Green Side Out - The green lifestyle

Just six months ago our nation was in a panic over our petroleum energy sources. On a daily basis people were making choices to fill up their gas tanks or to pay a bill or buy groceries. Then another realization set in. We were running out of gas, driving from one gas station to the next just to fill up your tank. This type of behavior can’t last long. We have to look into our other resources to fix this problem. So it’s only natural to dream of renewable energy.

It would seem almost idiotic not to delve into our renewable energy resources. Our climate changes over the past 5 years are putting concern in our public officials. We could cut down our carbon footprint to nearly a fraction of a shadow. This type of energy comes from sunlight, rain, wind, tides, hydroelectricity, biomass, and geothermal heat which is totally replenished by our Earth. It would be the ultimate “go green” technology.

We all know how wind, sunlight, and rain work, but what about biomass? It comes from any type of living or dead biological, or organic material that we can use for fuel. Primary sources are wood, manure, plant matter, some garbage and let’s not forget where it all started with fossil fuels. Plants use photosynthesis to grow thus producing biomass. Biomass creates fuels such as biodiesel, ethanol, and biogases. They can be burned in combustion engines or boilers. Prime plants for these types of fuels are sugar cane, willow, corn, and switch grasses.

Biomass isn’t completely immune from the diseased carbon stamp. It can still contribute to global warming but over a much longer period of time. But this renewable energy is easily replaced for by the growing of more plants.

Hydroelectricity comes primarily from the production of hydroelectric dams. It’s major advantage its that it completely eliminates the cost of fuel. Energy in water is harnessed through kinetic energy and saline gradients or osmotic power. Water is about 800 times the density of air, so a flowing stream or moderate sea swell can generate a considerable amount of energy.

There are some systems of hydroelectricity that can pull kinetic energy without a dam. These systems are used in the ocean. It converts the thermal differences from the warmer surfaces near the top and the lower cooler temperatures from the bottom of the ocean.

Tidal energy is also a great renewable energy because we will have tides as long as we have oceans. The energy is measured kinetically from both horizontal and vertical tide movement. Tidal energy is harnessed using tidal stream generators which are much like wind turbines. Several commercial prototypes are in development so this type of energy will be readily available in the near future.

Our Earth’s core creates mega watts of energy in only seconds. Geothermal power stations are fairly expensive to build but the benefits of eternal energy out weigh the costs. When tapping the Earth’s crust, the radioactive decay that is created from the earths crust is continues to provide the core with renewable energy. Fissures are basically pockets of steam that is released from the core through dry steam plants and runs through turbines.

There are many ways to take our Earth back and stop the madness we’ve created.