Archive for the ‘Environment’ Category

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Renewable Energy Resources versus Fossil Fuels

Sunday, September 27th, 2009
In modern western world the demand for energy has increased dramatically in the past century and it will grow even further and harder in the near future than ever before. The need for energy rises with upcoming markets that also need more energy. Energy is needed for cars, buses, and other means of transportation, but also to run our appliances and provides us light. Energy is also important for our safety. At night or in the dark a lot can be stolen without proper lightning. Energy is therefore needed for our development and safety.

The way we use energy today comes from knowledge that has it’s foundations in the past century and before. Great men like Newton and Philips have set the path for us today to make proper use of energy. The sources which we use for our energy demand are known as non-renewable energy resources. These sources will be discussed here in the article.

Definition of Non-Renewable Energy Resources

The name really explains it very well. Non-renewable energy resources are natural resources that cannot be recycled or re-grown. These natural resources are fossil fuels like coal, petroleum, and natural gas. It also includes mined resources such as the elements used in the production of electricity (uranium and plutonium, for instance). These resources replenish itself in a quicker rate.

Fossil fuels are very versatile. One of their functions is to generate electricity. In order to generate electricity, fossil fuels are burned through the process of combustion. The energy produced from the combustion process is used to power a turbine. The turbine is responsible for the conversion of energy produced from combusted fossil fuels into electricity.

Coal

Coal is one the most used fossil fuels. It is consider too be the most important energy source to produce electricity. The U.S. produces 50% of its energy supply through the combustion of coal. The coal itself is a brownish-black sedimentary rock which contains carbon and other assorted elements. It is extracted from the ground through underground mining or open-pit mining.

Natural Gas

Natural gas is also used to produce electricity. The electricity is produced through steam turbines and gas turbines. Because the gas contains methane the combustion emits less harmful gasses that have a negative effect on global warming. Thus natural gasses are better for the environment compared to petroleum and coal.

There is also another use for it and that is as fuel for cars. It is much cheaper that gasoline and produces less harmful gasses. The disadvantage of running your car on natural gas is that you need more fuel compared to gasoline and the car needs more maintenance. In countries like Argentina, Brazil, Pakistan, Italy, The Netherlands and India it is used as a fuel for cars.

Crude oil

This fuel is the most talk about for the past year(s). The prices for crude oil have gone through the roof and will be rising even more. The demand is increasing while there is less crude oil available. The term black gold is now more applicable than ever before.

The oil itself is very think in consistency and has a dark brown or greenish colour characteristic. It is a complex mixture of different hydrocarbons.

Crude oil or petroleum has various uses. It can be used as fuel or cars and different industrial machines. It is also used as a raw material for products like plastics, solvents, fertilizers and pesticides.

Although the need for crude oil is high and the demand is rising the available crude oil is decreasing. That leaves us no other option than to look for alternatives.

Non-renewable energy plays a very important role in our daily lives. Non-renewable energy will be needed today and in the future. Because this energy source cannot be recycled or re-grown the reserves are limited. The consequences of the shortages of fossil fuels are experienced today and tomorrow. We will need to use these fossil fuels wisely and will need to shift our focus to other renewable energy source. These are the sources that we need to focus on today and years to come.

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Waste Management for a Modern World

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
Waste Management refers to the process of (i) collection of waste matter generated mainly by human consumption and activity, (ii) transport and shipment of the collected waste matter to a waste treatment facility and (iii) processing/recycling this waste material for further use or disposing it for good.

Waste Management is required for three reasons. One, you can’t be having waste lying around in any area as it will make the area look awful and the waste will raise a stink. Two, if waste is unattended to, it will attract pests and termites and the chances of a disease spreading will increase. Three, Man has realized that, if he allows waste to pile up or even burned, such an act would be disastrous for our environment. It is a mans duty to control waste and recycle it back into use by recovering resources from it.

History Of Waste Management

Once upon a time, when the density of population was low, the exploitation of the world’s natural resources was minimal and manageable. Plus, there was not much of industrialization and the wastes generated by humans were mostly biodegradable and thus their impact on the environment, minimal. This coupled with the fact that not much waste was generated, man did not feel the necessity to manage it.

Time flew, population grew and before humans knew it, the industrial revolution set in (18th Century). People from rural areas migrated to cities and industrial towns en masse. Human consumption began to get concentrated and waste began multiplying. The proliferation of waste led to many diseases such as bubonic plague, cholera and typhoid, which led to suffering and death.

