PLANTS,AIR AND SUN

We all need some forms of Power in order to live.

For example, trees, plants and animals, genrally all need energy from the Sun to live.

If it was not for the write conditions of Sun, air, water and Eath, then then the sensertive Eco-Systems and infrastructures of life and the enviroment would not be able to live.

We associte power with many activites throughout our lifestyle, some of what are necersary for essential life activites, such as cooking washing and warmth .

other things we associte with Power are associated more with lesure, such as listening to music.

Modern day society and civalisations seem to contain a whole inferstructure of mechanisams of Power which together contribute to the kind of Society and Enviroment that we live.

For example Trains, Factories, Shops ect.

Much of the electricic Power used in supporting Post Contempory generated by Poluting methods that can be harmful to life and may also contribute to Climate Change.

or otherwise Dangorus methods of Power poduction, for example Nuclear Energy.

With unrenewable Polluting fuels for creating energy such as the depleating gas coal and oil supplys diminishing and unstable volatilee poluting and unsafe nuclear fuel systems of which fuel is also increasingle becoming scarse in its natraul mind ore, the industrie causing mass enviromental deverstation through radioactive thermo nuclear poluttion contamination and international security alarms! It is time to look at greener more sustainable means of energy sources and also look at how we share power and what we use power for, both socioly and personle, as terifc amounts of energy are wasted and centralised energy system like the National Grid does not incorage more industraise, comunitys and people to conserve energy wisley in the first plase and to be responsible for there own Enviromentaly freindly, Energy creating utilities.

Enviromentaly freindly Alternitive energy souses may be divided up into its relevt sources of Power, so as to derive from which method of of Alternitive Energy, a Power source has been derived from.

The main sources of Alternitive Energy Are; Solar Energy Solar Energy means energy derived from the Sun. Our Sun is a one of the main sources of most of our alternitive energy sourcdes, since solar energy from our Sun controls the weather on Earth. Heat from the suns radiation is obsorbed by our Oceans, The poleward flow of warm, moist ait subgected to the possition and and rotation of the Earths surface, creates some of our familiar Weather Paterns. Water evaporated by the Sun, condenceis as rain. As the Wind blows over the strectches of our Oceans, waves are created through the oscilation of the Seas surface. Energy from the Sun can be utilised through to direct methods; Solar Photovoltaics, is the conversion of solar energy, directly into electricity in a solid state, using silicon, monocrystalline and other Semiconducting materials.

Energy is derived from the sun light through the use of a semi condutor like silicon though other semi conductors such as Gallium Arsenide, Copper indium Diselenside and Cadmium Telluride may be utilised to a simillar effect of of generzting electricity when a pur e semi conductor cell is dopped with with a tiny quantity of an impurity, such as phosphurorus or boron.

A Photooltaic silicon cell , (PV Cell), in essence consists of a junction between two thin layers of almost identical semiconducting materiail. One, the N (Negertive)- type semiconductor material would be doped with a minute amount of an impurite such as Phosphurous, whilst the P (Posertive)- type semiconductor would be doped with a minute amount of the impurite Boron. When a P-N Junction is created by joining to dissimilar semiconductors, an Electric field is set upin the regin of the junction.

This electric field is similar to the ectro static field created when rubing a blown up balloon on a wool jumper! Negertiverly charged particles move in one direction and Posertiverly charged particles move in the oposite direction.

This Electric charge builds up and is realised gradualy across the junction, depending on the amount of energy absorbed from the sun through altering weather conditions.

A vast majority of solar modules available today use "waste" silicon from the computer chip industry as the semiconductor material Solar Thermal Energy, May be considerd as utilisig the Energy of the Sun to the most relevent and appropiate use of Energy conversvation and energy use, all be it through Building desighns to utilise and make the most use of heat and light through the positioning of Glass windows and mirrors utilised for best conserving heat and light in arcitectual desighn. integrated into buildings and even made into roof tiles virtually indistinguishable from normal tiles.

Concentrated Solar Panals may also be used in conjuction with copper pipes, for heating up water.

This is a good, cheap and effective process of energy conservation, utilising the natrual heat energy from the Sun and saving on conventional energy use that may be dangourise as well as eradicating dangourise pollution emmiting energy souces that disharge harmfull radiation or Carbon dioxide.

Wind Energy Energy derived from the wind is bearly a new concept,! as it is thought that the wind was first used over thousand s of years ago to power sailing boats.

It is thought that the static explotation of the wind begun about 4000 years ago through windmills, conventunaly used fo milling grain, and grinding other materials.

Windmills have also historicaly in the past, evan to pump water. Energy as derived from Wind turbines carrys some Enviromental Benefits as well as potential compications in there positioning and the effcts of theiar use.

Some of the obviouse potential enviromental bennifits are that wind turbines used for the generation of electricity do not involve the release of Carbon Dioxide, acid rain smog or radioactive pollutants. Wind Turbines do not neecersarly require a water supplie.

The utilisation of wind turbines to produce elctricity, reduces our dependancy on post contemporary energy sources, such as Nuclear fuel and Fossil Fuels. HydroElectricity Hydroelectricity, involves the concetration of Power through the adaption and enginering of water ways, through the use of Turbines and Dams.

The Power generated from an effective HydroElectricity turbine generator is determined from the effective fall rate to the head of the generators turbine, thus rotataing the generators tubine, and the Flow Rate.

