Reflection- Stephanie

A) Several different ways to produce energy have evolved in the past years; however, there is no specific energy plan that can be sustainable. Each plan has both advantages and disadvantages. In my opinion, the most sustainable plan is to utilize energy captured by wind turbines. These turbines produce no pollutants and are harmless to the environment. Although they have many benefits, like any other energy plan, there are downfalls – wind turbines can be expensive, and may also break during storms.

B) Ways to minimize energy use in homes.
– Walk or ride my bike instead of driving my car.
– Turn off the lights when I'm not using them.
– Take shorter showers.
– Turn down the thermostat.
– Use ceiling fans instead of air conditioning
– Install fluorescent light bulbs.
– Unplug electronic devices when not in use.
– Make sure the windows and doors are completely sealed in order to maintain desired temperature

C) Yes, energy star labels are extremely helpful when looking for products that are energy efficient. The “sliding scale” ranges from least amount of energy used to most amount of energy used. Normally, the products that use a small amount of energy are going to be more expensive; however, they will save you money in the future and are also environmentally friendly because they use limited energy.

D) I feel that the most useful type of energy in Iowa would be wind energy. Our state has many open fields and could easily capture the wind energy. However, it may be difficult for wind turbines to function during the winter months.

E) R value insulation ratings are used to measure insulations ability to resist heat flow. The higher the R value, the more effective it is. House Insulation should be purchased based on its R value, not thickness or weight. Some quick facts about R value are:
• One type of insulation maybe thicker or thinner, but if the R value is the same they should insulate equally.
• R value performance testing is done in a 70 F environment with no air movement. Ironically enough, when you need insulation the most you're generally not in these ideal temperatures or conditions. This can result in the rated house insulation R value being higher than the actual effective R value.
• The average recommended R value of insulating material for basement insulation in North America is R-12.
• The R value in house insulation is substantially lowered when there's any air or water/moisture leaks.
• The standard R value for house insulation varies based on climate and temperature
• 1 inch of insulation is = to 30 inches of concrete.
There are different types of house insulation materials, each having a different R value.
Some of the best insulation materials are:
• House Insulation R value of Blown in Cellulose Insulation is 3.70 per inch
• House Insulation R value of Fiberglass Insulation is 3.14 per inch
• House Insulation R value of Expanded Polystyrene is 4.00 per inch
Protecting your house insulation and keeping your R value high is extremely important. Water is one of the biggest concerns in regards to R value and house insulation. If moisture/water gets into your house insulation, it lowers the R value. The moisture will weigh down the insulation leaving gaps and bare spots.


F) Mining for oil and coal cannot be sustainably; these are both non-renewable resources. The website I have included is about water use and sustainable development in coal mining; the work is a case study from Central Queensland. The case study discusses the five pillars of sustainability.
http://www.csrm.uq.edu.au/docs/MCA_SOTA.pdf

Cars of the Future-Jack Jack Jackie

The first car is by Nissan and I don't think this is a very futuristic car except for the way it can park.
I believe gas prices will stay high and go higher then they are now so the main focus of the future will be more fuel efficient cars.
Honda has a car with a silicone base to avoid harming people during a crash and I believe this will be a thing of the future because people do care about their safety.
The next vehicle is a van with pull out storage and I don't think there is a big enough need for this to become something of the future.
Suzuki showed an electric case for vehicles and I think this could very well be a possibility for the future because it is going green.

Opinion 2-7-11


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpAgUMUIhw4&safety-mode=true&persist-safety-mode=1

Active Solar vs. Hydroelectric Power-Jack

Active solar Heating

There are 2 types of active solar, liquid and air, which is heated in solar energy collectors. Liquid bases heat water or anti-freeze and air based systems heat air in an air collector. Both systems collect and absorb solar radiation. Active solar heating are most effective when they are used for most of the year. Commercial systems range from 30 to 80 dollars.

