Ken asks...HOW DOES WATER HEATING PRODUCE GREENHOUSE GASES? During the process of water heating (gas or electrical) how DOES it PRODUCEGREENHOUSEGASES?WINDMILL FARMS ANSWERS: It is the burning of the fossil fuels, to create the ":heat",to make the steam, to turn the turbines, to make the electricity, to heat the water, that causes the green house gases, You can avoid greenhouse gases,.if you create the electricity,by using water, wind, solar, or nuclear power to create the electricity,..Gas is pretty clean,.. Mary asks...EXPLAIN WHY ENERGY SOURCES SUCH AS WIND POWER,GEOTHERMAL,TIDAL AND SOLAR POWER CONTRIBUTE TO OUR ENERGY NEEDS? explain why energy sources such as WINDPOWER,geothermal,tidal and solar POWER contribute only a small amount to our energy needsWINDMILL FARMS ANSWERS: Your answer is as follows: Wind power is gaining popularity and market share, but it requires the wind to blow within a predictable speed range. Geothermal is currently expensive to produce. Some parts of the world are involved in "Hot Rocks" technology, but it requires deep bore holes to be drilled, and that type of drilling is expensive. Harnessing tidal energy is still (largely) in the development stage. Solar power is viewed as only supplemental power due to the fact that (as it is currently done) it cannot generate power twenty-four hours a day. None of these technologies produce much (if any) greenhouse gas emissions. Joseph asks...HOW DOES THE ENERGY OBTAINED FROM WIND POWER COMPARE TO FOSSIL FUELS?WINDMILL FARMS ANSWERS: It is much less efficient but produces little greenhouse gas and is clean/renewable. Sandy asks...CAN POWER FROM NUCLEAR REACTORS BE USED FOR REMOVING GREENHOUSE GASES FROM THE ATMOSPHERE? If a big company builds a nuclear powered gas-conversion plant, to convert atmospheric air with GREENHOUSEGASES to cleaner air plus a commercial product such as propane, can they make money that way, or would it cost them too much?WINDMILL FARMS ANSWERS: It's possible to use energy to produce hydrogen, and hydrogen to convert CO2. Energy can also be used to condense CO2, deep-well inject it, deep-ocean inject it So yes energy can be used to do that.Nuclear power is in fact a very clean source of energy, and one that does not create greenhouse gasses. People are (irrationally) fearful of radioactivity, even though we dig it out of the ground in the first place. And when concentrated, it can be a hazard. But not so bad compared to air pollution, coal mining accidents, black lung Etc. But the requirements for building a nuclear plant are very stringent, and therefore very expensive. Other energy sources (solar, wind etc.) could also be used. The trick is to have enough surplus power to be able to use it to sequester the greenhouse gasses. Also, the earth itself is responding to help sequester them, as long as the mechanisms aren't overwhelmed. Chris asks...DESCRIBE THE EFFECT THESE GASES COULD HAVE ON THE ENVIRONMENT? POWER stations that burn fossil fuels PRODUCE waste GASES that can cause pollution describe the effect that these GASES could have on the environment and what could be done to reduce the amount of these GASES emitted by POWER stations, in this question you will be assessed on using good english organising information clearly and using specialist terms where appropriate, would really appreciate some help on this i was off during the lessons, not asking for the whole question answered just need some help starting off because I've got no idea how to start itWINDMILL FARMS ANSWERS: All fossil fuel burning power plants produce waste carbon dioxide that once emitted, collects in the troposhere and prevents solar infrared radiation from being reflected off of the Earth and dissipated into space. This is known as the greenhouse effect because the carbon dioxide traps heat like a greenhouse. Scientists believe that the enormous spike in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations that has taken place since 1850 (coinciding with the Industrial Revolution) is at least partly responsible for the corresponding increase in average global temperature of 1.8^0 C. The greenhouse effect has the potential to melt the polar ice caps, raising sea levels far past where they are now (look out United Kingdom!), change native plant species and their ranges, cause extinctions of large numbers of flora and fauna. An increase in sources of green energy for power will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide being emitted. Wind turbines and solar cells are a couple of examples. Nuclear energy is another source of power that does not cause an increase in carbon dioxide emissions. There are some green energy initiatives in the United States that involve capturing CO2 emissions, liquefying it, and using it in other industries as a solvent. This is becoming common in the production of silicon chips. Also, polystyrene foam can be made using CO2 replacing the ozone destroying CFCs. Coal burning power plants also emit sulfur dioxide (originating with the naturally occurring sulfur in the coal). Not only does sulfur dioxide and its tropospheric reactions contribute to ground level smog events, but it is the source molecule for the production in the atmosphere of sulfuric acid which constitutes one of the principal components of acid rain. Acid rain reduces the pH of lakes, rivers, and streams - affecting fish and other wildlife habitats. Acid rain also alters the chemical makeup of soil which can be problematic for farming. Sulfur dioxide emissions can be reduced by introducing scrubbing mechanisms to the coal burning process or as in the case of CO2, by using alternate and cleaner power sources where possible. I hope this helps. Powered by Yahoo! Answers
