New! War On Coal is being Won in the US, but The Real Battle is Overseas
A war is being had on coal. With the reelection of President Obama, and the convenience of fracking, natural gas is becoming the simpler alternative energy. With little to no pollution and a very low cost, natural gas is the winner. But even though the United States is pushing back coal and pushing natural gas forward, the rest of the world is looking expectantly at coal as a fantastic and reasonable energy source. The World Resources Institute just reported that about 1,200 new coal plants are being planned to be up in the next few years. Most of them are going to be located in China and India. Despite America's changes, the rest of the world isn't following suit. The global climate is doomed... unless the proposed plants are never built. This possibility is likely in the U.S. since there have only been 36 planned to be built.
On the other hand, both India and China have been pushed for more energy resources and coal is their cheapest solution. India is a slower developing country and is just going through the same coal phase we went through when going through the Industrial Age. The WRI also predicts that, with the success on these new plans, and the rate they are succeeding, the global climate will have risen four degrees Celsius by 2060. That prediction is two degrees above the world catastrophic line, according to scientists.
As happy as I am for India trying to give all their citizens electricity, coal is certainly not the way to go. I think the United States government and a few European governments should join forces and try to convince them that natural gas is the better choice. Coal will hurt the environment and ultimately harm mankind. If they don’t halt their plans to build all those coal plants, they could do some serious damage.
On the other hand, both India and China have been pushed for more energy resources and coal is their cheapest solution. India is a slower developing country and is just going through the same coal phase we went through when going through the Industrial Age. The WRI also predicts that, with the success on these new plans, and the rate they are succeeding, the global climate will have risen four degrees Celsius by 2060. That prediction is two degrees above the world catastrophic line, according to scientists.
As happy as I am for India trying to give all their citizens electricity, coal is certainly not the way to go. I think the United States government and a few European governments should join forces and try to convince them that natural gas is the better choice. Coal will hurt the environment and ultimately harm mankind. If they don’t halt their plans to build all those coal plants, they could do some serious damage.
New! City in colorado is sued over a drilling ban
In Longmont Colorado, an industry group has sued the city over prohibiting hydraulic fracturing. The lawsuit filers, a company by the name of Colorado Oil and Gas Association, want to legalize fracturing; it passed easily in November! But the city has decided that fracturing is dangerous to its community and they will not have danger. The economic reasoning for the prohibition seems somewhat stupid, for the hydraulic fracturing would have acquired approximately $500 million in oil and gas resources. Longmont is sitting on a gold mine and they won’t let the association have it.
I am with the Colorado Oil and Gas Association. They should win the lawsuit because Longmont has no right to regulate drilling. There’s so much money and energy resources that could be obtained if they removed the ban, so it’s insane that they outlawed it in the first place. I suppose the city’s community comes first but still. They can all make sacrifices if it means our country helps the environment a little more, right?
I am with the Colorado Oil and Gas Association. They should win the lawsuit because Longmont has no right to regulate drilling. There’s so much money and energy resources that could be obtained if they removed the ban, so it’s insane that they outlawed it in the first place. I suppose the city’s community comes first but still. They can all make sacrifices if it means our country helps the environment a little more, right?
Fracking Nations
Natural gas deposits are growing in popularity in the world. The United States has quite a few shale deposits that they are currently drilling and using. The gas is drawn out by a technique called fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, which basically just pumps a solution of water and chemicals underground to crack the shale underneath the gas, forcing it up. But, there's a problem. Fracking hurts the environment by polluting rivers, turning farms into construction zones, and leaking, which contaminates drinking water and makes it undrinkable. Now, radiation seems to be a problem, too. Tracy Bank, a geochemist, researched and found that uranium and other toxic metals were being disturbed during the fracking and therefore making their way into groundwater. Yet, people don't want to stop it. Natural gas is the cleanest-burning fossil fuel, and there is a lot of it. The Department of Energy states that "natural gas produces slightly more than one-fifth of all the electricity used in the United States".
