments paid off. These are nothing
like antiquated solar cells from the 1970s.
Today's solar cells and associated
products are getting better all the time.
Keep reading to see how NASA's
investments are improving solar power
for space missions -- and for those of us
stuck on the mother planet, too.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/nasa-inventions/nasa-22 improve-solar-energy.htm

23. The parabolic troughs
that make up this
concentrating solar power
system generate power
from the sun on a large
scale in California.
Solar technologies use the sun's energy to provide heat, light, hot
water, electricity, and even cooling, for homes, businesses, and
industry. Despite sunlight's significant potential for supplying
energy, solar power provides less than 1% of U.S. energy needs. This
percentage is expected to increase with the development of new and
more efficient solar technologies.
Different types of solar collectors are used to meet different energy
needs. Passive solar building designs capture the sun's heat to
provide space heating and light. Photovoltaic cells convert sunlight
directly to electricity. Concentrating solar power systems focus
sunlight with mirrors to create a high-intensity heat source, which
then produces steam or mechanical power to run a generator that
creates electricity. Flat-plate collectors absorb the sun's heat directly
into water or other fluids to provide hot water or space heating. And
solar process heating and cooling systems use specialized solar
collectors and chemical processes to meet large-scale hot water and
heating and cooling needs.
July 22, 23 2012 Footer text here

24. Solar panels can power a household, too.
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25. Home cooking, solar style: a solar cooker.
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26. Biomass fuels
Use waste materials to produce fuels and
energy.
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27. Bioproducts
Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons, which are
various combinations of carbon and
hydrogen. Biomass components are
carbohydrates, which are various
combinations of carbon, hydrogen, and
oxygen. The presence of oxygen makes it
more challenging to create some products
and easier to create others. In addition, the
wide range of types of biomass should make
it possible to make new and valuable
products not made from petrochemicals.
July 22, 27 2012 Footer text here

28. Recycle wasted wood
to produce fuel.
Its 500-kW system — the country’s first
grid-tied gasifier with air permits — uses
waste wood to generate 100 percent of
electricity for a pallet company in Merced,
Calif.
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29. Biomass fuel is cleaner.
Eveco - Green Building Solutions
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30. Hydrogen
30 www.nature.com946 × 945

31. Some areas can tap into Earth’s heat to get power.
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32. Geothermal Energy Basics
• The Earth's heat—called geothermal energy—
escapes as steam at a hot springs in Nevada.
• Many technologies have been developed to take
advantage of geothermal energy—the heat from the
earth. This heat can be drawn from several sources:
hot water or steam reservoirs deep in the earth that
are accessed by drilling; geothermal reservoirs
located near the earth's surface, mostly located in the
western U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii; and the shallow
ground near the Earth's surface that maintains a
relatively constant temperature of 50°-60°F.
• This variety of geothermal resources allows them to
be used on both large and small scales. A utility can
use the hot water and steam from reservoirs to drive
generators and produce electricity for its customers.
Other applications apply the heat produced from
geothermal directly to various uses in buildings,
roads, agriculture, and industrial plants. Still others
use the heat directly from the ground to provide
heating and cooling in homes and other buildings.
http://www.nrel.gov/learning/32 re_geothermal.html

33. Geothermal Heat
Pump Basics
The West Philadelphia Enterprise Center
uses a geothermal heat pump system for
more than 31,000 square feet of space.
Geothermal heat pumps take advantage of
the nearly constant temperature of the
Earth to heat and cool buildings. The shallow
ground, or the upper 10 feet of the Earth,
maintains a temperature between 50° and
60°F (10°–16°C). This temperature is warmer
than the air above it in the winter and cooler
in the summer.
http://www.nrel.gov/learning/33 re_geo_heat_pumps.html

34. Enhanced Geothermal
Systems
EGS provide geothermal power by
tapping into the Earth's deep geothermal
resources that are otherwise not
economical due to lack of water, location,
or rock type. The U.S. Geological Survey
estimates that potentially 500,000
megawatts of EGS resource is available in
the western U.S.—about half of the
current installed electric power
generating capacity in the United States.
See an animation that shows how an Enhanced Geothermal System works at the U.S. Department of Energy's Geothermal Technologies Program (GTP) website.
34

35. Geothermal Electricity Production
• This geothermal power plant
generates electricity for the Imperial
Valley in California.
• Geothermal power plants use steam
produced from reservoirs of hot
water found a few miles or more
below the Earth's surface to produce
electricity. The steam rotates a
turbine that activates a generator,
which produces electricity.
• There are three types of geothermal
power plants: dry steam, flash
steam, and binary cycle.
http://www.nrel.gov/learning/re_geo_35 elec_production.html

36. Producers of
alternative energy
machines.
36 www.nrdc.org750 × 529

37. All over the world we are beginning to switch to
alternative energy.
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