Reductions in carbon intensity, C/E, the carbon emitted per unit of energy generated, reflect the degree to which societies decarbonize their energy sources. The long-term trend has been a shift from coal to oil to natural gas––hydrocarbons with decreasing C/H ratios emitting progressively less CO2 per joule. However, the increasing use of clean low-carbon fuels is not sustainable without somehow disposing of excess carbon because it opposes the trend in the abundance of fossil fuels, with coal resources being the most abundant followed by oil and gas. (more…)
The global cycling of carbon involves both biological and physical processes. Only the biological components are discussed here. Pl ...
The flux of carbon among terrestrial, aquatic, and atmospheric pools is at least partially controlled by photosynthetic process ...
It is of interest to examine potential sources of greenhouse gases sources or atmospheric CO2 by analysis of the global distrib ...
Climate change caused by the enhanced greenhouse effect is one of the most significant global environmental issues. Increased emiss ...
The global carbon cycle involves both biological and physical processes. Only the biological components are discussed here. Pla ...
Approximately 40% of Earth’s population is ‘‘off the grid,’’ mainly in developing countries. Wireless power transmission envisioned by Nikola Tesla a century ago is feasible today. Microwave beams can propagate power efficiently along lines-of-sight over long distances. Orbiting microwave reflectors could form the basis of a global electric grid.
An advanced technology path to electrification is the solar power satellite (SPS) proposed by Peter Glaser. Solar flux is about 10 times higher in space outside Earth’s shadow cone than the long- term average at the surface of spinning, cloudy Earth, and power from space can be beamed by microwave efficiently through cloudy skies to the surface where it is needed. (more…)
Advanced technology global electrical grids may be more promising for renewables energy. With current transmission lines, even if c ...
So you're finally tired of those exorbitant electricity bills, or, you're catching onto a "greener" way of life. Either way, solar ...
In today's tough economic times and with the increasing prices of gas and oil, finding alternative sources of energy should be ...
So-called thin-film photovoltaic devices are usually based on mixtures of elements other than silicon — most notably copper ind ...
The Home Solar Power System made its debut about two decades ago and has since flourished with the many advertisements touting ...
Addressing global warming, however, is a highly complex and daunting endeavor. Many climate experts have urged the world to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere around 450 to 550 parts per million (ppm)—that is, no more than 450 to 550 units of greenhouse gases for every million units of air in the earth’s atmosphere. This approach, experts say, could keep average global temperatures at no more than 3.6° Fahrenheit (2° Celsius) above preindustrial levels, which could avoid some of the worst, irreversible consequences of climate change. (more…)
Although some scientists and critics still dispute that human caused greenhouse gases are causing climate change, the majority of s ...
Climate change caused by the enhanced greenhouse effect is one of the most significant global environmental issues. Increased emiss ...
Options for dealing with the threats of climate change include both adaptation to inevitable changes and mitigation, or lessening, ...
Scientists study Earth’s climate not just from observation but also from a theoretical perspective. Modern-day climate models succe ...
Earth’s climate is a complex system of interacting natural components. These components include the atmosphere, the ocean, and the ...
There are various and somewhat complementary reasons to foster the growth of renewable energy sources in Europe. A major incentive for renewable energy sources policies in the past two decades has been to reduce the environmental impact of energy use both locally (e.g., pollutant emission reduction) and globally (e.g., greenhouse gas and carbon emissions reduction). In some countries, concerns about the safety of nuclear power generation have motivated the search for renewable energy sources. Another motivation for replacing foreign fossil and nuclear fuels with domestic renewable energy sources relates to security issues and Europe’s growing dependency on foreign energy sources. (more…)
In Europe, modern renewable energy sources technologies were explored thoroughly for the first time after the oil embargo/ price cr ...
Renewable energy sources cannot run out and causes so little damage to the environment that its use does not need to be restric ...
The development of the ‘‘new’’ wind and solar technologies is of great importance for the future contribution of RESs to energy sup ...
World energy use has increased steadily over the past several decades. Much of the growth in world energy consumption has been ...
Over the last decade, the number of countries researching the potential of biomass and bioenergy for energy services rose rapid ...
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 ...
