Environment Technology

Geothermal energy is an environment friendly source of energy used to power many applications, specially heating and cooling systems. Its use, over the years, has proved to be extremely reliable and highly cost efficient. Geothermal heating and cooling systems are globally used in many industrial and domestic applications. The source of geothermal energy lies in the formative years of planet earth, the solar energy received at the surface and also because of the decomposition of the mineral wealth in the depths of the planet. There have been several ancient remains and proofs of use of geothermal heating systems. These can be traced to the ancient Indus valley civilization, the Roman empire and the subsequent periods in human history when civilizations flourished. Presently, its main use is in the generation of electricity.

Geothermal Heating Cooling
Globally, most of the applications running on the power, generated by geothermal heating and cooling systems are used in space heating, for desalination works, farming and heating services, spas, rejuvenation centers and so on. Geothermal heating and cooling works, require an installation of the system, which can be achieved in different ways. The ground beneath our feet is an excellent source of geothermal energy. The same can be drawn by means of certain equipment. The installation requirements for geothermal systems is given in detail as follows.

Home geothermal heating and cooling works can be broadly classified into three categories.

Horizontal Installation
If there is a large area available for use in the vicinity of the house, horizontal looping can be used. An extensive network of loop pipes can be placed just below the surface of the ground, below the frost cover. As long as there is sufficient space available for digging, an extensive network of horizontal looped pipes can be used. Coiled horizontal loops are another variation of this type in which the pipes are spread in a coiled manner instead of straight lines.

Vertical Installation
In case there is a limitation of the land under possession, vertical loops can solve the problem. In this type, the pipes run deep into the depths of the land. The cost of installation of these pipes is more than the horizontal loops as it requires more effort for installation. However, even a small area is sufficient for this purpose and the geothermal heating efficiency is the same as in case of horizontal loops.

Pond Installation
If the area near your house has a natural pond or a sufficiently large pit, it may prove to be a big advantage in the installation of geothermal heating systems. In this method of geothermal heating and cooling system, the loops are let into the pond and filled with liquid to sink the pipes further below. This is all that is required for pond loop installation.

Geothermal Heating and Cooling System
In winter, the ground temperature is relatively more than that of the atmosphere and consequently the house. By means of a circulation fluid, this heat from the ground is brought up to a geothermal unit in the house. This unit circulates the heat from the liquid to the entire house, thus keeping it warm. The cooled liquid is again cycled back to the ground by another pipe and the process continues. Similarly, during summer, the ground temperature is much less than that of the air. Thus the liquid that circulates is relatively cooler and the same process is repeated as in case of summer time. The liquid which becomes hot after absorbing the heat from the home circulation system, is again driven down to get cool beneath the ground.

The geothermal heating and cooling reviews have been pretty good wherever used, and is increasingly becoming popular as an alternative source of energy.

As fears grow over the depletion of conventional sources of energy, people have started weighing the alternative energy sources pros and cons. What is alternative energy and is it really the future of energy production? Here’s an article on alternative energy sources pros and cons. What is the meaning of the term alternative energy sources? Alternative energy sources are the sources of energy which can be used in tandem with the conventional sources of energy to power mechanical devices. But the rate at which conventional sources are depleting, there will be no ‘alternative’ but to use them. So it is time we seriously looked at the alternative energy pros and cons and decided which source of energy is effective enough to fulfill the increasing demand for energy.

Alternative Energy Sources List
Before we can discuss the alternative energy pros and cons, it is essential to know which are the alternative sources of energy. So here’s a list of the popularly used alternative sources of energy. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list and there may be more sources of energy beyond those which are mentioned here, but these are more commonly used and have prevailed over a period of time and hence, it is possible to evaluate their pros and cons.

• Biomass
• Solar Energy
• Wind Energy
• Hydro Energy
• Tidal Energy
• Geo-Thermal Energy

Alternative Energy Sources Pros and Cons
Here are the some of the general alternative energy advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages of Alternative Energy Sources
Renewable Energy: The first advantage enjoyed by most alternative energy resources is that they will not get depleted in the foreseeable future. Hence, energy sources like solar energy and wind energy make great alternative sources of energy for cars and alternative energy sources for homes, respectively. Once set-up, they will provide energy for a very long time.
Greener Energy Sources: The alternative sources of energy do not create a residual matter which will harm the environment in the long run. Alternative energy and global warming are said to be inversely proportion. The fuel that is used to run cars today spew out a lot of gases that are bad for the environment. As opposed to those, cars powered by solar energy will not leave any harmful waste matter.
Free Source of Energy: Excluding the costs of production, renewable sources of energy need not be purchased. Energy sources like sunlight, wind and water require only an initial cost for installation, thereafter which, they are available for free. This can be contrasted with the increasing price energy companies are paying to purchase coal and gas.
* High Supply: The relevance of this point may vary based on where you are located. If you are located in a region with a lot of sunlight, then you will have a lot of solar energy. Likewise, if you set-up a windmill in a windy area, you will receive a constant supply of that energy. Hence, once you decide on a location and set-up a production facility, you need not worry about any supply limitation.

