CO2 - Strong Enough to Stay

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and exists in Earth’s atmosphere in this state. CO₂ is a trace gas comprising 0.039% of the atmosphere.

 As part of the carbon cycle known as photosynthesis, plants and algae and cyanobacteria absorb carbon dioxide, sunlight, and water to produce carbohydrate energy for themselves and oxygen as a waste product. By contrast, during respiration they emit carbon dioxide, as do all other living things that depend either directly or indirectly on plants for food. Carbon dioxide is also generated as a by-product of combustion, emitted from volcanoes, hot springs, and geysers and freed from carbonate rocks by dissolution (source: Wikipedia).

With the paranoia and 2012 scare the world is experiencing now, we asked what things on Earth will remain after doomsday? Supposing the Erath will be washed out, aside from the Statue of Liberty, which may be found at the bottom of New York harbour, do you know that Carbon Dioxide will remain too?

The CO2 that all environmentalists have been discussing us - that greenhouse gas that we have been emitting into the atmosphere will definitely lasts for more years.

According to an article from the National Geographic entitled, The Human CO2 Legacy Keeps Going and Going and Going by Bill Chameides…

Suppose we emit 100 units of CO2 into the atmosphere. What happens to them? The answer can be found in a  by David Archer of the University of Chicago and Victor Brovkin of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology published in the journalClimatic Change. A rough rendition of their findings is provided in the figure below.

Within about a year about 40 units are gone, absorbed by the ocean and the land’s forests and other biota. Another 40 units are removed by dissolution into the ocean, but this takes several centuries to achieve. With the ocean saturated with CO2 and roughly 20 units left in the atmosphere, the CO2 already dissolved in the ocean reacts with calcium carbonate on the seafloor, allowing more CO2 from the atmosphere (approximately 10 units) to dissolve into the seas. But the process takes about 20,000 years. Eventually, those last 10 units of CO2 will find their way out of the atmosphere as a result of the workings of the so-called rock cycle driven by tectonics. How long will that take — oh, perhaps a million years.

So, all those that we have emitted in the air as of the moment, will remain perhaps even hundreds and thousands of years in the Earth. The impact that strong, no wonder its effects to our environment contributed a lot to the changes we are experiencing from global warming.

Uses? Carbon dioxide is used by the food industry, the oil industry, and the chemical industry.  It is used in foods like in leavening agents produce carbon dioxide to cause dough to rise. Baker’s yeast produces carbon dioxide by fermentation of sugars within the dough, while chemical leaveners such as baking powder and baking soda release carbon dioxide when heated or if exposed to acids. It is also used to produce soda drinks, wine making, in welding, in pharmaceutical and agricultural.  

In Earth’s atmosphere, carbon dioxide is considered a trace gas currently occurring at an average concentration of about 390 parts per million by volume or 591 parts per million by mass. The total mass of atmospheric carbon dioxide is 3.16×10¹⁵ kg (about 3,000 gigatonnes). Its concentration varies seasonally (see graph at right) and also considerably on a regional basis, especially near the ground. In urban areas concentrations are generally higher and indoors they can reach 10 times background levels. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas (source: Wikipedia).

Definitely, carbon dioxide is here to stay.

Windier Trend

Ever noticed a stormier weather in the past decades?

In the past 20 years, scientists noticed that winds have picked up and more storms have strong winds which dramatically increase to about 5% on average and even faster, jumping 10% over 20 years, according to the new analysis of global satellite data. The study, the first to look at wind speeds across such a large swath of the planet, bolsters some earlier findings, according to study leader Ian Young, of the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. (source: National Geographic News – Mason Inman).

"Some regional studies had found similar results, so we suspected there may be an increasing trend," Young said.

With the development of satellite and radar technology, the planet's temperature and rainfall have been tracked like never before. Other aspects of the climate, however, haven't gotten as much attention.  To create a record of wind measurements around the world, Young and colleagues assembled global satellite measurements dating back to 1985. The team drew on records from satellites that used radar altimeters, which work similarly to bats' echolocation, or natural radar. The orbiting satellites shoot radio waves at Earth and listen for the echoes that bounce back into space. When winds are blowing hard, the radar echoes are fainter, giving a measure of how strong the wind is blowing over the oceans (source:  National Geographic News – Mason Inman).

