The World Commission on Dams (WCD) was formed in 1998 by a joint initiative of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the World Bank (WB) after a historic meeting of leading dam proponents and opponents in Switzerland, with proceedings reported by Dorcey and others. The WCD was asked to discover the truth about the hydropower energy facts, hydropower energy pros and cons, cost, effect, and benefit of large dams and it functioned independently for 2 years at a cost of $10 million. The money was well spent, and at the end of that period the WCD produced a comprehensive report and numerous support documents, and then dissolved itself. The report and support documents remain on the Internet available to all, and they have changed forever the debate about dams. (more…)
The water levels of most of the world’s rivers fluctuate with seasonal rains, melting snows, or droughts, and in the arid zones ...
Hydropower, also known as hydroelectric power, is the use of water to produce power. Harnessing water to perform work has been ...
The winners in hydropower and other large dam projects are those who gain electricity, domestic water supplies, sanitation, dro ...
Up to around 1980, hydropower research and development (R&D) efforts focused mainly on improving turbine efficiency, reducing c ...
Some of alternative fuel sources are by no means new. For centuries people have harnessed the power of running water for a vari ...
Following the recent completion of three nuclear power plants, there is now some 9.6 GW of nuclear capacity in the United Kingdom. The nuclear share of electrical output, which has stood at around 13% for many years, should rise to around 20% when this capacity is in full operation. A further two reactors are currently under construction which will increase the British nuclear capacity to more than 12 GW by the late 1980s, which could bring the nuclear share of electrical output to around 25%. (more…)
Geographers researching the development of nuclear power have shifted emphasis from commercialization, cost, risk, public acceptanc ...
The long-term prospects for the U.K. economy are inevitably uncertain, and the most recent Department of Energy long-term proje ...
Nuclear fission and fusion Research and Development continues to account for nearly half of the total spending by IEA countries, al ...
Sir Arthur Eddington’s general address on subatomic energy at the 1930 World Power Conference in Berlin stirred the imagination of ...
For years it was out of desperation that observers have advised and viewed of American energy policy and geopolitical risks regardi ...
Formaldehyde is an essential chemical substance made use of widely by manufacturers’ of building and construction materials and household/residence products. It’s also a by-product of coal combustion as well as specific other organic and natural processes. Formaldehyde is available in substantially large levels of concentrations either inside or outside. Formaldehyde vapors tend to be odorless unless of course in higher concentrations. (more…)
Using blankets the width of your wall studs, insert the blanket between the studs and staple to the studs. (The job is easier i ...
It is easier and less costly to fit insulation in a new home than to retrofit. However, many existing houses have little or no insu ...
You know where to insulate, but there’s still one more thing you need to know about—vapor barriers. Well-insulated attics, craw ...
You must perform some sort of tour and visit of your home and property to find out exactly where it may need in applying insulation ...
Many home owners want to use brick veneer exterior walls for their houses. The brick is usually the automatic choice for outd ...
The development of the ‘‘new’’ wind and solar technologies is of great importance for the future contribution of RESs to energy supply. Although the present wind and solar technology contribution of 0.4% to total primary energy consumption per capita is still very small, the growth of these industries has been considerable in the past 6 to 8 years. Today they provide 10 times the energy of 10 years ago. Wind energy shows the most remarkable growth dynamics; its contribution is now reaching energetically relevant dimensions. (more…)
Although technology change (usually involving an improvement in energy efficiency) is not inherently a geographic process, it does ...
In Europe, modern renewable energy sources technologies were explored thoroughly for the first time after the oil embargo/ price cr ...
In 2001, there were 14,000 small wind turbines for home/domestic use in the United States. The market potential for national an ...
In 2006, total world wind generating electricity capacity was around 72,000 MW, producing some 160 terawatt-hours (TWh) per yea ...
Global energy consumption in the last half century has increased very rapidly and is expected to continue to grow over the next ...
The commercialization prospects for fuel cell vehicles depend not only on their performance and cost, but also on how well they can compete with other technology options that address similar market and policy needs. While market forces have not traditionally motivated design change for reasons of environmental performance, customer values and expectations can evolve and such characteristics could grow in importance. However, inherent market conservatism will favor less disruptive ways to address evolving needs, which might be met by improved gasoline and diesel vehicles, including hybrid-electric versions. Yet looking over the long run, particularly the need to substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions, hydrogen fuel cells may well provide a solution that is superior to other alternatives. (more…)
The primary electric drivetrain components for fuel cell vehicles are the same as those for any electric vehicle: traction motors, ...
Most alternative fuel vehicles on the road today were originally designed for gasoline, but converted for use with an alternative f ...
