Alternative Energy

Enter your search terms Submit search form

  Scroll down or use Control+F to navigate.

Footnotes

Alternative energy refers to energy sources which are not based on the burning of fossil fuels or the splitting of atoms. The renewed interest in this field of study comes from the undesirable effects of pollution (as witnessed today) both from burning fossil fuels and from nuclear waste byproducts.^[4] Alternative energy is becoming more prominent now, and environmental concern is no longer for the "tree huggers". People are starting to wake up and see that our planet is slowly being destroyed by pollution and lack of responsibility.^[5] Alternative energy can be used in our homes to replace the typical electrical energy sources. There are tools and home improvement items available in the market today powered by renewable energy sources.^[6]

Alternative energy is a superset of the uses for an energy source. ^[7] Alternative energy is a term used to describe several renewable sources of energy that can be used to substitute fossil fuels. These energy resources include wind power, solar power, geothermal energy, wave power and biomass.^[8] Alternative energy, one of today?s hottest topics, encompasses all forms of energy not considered ?traditional.? Solar, geothermal, wind, hydropower, and biofuel are some of the main forms.^[9]

Solar technologies produce few negative environmental impacts during collector operation. However, there are environmental concerns associated with the production of collectors and storage devices.^[11] Solar power has been one of the most expensive sources of alternative energy, but recent research using magnetic fields to collect solar energy without the need for expensive photovoltaic cells could dramatically reduce its costs in the future. Wind farms are another promising renewable energy resource; however, collecting and conveying the power of the wind presents an expensive obstacle.^[12] Solar technology, being developed in southern Israel, will generate the electricity to power the cars. ^[13]

Wind cannot provide a base load as winds are unreliable. ^[15] Windows 7 has energy saving features. With faster boot times, people will be more willing to turn their machines off.^[16] Wind and solar are complementary, Jacobson said, as wind often peaks at night and sunlight peaks during the day. Using hydroelectric power to fill in the gaps, as it does in our current infrastructure, allows demand to be precisely met by supply in most cases.^[17]

WindyNation caters towards the DIY community, selling complete kits to build a generator as well as all the components for building generators from refurbished things like refurbished car alternators. The also recently announced that they will release a low-cost solar tracker solution in the next few months.^[18] Wind Generators - ARI Green Energy customers report that the ARI system still operates at -5.8°F and under severe icing conditions, while its competitors have frozen up and stopped generating power. Customers attest that our wind power generators do not create irritating howling or moaning noises or blade vibration due to high winds, as can be found with other turbines.^[19]

Algae fuel is a biofuel which is derived from algae. During photosynthesis, algae and other photosynthetic organisms capture carbon dioxide and sunlight and convert it into oxygen and biomass.^[22] Algae could generate more oil in an area the size of a two-car garage than could a football field of soybeans, according to Fort Collins, Colo., start-up Solix Biofuels. And algae can grow almost anywhere, including in waste water and on land unsuitable for conventional agriculture.^[23]

Hydrogen has been claimed to be a good alternative to replace fossil fuel since the 1970s. But hydrogen's potential has not been realized even partially mainly because of storage and commercial production difficulties.^[24] Hydrogen also tends to make metal brittle (14). Embrittled metal can create leaks.^[25]

Ethanol is largely farm support policy, not environmental policy.? ^[27] Ethanol now represents just 3% of the total annual gasoline supply in the United States. The potential of E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline), ethanol's share of gasoline supply could rise to as much as 10% of total annual US gasoline consumption merely by replacing MTBE.^[28]

Oil and gas are still relatively expensive by historical standards, but the prices have fallen by half since July. Some economists expect further declines as the economy weakens.^[31] Oil increasingly comes from unstable parts of the world and in this uncertain environment, politics matters more than market outcomes. The political risk trumps the old law of supply and dem .^[32]

Despite condemning "America's addiction to oil" and promoting the importance of alternative energies in his State of the Union addresses, President Bush has consistently failed to follow through on his promises to fund for alternative energy research. He's generous with the green rhetoric, just not with actual greenbacks.^[33] Despite a considerable amount of objections by residents during the planning stage, the council has passed the plans. The complaints were made about the noise and shadow flicker created by the turbines and that they would have a negative impact on .^[34]

Green ETFs tend to be narrow, usually focused on alternative energy stocks. The lack of diversification makes them less suitable as a core holding for long term investors.^[35] Green World Water has designed the first commercially-available nuclear desalination system while Energy Neutral builds and retrofits homes and commercial buildings with renewable sources to reduce or eliminate energy bills. ^[36]