This windy trend is being linked to global warming where the only way to explain the pattern is to include the effect of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted by humans. One of the first things scientists learned is that there are several greenhouse gases responsible for warming, and humans emit them in a variety of ways. Most come from the combustion of fossil fuels in cars, factories and electricity production. The gas responsible for the most warming is carbon dioxide, also called CO2. Other contributors include methane released from landfills and agriculture (especially from the digestive systems of grazing animals), nitrous oxide from fertilizers, gases used for refrigeration and industrial processes, and the loss of forests that would otherwise store CO2. Emissions have shown that this has greater and bigger impact on our everyday living including a windier environment during storms, rising sea level, and different climate pattern changes.

Around the world, the mercury is already up more than 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.8 degree Celsius), and you could see that our planet is warming dramatically from North to South Pole making it more difficult for us to cope especially with these bigger storms, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions. And the effects of rising temperatures are not just an imagination that our ancestors predicted many years ago. They’re happening right now. Signs are appearing all over, and some of them are surprising. The heat is not only melting glaciers and sea ice, it is also shifting precipitation patterns and setting animals and coral reefs on the move even extinct some of our endangered, rare species.

Other effects could happen later this century, if warming continues. Sea levels are expected to rise between 7 and 23 inches (18 and 59 centimeters) by the end of the century, and continued melting at the poles could add between 4 and 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters). Hurricanes and other storms are likely to become stronger. Species that depend on one another may become out of sync. For example, plants could bloom earlier than their pollinating insects become active. Floods and droughts will become more common. Rainfall in Ethiopia, where droughts are already common, could decline by 10 percent over the next 50 years.

Less fresh water will be available. If the Quelccaya ice cap in Peru continues to melt at its current rate, it will be gone by 2100, leaving thousands of people who rely on it for drinking water and electricity without a source of either. Some diseases will spread, such as malaria carried by mosquitoes. Ecosystems will change—some species will move farther north or become more successful; others won’t be able to move and could become extinct. Wildlife research scientist Martyn Obbard has found that since the mid-1980s, with less ice on which to live and fish for food, polar bears have gotten considerably skinnier.  Polar bear biologist Ian Stirling has found a similar pattern in Hudson Bay.  He fears that if sea ice disappears, the polar bears will as well.

As from previous articles, governments from different countries are already working hard to cut greenhouse gas effects by finding alternative ways on energy efficiency and increases in wind and solar power, hydrogen produced from renewable sources, biofuels (produced from crops), natural gas, and nuclear power.

A windier weather is just one of the few things that this global warming has taken its toll on us and that we should be prepared on some other impacts of global warming in the future and perhaps get rid of some “old habits.”

Source for climate information: IPCC, 2007 (National Geographic News)

Can We Get Power From Tides?

With these entire recent scare from earthquake and tsunami (also known as tidal waves), out of the disaster, can we get something good from these tides?

Tidal power is the only form of energy which derives directly from the relative motions of the Earth-Moon system, and to a lesser extent from the Earth-Sun system. Tidal forces produced by the Moon and Sun, in combination with Earth's rotation are responsible for the generation of the tides. Other sources of energy originate directly or indirectly from the Sun, including fossil fuels, conventional hydroelectric, wind, bio fuels, wave, and solar. Nuclear energy makes use of Earth's mineral deposits of fissile elements, while geothermal power uses the Earth's internal heat which comes from a combination of residual heat from planetary accretion (about 20%) and heat produced through radioactive decay (80%) {source: Wikipedia}.

Tidal energy is come from the relative motion of large bodies of water. Periodic changes of water levels, and associated tidal currents, are due to the gravitational attraction of the Sun and Moon. Magnitude of the tide at a location is the result of the changing positions of the Moon and Sun relative to the Earth, the effects of Earth rotation and the local geography of the sea floor and coastlines (brought about by earthquake sometimes affects it).

