The other deliberation I attended was on March 1^st and was on Marijuana Legalization. I thought that attending this event would be interesting because the topic is very close to the one that my group did, which was about illicit drugs. I was mostly interested in this topic because of the third approach: marijuana for medical uses. Because I want to be a doctor, it was relevant to me. Unfortunately, due to bad weather and an unexpected change in the room number, I ended up being the only “outsider” that attended. Everyone else in the group was presenting. Thus, the deliberation was set up that everyone was seated in a circle and whoever wasn’t presenting was asking questions.

The three approaches talked about were if marijuana should be fully legalized, if marijuana should remain illegal, and if marijuana should be legalized for medicinal purposes. In addition, this deliberation was different than my group’s deliberation because it was 2 hours in length. Thus, each approach group could focus on key questions and the summary group could really review what had happened and what the audience learned that was new from this deliberation.

The introduction went smoothly. I learned that the policies involving marijuana varied greatly between states. Some allowed for recreational uses, some only for medical uses, and some not at all. Everyone also introduced him or herself and talked about why they were interested in this topic. It was interesting to hear how some of them came from or knew friends that came from more poor neighborhoods where smoking marijuana wasn’t too uncommon. There was a girl who was interested in looking at other’s thoughts on federal versus state govern and one boy was interested in hearing about thoughts on the drug policies abroad and what people thought of it.

For the first approach, the group first asked about thoughts of if legalization of marijuana was allowed, if the government should tax users and sellers. They brought up the topic of the benefits of economic boosts that could follow and gave an example of Colorado. In addition, they talked about how one possibility is to use that money to fund in stopping youth use.

For the second approach, the group focused more on the socio-cultural costs such as increased car accidents and crime. They brought up Netherland’s policies and the results of higher crime that followed. However, it was interesting that someone brought up the possibility of the study being less credible because there was no note of the scale of the study and the acknowledgement of other factors.

In the third approach, the groups mainly mentioned different medical problems that can be addressed with the use of marijuana. I really liked this part of the deliberation in that the audience really addressed the problem and tried to come up with a possible solution together. We noted that there was the possibility of having people “fake” pain or illness to get the marijuana. The overall consensus was that it was because smoking weed had that cool factor. Thus, our solution was that a pill form could be made so that cool factor will decrease. We also suggested that this form of medication was made the last resort to prevent fake illnesses.

Overall, despite the limited number of people who participated, I thought this discussion was really interesting and valuable.

After looking at some of the less common sources of energy, it is now time to look at some of the better-known types that are available to us. Perhaps by looking at some of them, we can figure out what is preventing these popular forms of harnessing energy from becoming the next big thing. Thus, in this blog I will be trying to look at the pros and cons of solar energy.

So what is solar energy? Solar energy is the use of the sun’s energy (in the form of photons of light and heat). It is captured with a wide variety of technology, ranging from solar heating, solar photovoltaics/panels, and artificial photosynthesis.

One of the most basic pros of solar energy is that it is renewable – unless the sun goes out. However, if this happens, there would other problems to worry about other than the wasted solar panels. Another pro is that this renewable energy resource is abundant. In fact, “the surface of the earth receives 120,000 terawatts of solar radiation (sunlight) – 20,000 times more power than what is needed to supply the entire world” (INSERT). With all the possible places to put solar panels, we can just use a fraction of that area. Solar energy is also sustainable. Unlike natural gas and the burning of fossil fuels, we can’t run out of the sun’s energy. This will lessen the impact/problems that those in the next generation will have to face. Solar energy is also environmentally friendly. While there will be some pollution due to the manufacturing and shipping, solar panels do not constantly spew out harmful gases that could affect the environment. Solar energy is also not limited to certain places of the world. In most areas, having sunlight is a natural phenomenon. Where there is sun, there is a possibility of harnessing that energy.