The power of pertential of those two charicteristics, (H=Height water falls) and (Q), the number of cubic metres of water fall per second), are averagie 10 times the value of these two factours; Thus, P(KW) = 10 x Q x H There are certan desighn specification to be taken into comsideration from the consnetration of stored water energy realesead through the effective fall rate and the desighn of the turbine propeler and genorator, depending on the construction and enviromental conditions. There are certan Enviromental, ecological and sociol considerations to take into account, as often, the creation of dams to withhold the pressure of stored water energy realesed through the hydro electricity generatours, couses the surounding area to be submerged by water, to the hight and area of the waters concentration. This could have a knock on effect on the serounding habitat and Ecology.

There are also ecological considerations to be had in the change of ecological conditions of the natraul habitat and the ecological effects on species considering there migrational patterns, which for Salmon for instance, could be quite deverstiating for the colonising speciase near large scale progects, which are located near thear migratorie water ways, on there way through eausterias, up rivers to calmer waters to breed.

Sociol consideration to be taken into acount are certonlie ot an ethical leval of the enviromental and ecological consequensies, they are also on a possible ethical leval on any possible individual or public loss of property.

There are certan ecinomical considerations to be had for investment and the possible Energy potentiol of a given Hydroelectricty plant that should be taken into acount of.

Tidal Energy Tidal energy can be harnissed through the desighn of tidal barrages, constructed in sutable locations, taking into acount sociol, ethical, enviromental, ecological and financial aspects of a such a progect. Tidal energy can be harnissed through the desighn of tidal barrages to convert the potential energy of the rise and falling of the tide, to, Kinetic energy from alternating tidal curents of the tides, rotating the blades of the turbine, which propels the genorator, thus producing electricity from a sustainable form of alternitive energy.

Wave Energy The motion of the waves has been able to be harnessed by certan contraptunes to convert the alternating bobing action of the waves into mechanical energy, which can thus be converted into a usable form of energy in the form of electricty.

There are many varies desighns able to deployed to harnis the varies potential energy of waves into a kinetic energy to produce another alternitive means of sustainable energy. There can be land or sea based wave energy genorators, desighned to capture put to use or inhance the variouse posible potentiol energy forces which waves may produce and inflict, in variouse ways, on wave energy genorators, to producing energy.

Coastal Wave energy genorators, tend to use the air pressure of the wave, by arcutecting tube like strutures which enhance and consentrate the air pressure energy of the chamber, which when ingulfed by the wave, produces a force which can be harnissed to rotate turbies and drive a genorator to produce electricity. Biomass Energy The term Biomass reffers to a wide range of subject material as the biomass may be considerd as all of the Earths living matter that exsists in a thin layer of the earths atmospheare and Earths crust called the Biosphaire.

Biomass in terms of Biomass fuels also covers a large subject matter as of apart from natraul examples of Biomass energy conversions in living organisams in an ecology, theair are also a wide range of Biomass processes which may be utilised for Energy production.

Amoungst these are Biodiesal and ethanal, produced from Vegatable oils, Maize, sorghum and Miscanthus for Bio-ethanol Production, and Ethanal from Sugar cane, which is now used for alternative fuel vehicles, aviation fuels and as an additive to meet clean Petrolium standards. Other forms of fuels derived from Biomass are; Biogas, Animal waste, Landfill gas Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). Municipal Solid Waste is basicaly though, the burning of waste through incineration, to produce electricity, therfore we shall not class this as a Sustainable energy because of the enviromental and health issues concerned through more carbon emisions and the release toxic emissions and heavily contaminated ash. which is useuly dumped in landfill sites. Ther are also seriouse dangerouse to health through the release of dioxines.

The Energy from waste (EFW) incinerators are also enviromentaly unsound because they send valuble resources up in smoke.

For a enviromentaly sustainable future, we need to stop the waste of non-renewable resources like aluminium, steel and cemen and stop wasting wood and paper.

The waste of plastics is also an unsustainable resource as the production of plastics accounts for 4 per cent of oil consumption and oil is a unsutainable resouse, as it is calculated that oil supplys could run out in 2050.

Incinerators produce toxic emissions and heavily contaminated ash, which is then genrally dumped into landfil sites.

Landfill Gas and anerobic Digesters for MSW use Biogas as a fuel. Landfill gas, (LFG), has between 50% and 60% of Methane, CH4 + and CO2. In sucsessful conditions, a site could other 150-300m3 of gas, per 5-6Gj per tonne of waste processed.

MSW, municipal solid waste, consits largly of biological material, putricible waste, as well as other Recycable matirals such as 29% Paper, 1% non ferrous metal, 6% wood and Garden waste, 7% Plastics, 8% Glass, 9% miscellaneous combustable, 13% miscellaneous non-comustable and 9% putrescible.

Obviously better waste manejment progrsms for recycling need to be in progress. The term Gasification is about the synthesis of Gas. This may be through Lanfill Gas, Anaerobic Digestion, through Biogas.

Lanfill gas is colected through borrows of populated pipes, uder a layer of pouras clay, so to incourage anerobic digestion.

Rotting vegitation, and dung can be be used to synthesise gas through anerobic digestion on farm biogas digesters. Gasification may be used to synthesise Gasfrom fermentation, in order to produce ethanol, which can be used for internal combustion engines in converted engines.

Fermentation is a n Anaerobic biological process where sugars are converted to alcohol by the anerobic digestion of Micro Arganisams, for instance, which produce alcohol.

Sugarcane is the most commonly used fuel source for producing ethanol, though Corn maize, Cassava root and Sweat Potatoe may lao be used as an anerobic andertive ffrom the fermentation of micro-organsams.

Methanol may also be produced through the synthesis of gases released in from anerobic digesters and Landfill gases and may be used tfor creating energy from gas tubines or as a liquid fuel to replace Petral.