Because the Earth's tides are ultimately due to gravitational interaction with the Moon and Sun and the Earth's rotation, tidal power is practically inexhaustible and classified as a renewable energy resource (source: Wikipedia).

Thus, a tidal generator uses this phenomenon to get electricity. Greater tidal variation or tidal current velocities can dramatically increase the potential for tidal electricity generation. Tidal power or tidal energy falls under the form of hydropower that converts the energy of tides into electricity or other useful forms of power.

The first large-scale tidal power plant (the Rance Tidal Power Station) started operation in 1966. Although not yet widely used, tidal power has potential for future electricity generation. Tides are more predictable than wind energy. Among sources of renewable energy, tidal power has traditionally suffered from relatively high cost and limited availability of sites with sufficiently high tidal ranges or flow velocities, thus constricting its total availability. However, many recent technological developments and improvements, both in design (e.g. dynamic tidal power, tidal lagoons) and turbine technology indicate that the total availability of tidal power may be much higher than previously assumed, and that economic and environmental costs may be brought down to competitive levels (source: Wikipedia).

Tidal power can also be classified into three generating methods: 

Tidal stream generator

Tidal barrage

Dynamic tidal power

These methods are gaining in popularity because of the lower cost and lower ecological impact and involve kinetic and potential energy. However, there is still some questions on impact of these methods to our environment as well as its inconsistent price range which makes it harder for other countries to try this alternative.

Fossil Fuels: A Greener Pasture?

Petroleum and natural gas are formed by the anaerobic decomposition of remains of organisms including phytoplankton and zooplankton that settled to the sea (or lake) bottom in large quantities under anoxic conditions millions of years ago.

Over geological time this organic matter mixed with mud got buried under heavy layers of sediment. The resulting high levels of heat and pressure caused the organic matter to chemically alter first into a waxy material known as kerogen which is found in oil shales and then with more heat into liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in a process known as catagenesis.

There is a wide range of organic, or hydrocarbon, compounds in any given fuel mixture. The specific mixture of hydrocarbons gives a fuel its characteristic properties, such as boiling point, melting point, density, viscosity, etc. Some fuels like natural gas, for instance, contain only very low boiling, gaseous components. Others such as gasoline or diesel contain much higher boiling components.

Terrestrial plants on the other hand, tend to form coal and methane. Many of the coal fields date to the carboniferous period of earth’s history. Terrestrial plants also form type lll kerogen - a source of natural gas (source: Wikipedia).

The fossil fuels are then formed by natural resources i.e. dead organisms and anaerobic decomposition. It is believed to be typically exceeds 650 million years of age. The fossil fuels, which contain high percentages of carbon, include coal, petroleum and natural gas.

It was estimated by the Energy Information Administration that in 2007 primary sources of energy consisted of petroleum 36.0%, coal 27.4%, natural gas 23.0%, amounting to an 86.4% share for fossil fuels in primary energy consumption in the world. Non-fossil sources in 2006 included hydroelectric 6.3%, nuclear 8.5%, and others (geothermal, solar, tide, wind, wood, waves) amounting to 0.9 percent. World energy consumption was growing about 2.3% per year (source: Wikipedia).

Because they take millions of years to form, fossil fuels are non-renewable energy. The production and use of fossil fuels through years have raised environmental concerns. Many environmentalist points to use of fossil fuels as the root cause of global warming and harmful to our environment as well. That is why researchers investigated this matter and came up with energy efficiency alternatives. A global movement toward the generation of renewable energy is therefore under way to help meet increased energy needs.

It also was found that almost 90% of green house emissions came from combustion of fossil fuels. Combustion of fossil fuels also produces other air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds and heavy metals. Furthermore, researchers are also investigating the role of fossil fuels in the habitat of species and to our biodiversity.