A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that directly converts a fuel to electricity by means of reactions on the surfaces of ...
There are different types of vehicle propulsion systems and the transportation fuels that have been studied for their potential ...
The most commonly researched and most developed application of using hydrogen as a fuel source is in conjunction with a hydrogen fu ...
As a reaction to these historical perspectives, the building industry has witnessed a certain rise in design responses to regional climatic conditions, as part of a powerful efficiency and energy conservation push since the 1970s. More recently, the zero green house gas emsission and office building has become a design concept as part of strategies to introduce urban renewable energy as an increasing contributor to managing urban energy supplies. (more…)
Hydrogen has many applications when it comes to fuel. It can be used both in internal combustion engines and hydrogen fuel cells. ...
The age of industrialization came into full force through the modern exploration and use of fossil fuels. As one of its most striki ...
The commercialization prospects for fuel cell vehicles depend not only on their performance and cost, but also on how well th ...
All of today’s hydrogen conversion products, demonstration models, and prototypes possess some deficiencies; they cannot yet pr ...
The Solar City approach originally emerged from a new generation of International Energy Agency (IEA) energy research and developme ...
The age of industrialization came into full force through the modern exploration and use of fossil fuels. As one of its most striking phenomena, the rapid expansion of cities throughout the late 19th and the 20th centuries was a direct outcome of the fossil fuel energy economy as well. (more…)
The aim is to work with cities in advancing renewable energy technologies and systems and to help promote the renewable energy indu ...
The Solar City approach originally emerged from a new generation of International Energy Agency (IEA) energy research and developme ...
In the absence of useful and established patterns of practice, a search is under way for new means of reconciling local government’ ...
As a reaction to these historical perspectives, the building industry has witnessed a certain rise in design responses to regio ...
Climate change caused by the enhanced greenhouse effect is one of the most significant global environmental issues. Increased emiss ...
The accumulation of carbon within a forest growth cycle can be considered in four stages. The initial establishment stage involves low global carbon cycle accumulation and may even experience net carbon loss (particularly from soil) as a result of site preparation and low biomass and bioenergy inputs. A rapid uptake of carbon is then experienced during the second phase, known as the full vigor stage, which subsequently levels off as the stand reaches the mature stage. Finally, the forest reaches old growth and the carbon is in steady state with accumulation associated with new growth balanced by mortality and disturbances. (more…)
Climate change caused by the enhanced greenhouse effect is one of the most significant global environmental issues. Increased emiss ...
To date, most discussion and research relating to the various of biomass role in mitigating CO2 emissions has been focused around i ...
The quantification of the actual reduction in green house gases sourcess emissions resulting from the substitution of fossil fu ...
Bioenergy produced from biomass is sometimes called a carbon-neutral energy source, because the same quantity of carbon released wh ...
The global cycling of carbon involves both biological and physical processes. Only the biological components are discussed here. Pl ...
Government expenditures on energy R&D, energy conservation have risen steadily over the past decade, but only two countries, Japan and the United States, are responsible for the bulk of expenditures in this area. Until the mid-1990s, global conservation expenditures were more or less split equally among the transportation, industrial, and residential sectors, but during the past few years, there has been a sharp rise in industrial conservation R&D efforts. (more…)
Not surprisingly, most Energy Research and Development takes place in industrialized countries where both the public and private se ...
Nuclear fission and fusion Research and Development continues to account for nearly half of the total spending by IEA countries, al ...
The aim of this broad sweep through the area of energy innovation, highlighting the main actors, activities, policies, institutions ...
Japan has the largest Photovoltaic installed capacity in the world as a result of the sustained investments made by the country thr ...
Electric and gas utilities’ Research & Development activities deal nearly exclusively with energy conversion, distribution, and ene ...
The gradual change in the energy consumption pattern of the United States from 1860 to 1990. In the mid-1800s, biomass, principally woody biomass, supplied over 90% of U.S. energy and fuel needs, after which energy biomass consumption began to decrease as fossil fuels became the preferred energy resources. For many years, a safe illuminant had been sought as a less expensive substitute for whale oils. (more…)
The relationship of gross national product per capita to energy consumption per capita for most countries of the world correlat ...
The most widespread and practical process for capture solar radiation as organic fuels is the growth of virgin biomass. Extreme ...
The hydrogen can come from various sources including fossil fuels, wind, solar, biomass, nuclear, solar thermo-chemical reactio ...
Power consumption from electricity is an essential element of the U.S. economy since the beginning of the century. Coal power plant ...
Natural gas and oil are common source energy used to give electricity. How efficient is coal if we compare to these other source of ...