From this event on, the industrialized nations realized the importance of waste management.

Recovering Resources From Waste

As the world population increases and waste grows in volume, the world’s scientists and planners have evolved technologies to recover resources from waste, which can be used again. For example, the developed nations have sophisticated facilities that convert the calorific content present in waste into electricity. In developing nations, manual laborers sift through the waste and extract recyclable material from it, thereby reducing the volume of waste that needs to be disposed.

Recycling Waste

The term recycling is universally associated with waste management. When we say recycle, we mean that our everyday waste will be collected, processed and then reused in another form. For example, products made out of paper, aluminum, plastic are collected and converted back into paper, aluminum and plastic respectively. Recycling of waste items made up of one material is an easy task.

Electronic waste is sent to developing nations where recycling plants extract gold and copper from the e-waste. Used automobiles are scrapped and their metal is sold to scrap lots, which then sell the metal back to factories for re-conversion. And so on.

Waste Management Techniques

Nations employ many techniques to deal with their waste. Here is a brief roundup of these techniques:

1. Landfill: This is the most traditional way of managing waste, by dumping it in a landfill. Countries such as Australia that have vast expanses of land, normally dispose their waste in abandoned quarries or mines. A landfill is an inexpensive way to get rid of waste. However, care should be taken to ensure that only waste that does not harm the environment is dumped in landfills. Populous countries or small countries, such as Japan, have to resort to other means to manage their waste.

2. Incineration: Incineration is the disposal of waste by burning it. However, incineration is not an effective tool for waste management as the burning of waste consumes resources and energy, destroys the recyclable material present in the waste and emits many harmful pollutants.

3. Composting: Composting is a technique in which organic waste materials (food, plants, paper) are decomposed and then recycled as compost for use in agriculture and landscaping applications.

4. Mechanical Biological treatment: In this technique, a variety of waste (plastic, paper, glass, etc.) are fed in bulk into the waste treatment plant. The MBT process extracts the recyclable content in the waste and converts it to calorific fuel that can be used by cement/power plants.

5. Pyrolysis and Gasification: These are thermal techniques, using these, waste is treated at high temperatures and at a very high pressure. In Pyrolysis, the waste material is converted to solid or liquid. The solid material can be further refined into a carbon form while the liquid extract can be used as energy-giving oil. In gasification, the waste material is converted into a synthetic gas, which can be burned to produce more energy.

In conclusion, waste management has become part of our survival strategy. If we have to live, we will produce waste. If we do not treat waste, it will choke us. Waste is a problem, waste Management is the solution.

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Clean and Green Living Leads To Healthy Living

Friday, September 18th, 2009
The living green can be a difficult thing when we are not completely sure how to go about doing it. Some may assume that the living green is a complicated or difficult process. Previously, it was tough to live green. In addition, keeping energy costs down and replaced inefficient equipment, only little person can do. These can be obtained from the large budget of the solar home. Today, solar panels are not a luxury, because the price is not high. And fortunately there is a lot less than other methods can help in the home’s ability to go green. Some of these other methods are worth exploring.

For example, did you know that there are organic cleaning agents that can replace many of the traditional chemical detergents that are commonly available on the market? These detergents are made with natural products that do not deliver the problematic fumes that can make the interior of a home unsafe. And, most damaging to the environment is the release of these chemicals into the environment when they are washed down the drain. The impact of such weak disposal on the environment can be significantly enormous. Through using biodegradable and natural detergents, this negative impact will be completely eliminated. These natural detergents are also no where near as expensive as some assume which makes them quite accessible to a variety of budgets.

Sometimes, taking a few basic simple steps is all that is needed to enhance the ability of a home to go green. Purchasing incandescent light bulbs is another simple method for reducing your home’s proverbial carbon footprint. Such light bulbs use far less electricity than the traditional light bulb and last much longer. In addition to helping the environment, these light bulbs also help keep you home budget in check!

Then, there is the most common means of making sure a home is green: recycling. Recycling is significantly important to preserving the environment because it is able to reduce a number of problems associated with environmental depletion. Paper, as most are well aware, derives from trees. When you recycle something as basic as a newspaper, you are eliminating the need to need to cut down trees for future paper production. Recycling plastics is something many people will take part in although they may not be completely sure how this improves the environment. The reason it is so helpful is because plastic derives from petroleum which requires oil to product. By recycling plastic, you are reducing the need to deplete oil reserves. This helps keep the environment clean and keeps the price of a barrel of oil low.

