3. RENEWABLE RESOURCES
A renewable resource is an organic natural
resource that can replenish in due time
compared to the usage, either through
biological reproduction or other naturally
recurring processes. Renewable resources
are a part of Earth's natural environment
and the largest components of its
ecosphere. A positive life cycle assessment
is a key indicator of a resource's
sustainability.
4.
5. DEFINITIONS OF RENEWABLE RESOURCES MAY ALSO
INCLUDE AGRICULTURE PRODUCTION, AS IN
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AND TO AN EXTENT WATER
RESOURCES.IN 1962 PAUL ALFRED WEISS DEFINED
RENEWABLE RESOURCES AS: "THE TOTAL RANGE OF
LIVING ORGANISMS PROVIDING MAN WITH FOOD,
FIBERS, DRUGS, ETC..." THE TERM DOES NOT REFER
HOWEVER TO METALS, MINERALS AND FOSSIL FUELS.
WHILE ENERGY PER SE IS NOT CONSUMED, SOME
INCLUDE AS WELL THE PROVISION OF RENEWABLE
ENERGY BY SOLAR, GEOTHERMAL AND WIND POWER
STATIONS UNDER THE DEFINITION.
7. A NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCE (ALSO CALLED A
FINITE RESOURCE) IS A RESOURCE THAT DOES NOT
RENEW ITSELF AT A SUFFICIENT RATE FOR
SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC EXTRACTION IN
MEANINGFUL HUMAN TIME-FRAMES. AN EXAMPLE IS
CARBON-BASED, ORGANICALLY-DERIVED FUEL. THE
ORIGINAL ORGANIC MATERIAL, WITH THE AID OF
HEAT AND PRESSURE, BECOMES A FUEL SUCH AS OIL
OR GAS. FOSSIL FUELS (SUCH AS COAL, PETROLEUM,
AND NATURAL GAS), AND CERTAIN AQUIFERS ARE
ALL NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCES.
8.
9. IN CONTRAST, RESOURCES SUCH AS TIMBER (WHEN HARVESTED
SUSTAINABLY) AND WIND (USED TO POWER ENERGY CONVERSION
SYSTEMS) ARE CONSIDERED RENEWABLE RESOURCES, LARGELY
BECAUSE THEIR LOCALIZED REPLENISHMENT CAN OCCUR WITHIN
TIMEFRAMES MEANINGFUL TO HUMANS.
ALL FOSSIL FUELS ARE NONRENEWABLE, BUT NOT ALL NONRENEWABLE
ENERGY SOURCES ARE FOSSIL FUELS.
THERE ARE FOUR MAJOR NONRENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES:
- CRUDE OIL
- NATURAL GAS
- COAL
- URANIUM (NUCLEAR ENERGY)
10. WE ALL ARE GOING TO TELL YOU ABOUT…
RENEWABLE RESOURCES/ENERGY
13. TIDAL POWER, ALSO CALLED TIDAL ENERGY,
IS A FORM OF HYDROPOWER THAT
CONVERTS THE ENERGY OF TIDES INTO
USEFUL FORMS OF POWER, MAINLY
ELECTRICITY. ALTHOUGH NOT YET WIDELY
USED, TIDAL POWER HAS POTENTIAL FOR
FUTURE ELECTRICITY GENERATION. TIDES ARE
MORE PREDICTABLE THAN WIND ENERGY
AND SOLAR POWER
14.
15. ALTHOUGH NOT YET WIDELY USED, TIDAL POWER HAS
POTENTIAL FOR FUTURE ELECTRICITY GENERATION. TIDES ARE
MORE PREDICTABLE THAN WIND ENERGY AND SOLAR POWER.
AMONG SOURCES OF RENEWABLE ENERGY, TIDAL POWER HAS
TRADITIONALLY SUFFERED FROM RELATIVELY HIGH COST AND
LIMITED AVAILABILITY OF SITES WITH SUFFICIENTLY HIGH TIDAL
RANGES OR FLOW VELOCITIES, THUS CONSTRICTING ITS TOTAL
AVAILABILITY. HOWEVER, MANY RECENT TECHNOLOGICAL
DEVELOPMENTS AND IMPROVEMENTS, BOTH IN DESIGN AND
TURBINE TECHNOLOGY (E.G. NEW AXIAL TURBINES, CROSS
FLOW TURBINES), INDICATE THAT THE TOTAL AVAILABILITY OF
TIDAL POWER MAY BE MUCH HIGHER THAN PREVIOUSLY
ASSUMED, AND THAT ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL
COSTS MAY BE BROUGHT DOWN TO COMPETITIVE LEVELS.
17. WIND POWER OR WIND ENERGY IS THE ENERGY
EXTRACTED FROM WIND USING WIND TURBINES TO
PRODUCE ELECTRICAL POWER, WINDMILLS FOR
MECHANICAL POWER, WINDPUMPS FOR WATER
PUMPING, OR SAILS TO PROPWIND POWER, AS AN
ALTERNATIVE TO FOSSIL FUELS, IS PLENTIFUL,
RENEWABLE, WIDELY DISTRIBUTED, CLEAN, PRODUCES
NO GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS DURING OPERATION
AND USES LITTLE LAND
18.