The burning of fossil fuels produces around 21.3 billion tonnes (21.3 gigatones) of  CO₂ per year, but it is estimated that natural processes can only absorb about half of that amount, so there is a net increase of 10.65 billion tonnes of atmospheric carbon dioxide per year (one tonne of atmospheric carbon is equivalent to 44/12 or 3.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide). Carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases that enhances radiative forcing and contributes to global warming causing the average surface temperature of the Earth to rise in response, which most climate scientists agree will cause major adverse effects (source: Wikipedia).

Since technology before was not that significant, fossil fuels are largely use for petroleum for commercial use. The wide scale use of fossil fuels, coal at first and petroleum later, to fire steam engines during the Industrial Revolution era and at the same time, using natural gas or coal gas for gas lights became rampant. The invention of the internal combustion engines and its use in automobiles and trucks greatly increased the demand for gasoline and diesel oil, both made from fossil fuels. Other forms of transportation, railways and aircraft also required fossil fuels. The other major use for fossil fuels is for generators and as feedstock for the petrochemical industry (source: Wikipedia). Tar - a leftover of petroleum extraction, is used in construction of roads. This being cheaper and available to consumers leads to depletion of our natural resources leading to global warming.

Combustion of fossil fuels generates sulfuric, carbonic, and nitric acids, which fall to Earth as acid rain, impacting both natural areas and the built environment. Monuments and sculptures made from marble and limestone are particularly vulnerable, as the acids dissolve calcium carbonate (source: Wikipedia).

Fossil fuels also contain radioactive materials, mainly uranium and thorium, which are released into the atmosphere. In 2000, about 12,000 tonnes of thorium and 5,000 tonnes of uranium were released worldwide from burning coal. It is estimated that during 1982, US coal burning released 155 times as much radioactivity into the atmosphere as the Three Mile Island incident. However, this radioactivity from coal burning is minuscule at each source and has not shown to have any adverse effect on human physiology (source: Wikipedia **citation needed).

The environmental regulation led to control the use of fossil fuels. Thus, making it not affordable to common consumers and commercial establishments. Also, worldwide, some countries adapt Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allowing coal-based power plants to reduce emissions and targeting up to 70% by year 2018.

This aims to make fossil fuels more expensive, thereby reducing their use and the amount of pollution associated with them, along with raising the funds necessary to counteract these factors.

This also brought in a lot of solar companies and to encourage consumer to use other alternatives than fossil fuels due to its dangerous effect to our environment. The government also allotted a budget in giving out grants and loans to homeowners getting green and energy efficient – perhaps leading to a “greener pasture” for the next generation.

Warming Lakes

We are all aware that the Earth’s climate is keeping warmer and warmer. The air temperature as well is rising due to that. And thus leads to warming of oceans and lakes.

Based from a study done by NASA, lakes have various surface temperature trends now worldwide. Over 200 large lakes around the world are warming dramatically with some as much as 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) per decade which has a bigger impact on the pattern of our inland structure.


This leads to scientists’ concern. One reason for concern is that increased temperatures in lakes mean an increase in algal bloom. An alga is naturally found in lake ecosystems and is in fact the base of the food web in lakes, but when the numbers of algae in a lake rises, very quickly, a bloom results. Some algal blooms are harmless to life, but are simply unappealing. Water in that area might look terrible, smell foul or even taste bad (when water is drawn for drinking from that source). Other times, algal blooms can be toxic to fish, wild and domestic animals that use that source of water, and humans. Humans can get sick if the toxin is swallowed with lake water or can experience skin irritation if the toxin is touched (source: Jennifer Bergman).


This also leads to ecological imbalance. It was found out that rising lake temperatures gives birth to invasive species found in lakes. Examples of invasive species in the Great Lakes are zebra mussels and lampreys. Zebra mussels can live in warmer and warmer waters, which mean they can extend their living range to higher and higher latitudes. Lampreys seem to thrive in warmer waters growing bigger and bigger and are staying active for more of the year. Both of these invasive species are extreme pests that are killing off native species. In the case of zebra mussels, they are causing billions of dollars of damage to structures and ships and boats.


