Alternatives that promises a better future

By Siddhartha RanaUncategorized

Siddhartha Rana 

Professor Debra Williams 

October 21, 2019

Writing in Sciences 

          Renewable Energies 

Energy is a viable resource in today’s world. Without it, every enterprise, civilization, and the nation will go down in entropy because everything is made possible due to the invention of energy. The production of foods, clothes, technological advancements; every infrastructure that has given life to the population was the result of energy. But, alike to every effect will have an equal and opposite reaction, the production of contemporary energy has manifested a very vague issue towards the very habitat we reside in. The increase in carbon emissions from the energy sources has proceeded to climate change, and the population is entirely oblivious about what will happen if it keeps going at this rate. To face this complication, by research, there has been the availability of other renewable sources of energy. It consists of Wind, solar, biomass, hydropower, etc. These renewable resources will help to reduce greenhouse gases and will be available in the long run. In my best interest, biomass, wind power, and hydropower will be excellent resources because it is the most organic and proper use of the environment to create energy that can provide for human beings. 

Biomass is referred to as the original renewable energy, it has been a part of the human race since our ancestors knew how to use fire to cook meals. In fact, biomass is made possible due to the sun, where its energy is absorbed by the trees and plants through the process of photosynthesis. The voltage transformation process “includes a group of complex chemical reactions that large organic molecules degrade into carbon monoxide, methane, hydrogen, and other flammable gases in accordance with chemical bonding theory”(Xiang Luo, Pg 5). Biomass can be acquired in various guises i.e., Plant waste, animal waste, landfills, etc. For example in the process of acquiring biofuel, crop waste is burned to heat water and the pressure of the steam acquired from the hot water is placed on to a turbine which powers up the generator to formulate energy. The methods are similar in terms of animal waste and landfills as long as they are “raw materials, employs pyrolysis or thermal cracking under anoxic conditions”(Xiang Luo, Pg 4). From burning animal waste and landfills, the same principle can be used to capture methane which is a potent greenhouse gas with the ability to trap heat 25 times than the carbon dioxide.

The disadvantage of acquiring biomass as fuel is the amount of land it requires. This can hamper certain ecosystems and it consumes a lot of destructions of trees to create land for the production and storage before being converted into electricity. Concerning, the land used by the NY state, it covers up to “321 square miles, over 205,000 acres excluding the streets and major bodies of water. But, almost “6.9 billion square feet of land (over 150,000 acres) are available for use.” With the presented land, it is more than enough to construct a production/storage facility of biomass fuel for New York City.  It can help to make good use of the waste Newyorkers produce on a daily basis. Since it is only the use of the wastage it is a more affordable alternative source for people with economical difficulties since, its only waste that is being recycled to gather energy. 

Another renewable source is wind energy by which the power of the wind is converted into kinetic energy and processed into mechanical power. Wind energy is very prominent and has been used by people for thousands of years to power sailboats and windmills. Without the power of wind, the people in ancient times would have struggled to travel across oceans,  make archeological discoveries and there would have been a difficulty to trade and learn about other nations. It is declared by the Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, that wind energy is “ a clean and renewable energy source” and “is one of the most promising alternative solutions to the increasing threat of the global warming and energy crisis”. The wind simply air in motion, which is caused by the difference in atmospheric pressure and uneven temperatures in the earth’s surface when heated by the sun. 

The air over the land heats up quicker than the air on water. As the warm air rises towards the atmosphere and the heavier cooler air rushes in to take its place, creating wind. The process of generating wind power might not be as predictable from the rising and setting of the sun, but it is just as renewable. There is a certain deficit that allows wind power to not be as productive as it should be because of the conventional wind turbines is highly depended upon the geography and the weather. But, this complication can be reversed by “developing a high-altitude wind power technology.” In a comparison of the standard wind turbines, the high-altitude wind power tech “includes fast speed, wide distribution, high stability, and perenniality” ( Herbert, G. M, L 7&9).     

The Mount Marcy peak in the Adirondack Mountains has been referred to as the highest point in New York. The disadvantage of Wind power is technological imperfection but can be ruled out since it is in high elevation, where there is no lack of wind currents.  The high-altitude techs can be constructed over the Adirondack mountains, fueling New york and halting any sudden outsource of power alike to the summer of 2018. Also, it is cost-effective and doesn’t emit greenhouse gases compared to the traditional source of power by fossil fuels because the fuel is wind and it is free. It mitigates the cost contingency that fuel prices add to traditional sources of energy and it creates jobs for people, that develop manpower and economic stability.  

Finally, the conversion of flowing waters into electricity, hydropower is also a clean, renewable and pure form of energy. Hydro energy can be generated by capturing the force of moving waters in the Earth’s river, oceans and use the movement of the water to spin hydraulic turbines. By the movement of the water, kinetic energy is produced alike to the wind power and can be converted to electricity by the use of a generator that is sent to the power grid. Most hydropower is generated from dams built on rivers and streams often on high altitude points where gravity aids the water movement. It is stated by the world bank that , compared to the other renewable sources of energy, hydropower is “contributing 80 % to the total share” of energy in many different countries, except the USA.

The most prominent, New York harbor opens up the Atlantic ocean in the north and southeast, also the Hudson river flows and contributes pure water from the north and east NY state. By building dams near the Newyork harbor can help to generate more efficient and cost-effective energy, allowing the Newyorkers with a “reliable/efficient than the fossil-fueled fired plants” which aids in the complication of climate change. Also, “it is the largest and the least expensive source of energy produced in the world today” so, what is halting the process to acquire more hydro energy in the United States? 

In conclusion, the availability of renewable energy has greatly impacted as an aid for the issue of climate change. With the use of biomass, wind energy, and hydropower as an alternative, these will serve as an excellent use of nature, to stabilize nature itself. In the city of New York, there is the viability of the resources, needed for production. Thus, the complication of climate change can be resolved. 

Work Cited :

  • Zhao, Zhenfu. “Freestanding Flag-Type Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Harvesting High-Altitude Wind Energy.” Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, 21 Oct. 2016, nanoscience.gatech.edu/paper/2016/16_ACSN_01.pdf.

Parikka, Matti. “Global Biomass Fuel Resources.” Biomass & Energy, 7 July 2016, faculty.washington.edu/stevehar/World%20woody%20biomass.pdf.

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