Disadvantages of Alternative Sources of Energy

* High Set-up Costs: Set up costs are considerably high for facilities which will produce the energy. For example, just think of dams which need to be built in order to set up a hydro-powered plant. The relocation of the residents and building the dam involves very high costs. Production of energy using tidal waves too is a very costly affair.
* Storage and Transportation: One of the main reasons why alternative energy sources haven’t yet entered the mainstream is because storage and transportation costs for this source of energy is very high. While windmills and hydro-electric power plants are getting more and more sophisticated, other renewable energy sources have a long way to go.
* Unreliable: The renewable energy sources depend largely on naturally occurring factors. For example, if it doesn’t rain enough, the hydro-electric plant’s production levels will be hampered. Similarly, without enough sunlight, it may not be possible to generate solar energy as efficiently as we need it.
* Not as Efficient as Conventional Energy Sources: The last point is the one we hate to admit to ourselves. As of today, alternative sources of energy are not as efficient as we need them to be. The technology available today is not sophisticated enough to ensure that alternative energy sources can completely overthrow the reign of conventional energy sources. The proof of this is the hybrid car. As we give ourselves time to develop better, more efficient machinery for production of alternative energy, we have to currently make do with two technologies which should work efficiently.

So this was all about alternative energy sources pros and cons. There is no doubt that alternative energy is the way to the future, but we have to give ourselves time in order to develop ways to fight the cons before we can get alternative energy sources into the mainstream.

In the process of constant advancement in auto technology, car makers are pondering on manufacturing environment-friendly vehicles utilizing nanotechnology. Two of the much-anticipated future vehicles of this concept are Acura FCX 2020 Le Mans and Volkswagen Nanospyder. Automakers are constantly incorporating the most advanced technology in their lineup. This time around they are planning to use nanotechnology to come up with spectacular vehicles. Two of the most sought-after vehicles are Acura FCX 2020 Le Mans and Volkswagen Nanospyder.

Recently, automakers have unleashed their environment-friendly concept cars that are expected to be manufactured using nanotechnology. The latter is a technology of building tiny machines using functional systems at a molecular scale. According to experts, nanotechnology, in its original sense, means projected ability to assemble items from the bottom up, utilizing techniques and tools being developed these days to make complete, high performance products.

Nanotechnology works from the bottom to the inside of the machine called personal nanofactories (PNs). Using mechanochemistry, nanotechnology will facilitate control at the nanometer scale. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter. Basically, it is about the width of 3 to 4 atoms.

One of the striking future cars presented is FCX 2020 Le Mans from Acura. Said car is envisioned to be powered by advanced auto parts from the automaker. It will also be using Honda car accessories to boost its ergonomics and comfort.

Acura FCX 2020 Le Mans appears like a Batmobile. The difference is that it uses lightweight and recyclable materials. Moreover, it is equipped with a hydrogen fuel cell drivetrain that makes it an environment-friendly car. Its molecular nanotechnology made it lighter and more manageable than present day cars.

Another viable future car is Volkswagen Nanospyder. The captivating car is made up billions of spore-like nanobots. The car is inclusive of mouth, eyeballs and other Volkswagen car accessories including tiny logos.

One of the exciting features of this VW Nanospyder is the ability of its lead bots to pick up impending collisions. Aside from that, the information can be sent away to support particular sections of the car.

Analysts in the auto industry are expecting a greener car future because of nanotechnology. In fact, there have been interesting concept cars submitted in the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show’s Design Challenge. The latter is a competition designed to cover future cars that are environment-friendly. Mechanics of the competition include originality, safety, environmentalism and relevancy to Southern California’s ‘green’ lifestyle.

Consumerism is ultimately what is causing all the planet’s ecological structures to become so imbalanced that there will not be a sustainable future for all. We are at present in a situation where the planet’s ecology is not coping with all the pollution because of a huge, continuously increasing, consumer demand. This excessive demand for consumer goods has created most of the current ecological imbalances. These ecological imbalances will become a much greater problem than most people expect this to be. These imbalances have already caused ecological disasters in different places all over the world, with many more to follow.

This rate of consumption is increasing at an alarming rate. This will cause enormous ecological devastation in the future, to the extent that around 2025, people will need to complete major changes in their lifestyles to avoid the worst possible scenario.

The greenhouse gas effect is now so great that around 2015, the whole planet will experience the result of rising temperatures in a far more severe way than most people will expect.

While most people have begun to notice that the climate is changing they may not have understood that these climate changes are the forerunner of a much more serious problem. As a result most people are not altering their lifestyles, reducing their ecological footprint, resulting in a further increase of the present ecological imbalance.

With the continuing increase in environmental damage there will come a time where this will reach a point of no return, whereby the planet will no longer be able to support its own functioning. It is expected that by the year 2025, the planet will no longer be able to cope with the severe ecological damage. This will mainly be caused due to present geological stresses, further increase of global warming, and further destruction of the planet’s ecology which is so needed by the planet to provide support for its overall functioning.

It is of benefit for people to look at how they live their life and what they can do to change their lifestyle, so that an excessive need for goods and products will not become a major drive in one’s life. This may be difficult to do while the overall consensus is to buy more products. However, this is not reducing consumerism. At times, products may be needed to improve a lifestyle; however, people often wish to increase their buying and spending power and buy more products so they can feel better or can keep up with others. Thus, this need for an increase in products in the household creates an increase in the number of products manufactured, which in turn often results in an increase in environmental damage.

While humanity needs consumer goods, the impact these products or the production processes can have on the ecology has to be reduced. To save the environment humanity can no longer continue to increase its consumption of goods and, this should therefore not be encouraged. The human race needs to envisage a future whereby people still have their comforts but without the throw-away and polluting aspects of living, as is happening in most modern-day societies.

It is important that the planet’s worsening environmental crisis is taken seriously and action is taken to make adequate change to prevent a looming ecological crisis within the next twenty years. A simpler, less polluting lifestyle will result in a more manageable, sustainable environment, which as a result can function better as a support structure for the planet’s overall functioning.