To date, most discussion and research relating to the various of biomass role in mitigating CO2 emissions has been focused around its use as a fuel or as a sink. However, full utilization of the potential of biomass products, particularly from woody biomass, may provide significant opportunities. (more…)
Climate change caused by the enhanced greenhouse effect is one of the most significant global environmental issues. Increased emiss ...
Bioenergy produced from biomass is sometimes called a carbon-neutral energy source, because the same quantity of carbon released wh ...
The accumulation of carbon within a forest growth cycle can be considered in four stages. The initial establishment stage involves ...
The quantification of the actual reduction in green house gases sourcess emissions resulting from the substitution of fossil fu ...
Estimation of the future technical potential of biomass as an energy source is dependent on assumptions with respect to land av ...
Estimation of the future technical potential of biomass as an energy source is dependent on assumptions with respect to land availability and productivity as well as conversion technologies. With the emergence of energy crops as the major source of biomass fuel, land use conflicts, especially in relation to food production, may arise. However, with efficient agricultural practices, plantations and crops could supply a large proportion of energy needs, with residues playing a smaller role without compromising food production or further intensifying agricultural practices. (more…)
The future development of energy crops, to the level at which they would replace residues as the major bioenergy fuel source, will ...
Bioenergy produced from biomass is sometimes called a carbon-neutral energy source, because the same quantity of carbon released wh ...
The quantification of the actual reduction in green house gases sourcess emissions resulting from the substitution of fossil fu ...
To date, most discussion and research relating to the various of biomass role in mitigating CO2 emissions has been focused around i ...
Over the last decade, the number of countries researching the potential of biomass and bioenergy for energy services rose rapid ...
It shows Well-to-Wheels Greenhouse Gas emissions of the 23 vehicle/fuel systems. For each system, the bottom bar represents CO2 -equivalent emissions of CO2 , CH4 , and N2O, combined with their greenhouse global warming potentials (GWPs). The top bar represents CO2 emissions only. For the two ethanol pathways (corn and cellulosic ethanol), there are some negative emissions. They represent carbon uptake during biomass growth. The carbon is eventually emitted to the air during ethanol combustion air. (more…)
The combination of well-to-pump results and the energy use and emissions associated with vehicle operation (also called the pum ...
There are different types of vehicle propulsion systems and the transportation fuels that have been studied for their potential ...
The spark-ignition and compression-ignition engine and internal combustion engines technologies that are currently employed in ...
The fuel cycle for a given transportation fuel includes the following processes: energy feedstock (or primary energy) product ...
The energy efficiencies of various fuel production pathways from well to pump. The efficiencies shown are defined as the energy ...
The question has long been not whether or not to reduce air pollution, but by how much and by what means. Since the extent of the reduced discomfort and illness is not clear—and the measurement of peoples’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for reduced discomfort and illness is uncertain—it is not easy to know how much the pollution should be reduced. But it has always been clear that reducing automotive air pollution had to be part of the overall strategy. (more…)
Smoke from biomass and coal combustion contains a large number of pollutants with known health hazards, including particulate matte ...
The leading automotive brands are being focused to produce electric vehicles because they believe they represent a harmony to the e ...
These days we have two main concerns in the world of business and finance. First the greenhouse global warming and second the finan ...
Almost all fossil fuels use is by burning them to create energy. Burning process then produces waste products due to impurities in ...
The spark-ignition and compression-ignition engine and internal combustion engines technologies that are currently employed in ...
The convention aims not only at stabilizing CO2 emissions in developed countries but also at ultimately reducing man-made CO2 emissions globally so as to stabilize the global climate. Environmental degradation cannot be singled out as an independent matter among various global issues. (more…)
Biomass has been a main energy sources in the world since the beginning of civilization. It has been important in development p ...
Over the last decade, the number of countries researching the potential of biomass and bioenergy for energy services rose rapid ...
Renewable energy sources cannot run out and causes so little damage to the environment that its use does not need to be restric ...
Estimation of the future technical potential of biomass as an energy source is dependent on assumptions with respect to land av ...
Climate change caused by the enhanced greenhouse effect is one of the most significant global environmental issues. Increased emiss ...