US Troops

http://www.antiwar.com/blog/2012/05/22/pentagon-caught-in-another-lie-about-soldiers-health/

 (Picture of a pit in use.)
Summary: Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are facing serve health impacts from activities concerning the removal of pollutants in camps. There were rather high levels of Particulate Matter found in the camp. The primary contributor to the pollution was burn pits. Troops that worked in some bases have chronic illness and various forms of cancer. Past servicemen are now using oxygen tanks to breathe, while only a few weeks earlier they were as fit as a horse. Only recently have proper incinerators been placed, but major damage has already been done to our servicemen.

Reaction: I think it is horrid what happened to these people. It is even more sad that they cannot sue under current laws. Even though there is evidence supporting the claim that the army knew to some degree that using open air burn pits were a danger to peoples' health, I am uncertain that it was the case. I would hope that people come up with better solutions to problems rather than tossing rubbish into a pit of fire. I also am wondering if that the new way they are burned are any better. Won't the toxins still degrade the air quality still? With such  after effects from poor quality, it make me think of citys. I am aware we also burn our trash and that we send very bad toxins in the air. It makes me think of the Story of Stuff and how dioxin is made. So are people in Philadephia, New York, and DC also being exposed to toxic chemicals?

Questions:

Would you move if you found out that your area is being exposed to toxins?
Are there clean ways to remove trash and pollutants?
Do you think people are responsible for the waste they produce?

British Air Pollution

Summary: In Britain, air pollution annually kills 13,000 people a year according to a study done at MIT. Despite the countries clear violations of EU standards, it continues. However, 40% of the air pollution they experience is as a result of activity of mainland Europe, and the polluted air is carried over the channel on the wind. Mainland Europe receives a small amount
from Britain as well. Combustion emissions account for one third of all premature deaths in the UK, and the number of premature deaths linked to them is about the same as the total number of deaths for the same reason in the rest of mainland Europe. Of course, officials are hesitant to do much because they, as always, suspect that the cost of maintaining clean and breathable air for citizens may be too high for them to feel that the benefit does fully justifies the cost. The worst emissions right now are  PM10s (soot), NO2, and NOx. One idea is to eliminate cars altogether and replace them with public transport.

Reaction:  I  utterly was flabbergasted  by the statistics in this article. I knew that an estimated 3 million people die each year as a result of air pollution, but seeing the numbers broken down as they were really personalized it more. It is truly incredible how little our kind cares about how we pollute everything, from the water we drink to the air we breathe, and disregard the idea of solving the problems because of money. Seeing that combustion emissions account for  about 33% of premature deaths in the UK was mind blowing. Does that mean, if you live there, you are more likely to die from breathing than from being hit by a car, or being murdered, among other things? That is truly terrifying, and refusing to solve the problem is nothing short of dastardly.

Questions:
1. What can be done to help fix the air in the UK?
2. What do average citizens think about the pollution?
3. How long might it take to fix the problem?



http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/apr/20/air-pollution-killing-13000-people-year

Useless grass could become next biofuel

Useless Grass Could Become Next Biofuel

 One day in the not-too-distant future, we might be filling our cars with fuel made from grass.

A biologist has transferred a gene from corn into a fast-growing species of grass and transformed it into what could become an important source of biofuel. In a world of vanishing oil reserves, farmers have been growing more and more high-energy crops like corn and sugar cane to make ethanol as an alternative for gasoline, while scientists are seeking even higher-energy products from other crops.

A UC Berkeley plant geneticist reports that his experiments with a species of corn called corngrass1 have yielded genetically altered forms of common switchgrass plants that more than doubles their content of starch. In a report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the scientists say that test plots of the altered switchgrass have shown that the gene experiments have improved the starch content in the plants by roughly 255%. Also important, they report, the gene transfer blocks the switchgrass plants from flowering. "They're forever young," and that means the plants cannot spread pollen containing the new gene beyond the area where the altered plants grow.

Now, larger field tests of the transformed switchgrass are planned, and he said he is starting a new series of genetics experiments to see how other genes from the corngrass1 plant can be triggered in response to light and darkness, and to raise the starch content of switchgrass even higher. The goal is a major new source of biofuel from a wild plant that grows throughout the world.

Opinion: I think it’s really good that we are making progress with biofuel and I hope this becomes our main fuel source replacing oil. This is going to have a major impact on the world if it succeeds. The issue of biofuel needs to be covered more in the media.

Questions:
When do you think that biofuel will become the main fuel source?
Do you think that biofuel will ever be a practical solution to the dwindling supply of oil?
What are some reasons why biofuel might become impractical?

Article Title: Portable alternative energy power source
Author: Construction and maintenance
Date: 2012
 http://home.nestor.minsk.by/build/news/2012/05/0904.html


 
 Caption: People are always thinking up of amazing alternative solutions. This car is just one of many ways in which alternative solutions are being drawn up.


Summary: The company by the name of Apperistity has come up with a pretty cool and innovative alternative energy source. This new type of alternative energy runs on both wind and solar power. Solar panels on this device have an output of 450 watts per hour. Apperisity and another company,New Wind, have collaborated to make this energy source.New Wind's wind turbines contribute to the wind power aspect of the machine. The machine is also made up of a recycled chassis. Best of all, this machine is portable. It can be in stalled onto any mobile light tower as long as that tower gets a two-fold micro grid with a battery backup installed into it. The cool thing is that this machine can work on sunny days with its solar power panels, while working on stormy days with its wind turbines.There is no fuel or diesel involved in powering the machine.Although this portable "power plant" is still just a prototype, it is neat how they can incorporate both wind and solar power into one portable station.


