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| Rethinking Alternative Energy |
| Some potentially powerful sources not getting attention |
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Sebastian Baciu (SebastianB)  |
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Published 2007-01-26 12:35 (KST) |
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Alternative energy sources have been gaining increasing attention as of late, both in the media and with the public at large. Environmental issues even managed to sneak their way into the U.S. president's recently delivered State of the Union speech. Clearly the result of our dependence on fossil fuels, this focus on alternative energy sources has yielded some interesting results that have not all obtained the same amount of publicity.
Cold fusion, despite its somewhat scandalous debut in a 1989 experiment, has managed to remain fairly concealed from the public at large despite the enormous prospects this technology demonstrates. Fusion, the process by which two nuclei are forced together to form a heavier nucleus (thereby releasing energy) normally requires enormous amounts of energy and heat in order to take place, and often, the energy and heat released from the reaction are rarely equivalent. Cold fusion on the other hand can take place at room temperature and pressure and has the same potential to produce energy as normal fusion. While not currently a commercially viable option for producing energy, cold fusion has the potential (albeit vague and distant) of being one of the most efficient forms of alternative energy.
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Cold Fusion, initially "discovered" in 1989 by Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann, was heavily publicized and announced amid much hype and fanfare. The excitement quickly died down however, primarily due to problems many scientists had replicating the experiments as well as the exaggerated manner in which it was announced.
In 2000 however, renowned author Sir Arthur C. Clarke urged for cold fusion research and experiments to again be considered seriously among the scientific community, due to promising experimental results from a number of institutions. As it turns out, cold fusion was not as completely forgotten as it first seemed. Among some of those still supporting cold fusion research is the U.S. Department of Defense, the French and Italian governments, as well as a handful of small private investors (venture capital firms in particular). Most major recent research in cold fusion has taken place either in the south of France at a research laboratory partially sponsored Toyota or at SRI International in northern California.
While no research has yet pointed to cold fusion as being a definite possibility or a permanent to solution to the energy crisis, a sufficient number of people are convinced that it is a possibility, enough in fact for there to be an annual cold fusion conference. While most of the researchers participating are often older and have a stable career (many younger researchers fled the cold fusion research field years ago, amid the initial scandal it caused), we at least have some assurance this important field isn't being completely ignored.
Another often overlooked alternative energy method is geothermal energy. Geothermal energy is a term used to describe the energy that is gained from the earth's core and the various geothermal processes related to it. All heat created in the core is radiated out and transfers through the mantle and the magma to reach the Earths surface (common examples of this are Volcanoes). Perhaps the oldest example of geothermal energy being put to practical use are hot springs, which were used for cook, washing and medicinal purposes as well.
Geothermal energy is not only abundant, but also exceptionally clean. It does not even produce the so called "visual pollution" caused by other alternative energy sources such as wind power and solar energy. It also barely disturbs the natural environment unlike hydro-electric power plants, which often create massive changes through the damming of rivers. In fact, according to the Geothermal Education Office, "the land area required for geothermal power plants is smaller per megawatt than for almost every other type of power plant." The manner in which a geothermal power plant functions does not differ greatly from power plants using more classical fuels. The earths energy is used to boil water, turning it into steam, which then drives large turbines to produce electricity.
Geothermal systems have also been adapted in such a way as to be used for heating in homes, replacing a normal oil or natural gas furnace. The governing idea behind such systems is that below the frost line (approximately 1.2 meters) the Earth maintains a constant temperature of about 10° Celsius. The heating system then either uses the ground heat to warm your house or cool it down. The process works much in the same way a refrigerator does, with an air pump, a liquid anti-freeze solution and the heat dispensing coils which are buried in the ground. While slightly increasing a houses electricity bill during the winter months, the geothermal system helps conserve the oil, coal or gas that would normally be used to power the system, and in most cases it does lead to reduced heating costs.
Biomass energy unlike the previous two examples, has received a reasonable amount of attention recently. In particular, fuels derived from plants such as sugar cane, corn or oil producing plants. However there is a lesser known aspect of plant derived fuel called Emissions-to-Biofuels. Emissions-to-Biofuels uses CO2 emissions from already existing power plants to stimulate growth in a certain species of microalgae, and then converts the microalgae into a number of different fuels.
New and perhaps even more unusual sources of energy are bound to spring up as we become ever more conscious of our environment. In fact, the future of global energy could rely on a source of fuel that we presently have not even the slightest idea about. Unlikely of course, but possible.
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©2007 OhmyNews
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 Comments Note: Kindly refrain from personal attacks and profanity. |
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1. good
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steven , 2007-01-27 03:23
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