19. THE EFFECTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT ARE GENERALLY
LESS PROBLEMATIC THAN THOSE FROM OTHER POWER
SOURCES. AS OF 2013, DENMARK IS GENERATING
MORE THAN A THIRD OF ITS ELECTRICITY FROM WIND
AND 83 COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD ARE USING
WIND POWER TO SUPPLY THE ELECTRICITY GRID.WIND
POWER CAPACITY HAS EXPANDED RAPIDLY TO 336 GW
IN JUNE 2014, AND WIND ENERGY PRODUCTION WAS
AROUND 4% OF TOTAL WORLDWIDE ELECTRICITY
USAGE, AND GROWING RAPIDLY.
21. SOLAR ENERGY IS RADIANT LIGHT AND HEAT FROM
THE SUN HARNESSED USING A RANGE OF EVER-
EVOLVING TECHNOLOGIES SUCH AS SOLAR HEATING,
SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAICS, SOLAR THERMAL ENERGY,
SOLAR ARCHITECTURE AND ARTIFICIAL PHIT IS AN
IMPORTANT SOURCE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ITS
TECHNOLOGIES ARE BROADLY CHARACTERIZED AS
EITHER PASSIVE SOLAR OR ACTIVE SOLAR DEPENDING
ON THE WAY THEY CAPTURE AND DISTRIBUTE SOLAR
ENERGY OR CONVERT IT INTO SOLAR POWER.
22.
23. IT IS AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY
AND ITS TECHNOLOGIES ARE BROADLY CHARACTERIZED
AS EITHER PASSIVE SOLAR OR ACTIVE SOLAR DEPENDING
ON THE WAY THEY CAPTURE AND DISTRIBUTE SOLAR
ENERGY OR CONVERT IT INTO SOLAR POWER. ACTIVE
SOLAR TECHNIQUES INCLUDE THE USE OF
PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS, CONCENTRATED SOLAR
POWER AND SOLAR WATER HEATING TO HARNESS THE
ENERGY. PASSIVE SOLAR TECHNIQUES INCLUDE
ORIENTING A BUILDING TO THE SUN, SELECTING
MATERIALS WITH FAVORABLE THERMAL MASS OR LIGHT
DISPERSING PROPERTIES, AND DESIGNING SPACES THAT
NATURALLY CIRCULATE AIR.
25. SO JUST HOW DO WE GET ELECTRICITY FROM WATER?
ACTUALLY, HYDROELECTRIC AND COAL-FIRED POWER
PLANTS PRODUCE ELECTRICITY IN A SIMILAR WAY. IN
BOTH CASES A POWER SOURCE IS USED TO TURN A
PROPELLER-LIKE PIECE CALLED A TURBINE, WHICH THEN
TURNS A METAL SHAFT IN AN ELECTRIC GENERATOR,
WHICH IS THE MOTOR THAT PRODUCES ELECTRICITY. A
COAL-FIRED POWER PLANT USES STEAM TO TURN THE
TURBINE BLADES; WHEREAS A HYDROELECTRIC PLANT
USES FALLING WATER TO TURN THE TURBINE.
26.
27. 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.
28. BY THE WAY, IT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA TO BE PLAYING IN THE WATER
RIGHT BELOW A DAM WHEN WATER IS RELEASED!
31. THERMAL ENERGY IS A TERM SOMETIMES USED TO
REFER TO THE INTERNAL ENERGY PRESENT IN A SYSTEM
IN A STATE OF THERMODYNAMIC EQUILIBRIUM BY
VIRTUE OF ITS TEMPERATURE.THE AVERAGE
TRANSLATIONAL KINETIC ENERGY POSSESSED BY FREE
PARTICLES IN A SYSTEM OF FREE PARTICLES IN
THERMODYNAMIC EQUILIBRIUM (AS MEASURED IN THE
FRAME OF REFERENCE OF THE CENTER OF MASS OF
THAT SYSTEM) MAY ALSO BE REFERRED TO AS THE
THERMAL ENERGY PER PARTICLE.
32.
33. THE THERMAL ENERGY MAY INCLUDE BOTH THE KINETIC
ENERGY AND POTENTIAL ENERGY OF A SYSTEM'S
CONSTITUENT PARTICLES, WHICH MAY BE ATOMS,
MOLECULES, ELECTRONS, OR PARTICLES. IT ORIGINATES
FROM THE INDIVIDUALLY RANDOM, OR DISORDERED,
MOTION OF PARTICLES IN A LARGE ENSEMBLE. IN IDEAL
MONATOMIC GASES, THERMAL ENERGY IS ENTIRELY
KINETIC ENERGY. IN OTHER SUBSTANCES, IN CASES
WHERE SOME OF THERMAL ENERGY IS STORED IN
ATOMIC VIBRATION OR BY INCREASED SEPARATION OF
PARTICLES HAVING MUTUAL FORCES OF ATTRACTION,
THE THERMAL ENERGY IS EQUALLY PARTITIONED
BETWEEN POTENTIAL ENERGY AND KINETIC ENERGY.