Yes, the first step may be taken to ensure it is appropriate to the green house is not near as tough as some of the assumptions place. To take some basic steps to achieve the necessary results will certainly put your home into a house in line with environmental requirements. Yes, if you want to help the environment, you can do something fairly easy to achieve in a way.

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Africa's Innovative Solution to Waste Management!

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
There’s little doubt that the earth is slowly warming. The temperatures, as they rise are bound to trigger climatic changes and lead to newer patterns and prevalence of a number of infectious diseases. And as the efforts to curb environmental pollution continue at international and individual levels, countries depending on their access to resources try to find ways to tackle pollution and ultimately global warming. The following exemplar from Africa is a testament to the trend.

Engineers from the African nation Kenya have devised ingenious tractor trailer systems to serve as waste management equipment.

The invention called the “Ndume Little Pick-up” has come about as a consequence of partnership between the UN organization “UN-Habitat,” and two engineering firms from Kenya to execute work on the Lake Victoria Water and Sanitation Initiative.

The Indigenous Waste Management Process

The Ndume Little Pick-up has a flat deck body and a very low loading height. It facilitates waste management as its flat body can carry eight bins of waste at a time, which is lifted on or off the pick-up manually.

The plan is to let the little pick-ups serve six of the seven towns in the region. To accomplish the task several pick-ups would collect bins of waste from businesses and residential areas and transport them to large containers or other trailers to be eventually carried to the disposal site. From where a waste treatment plant may take over.

This seems to be a noteworthy partnership between the public and the private sector. Further, not only is the program innovative but is also self sustaining, here’s how?

When it’s about government funded services in under developed countries, it’s often the finances which stymie the efforts. However this system would be self-financing, in the sense that the revenue generated from the service provided would be fed back into the system. Thus providing enough funds for the upkeep and manning of the vehicles, which would also lead to regularity of the service.

While the rich nations try to cut back on carbon emissions using sophisticated technology, the not so rich countries invent their own ways to save the environment.A medical industry’s overview reveals that most of it is geared towards developing treatments, but I think they should also pay heed to towards creating conditions that prevent disease.

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Green Home Plans – What They Need To Include

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
Nurturing our environment, achieving a sustainable future and reducing global warming have been growing topics of concern for all of us. The need to protect the environment is in all of our hands and this responsibility needs to be exercised in almost everything we do and in the choices we make every hour of our lives. Actions we take now can lead to benefits later. When we all choose well and change our behavior to nurture, conserve and sustain, the effect can be enormous. The home in which we live is one such area where we have the ability to make a range of nurturing choices. In this article we will look at some of the more desirable elements that need to be included in green home plans.

Durability is a key tenet of a good green home plan. A green home plan will strive to use eco-friendly building materials and furnishings and will incorporate leftovers wherever possible. A green home design will make use of materials that are renewable and long lasting. The less often you have to replace materials, then the less material and effort that needs to go into maintaining them, resulting in a diminished cost of upkeep and less frequent replacement. Cork, bamboo and eucalyptus are examples of earth friendly and renewable materials that feature prominently in environmental building designs. Recycled materials should also be used wherever possible. This is relatively easily achieved when it comes to flooring as you can sand and refinish or even paint and stencil what is already there. Recycled glass (vertrazzo) looks attractive and comes in a range of colors. It can be used for both kitchen countertops and as a backsplash.

Efficient energy use is another key component of a green home plan. Using energy efficient appliances is a must and most manufactures these days will label their products with an energy star rating. But the biggest difference we can make is by leveraging that great bundle of natural energy called the sun. A solar power system can deliver most of an average household’s daytime energy needs and any excess energy that is created can be fed back into the electricity grid. Rebates for the installation of solar panels and also their improved efficiency are seeing the cost of installing residential solar power systems come rapidly down. The energy savings we can achieve by installing a solar panel array will be complemented by installing energy saving windows and ensuring that our homes are properly insulated. Both measures are designed to trap heat inside the house during cold weather and reflect heat when it is hot, leading to a reduction in heating and cooling costs respectively.

The third pillar of a good greenhouse plan should be the efficient use of water: something that is particularly pertinent for those living in drier climates. An enormous amount of perfectly good drinking water is wasted each day on activities like clothes washing and flushing toilets. These activities could just as soon be done using grey water (recycled water). Home water treatment systems such as a wet compost system or a sand filtration system will achieve the aim of using water efficiently.

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