By using the endless power of ocean waves, endless energy can be created. Wave power plants have a simple, yet practical way of harnessing the endless energy that ocean waves provide. Although the development of harnessing this renewable source of energy is still in its infancy, many predict that this underdog of a resource could be used worldwide in the near future.
Wave power plants are able to harness renewable energy by using the ocean's waves. There are several different types of wave power plants, but most behave in a similar way. Most have a mechanical object that is affected by the ocean's waves. That mechanical object is then connected to some sort of generator, thus creating electrical power.
There are several popular wave power plants, one of which is the Pelamis wave energy converter. This wave plant is a large red and yellow snakelike object that simply sits on the surface of the ocean and generates power from the waves. The Pelamis wave plants are red and yellow since those are the two easiest colors to see in the ocean. The snakelike structures generate power anytime ocean waves cause it to move in a wavy motion. These types of wave plants are typically installed six miles from any coastline and are attached to the ocean floor with steel cables. Also, each plant is capable of generating enough electrical power to provide for 500 homes ("Pelamis Technology," n.d.).
Another type of wave power plant is the Searaser. Searasers simply use a large metal buoy that bobs up and down in the surf. As the metal buoy floats up and down with the tide, electricity is generated and stored. The Searasers are normally located fairly close to the shoreline. The reason for this is because Searasers do not store the electricity they...
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...a resource. The power of the ocean is something that humans have known about for centuries. However, the idea of using the ocean's power to provide energy to a large amount of people in the world should be something that is heavily researched.
The United States must take advantage of this wonderful energy resource. Ocean power is something that many people do not think about when the idea of a renewable energy source comes up. If the right amount of research is done, and the right amount of time is put into implementing wave power as a source of energy. Then I'm sure that if wave power was implemented correctly, hundreds of thousands of people could take advantage of it. Wave power businesses would be created, and so would thousands of jobs. Not to mention that it would be not only a step, but a leap in the right direction when it comes to creating a greener earth.
understanding of how the oceans work. The hope is that as a result, we will
After finishing this book, I immediately thought to myself, "finally!" To explain, the book was not a very fun and entertaining read by any means. At times I found myself reading a couple pages just to get myself tired and ready for bed. However I did feel that this book was very educational and brought up some great points and ideas. Written by Debora Spar, a Harvard professor, I found myself struggling through some chapters simply because of the vocabulary and advanced ideas that she proposed. For example, when she explained the four phase model, I found some of that to be a little confusing because I initially had a hard time relating her four phases to today's technologies or industries. It wasn't until I was finished with the book was I able to put it all together and I usually have a hard time understand books like that. All in all, the book is very intelligent, but you can tell that she did not write this for the sake of entertainment. It is a great read for this class, as it is very obvious how her book applies to what we are studying.
Dams operate by using water as its main source of power. They produce power from fast volumes of moving water that turns a generator. This falling water at one gallon of water per second, can create one kilowatt of electrical power if it falls one hundred feed. When water behind a dam is released, it runs through a pipe called a penstock, which then delivers it to the turbine. Different shapes are used on these turbines, but are generally created to harness kinetic force of the moving water as well as the water pressure.
America is threatened by the destruction of their own environment. United States is known for their innovation towards alternative energy like solar power, wind power and nuclear power. However , these alternative energies are not completely beneficial towards the United States.
“By 2050, one-third of the world’s energy will need to come from solar, wind, and other renewable resources” (www.altenergy.org). America can no longer rely so heavily on nuclear energy. America needs to harness the energy found within natural, renewable resources. In fact, nuclear energy needs to be phased out completely because of its negative impact on health, the environment, and its overall cost.
"Oceans." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 8 May 2014.
The first type of renewable energy is hydroelectric energy or well known as hydropower. In greek word, hydro means water and thus hydroelectric energy refers to electricity generated using flowing water at high velocity. Lutgens and Tarbuck (1992, p. 163) stated that “running water is of great importance to people as we depend upon rivers for energy, travel and irrigation”. Continuous availability of water in universe made water to be the main source of hydroelectric energy. Water has been widely utilized by mankind since the beginning of civilization and wate...