NASA was able to survey a large number of lakes all in one study with the help of satellite data. These findings are in line with what is being reported 'on the ground'. Here are three lakes that were included in the study:

1. Lake Baikal - This lake is located in Siberia. It is the largest and oldest freshwater lake in the world. It is in a very remote part of the world. The data from the lake shows that the surface waters have warmed a lot and that the food web in this lake has already experienced changes. Many are concerned that global warming will hurt the 2,500 plant and animal species that make their home in Lake Baikal, including the freshwater seal, found nowhere else in the world.






2. Lake Tanganyika - This lake is located in East Africa. This lake is the warmest it's been in over 1,500 years. Scientists expect that as the lake gets warmer, the number of fish will decline. This is in large part due to increased water stratification that many large lakes are experiencing. Stratification means that there are two layers in the lake. As the surface temperature of the lake gets warmer, those layers will be mixed less and less by wind. That means that valuable nutrients like nitrogen will not be moved from the deep lake to the surface of the lake. Algae will not have nitrogen and other nutrients for food and this in turn hurts the fish population, many who eat algae. An estimated 10 million people live near the Lake Tanganyika, and depend on it for drinking water and food.


3. Lake Superior - This lake is located between the northern U.S. and Canada. It is the deepest, coldest, and largest of the Great Lakes. Many researchers are interested in Lake Superior. One of the ways they study the lake is with buoys like the one shown in the image on this page. The buoys house instruments that measure things like air temperature, water temperature, cloud cover, wind speed and direction. Scientists can access the buoy data from their computers. Scientists say the summer temperatures of Lake Superior jumped 4-4.5 degrees Fahrenheit over the last 30 years. Warming in this lake means increased evaporation of lake waters. Increased evaporation results in lower water levels for the lake overall. Low lake levels affect property owners on lakes, those in the shipping industry, wildlife and plant life too.




Lake Baikal, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Superior aren't isolated cases - global warming affects the temperature of lakes around the world. Many of these lakes are experiencing the undesirable effects of warming such as an increase in algal blooms, the rise of invasive species, decreased numbers of fish and lower lake levels. Obviously, more study is needed for these areas that are home to so many people, animals and plants.

Developing Countries and the Role of Renewable Energy

Although it is achievable to have renewable energy, not all countries can abruptly follow and turn green. Developing countries have abundant renewable energy resources and they are capable of manufacturing their systems inculcated in this.

 

Renewable energies like solar, wind, geothermal and biomass are some of these that they are developing. By developing such energy sources, developing countries can reduce their dependence on oil and natural gas, creating energy portfolios that are less vulnerable to price rises. In many circumstances, these investments can be less expensive than fossil fuel energy systems. Besides, they help to face the climate change urgency.

This is an alternative especially in remote areas where development and distribution of energy generated from fossil fuels can be difficult and expensive. Producing renewable energy locally can offer a viable alternative.

It was only in the early months of year 2000 that developing countries consider and express interest in renewable energies and it has increased in recent years due to environmental concerns about global warming, climate change and rampant pollution plus the fact that this can reduce costs of renewable energy technologies and improves efficiency and reliability.

Many recent trends reflect the importance of developing countries in advancing renewable energy. Collectively, developing countries have more than half of global renewable power capacity. China and India are rapidly expanding markets for renewables. Brazil produces most of the world’s sugar-derived ethanol and has been adding new biomass and wind power plants. Many renewables markets are growing at rapid rates in countries such as Argentina, Costa Rica, Egypt, Indonesia, Kenya, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, and Uruguay
(source: Wikipedia).

As of 2010, an estimated 3 million households get power from small solar PV systems.
Micro-hydro systems configured into village-scale or county-scale mini-grids serve many areas. More than 30 million rural households get lighting and cooking from biogas made in household-scale digesters. Biomass cook stoves are used by 40 percent of the world’s population. These stoves are being manufactured in factories and workshops worldwide, and more than 160 million households now use them (source: Wikipedia).

