Category Archives: Civic Issues

Civic Issues

To the Future

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This blog has thus far been a whirlwind tour of the innovative energy landscape and I’m really glad you guys have taken this journey with me! We’ve seen truly brilliant scientists and engineers who have taken the future in their own hands to try and make a difference. We currently live in a world that is being blackened by the human race’s past and continued transgressions against nature. While species die off and oceans levels rise, ours and the world’s politicians continue to squabble about whether or not this climate change that we face is even a problem. Either that, or fossil fuel companies have their hands so deep in these politician’s pockets that it doesn’t matter. It warms my heart to see people go out and try and make a difference despite all this. We need citizen leaders to pave our way to a brighter, cleaner future. That was the purpose of this blog, to highlight their achievements, specifically in the field of alternative energy.

So far, we have discussed the most conventional forms of “green energy:” wind, solar, nuclear fission AND nuclear fusion. But today, for our final wrap-up, we are going to discuss the weird ones; those completely out there ideas that prove some among us have that right mix of desperate and creative that will propel us into a brighter age. Let jump in.

 

So lets start off with the more tame of the two. This one is actually just an extension of solar power, albeit in a bit weirder fashion. They are called “solar islands” and they are literally just a floating disk of solar panels not far from shore. The idea has been launched by two Swiss energy research companies: Viteos and Nolaris.

A proposed concept for this solar islands

However, the main concept design came from a Swiss researcher named Thomas Hinderling. He originally said that he could make solar islands that were miles across and would generate megawatts upon megawatts of power. Obviously, this was not exactly a realistic first step. The actual first step came when a smaller, test island was launched in Abu Dhabi in the UAE. It’s been running since 2009. Now these Swiss companies are launching three more prototypes off the coast from a sewage treatment plant. They work in much the same way a normal solar farm would work. They rotate to track the sun and heat water to be used in steam turbines. The added benefit is that they take up no land whatsoever. This actually seems implementable right now which is hopeful.

 

The next idea still has to do with solar power but it’s a little more out of left field. It involves harnessing photosynthesis to produce power. Photosynthesis is what plants, algae, and a bunch of bacteria do to make their food. Karin Stensjö and her team at the University of Uppsala in Sweden are researching how to harness the energy that these organisms produce. Specifically, she is looking at how to modify cyanobacteria so that they excrete the carbon-based fuel that they produce instead of using it. Cyanobacteria are one of the most widespread and prolific photosynthesizers on the planet and as you know, photosynthesis produces oxygen as a byproduct. In fact, scientists believe that they were responsible for oxygenating the Earth in the first place.

If this process could be performed on an industrial scale, we could get so many benefits. There would be reduced need for new infrastructure because the carbon-based fuel they produce would be similar to ethanol. In addition, so much induced photosynthesis would automatically take out CO2 from the atmosphere and replace it with oxygen. So cool!

 

While they seem to be leading the way, private citizens and research teams are not the only ones making an impact with renewable energy. In fact, some countries and governments have actually made a real impact on their energy portfolio (if you can believe it).

The small Baltic country of Denmark gets  almost 40% of their energy from wind power, for which they have been an innovator since the 70s. Go Denmark!

This doesn’t really hold a candle to Scotland who have also been pioneers in wind power. They have so much of it that they are starting to get surpluses. By 2030, researchers estimate that their power grid will be 100% renewable. Now that’s a goal to work toward. For comparison, look back to a post from a few weeks ago that shows the U.S.’s energy portfolio. We could definitely do better going into the future.

So, for the last time on these blogs, I’ll ask you guys, what do you think about these weird ways of getting energy. Have you ever come across anything weirder? I would love to hear it! Thanks guys!

Civic Issues

Our Sci-Fi Future

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In our civic issues blogs regarding the future of the planet and this disease known as global warming, we have come to the conclusion that greener, healthier, alternative forms of energy would go a long way toward reducing the blatant excess of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. So far, we have covered solar power, wind power, hydroelectric power, and even nuclear power, all admirable goals for our society to strive toward. After wall, energy independence coupled with completely green sources is the dream. But for this post, we are going to jump into the future to a notion of apparent science fiction. We have already talked about existing nuclear power plants and their role in the energy grid, but that is nuclear fission. So fasten your seat belts folks, things are about to get technical because we are talking about the pièce de résistance of power generation: nuclear fusion. 