But another thing that makes solar energy so enticing is the potential for energy savers to gain a profit out of using renewable energy. Through net metering and fee-in tariffs, homeowners can now sell the energy that they don’t use. And according to One Block Off the Grid, “adding solar panels to your home can bring in monthly savings of well above $100 in many states. In Hawaii, residents save on average $64,000 after 20 years” (INSERT). Because solar energy through the use of solar panels is easy to gather – unlike wind power or nuclear power in which only large companies can afford – individuals or schools can be a part of this renewable energy movement. And for those whose homes aren’t best fit to have solar panels but would like to be involved, some areas have things called “community solar gardens” in which a community can invest in a shared energy source. Finally, solar panels have low maintenance. According to the energyinformative.org, “residential solar panels usually only require cleaning a couple of times a year. Serious solar manufacturers ship 20- or 25-year warranties with their solar panels” (INSERT). With such technology that isn’t too intrusive and is available to be set up in different places, solar energy has a good list of benefits to the society.

However, solar energy isn’t without its disadvantages. Solar energy isn’t given as much incentives from the government as other sources of energy such as coal, which got “$1189 billion in federal subsidies and support” (INSERT) in 2010. Also, while solar energy is mostly abundant, the times when the sun is out and directly shining on the solar panels are limited. Things like day and night, the season, the area in the world, clouds, and objects that may block the sunlight can affect the harnessing of solar energy. This main concern is what prevents solar energy from becoming the next big energy provider. And coupled with the fact that storage is a problem, there needs to be an improvement in technology for further advancement in the usage of solar energy.

Resources:

Maehlum, Mathias Aarre. “Solar Energy Pros and Cons – Energy Informative.” Energy

Informative. N.p., 12 May 2014. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

“Solar Power Energy Information, Solar Power Energy Facts – National Geographic.”

National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 2015. Web. 05 Mar

We have already talked about wind energy and geothermal energy. Each one had their pros and cons. For this week’s civic issues blog I want to talk about a lesser-known replaceable energy source. Take a guess – this source can provide a large amount of energy, it is not limited to only producing electricity, and a slight accident can cause homes to be evacuated and panic near the area. This type of energy is nuclear energy.

It is kind of hard to fully explain how a nuclear reaction works in order to generate energy. However, I can try to explain the basics. The structure that produces the energy is in the form of a radioactive uranium bundle. Uranium is an element that had spontaneous fission, meaning it breaks apart and releases energy. However, in order to speed up the action to generate a larger amount of energy in a shorter amount of time, the nuclear plant uses induced fission, meaning that fires a neutron at the Uranium to split it apart. Heat and radiation is released. The heat from this reaction is used to boil the water that surrounds the bundle and turn it into steam. This steam is what is used to turn the turbine and give energy to the generator to convert the energy into electricity. Also, an interesting this is that the water also has another function: it cools down the bundle and prevents overheating and melting. Without this function, there will be leakage of radioactive substances.

First off I will talk about the pros of nuclear energy. The most obvious benefit into using this type of energy is that we will not have to rely on fossil fuels. There will be less greenhouse gases being released because of the stop or slowing down of the use of fossil fuels. In addition, research has already been found about nuclear energy and there are already a lot of nuclear plants around the world today. Thus, it would be fairly simple to incorporate more plants in different places. In addition, the amount of energy that is being provided by nuclear plants has been significant so far. In fact, in March 1, 2011, it was estimated that “there were 443 operating nuclear power reactors spread across the planet in 47 different countries. In 2009 alone, atomic energy accounted for 14 percent of the world’s electrical production. [And] In the United States, 104 nuclear power plants supply 20 percent of the electricity overall, with some states benefiting more than others” (Brian et.al).

As for the cons, there are some that really need to be given full attention to. The biggest concern when it comes to nuclear power plants is the chance of leakage. Take for example instances like the Three Mille Island or the event in Japan that was caused by an earthquake. If sudden natural occurrences like tornados or earthquakes can cause radioactive products to diffuse into the air and harm those living around the plant, the question becomes more difficult. After all, radioactive substances cannot be looked down upon – the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima prove this point. It has been shown that rather than the explosion itself the most deadly was the radiation that killed most people in a painful death. According to the website http://www.atomicarchive.com, many symptoms can occur and can range from hair loss, seizures, killed nerve cells, a destroyed thyroid, and increase vulnerability to infections, heart failure, diarrhea, vomiting of blood, and sterility. In addition that that concern, there are smaller concerns like where to dump the toxic waste, a long construction time, and that uranium sources are limited.