Because of the worldwide demands for renewable energy, this also brings in a lot of opportunities to its constituents – bringing in business opportunity and employment. Renewable energy technologies can also make indirect contributions to alleviating poverty by providing energy for cooking, space heating, and lighting.

It also broadens its scope even in schools through providing electricity. Renewable energy for cooking and heating can reduce the time that children spend out of school collecting fuel (source: Wikipedia). This also paved way to eliminate traditional fuels which is hazardous to health and becomes an indoor pollution.

Millions of people use only traditional energy as biomass-wood, residues and dung, for cooking and heating. This constant use of this type of energy exposed them to indoor particulate and carbon monoxide concentrations considered in many times higher than World Health Organization (WHO) standards. "Traditional stoves using dung and charcoal emit large amounts of carbon monoxide and other noxious gases. Women and children suffer most, because they are exposed for the longest periods of time. Acute respiratory illnesses affect as much as 6% of the world population. The WHO estimates that 2.5million women and young children in developing countries die prematurely each year from breathing the fumes from indoor biomass stoves". Renewable energy can contribute to improve this situation by avoiding the exposure to indoor pollutants (source: Wikipedia).

Renewable energy can also provide power for supplying the fresh water and sewerage services needed to reduce infectious disease especially in the rural and remote areas where electricity is expensive and where some areas have a hard time putting up electricity due to location.

In developing countries, this method of renewable energy is oftentimes achievable if government would just steer a committee that would focus on its advantages and the
long-term effect brought about getting green. In two-three years from now, most countries would sure see its good effects and perhaps we could save our environment more.

Zero-Net Energy Building: What You Should Know

How would we know if a certain building is energy efficient and sustainable? What is a zeronet energy building (ZNE)? A zeronet energy building is termed describing a building with zero net energy consumption and zero carbon emissions annually.

ZeroNet Energy buildings can be used autonomously from the energy grid supply – energy can be harvested on-site usually in combination with energy producing technologies like Solar and Wind while reducing the overall use of energy with extremely efficient HVAC and Lighting technologies. The ZeroNet design principle is becoming more practical in adopting due to the increasing costs of traditional fossil fuels and their negative impact on the planet's climate and ecological balance (source: Wikipedia).

This is gaining considerable interest as renewable energy cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The normal traditional building use consumes about 40% of the total fossil energy in the US and European Union. It is a necessity in developing countries to live in zero-energy buildings to save more. Many people live in huts, yurts, tents and caves exposed to temperature extremes and without access to electricity. These conditions and the limited size of living quarters would be considered uncomfortable in the developed countries.

Due to this, researchers all over the world, consider the development of modern ZeroNet Energy (ZNE) buildings. Along with the fast-paced technology and significantly improved facilities, this became possible to achieve through the goal of getting energy performance data. Today's advanced computer models can show the efficacy of engineering design decisions.

How do we measure energy consumption? It is through the cost, energy and carbon emission and relatively, we also measure importance of energy harvest and energy conservation to achieve a net energy balance. Although zero energy buildings remain uncommon in developed countries, they are gaining importance and popularity. The ZeroNet Energy approach has potential to reduce carbon emissions and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

 A building approaching ZeroNet Energy use may be called a near-zero energy building or ultra-low energy house. Buildings that produce a surplus of energy during a portion of the year may be known as energy-plus buildings. If the building is located in an area that requires heating or cooling throughout parts of the year, it is easier to achieve ZeroNet Energy consumption when the available living space is kept small (source: Wikipedia).

After the Tsunami

The recent tragedy brought about by an 8.9 magnitude earthquake in the northeast coast last Friday, March 12, 2011 did not only left scars on Japanese people but along with that, came a horrifying tsunami which claimed thousands of lives and properties and there are a lot more missing up to date.

The question now is whether this tsunami would affect water displacement in major seas and how it will affect our environment especially now that we are focused on getting efficient energy and finding alternative ways for sustainable development both in energy resources and our environment.

