Weather and Energy Levels

It’s amazing how much weather can affect energy levels. When the weather is clear and sunny, people’s spirits are lifted and light, this can often cause the feeling of excitement and thrill. Cloudy and dark weather can bring on feelings of boredom, melancholy and a general feeling of the heebie-jeebies. I wonder if it is the sudden changes in air pressure that causes moods to alternate. Or perhaps a color association with mood levels. Certain colors are supposed to influence different types of emotions. Like warm colors being homey and relaxing, or yellow being a supporting color for cheer and joy. It may be the gray or dark colors caused by gloomy weather that cause drops in energy levels.

Classmate response

link: https://classes.uaa.alaska.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_id=_2_1&url=%2fwebapps%2fblackboard%2fexecute%2flauncher%3ftype%3dCourse%26id%3d_63453_1%26url%3d

I like Carolyn’s post about aluminum cans. I agree that aluminum is a metal that can be used over and over again. Aluminum is cheap to recycle and is very useful even after it is melted and reformed. It amazes me that with all the emphasis being put on recycling today that there is not more of aluminum and tin recycling. At UAA, there are several containers dedicated to recycling white paper, but none for aluminum or plastic. It seems like there could be, especially at the ConocoPhillips building where all the new age hippy science majors hang out.

Think Global Eat Local

Eating locally grown food is beneficial for your community and your environment. Buying locally harvested fruits, vegetables, grains, and fish from your local farmers and fishmongers is profitable for your local economy. Buying locally keeps money within your community. Buying local is good for your environment, because it cuts down on the need to package, refrigerate, and transport products. All of which take a substantial amount of energy.

Renewable v.s. Clean Energy

Renewable energy doesn’t necessarily mean clean energy. Renewable energy can easily be confused as being good for the environment because it is renewable. Take the gas produced in landfills for example. The methane gas produced in landfills is renewable. However, two of the major components in landfill gas are carbon dioxide and methane, both of which are greenhouse gases. Another misunderstanding about landfill gas is that it is the same as natural gas. Natural gas is 80-99% methane and landfill gas is about 40-60% methane and 40-60% carbon dioxide.

Anchorages Landfill

Halpin, . (2010, April 1). Methane at landfill may produce electricity for 2,500 homes . Anchorage Daily New,

The Anchorage landfill is considering building a 7.5 million-dollar power plant that produces electricity from the landfills methane. The methane gas is a byproduct from the decomposing waste in the landfill. At the moment the landfill is required, under the federal Clean Air Act, to collect the methane and burn it in a flare. The collection system captures about 1,350 cubic feet of gas per minute, and it is predicted that this rate of production will continue for 60 more years. The city of Anchorage is looking for an interested partner company, which would help build and maintain the plant. If the proposal does go through, the electricity from the plant would be able to power 2,500 homes.

Hot Rocks

Branan. (2009, June). Hot rocks stay hot. Earth, 54(6), 24-25.

The Himalayan mountain belt was produced when two continental plates collided. Continental crust is mostly composed of granite, which is formed under a high degree of melting. For a long time it wasn’t known why the granite in the Himalayas could have produced enough heat to melt the crust. Alan Whittington, a geologist at the University of Missouri at Columbia and his colleagues has found a possible answer. They experimented with three types of continental crust to see how fast heat would move though them. The results were that cooler rocks loose heat faster. Hotter rocks hold heat inside longer because they are less efficient to cooling down. This means that the heat needed to melt continental crust does not have to be constant.

Jupiter

Gramling, . (2009, June). Jupiter breaks out in spots. Earth, 54(6), 21.

Jupiter’s famous 300-year-old Great Red Spot is shrinking and new storms are appearing. Astronomers have been taking measurements of Jupiter’s storm wind velocity. A fluid dynamicist Xylar Asay-Davis of the University of California has determined that Jupiter’s Red Spot has shrunk about fifteen percent since 1996. Don’t worry about Jupiter’s landmark hurricane disappearing forever though, because in 2000 a new smaller storm has appeared southeast of the old Red Spot. The creation of the new storm, nick named “Red Spot Junior”, is due to the marriage of three oval-shaped storms between 1998 and 2000. The Red Spot Junior has since then turn red and is half the size of the original Great Red Spot. To add to the excitement a third storm has joined Jupiter’s atmosphere in 2008. The changes of the atmosphere is thought due be in response to a possible climate change on Jupiter.

Bibliographic 2: Algae vs. Shrimp

Wayman, Initials. (2009, June). Iron frtilization foiled by “shrimp”. Earth, 54(6), p.13.