Overall, there are really large questions that must be answered before we look deeper into this possibility of using nuclear energy as a substitute power source for the fossil fuels. The wind power and geothermal power had the main issue of having a really high initial investment and the limiting factor of where the source can be set up. For nuclear plants, this is not an issue. Plants can be built almost anywhere. However, with nuclear power, one must be very cautious of radiation leakage. Perhaps at a certain level of risk, it would be much better to just forget about this source of power because the risk on humans greatly outweigh that of the benefits of more energy.

Resources:

Brain, Marshall, and Robert Lamb.  “How Nuclear Power Works”  09 October 2000.  HowStuffWorks.com. <http://science.howstuffworks.com/nuclear-power.htm> 26 February 2015.

Presidio Buzz. “Nuclear Energy: Pros and Cons.” Triple Pundit RSS. TriplePundit, 23 Feb. 2009. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

“Radiation Effects on Humans.” Radiation Effects on Humans. AJ Software & Multimedia, 2015. Web. 26 Feb. 2015.

Last week I mentioned about wind energy and its pros and cons. I mentioned that wind energy is renewable and doesn’t take up too much space if planned well but requires a large initial investment and can potentially affect animals. This week, I am going to focus on another form of green energy – geothermal energy. So what is geothermal energy? Well, if we split the word up into “geo” meaning earth and “thermal” meaning energy, we can see that it is the energy that is found underneath the Earth’s surface. This form of energy is not something new. In fact, in the past, geothermal energy in the form of heat was used to heat homes and baths. Some have even turned it into a business – hot springs resorts. However, the conversion of this energy into electricity is another thing in itself.

So where exactly does this energy come from? To put it generally, geothermal energy comes from three different sources: volcanoes, geysers, and hot springs. But more specifically, it is a little bit more complex. Underneath the earth is molten rock called magma. This is where the temperature is really, really hot. And around the depth of 10,000 meters, the temperature is hot enough to boil water. Thus, when water leaks into this area, it starts to boil and turns into steam. By building a network of geothermal heat pumps underneath the ground, we can capture the steam and force it upwards to the ground level. Once we have this steam, we can lead it to turn turbines and activate generators – and eventually generate electricity.

Let’s take a look at the advantages first. One of the more obvious benefits of geothermal energy is that is produces no pollution and is a renewable form of energy that is constantly providing energy 24/7. There will be no CO2 being spewed into the air and a geyser or hot spring area is not going to say “well, it’s already 2 am in the morning, I think I’m going to take a rest.” Seeing that we are now seeing a decline in fossil fuels and facing problems like global warming, these two factors are a big plus. In addition to being renewable, geothermal energy can be found around to world today. There will not be one country heavily depending on another. In fact, America has quite a few areas there geothermal energy is readily available – the western states, Hawaii, and Alaska. And according to the Geothermal Energy Association, in 2013, America had about “3,386 MW of installed geothermal capacity” (“Geothermal Basics Current Use”). In addition, as stated before, geothermal energy is not only used for electricity – in its heat form, it can be used to heat the home and baths. Therefore, we do not have to worry about things like burning fossil fuels to do so. And finally, investing in geothermal energy would mean more jobs for those who live around there – a benefit for those who are currently unemployed.

However, many of these benefits are overshadowed by problems/disadvantages. The first and most important disadvantage is that many of the areas that can provide geothermal energy are located in areas that have a high frequency of earthquakes and volcano activity. Thus, while there are lots of potential areas to gather geothermal energy, the possibility of placing either homes or factories under danger makes many think twice. Due to this high possibility of constant damage, many companies are unwilling to finance the building of geothermal heat pumps. Add that with the fact that initial investments are high and suddenly there are a lot less sponsors. In addition, solutions to this problem are rare because the transport of geothermal energy is difficult as well. There are few factors in this problem. First of all, transporting hot steam is really difficult. Secondly, there is a possibility of harmful gases being released along the way. Therefore, in order to use geothermal energy, you need to be in that same area. The last disadvantage is that while geothermal energy is renewable, it is still possible that the area can lose steam. How? If too much water is injected or if the temperature falls too sharply, it can affect the boiling of the water into steam.