Hydroelectric Power

A form of renewable energy resource. Hydroelectric provides about 96 % of the renewable energy in the United States. Other renewable resourses include geo thermal, wave power, tidal power, wind power and solar power. Hydroelectric plants do not use resources nor do they pollute the air, land or water as other powerplants do. Hydroelectric power comes from flowing water. 1920's hydroelectric plants powered 40 % of nations stuff.
Http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/space_heating_cooling/index.ctm/mytopic=124b

Examples of Mining-Jack

Strip mining:

Ore is close to surface with 1 or more layers of rock on top of it. To mine the ore, these layers have to be taken off. Strip mining hurts the area around the mine. http://www.encylopedia.com/topic/Strip=mining.aspx

Open pit mines:

removing materials by a pit into the earts surface. Open pit mining is common for copper, iron, gold, sand, gravel, diamonds, coal, marble and limestone. Open pit mining is usually dug out of the ground and hauled out of the pit by heavy machinery.
http://www.ehow.com/about-6509245-open-pit-mining-information.html

Subsurfacing mining:

There are only a couple types of sub surface mining. One type is underground, while searching for zinc, lead, copper and gold. Normally it's accessed using a verticle shaft which gives access to lower level mines. There are 2 methods. the methods are short hole and long hole. Short hole mining is similar to production mining.

http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-articles/mining-procdure-sub-surface-mining/

Insulation in Passive Systems-Steph

http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/SolarHomes/constructionps.htm#Super

Works Cited-Steph

We used these websites to obtain information for this project.

PROS AND CONS OF WIND ENERGY
http://windturbine.me/prosandcons.html

PASSIVE SOLAR SYSTEM
http://www.ehow.com/list_6396807_benefits-passive-solar-heating_.html

http://www.solarpowerathome.com/advantagesofsolarenergy.html

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:xzSP0zLkE4oJ:www.greenenergyohio.org/page.cfm?pageID%3D1029+benefits+of+passive+solar+systems&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESizLbYsqkTOqOvQ-NreeyGusKysgjycBk5K8AL3nAZHxdLA2mEJ1F3B2VleOndnggIQ7FsmhgBaF3vn5hF4lIyVxCgDnTVgh-_eLkcr8G0JBTRiizxShbXgNoyKPi0zEWylGrvO&sig=AHIEtbSEuvZ_zOkeFHdrZbqB3WuCNaIThA

IMPROVING ENERGY EFFICIENCY
http://www.bdg.nus.edu.sg/BuildingEnergy/news/improve_efficiency.html

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tech-transport/improve-energy-efficiency-garage.html

http://www.climatechangefacts.info/ClimateChangeDocuments/ImproveEnergyUse.htm

Wind Power

Wind is free and with modern technology it can be captured efficiently; however, there are both advantages and disadvantages to capturing wind power


The advantages of wind power are obvious and they far outweigh and of the disadvantages. The energy is free and completely renewable, no hazardous emissions, and there are no adverse environmental impacts among many other distinct positives.

The following video shows how wind turbines work:

Benefits of Passive Solar Systems

There are currently 4 methods of using solar energy. They are Passive, Thermal, Photovoltaics and Thin Film. This site gives benefits to each type of solar energy. http://www.solarpowerathome.com/advantagesofsolarenergy.html

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:xzSP0zLkE4oJ:www.greenenergyohio.org/page.cfm?pageID%3D1029+benefits+of+passive+solar+systems&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESizLbYsqkTOqOvQ-NreeyGusKysgjycBk5K8AL3nAZHxdLA2mEJ1F3B2VleOndnggIQ7FsmhgBaF3vn5hF4lIyVxCgDnTVgh-_eLkcr8G0JBTRiizxShbXgNoyKPi0zEWylGrvO&sig=AHIEtbSEuvZ_zOkeFHdrZbqB3WuCNaIThA

Passive solar power is energy that is collected by manipulating an environment to make the best use of the solar rays that fall on the property more.

This link shows the Benefits of Passive Solar vs. Traditional Design when designing a solar building. Three things to keep in mind are that:
A)The strongest sunlight comes from the south
B)Sun exposure provides heat as well as light
C)Walls must have proper insulation to retain the heat generated by sunlight after the sun goes down.
This document analyzes two public library buildings of similar size - the study concludes that orientation;sun shading; and day lighting are responsible for 13.9% savings in energy use. Also, increasing the effectiveness of the envelope could save another 46.8% in energy use.


The following links also discuss benefits of passive solar systems
http://www.ehow.com/list_6396807_benefits-passive-solar-heating_.html

Ways to improve energy efficiency

F)


This graphic shows several ways to improve energy efficiency in your home. These ways are both cost effective and environmentally friendly.