Earth magazine published an article about using iron consuming algae to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in circulation. A group of researchers released about six metric tons of dissolved iron into a 300 square kilometers area in southwestern Atlantic. They predicted that the iron would cause a bloom of diatom algae. After eating all of the iron, the diatoms would die and fall to the seafloor, trapping the carbon dioxide in their bodies. There were two problems that made the experiment unsuccessful. First, shrimp showed up to the party and ate most of the algae. Second, it was the wrong type of algae. They had hoped that diatoms would bloom and trap the carbon dioxide in their tests. However, diatoms use silica to make their shells or tests, and there wasn’t enough silica in the water for them to build their tests.

The energy of importing and exporting nutrients

Composting is great way to recycle. It decreases the amount of organic waste in landfills, and replenishes the soil with natural fertilizer. It is amazing how much energy is put into the growing, and distribution of food, only to throw away the unwanted but reusable parts. All over the world, fruits and vegetables are grown, harvested, and redistributed. Think about how much energy is put into seeding, watering, and maintaining crop fields. Then after harvesting, think about the amount of energy put into packing, shipping, and retailing. Once that fruit or vegetable actually makes it to your plate, an immense amount of energy as been put into it. Then after eating the edible parts, we simply dispose half of the plants nutrients.

It seems like a silly waste.

The Journey of Crude Oil

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/energyexplained/images/new_flow_chart.png&imgrefurl=http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm%3Fpage%3Dgasoline_where&usg=__eYE3Z5_OOI7ktK1qsxkX6OHRmqc=&h=318&w=540&sz=25&hl=en&start=43&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=_Eduvag_ZbxeeM:&tbnh=78&tbnw=132&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dflow%2Bchart%2Bof%2Benergy%26start%3D36%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26ndsp%3D18%26tbs%3Disch:1

This is a flow chart that describes the journey of crude oil. Crude oil is unrefined oil that has been taken directly from the ground. After extraction, crude oil is sent to a refinery, where it will be made into more useful products like gasoline, and diesel fuel. In the refinery, both imported and domesticated oils are mixed. After the refining process is complete, the product is put in storage where it will await transport. The finished product is then shipped via barge, tanker, pipeline, or truck to be either used or sold for commercial use.

Bibliographic

French, J.R., & Burningham, H. (2009). Coastal geomorphology: trends and challenges. Progress in Physical Geography 33(1) (2009) pp. 117–129, 33(1), 117-129p, 13p.

Link; http://proxy.consortiumlibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=40208636&site=ehost-live

This article talks about recent work done on coastal geomorphology. New studies talked about in this report question and dispute some preexisting concepts about coastal processes. This article talks about hydrology and sediment transport specific to coasts. It focuses on past sedimentation processes, recent large-scale natural events and human activity that is effecting coasts lines. It also points out that there is a problem with the lack of communication between specialized geomorphologists. The article states that coastal geomrphology is leading the way for using new technology to do research. Like using video imagery.

The Use of Energy

Wendell Berry’s essay is an objective look into the use of energy. His philosophy is that there are two types of energy use, energy done by living things like labor from plants and animals, and energy done by tools or machines. He also says that energy that comes from living things can’t be preserved, and is not available in long-term supply. This energy last only as long as the things life cycle. Machines consume the type of energy that can be preserved.

He holds the freedom of machines responsible for the change from agriculture to “agribusiness”. In Berry’s view agriculture is sustainable because it uses the circle of life to renew energy, which is a natural check. Agribusiness is only affordable in the short term, because of its wasteful practices. I agree with Berry that with new technology comes responsibly to use it thoughtful. Yes, “agribusiness” it is highly energy consuming, and extremely wasteful. Most large farms are fertilized crops with chemicals from fossils fuels, instead of compost. Also, the equipment used to farm consumes fossil fuels, which do not return nutrients to the soil.

Tidal Energy

Renewable energy is a hot topic in today’s world. One source of alternative energy is the hydraulic power from tides. Earth’s tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the sun and moon. The attraction of the sun and moon pulls on the entire planet. We only see the effect on the ocean because it is a loose mass. Tidal power works with the same concepts as with any power plant. One method of harnessing tidal power is to build a dam across an inlet. During high tide valves in the dam are opened and ocean water is allowed to flow in. During slack tide the valves are closed, and tunnels with turbines in them are opened. As water is released out of the reservoir, the turbine spins and is generates electricity. Another method is to place towers with turbines in the inlet. The current of the incoming and outgoing tides turn the turbines and generate power.

BP Energy Calculator

My energy estimate from the BP energy calculator was 16624 kWh/yr. The BP calculator said that 42% of my energy consumption goes to my car, 27% goes to heating and cooling, and 31% of my total energy consumption goes to lighting and appliances. I expected that most of my energy use would go to transportation. I was surprised that a little under a third of my energy goes towards lighting and appliances. The BP said that my carbon footprint is approximately 8.9 tonnes CO2 per year.