Alternative Energy

Alternative Energy

Today, rising oil prices, turmoil in the Middle East, fears of pollution and global climate change, and a host of other factors have spurred interest in alternative energy sources. There are many reasons we are looking towards alternative energy sources. With many countries, and US cities, signing the Kyoto Treaty, efforts to reduce pollutants and greenhouse gases are a primary focus in today's culture. Alternative, or renewable energy, sources show significant promise in helping to reduce the amount of toxins that are by-products of energy use. Not only do they protect against harmful by-products, but using alternative energy helps to preserve many of the natural resources that we currently use as sources of energy. To understand how alternative energy use can help preserve the ecological balance of the planet, and help us conserve the non-renewable energy sources like fossil fuels, it is important to know what types of alternative energy are out there.

The world's sources of fossil fuels are drying up faster than the earth can renew them. Fossil fuels, like coal and oil take the earth thousands of years to reproduce so an effective alternate energy source must be explored. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. It has the second widest range of flammability of any gas, able to combust in air in concentrations as little as 4 percent and as great as 75 percent. Compare that to gasoline, which is only combustible in air in a much narrower range, from 1.4 percent to 7.6 percent. Hydrogen also is easily ignited, even by a small static electricity spark. It is a low-density gas, lighter than air, and contains three times the energy of gasoline by mass (Meier 10). Hydrogen is a great option to power an engine. Most people envision hydrogen-powered cars as an alternative to the gas-guzzling and polluting internal combustion engine. There are two methods: combustion, and fuel cell conversion. In combustion, hydrogen is burned...