Thursday, May 28, 2009

Problems and Solutions



Global warming has become a big political issue and the most threat of our time. The burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil has caused the global warming. However, there are some solutions for this problem and one of them is solar energy. I will explain how coal-burning power stations cause global warming, discuss solar energy, and give my opinion about this alternative to fossil fuels.






For many centuries, coal was the main source of energy for all people. It burned to produce heat in homes and factories. Today, the largest consumer of coal as a fuel is the electrical power industry. The combustion of coal in power generating plants is used to make steam which, in turn, operates turbines and generators. Furthermore, coal use in steel and cement manufacturing. However, coal is one of the main reasons of global warming. Burning a tone of coal typically releases more than 3 tones of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. The problem with coal is two fold, it produces a lot of carbon dioxide, among other materials into the air, and the world has a lot of it (Kanellos). In addition, it causes health problems and releases toxic mercury in atmosphere.





All government around the world concern about this issue and try to use clean source power such as solar power. Solar Energy is one of the renewable sources in life and that energy comes from the sun heat. There are some advantages of this energy. The price of this energy can’t be change in the future, unlike other prices for oil or gas. Solar power also leads to pollution prevention if it's a point source (Garris). Furthermore, it provides safer and cheaper energy for all our needs in life. However, this power is very useful, it has some disadvantages. It requires quite a large area for installation to achieve a good level of efficiency. The efficiency of the system also relies on the location of the sun, although this problem can be overcome with the installation of certain components (Wyk).


In conclusion, CO2 level is increasing and that affects the ozone layer too. Therefore, governments must consider the renewable sources as the source for the next generation. Another solution could be cool cities and limits the vehicles by using public transportation in big cities. Furthermore, every one should reconsider about his lifestyle and try to change it to help reducing the global warming.



Bibliography:


Kanellos, Michael. "Stop coal, stop global warming, says architect News Blog - CNET News." Technology News - CNET News. 28 May 2009 http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9782715-7.html



Leah, Garris. "What solar power has to offer: when it comes to renewable energy, solar power is definitely picking up speed. With more and more buildings taking on this new technology, solar power is becoming realizable for mafacilities professionals.(ENGINEERED SYSTny." Buildings Aug. 2008.


Wyk, Anita Van. "Advantages and Disadvantages of SOLAR ENERGY - Environment articles, articles from Environment.” 28 May 2009 http://articles.smashits.com/articles/environment/63040/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-solar-energy.html

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Cool Cities




Now days, many cities in the world are modern and have basics needs to live, however, these cities consume more energy that produce more CO2 and heat. Therefore, the developers found out a basic strategy to deal with heat and CO2 by building Cool Cities. These cities have the ability to reduce heat and CO2 to the zero level. However, Cool cities are not practical for two main reasons. This essay will describe my research on cool cities and my recommendation.



The first reason is the size of the world population. For example, Masdar City is designed to be free from cars and any other polluting machines, but this city will serve only 50,000 citizens (Morrison). The world population rate is increasing year after another and by 2050 the rate will be approximately 9 billion (Aziakou). Therefore, we need many cool cities in each county which is impossible





Another reason is the cost of building this type of city. Masdar City cost around $ 22 billion. Many countries around the world are poor and to have this type of city in them would be very impossible. This huge amount of many can be used to reduce CO2 level by developing the old factories and replace them with new one. Furthermore, this amount of budget can help to find many projects which have to be available and that are including poor countries.




In conclusion, having cool cities is a brilliant idea; however, most people can’t live in it. Therefore, I recommend that we should change our lifestyle and I believe that this is the solution for global warming.

Bibliography:

Aziakou, Gerard. "France 24 World population to reach nine billion by 2050: UN projections France 24." France 24 Latest world news report, find the events that make international headlines France 24. 10 May 2009
http://www.france24.com/en/20090311-world-population-reach-nine-billion-2050-un-projections.




Morrsion, Chris. "Personal rapid transit gets another chance at life �." VentureBeat. 10 May 2009 http://venturebeat.com/2009/01/23/personal-rapid-transit-gets-another-chance-at-life/.