Archive for the 'Global Warming' Category
June 4th, 2009 by
In 2000, more than eight million vehicles around the world ran on alternative fuels such as electricity, natural gas, ethanol, propane, hydrogen, fuel cells – even solar and wind energy. There is growing interest and support for alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs), driven by concerns about sustainability, energy security, the environment, economics relating to oil, and geopolitical factors. Interest in alternative fuels is focused on transportation fuels, since 70% of petroleum is used in the transportation sector.
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The major impetus for development of viable AFVs is environmental; conventional fuels spew our greenhouse gasses that cause pollution and contribute directly to global warming. Another driver relates to the skyrocketing costs for petroleum-derived fuels caused by shortages of oil in an era of growing energy consumption.
Continue reading ‘Commercialization of Alternative Fuel Vehicles’
May 20th, 2009 by
Coalmine methane (CMM), for centuries the bane of canaries and miners, now offers potential as an alternative fuel source.
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Coal bed methane (CBM) refers to methane deposits in the pores of coal seams. The methane is in a near-liquid state, contained in tiny pockets within the coal. Coalmine methane (CMM) is released when coal is fractured during mining operations.
Continue reading ‘Coal Bed Methane Global Market Potential’
May 7th, 2009 by
Many fundamental problems involving hardware, procedures, training, and attitudes toward RPS-type mechanisms have been adopted in Britain, Italy and Belgium, as well as in 27 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Regulations vary from state to state, and there is no federal policy. Four of the 27 states have voluntary rather than mandatory goals. Together these 27 states account for more than 42% of the electricity sales in the United States.
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Continue reading ‘Understanding U.S. Renewable Portfolio Standards’
May 6th, 2009 by
Energy Business Reports publishes a research report on “Commercialization of Coal-to-Liquids Technology” examining how the use of coal liquification technologies may help America wean itself of foreign oil imports. CTL fuel is already in use elsewhere, like South Africa, where it meets 30 percent of transportation fuel needs.
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Through liquefaction or coal-to-liquids technology (CTL), a process of converting solid coal into liquid fuels and/or chemicals, coal can be made into liquid fuel such as gasoline or diesel and used as a substitute for petroleum products. Coal-based fuels can be used directly in today’s vehicles, with no need for modification.
Continue reading ‘Commercialization of Coal-to-Liquids Technology’
April 30th, 2009 by
Almost 40% of the world’s electricity is fueled by coal. Coal is one of the world’s most popular fuels, yet it is also one of the dirtiest. When burned, coal releases numerous pollutants that are harmful to humans, animals and plants, and it is a major cause of global warming.
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Clean coal technologies are being developed that enhance both the efficiency and the environmental acceptability of coal extraction, preparation and use. CCTs reduce emissions and waste and increase the amount of energy gained from each ton of coal. Many of these technologies are aimed at reducing greenhouse emissions from industrial or mining processes involving coal. The top international priority is reducing carbon dioxide emissions from coal-based electricity generation.
Continue reading ‘Clean Coal Technologies Market Potential’
April 8th, 2009 by
The Kyoto Protocol combines ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets with innovative market-based mechanisms to help country Parties achieve those targets at the lowest possible cost. Recognizing that reducing greenhouse gas emissions is many times more expensive in some countries than in others, the Protocol allows the Parties to use “emissions trading” and other flexibility mechanisms to meet their commitments at much reduced cost.
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The Kyoto Protocol establishes binding greenhouse gas emissions targets for 38 countries. These targets take the form of an “assigned amount” – the number of metric tons of greenhouse gases (counted as carbon dioxide equivalent) that may be emitted by sources within the country during the five-year commitment period running from 2008 through 2012. Each country must make sure that its emissions during the five-year period do not exceed its assigned amount.
Continue reading ‘GHG Emissions Credit Trading’
April 7th, 2009 by
Most energy used to meet human needs is derived from the combustion of fossil fuels (natural gas, oil, and coal), which releases carbon to the atmosphere, primarily as carbon dioxide (CO2). The atmospheric concentration of CO2, a greenhouse gas, is increasing, raising concerns that solar heat will be trapped and the average surficial temperature of the Earth will rise in response. Global warming studies predict that climate changes resulting from increases in atmospheric CO2 will adversely affect life on Earth.
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There has been ongoing research by the international scientific community to try to solve the problem of rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations. The concept of controlling the level of CO2 in the atmosphere is generally referred to as “carbon management”. Carbon management includes a broad portfolio of strategies to reduce carbon emissions via such methods as: carbon capture and sequestration; enhanced efficiency of power generation and use; use of low carbon fuels; and the use of renewable energy sources. Carbon sequestration research, broadly defined, is a series of research activities and process focusing on the removal of CO2 from the atmosphere. These processes may involve agricultural modifications, reforestation, or storage of anthropogenic CO2 within geologic reservoirs to reduce CO2 emissions.
Continue reading ‘Guide to CO2 Capture, Sequestration, and Storage’
March 31st, 2009 by
Man has been harnessing the power of air in motion for more than 5,000 years. Early sailboats, simple windmills, wind farms, and today’s sophisticated wind turbines, all rely on basic wind energy. Wind energy is a clean and renewable source that can be used to generate electricity for urban utilities and homes in remote villages.
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Following the OPEC oil embargo of 1973, interest in wind energy surged in response to climbing energy prices and doubts about the availability of conventional fuels. Federal and state tax incentives and aggressive government research programs triggered the development and use of many new wind turbine designs.
Continue reading ‘Global Wind Power Market Potential’
March 26th, 2009 by
Earth Hour 2009 Could Impact Global Energy Policies
At 8.30 pm on March 28, in the Chatham Islands off the New Zealand coast, the diesel generators will be switched off, kicking off Earth Hour 2009.
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For the next 48 hours or so, as the earth rotates, electrical power grids will be shut off across the world, so that every part of the earth experiences a dark hour. The Earth Hour initiative is intended to raise global warming awareness.
Continue reading ‘The World Shuts off the Lights for Earth Hour on March 28′
March 21st, 2009 by
Whenever you turn on the heater in your car, you are cogenerating. The heat your engine would normally pass out through its radiator is used to warm the passenger compartment as you drive. The gas in your tank is providing both the power to drive your car and the heat to keep you warm. Using one fuel to produce two beneficial work outputs is cogeneration.
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In small-scale cogeneration, the two work outputs are usually electricity and hot water and the single fuel input is generally natural gas. The waste heat from the engine is channeled through heat exchangers to heat water that would normally have been heated by a separate hot water heater.
Continue reading ‘Commercialization of Small Scale Cogeneration Technologies’