Hydraulic fracturing first came about in the 1940's when gas outfitters had just started tapping deposits. Although it was a good method, it proved difficult in removing natural gas from shale reservoirs. It took almost 50 years to develop a new system with new technology. Instead of drilling vertically like the last approach, this new way drilled horizontally, and was able to capture more gas that before. And even though fracking was polluting local water supplies, Pennsylvania distributed over 3,300 permits, allowing 1,500 wells to be perforated. Today, scientists have decided that fracking is bad and a new procedure needs to be brought about. Some companies are attempting to clean up natural gas drilling to address the concerns of local communities.
I most definitely learned a lot about natural gas and hydraulic fracturing. I feel like natural gas is worth looking into a new method of extracting it, because fracking isn't safe. I respect people for cleaning up their drilling areas and admitting to the mistake and the fact that they need new research. I have no idea how they could get the gas safely, maybe by adding chemicals that would destroy the radioactive materials found in the gas that's contaminating our ground water? But it should be gathering attention.
Hydraulic fracturing first came about in the 1940's when gas outfitters had just started tapping deposits. Although it was a good method, it proved difficult in removing natural gas from shale reservoirs. It took almost 50 years to develop a new system with new technology. Instead of drilling vertically like the last approach, this new way drilled horizontally, and was able to capture more gas that before. And even though fracking was polluting local water supplies, Pennsylvania distributed over 3,300 permits, allowing 1,500 wells to be perforated. Today, scientists have decided that fracking is bad and a new procedure needs to be brought about. Some companies are attempting to clean up natural gas drilling to address the concerns of local communities.
I most definitely learned a lot about natural gas and hydraulic fracturing. I feel like natural gas is worth looking into a new method of extracting it, because fracking isn't safe. I respect people for cleaning up their drilling areas and admitting to the mistake and the fact that they need new research. I have no idea how they could get the gas safely, maybe by adding chemicals that would destroy the radioactive materials found in the gas that's contaminating our ground water? But it should be gathering attention.
Sizing Up Wind Energy: Bigger Means Greener, Study Says
While the whole world is downsizing to reduce their carbon footprint, wind turbines are going big, reaching blade diameters of over a football field length. They are becoming larger because a larger model produces more energy. With more turbines being manufactured, the global warming potential per kilowatt-hour of electricity dropped fourteen percent. The larger ones reach higher and therefore pick up stronger winds, which allows them to extract more energy. In the past, a turbine had a capacity of fifty kilo-watts of electricity. Now a days, they can carry up to 3,000 kilowatts. In the future, companies hope to achieve lighter turbines with less parts, and possibly better controls.
I believe wind energy is an efficient way to collect alternative energy. It seems like a great method that they're using now, too. I thought it was interesting how they figured out that winds are stronger as you get higher off the ground, which made sense to make the turbines bigger, making them reach those heights. I absolutely think we should continue in our research of wind energy and use it to our advantage. The wind isn't going anywhere, so we should use it.
I believe wind energy is an efficient way to collect alternative energy. It seems like a great method that they're using now, too. I thought it was interesting how they figured out that winds are stronger as you get higher off the ground, which made sense to make the turbines bigger, making them reach those heights. I absolutely think we should continue in our research of wind energy and use it to our advantage. The wind isn't going anywhere, so we should use it.
Vocabulary
fracking - propagation of fractures in a rock layer, as a result of the action of a pressurized fluid
radiation - the emissions of energy as electromagnetic waves or as moving subatomic particles
turbine - a machine for producing continuous power in which a wheel or rotor is made to revolve by a fast-moving flow of water, steam, gas, air, or other fluid
kilowatts - a measure of 1,000 watts of electrical power
The Clean Water Act - establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and regulating quality standards for surface waters
radiation - the emissions of energy as electromagnetic waves or as moving subatomic particles
turbine - a machine for producing continuous power in which a wheel or rotor is made to revolve by a fast-moving flow of water, steam, gas, air, or other fluid
kilowatts - a measure of 1,000 watts of electrical power
The Clean Water Act - establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and regulating quality standards for surface waters