This topic perfectly fits the mission statement of this blog which is to focus on the breakthroughs of innovators trying to make the world a better place. Nuclear fusion technology definitely fits the category of innovation because, well….it hasn’t exactly been achieved yet. The science behind nuclear fusion, at least for energy, is still firmly entrenched in theory and experiment. But before we get into how we use, lets talk about what it is in comparison with fission.

Nuclear fission, or the phenomenon that runs nuclear power plants, involves taking a very heavy isotope, such as uranium, firing a neutron at it, and splitting it into smaller elements.

The Isar Nuclear Power Plant in Germany

This split releases loads of energy that can be used to boil water, turn a turbine, and generate electricity. The unfortunate downside to this reaction (of which there are many) is that it produces radioactive waste, something that is dangerous and very difficult to get rid of. And, you may even know a real-world example of nuclear fission outside of power generation. Ever heard of an atomic bomb? So fission is dangerous and it produces waste, but it produces waaaaay more energy than chemical reactions like fossil fuels.

Nuclear fusion, on the other hand, is basically the opposite. Actually, its the way stars in space are fueled.

It involves taking light isotopes, most often of hydrogen, and bringing them so close together that they fuse into a helium atom.

This process produces three to four times more energy than fission and it produces next to no radioactive waste. The source, hydrogen, is easy to get and nearly inexhaustible. The main drawback is that it takes a massive amount of energy for hydrogen atoms to fuse. They have to be in incredibly high temperature (several hundred million degrees Celsius to be exact) and high density. THIS is where scientist have hit a snag. How do you raise something to that high of temperature. Maybe a better question? How do you contain something that hot? Any known material would instantly vaporize at that temperature. The answer: magnets. The hydrogen cloud is contained in a strong magnetic field and spun until it reaches the appropriate temperature.

The basic schematic of a standard fusion reactor

Like the other reactor, it is then used to heat water and turn a turbine. And if it breaks down? Instead of exploding radioactivity in a hundred mile radius, it simply cools down and stops the reaction…after it vaporizes everything in a close vicinity.

So we see it’s obviously better: next to no environmental impact, cheap input fuel, reduced meltdown danger, and besides the initial input energy, theoretically self-sustaining. The only problem? It hasn’t been done yet. Now we get to talk about the diligent scientists trying to make it happen.

Scientists over at Princeton university are working on the National Spherical Torus Experiment to study plasma (hot hydrogen) confinement via magnets.

 

The National Spherical Torus Experiment

This is only part of a much larger international initiative to build the largest experimental fusion reactor in France as part of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor. They are making great strides in the field, however, crippling research costs and setbacks are making the project a lofty goal. On the private side, Lockheed Martin, the government’s largest contractor, claims that it will have a truck size fusion reactor able to sustain itself, ready in ten years. If this is a realistic goal, this would be monumental and groundbreaking toward out strides in clean energy. It would finally prove that the billions we have spent in research were not in vain. Dare I say, it would herald a new era. An era of star power.

 

So what do you guys think? Is the prospect of fusion worth the money we are dumping into it right now? Let me know! Thanks!!

Civic Issues

To Speak or Not to Speak: Another Deliberation

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So as you are all aware, we are to attend another deliberation among the fifty that Rhetoric & Civic Life is sponsoring. To get a better feel for how my deliberation would go on Wednesday and to get some insights into the process, I attended one Tuesday night at the New Leaf Initiative downtown. The deliberation, titled To Speak or Not to Speak: A Deliberation about Freedom of Speech and National Security (sorry Tessa! Your time didn’t work unfortunately), was centered on how emerging social media and widespread, all encompassing Internet access has led to concerns regarding our nation’s national security.

I don’t really know quite what I expected, for these deliberations or for the venue in general. After passing the passing the fancy State College borough council chambers, you enter a space that is decidedly unfancy….in a good way. New Leaf is a very creative area with lots of open space, brightly colored walls, and comfortable couches, in other words, the perfect space for a free-flowing public forum. And this deliberation was just that. I had my concerns that the process would be very mechanical but it went well. Each moderator asked the proper amount of leading questions, too many sometimes, and got us to a level of deep thinking that I hadn’t experienced on the topic before. I’ll be honest, I went to this particular deliberation more out of convenience than interest but I can honestly say that my eyes are open to the topic of how limited/unlimited our right to free speech is or should be.
Now to the meat of matter: the talking points of the deliberation. The introduction started off with examples of how the idea of free speech and democracy is changing now that the Internet and other forms of social media are empowering whistleblowers like Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning. The other major focus was on how the government (not just ours) and the media have handled situations like The Interview and Charlie Hebdo, the tragic, terrorist-driven shooting at the satirical magazine office in Paris.