Opinion/Reflection:
People are always coming up with new and innovative alternative energy solutions. This is just another great example of an alternative energy solution. I love how they went with the recycled chassis, it just shows how environmentally conscious these people are. The coolest part of this machine has to be that it involves both solar and wind power. This eliminates some of the what ifs associated with solar power(Will it work when it is not sunny). I would definitely use this machine in my life if I had the chance to own one. It is just an amazing way in which one can power his or her house without the use of coal or gas.I can compare this to the types of alternative energies that we had discussed in class, in that it is an innovative solution

Question:
1. Will companies actually invest in a machine like this, or will they stick to their old heating and electrical systems?Why or why not?
2.When will this machine be completed, and put up for sale?
3. Is is practical  to have an alternative energy source that combines solar, wind and tidal power. If so why, or why not?

Piezoelectricity

http://www.good.is/post/electricty-generating-dance-floors-and-other-miracles-of-piezoelectricity/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+good%2Flbvp+%28GOOD+Main+RSS+Feed%29

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Piezoelectricity are solid  materials that release a charge when pressure is applied to them. Right now people are coming up with brilliant ways to gather renewable energy.  Piezoelectricy could also possibly pick up the slack that solar and wind leave behind allowing for a truly sustainable world. People as of now are just starting to use this technology.  In 2008 a dance club called Club Watt became fully self sufficient. They used piezoelectric materials in the dance floor tiles, so when someone was dancing force would be applied and generate power. In Tokyo there is a train station that added a piezoelectric floor to generate 1,400 kW on a daily basis. In Toulouse, France, they added a piezoelectric sidewalk to generate power for street lights. In London people are planning to do the same, but light up crossings and stop signs. At a supermarket in the UK these used the energy from people crossing speed bumps to power their check-out lines. In Israel, they are starting to mix asphalt and the piezoelectric minerals together, so when people drive around they will generate electricity, there should energy generated this way to provide for over 2,000 homes. In the future there should even be  more ways of generate power, one hope would be clothes with piezoelectric materials.

Reflection: I am really happy that we are exploring options for a cleaner future. I was thinking though what would happen if we added these types of sidewalks in every street instead of the normal cement ones, and added the smart roads to generate power on the roads. If you could also add solar panels to houses and businesses, then I am pretty darn sure that place would be self sufficient. It just seems a little crazy that if we have technology to make clean energy on a large scale, why don't we. There are also so many other ways to get energy like scavenger energy that steals power from radio/television waves, it is sort like recycling. I just hope there is a push in America soon to make more clean energy.

Questions

If you were the Mayor of Philadelphia would you switch to road and sidewalks to generate electricity?

Do you think that this way of getting power is better or worse than other methods?

 Would you want one of these sidewalks around your house?

By: Ryan Marinelli

Deforestation

Modern-Day Plague: http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation-overview

 http://tinyurl.com/6tzgmhq

Picture: This is deforestation. It is obvious that this forest has been severely reduced fromits original size. The reason for this was most likely for agricultural reasons.

Summary: Deforestation is an ongoing devastation. At the rate we are at now, within 100 years, there will be no more forests. There are many reasons why deforestation occur. The main reason is agriculture. People that own farms often cut large portions of forests to harvest crops. Another reason is for economics. The government may have to cut down forests to build cities, roads or developments. Another large industry that cuts down trees at high rates is the logging industry. Loggers cut down a countless number of trees for paper, industrial wood, and fire wood. Buts deforestation can also be natural. For instance, forest fires can naturally spawn from lightning. In any case, deforestation is horrible for organisms that live in wild forests. Trees also give water to the water cycle through transpiration. To help the problem of deforestation, we can simply plant more trees and stop cutting down so may. For we have less of a use for paper because we have electronics, and fire wood is unnecessary because houses are heated with oil instead.

Reflection: It’s amazing how bad humans are to the environment. People should start to notice what i happening to the Earth and start to fix it. Horsham use to be all forest, but now, it is all buildings and roads.

Questions:

1.      How can you help deforestation in your community specifically?

2.      What are some alternative energy sources that don't require wood?

3.      Is there a way to build cities with cutting down forests?

4.      What is happening right now, if anything, that is help stop deforestation?

Sonic Energy

SONIC ENERGY




In 2004, Dr. James K. Thurber, a mathematician whom has previously done work on quantum field theory, founded Sonic Dynamic LLC, a project designed to turn sonic energy into a usable, environmentally friendly energy.  In the studies conducted, low-frequency oscillators were used to create usable energy. These oscillators are used to generate sound fields, in "specialized applications". The idea is not yet very practical, because of these restricted parameters. Sonic energy should not be excluded from the (long) list of environmentally-friendly sources of energy. Sonic energy has, thus far, been able to levitate objects and produce 2 kilowatts of electricity, the former being via low-frequency sounds, the latter being via extremely high frequency (high enough to be dangerous) sounds.

Reaction: This is great! I am very glad that this exists. It turns out I was right in class today: Sound can be made into usable energy! It makes one wonder what lobbyists opposed to alternative energy are thinking. There are so many ways of producing energy, I would guess that with the scope of the universe and human imagination, there are infinite ways to create energy. It would make sense why high-frequency sounds would be used, but I was surprised that low-frequency sounds are used as well.  I suppose it just goes to show: Anything that exists is intimately connected with energy (especially if one subscribes to M-theory), so everything is, in a way, a source of energy. Again, why some people think only of fossil fuels when they think of energy is unfathomable.

1. What are some other interesting ways to produce energy?
2. Why can sounds be dangerous?
3. How powerful or loud do the sounds need to be?

http://sonic-dynamics.com/alternative-energy.htm