Hydro power is one of many examples of alternative energy sources. Hydro power produces energy by moving water. Wind power is another form of solar power. Wind isn’t only a clean fuel source, but it is one of the most inexpensive alternative sources of energy.
Urban area has been defined as a terrain with a population of 50,000 or a bunch of 2,500 to 50,000 people according to the US Census Bureau. Rural is later defined as anything external to that definition. Particular challenges are faced by rural areas when matter is of energy and water usage. For instance, utilities have to pay higher costs to modernize their energy groundwork and often find it stiffer to implement cleaner technologies because of the great distances between customers and crooked patchwork of reliable resources. Moreover, many system organizers and thought leaders for ground breaking energy know how live in suburban or urban areas and may discover it tougher to relate to the particular challenges of rural locations.
One efficient way to acquire energy is Hydropower. Hydropower is power derived from the energy of falling water or fast running water. This energy converter is harmless to the environment. Other ways will affect the atmosphere and the environment in a negative way. The most common device for hydropower is a dam. It relies on the water cycle. This is one of the oldest sources of energy.
Oceans are such so vast that people underestimate the impact their actions —seeming so insignificant— have on them. Humans have by and large taken the oceans for granted; not considering how important a healthy ocean is to our survival. A popular mind-set is that the oceans are a bottomless supply of fish, natural resources, and an infinite waste dump. There are myriad reasons why the oceans should be saved and the most obvious one is marine life. With 71% of the Earth being covered by water, it is obvious that sea creatures are predominant form of life, making up 80% of the species of life on Earth. However, as important as marine life is, that is not the only reason why saving the oceans is crucial. The ocean floor provides natural resources such as, oil, natural gas, petroleum, minerals, medications, and ingredients for foods and products. The economic benefits of the oceans are huge and significant, as well. Fishing and fish products have provided employment to 38 million people and have generated about $124 billion in economic benefits. However, oceans are on the verge of crisis, marine life, natural resources, transportation, the economy, and important ingredients are at risk due to overfishing, pollution, and acidification. Thus, in this essay I will argue that, oceans are not impervious to human activity and threatening the health of the ocean threatens the health of humanity, since oceans key to our survival.
Hydropower, the use of water to power machinery or produce electricity, provides the most renewable energy in the United States, and uses alternating current in most modern plants ("Hydropower…”). Hydropower relies on the water cycle and is a clean fuel source; it doesn’t pollute the environment like plants that burn fossil fuels. It is by far the most efficient way to generate electricity, being half the cost of using nuclear power, two-fifths the cost of using fossil fuels, and a quarter the cost of using natural gas ("Wind and Water…”). Also, hydropower is not subject to market fluctuations of embargos, and the average lifespan of a facility is 100 years. Hydropower also has many non-energy benefits such as water supply, flood control, navigation, irrigation, and recreation. However, it does face many environmental challenges such as impacts to aquatic habitats, aesthetic alterations of landscapes, changes to water quality, and interruptions of marine life ("Hydropower…”).
One new idea is to build wind turbines offshore in the mid-Atlantic. Offshore building of wind turbines means that these large turbines will be placed in the Atlantic Ocean. The building of these wind turbines will provide energy to states like Maryland, Delaware, New York, Virginia, and New Jersey. These states want to start this project as soon as possible so that the states can start saving money. Since these regions right now are burning fossil fuels uncontrollably with incredible impacts (not only to our air, but to our health), it is crucial to start right away.
The ocean can serve man purposes things for many different people; as a school, a home, a park...
Hydroelectricity is a known renewable energy resource that provides substantial benefits for our wealth, our health, and for our global economy. There are five types of renewable energy we can use on a daily basis throughout our lives, but the most widely installed form of renewable energy is hydroelectricity. Hydroelectricity is electricity created by converting the kinetic energy of flowing water. Best thing about this source of energy is that it’s timeless and renewable, which means it will never run out, however we had to figure ways to store this energy. In order for them to harness this energy for other people, they had to build generators that convert all the potential energy of rapid moving water into electrical energy. (http://www.ems.psu.edu/~elsworth/courses/cause2003/finalprojects/vikingpaper.pdf)