 

Approach one was on the extreme liberal side of the spectrum and involved complete and pure free speech for the public and the media.

 

Approach two was rooted in the idea that the media should self-regulate its own information instead of having government oversight.

Approach three was the most conservative approach and allows the government to intercede in withholding and censuring information it deems sensitive.

The discussion throughout the deliberation was quite stimulating. Once we quickly got over the initial awkward phase where people were reluctant to talk, the discussion really picked up the pace. There was never really a lull in the conversation from then on. Thankfully, people had some inciting, possibly inflammatory views. This really added some spice to the conversation because it’s not very fun when all people do is agree. We eventually came to the final conclusion during the reflection section that the way the world works is a mixture of all three and varying segments of time, depending on the political and public atmosphere of the age.

Overall, the deliberation really achieved its goal. I left the deliberation thinking much more deeply about the topic and with a sharpened opinion with which to further discuss the topic.

 

So I’m anxious to hear what you guys think! Both about this topic and the process of deliberation in general. Since all our deliberations happened already, we have lots to talk about! Thanks guys!

Civic Issues

Basking in the Sun

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So last time, we talked about wind power, its ups and downs, its recent innovations, and how Americans are incorporating it into their energy infrastructure. It remains very viable yet still slightly cost ineffective. Today, we are going to talk about a type of clean, renewable energy quite similar in nature to wind power: solar power. Now, I know, light from the sun and the wind have very little in common when you’re standing outside, however both forms of energy share similar benefits and drawbacks.

Before we delve into the pros and cons of adopting solar power, we should first talk about what it is exactly so we can better discuss innovations in the field. Solar generators basically come in two flavors: photovoltaic cells and concentrated solar power (CSP). Photovoltaic cells directly convert photons (light particles) from the sun into electrons to flow as electricity. This sounds too good to be true! Light from the sun goes directly into the wires that power all our machines and devices. Unfortunately, that’s not quite the case. The best efficiency currently achieved is about 20% conversion.  That is to say that only about 20% of the energy from the sun makes it into the grid. Also, these cells use silicon which is facing a shortage.

CSP works more like a traditional power plant. The solar powers actually focus, concentrate, and reflect solar energy into a vessel of fluid. The energy boils the fluid and generates electricity via a steam turbine.

All forms of solar energy fall victim to several drawbacks, with the main one resembling wind power. Its not always sunny. Solar farms obviously don’t work when the sun isn’t shining, whether on a cloudy day or at night. Plus, you need a large area of solar farms to generate significant power. According to the Institute for Energy Research, an area the size of  New Hampshire and Rhode Island would be needed to power the US. When you need to transport this power over large distances, some power is lost in transit. Combine all this with the current cost-prohibition, the US sees only 0.2% of its utility power generation from solar.

 

For more from the Institute of Energy Research, click on the pic.

Nevertheless, solar power has several key benefits over traditional fossil fuels: no waste, no pollution, and no input consumables since all the energy comes from the sun.

And thankfully, there are the faithful innovators out there trying to make this power more efficient and cost-effective for the rest of us to reduce global climate change from fossil fuel consumption.

A promising new development is including other metals in the photovoltaic alloy such as titanium and vanadium. This would increase the absorbency into the infrared region and bump up efficiency by over 20%.

Another by CoolEarth is using cheap balloon concentrators to focus more light on to the photovoltaic cell. They claim its roughly four hundred times cheaper than traditional concentrators.

One of CoolEarth’s concentrating balloons.

Most of the other innovations I have found focus on reducing the cost of the panel itself. Some of these companies are printing the photovoltaic alloy on thin polymers to reduce materials. Some are spacing the expensive silicon materials apart to use less material. All these innovations and more (slightly technical ones) can be found here.

 

To finish up, I’m going to talk about an interesting innovation that could be stalled by congressional policy in the US. A Spanish energy company called Abengoa owns a massive solar farm in the Mojave Desert called Solana. The solar farm runs on the concentrated solar power method. However, it can do what few other solar farms can do. It can generate power after the sun goes down. As the sun reflects off the reflectors to heat the fluid, it also heats a large container of salt. This produces a stored molten salt that can hold heat to be used to generate power later. It’s basically a heat battery! However, due to uncertainty regarding a certain investment tax credit, the company has no plans of expanding this technology in the US. The tax credit is worth 30% of the project’s cost and there is currently “momentum” in Congress for eliminating renewable tax credits with Republicans against renewables and Democrats against fossil fuels. With so much stagnation and uncertainty, companies aren’t interested in investing. Read more about the issue here.