Resources:

“Alternative Energy Sources – Solar, Wind, Geothermal, Biomass, Ocean and Other Energy Sources.” ConserveEnergyFuture. Conserve Energy Future, 20 Jan. 2013. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

“Geothermal Basics Current Use.” Geothermal Basics Current Use. Geothermal Energy Association, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2015.

For a long time now, people have been interested in trying to find an alternative energy source. They aim for one that is both environmentally healthy as well as cheap and accessible. In today’s blog, I will be looking into one of these possible sources and its pros and cons: wind energy.

First off, what is wind energy? How does it work? Wind energy is captured through wind turbines, which look like giant, white pinwheels stuck on the ground. It consists of usually three large blades sitting on top of steel pole. When the wind blows on the blades, causing it to rotate, the internal shaft of the wind turbine starts to turn as well. Through a series of mechanisms, the spinning shaft causes the wind turbine’s generator to produce electricity. Overall, there are three major types of wind power: utility-scale wind, distributed wind, and offshore wind. The Difference between utility-scale wind and distributed wind is in the size of the turbines and the amount of electricity it can generate. Offshore wind energy comes from wind turbines that are set up in water rather than on land. With all these different ways to harness the wind, there is potential for wind turbines to become the next main energy source.

One of the biggest advantages for wind energy is that it is renewable. There is never going to be a shortage of wind unlike natural gas – a large advantage for those in the future. Additionally, there is a lot of potential in wind energy. In fact, according to the American Wind Energy Association, “the current estimate of wind energy potential is 10 times the amount of electricity consumption” for United States (1). In fact, there has been a growth in wind energy of “30% on average for the past five years [since 2013]” (B). Not only is there potential in wind energy, on the contrary of what most people believe wind turbines take up little space. The larger turbines can generate “enough electricity for 600 U.S. homes” (B). And as for the land necessary for these giant pinwheels, “a typical wind farm of 20 turbines might extend over an area of 1 square kilometer” (D) but only uses up 1% of that space. The rest can be used for farming and what not.

However, despite the large advantages and potential of wind energy, there are some problems that are preventing a large-scale use of wind turbines. One of the major concerns is that while wind energy is environmentally healthy and is renewable, it is not always available. The amount of wind in each region varies, meaning that the amount of energy each region receives also varies. In order to combat this problem, there needs to be a way to store some of the energy generated by the wind. Another problem that stands in the way is effect wind turbines on wildlife in the area. A study by Long CV, Flint JA, and Lepper PA, looked into bat mortality resulting from collisions with wind turbines. The scientists concluded that the bats’ echoes that bounced off the turbine’s moving blades either made it difficult to detect and/or “could render [the blades] attractive to bats” (C). Another problem is the aesthetics of the wind turbine. According to some, the wind turbines can be seen all over, but they just don’t seem attractive. If “a typical wind farm of 20 turbines might extend over an area of 1 square kilometer” (D), then they better look pleasing to the eye. And finally, the largest problem of all: who will fund the research and the wind farms? It takes about “10 kilowatts and $40,000 to $70,000 [a turbine] to become a net electricity producer” (B) – requiring a 10 to 20 year pre-investment. Against the odds of the natural gas and fossil fuel industries, it’ll be hard for those interested in wind energy to make an impact.

In conclusion, there are a large amount of pros and cons to wind energy, ranging from cost to space, from the effect of humans to the effect of wildlife. While it is still impossible to know what will become of this energy source, we can say for sure that wind turbines aren’t going away anytime soon.

Citations:

Maehlum, Mathias Aarre. “Wind Energy Pros and Cons – Energy Informative.” Energy Informative. ENERGY INFORMATIVE THE HOMEOWNER`S GUIDE TO SOLAR PANELS, 6 Dec. 2013. Web. 26 Jan. 2015.

Minderman, Jeroen et al. “Experimental Evidence for the Effect of Small Wind Turbine Proximity and Operation on Bird and Bat Activity.” Ed. Brock Fenton. PLoS ONE 7.7 (2012): e41177. PMC. Web. 28 Jan. 2015.

“Speakers Corner.” Speakers Corner. Wolds Wind Farm Opposition, n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2015.

“Wind 101: The Basics of Wind Energy.” Wind 101: The Basics of Wind Energy. American Wind Energy Association, 2013. Web. 27 Jan. 2015.