 

A solar farm in the Mojave Desert.

 

So what do you guys think, should Congress push through these tax credits to get more companies on board, or is solar technology not worth the time as a renewable? Let me know below!

 

Civic Issues

Choosing a Winning Windmill

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Wars and conflicts rage on, the economy fluctuates dangerously, and tragic racial tension consumes the nation, however, while all this is going on before our eyes, a more silent and deadly threat looms in the shadows behind us all. This threat is climate change. Climate change is one of the most pressing concerns of our generation simply because it wasn’t recognized and curbed when the problem was in its infancy. Now, we have begun to slide down a slippery slope and the situation is becoming more drastic. We hear all of the doomsday predictions in the media about how “all the polar bears will die off” and the “ocean levels will rise dramatically.”  Now, these are just predictions, perhaps not even ground in hard science, but the point is, there will be consequences. Though, if there are consequences, why does no one seem to care? It may be that many people are just too engrossed in the other issues stated above. In a Gallup poll, last year only 54% of Americans believed the effects of global warming have already begun, with 15% believing they will never happen at all.

Click the picture for more analysis.

But the sad, scientifically validated truth is that the effects are real, however I’m not going to spend this blog talking about the dire consequences or preaching to you about how horrible we are as human beings. Instead, I’m going to share some solutions, from the simple to the complex, from the innovative and creative to the traditional. There are passionate people out there trying to solve the issue while our leaders argue if its even happening. They deserve recognition and you as readers and citizens deserve a rundown of how effective our methods are. After all, its our planet to take care of and we only get one.

 

I thought we would start with a series on alternative energy. Fossil fuel combustion is a leading factor of global climate change but its simply too cost effective and too much of an ENORMOUS industry to be overshadowed by cleaner fuels. The infrastructure is simply not yet established for renewable energy sources. However, that could very well be changing. One of the most prominent and recognizable forms of alternative energy is wind power. Wind is perfectly clean, it exists practically everywhere, and turbines take up very little land, making it ideal for farmers or ranchers. In fact, wind consumption has risen steadily in the US over the years

Wind power is not without its drawbacks though. The economic hurdle can be a large leap not to mention the impact on the environment. Opponents claim that wind turbines cause noise pollution and are prone to killing flying birds.

(Although it seems a little hypocritical that environmentalists are trying to protect birds over the entire planet’s ecosystem but to each their own I suppose)

But by far the biggest drawback is the nature of the source. It’s not always windy. Great Britain saw the consequences of this phenomenon around the Christmas of 2010 when a sudden cold snap all but shut down their 3,000 turbines, leaving them to rely on coal for most of their power.

Currently, the standard for wind turbines are the Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT), the ones that drone and chop birds into pieces, seen here:

From the CQ Researcher article on wind power. Pictured is an 18 turbine farm that completely sustains the small North Dakota town of Velva (pop. 1000).

Innovators are currently trying to solve these problems with creative new designs that will hopefully bring wind power more forcefully into the public sector.

One of the most promising of these inventions is sending the turbines up in the air. Floating a turbine and tethering it to the ground eliminates the inconsistency because it’s pretty much always windy up there. It also eliminates noise pollution and is cheaper to produce. Here is a design from Altaeros Energies:

Altaeros Airborne Wind Turbine. Click the pic for more.

A crazier idea is the WindStalk. It’s not really a turbine. It is a tall swaying rod sitting on a piezoelectric generator (generates electricity from motion). The creators at Atelier DNA envisioned this to be an artful, classy way of incorporating wind energy into urban areas.

A field of WindStalks. Click for more.

The last major design I’m going to share is more down to Earth, actually, it’s already being done. Offshore wind farms eliminate the eye sore complaint (which I don’t understand), the noise pollution, and most of the bird danger as well as being able to collect more wind. The only problem is that they are waaaaay more expensive because they usually have to anchor them in the ocean floor.  This can be solved by floating the turbines instead which is in the development phase.

 

So what do you guys think? Do the benefits of wind power outway the costs? What kind of innovations should we be considering and funding? Let me know in the comments as well as what kinds of alternative energies/climate change solutions you want me to cover next!