A tsunami is caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, usually an ocean, though it can occur in large lakes. Tsunamis are a frequent occurrence in Japan; approximately 195 events have been recorded. Owing to the immense volumes of water and the high energy involved, tsunamis can devastate coastal regions (source: Wikipedia).

As stated, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explosions (including detonations of underwater nuclear devices) landslides and other mass movements, meteorite impacts and other disturbances above or below water all have the potential to generate a tsunami (source: Wikipedia).

These events are natural events that are beyond man’s control. This is also known as an “acts of God.”  The impact on our end is unimaginable and sometimes horrifying. Properties, livelihoods, trees, and lives are lost in just a glimpse.Precious coral reefs and mangrove areas would be crushed by the huge tsunami waves which will lead to an environmental and economic setback that could take years to reverse and restructure.

According to scientists, reef-forming coral grows only about 0.5 cm, or 1/5 inch a year, thus for the seaside resorts on the numerous affected islands to regain their previous splendour could take several years to a decade. The worst marine damage was likely to have been concentrated 100m to 1km from shore. Fortunately, large sea mammals such as whales and dolphins probably suffered little impact.

According to Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), dolphins can feel disturbances happening in the water and would have most likely headed for deep water where they would be safe. Also, they mostly inhabit the areas far offshore, where the tsunami has the least damaging capacity.

The earthquake that occurred on December 26, 2004 was an undersea earthquake originated in the Indian Ocean off the western coast Indonesia and generated tsunamis that were among the worst disasters in modern history. At a magnitude of 9.0, it was the largest earthquake since the 9.2 magnitude earthquake off Alaska in 1964. The earthquake was the result of the sliding of the portion of the Earth's crust known as the India plate under the section called the Burma plate. Tsunamis have been relatively rare in the Indian Ocean. They are most prevalent in the Pacific. The Indian Ocean tsunami caused waves as high as 50 feet (15 meters) in some places, according to news reports. The resulting tsunamis devastated the shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and other countries even reaching the east coast of Africa some 2800 miles away of the epicentre.

Tsunami waves poisoned the fresh water supplies and the soil by salt water infiltration and deposition of a salt layer over land. It has been reported that in the Maldives, 16 to 17 coral reef atolls that were overcome by sea waves are totally without fresh water and could be rendered inhabitable for decades. Uncountable wells that served communities were invaded by sea, sand and earth; and aquifers were invaded through porous rock. Salted-over soil becomes sterile, and it is difficult and costly to restore for agriculture. It also causes the death of plants and important soil micro-organisms.

It also affects water supply which contaminated it mostly. Due to this, safe water is scarce leading to water-related diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever, diarrhea and sometimes malaria. According to World Health Organization (WHO) over 200,000 people died from 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami which led to a waterborne epidemics and outbreak.

The tsunami impacted water quality by flooding septic tanks and causing their contents to contaminate ground and surface water. Seawater also penetrated into groundwater tables, making the water unfit for human consumption. The tsunami also destroyed rural water supply systems across the region.

Following a disaster, there is enormous pressure on political leaders and public health officials to take disease control interventions mainly spread through contaminated water. The tsunami raised unique challenges for those involved in these efforts.

In most respects the profile of a tsunami resembles that of a flood caused by a hurricane or cyclone. Therefore, disaster response guides consider Tsunamis as floods although the hydrological and engineering issues associated with saline water infiltration are vastly different. Innovative solutions were often necessary to deal with the special circumstances
presented by the aftermath of the Tsunami disaster.

With all these facts and evidences, now this is happening again in Japan. Added to that injury is the explosion and threat posed by their nuclear plants.

The damage result of this tragedy is so heartbreaking and that people now are scared and thinking of ways on how to prevent this from happening to their country. But as I said, it was all part of an “acts of God,” beyond our control, but what we need to do is to be ready when it happens, where it happens and how it happens. And just like any other failures we encounter in life, there is no other way but up and keep going. Rebuilding, restructuring and reinventing are the three major keys that the nation should do right after the disaster.

Transformation: Energy Conversion Efficiency

Why do we need to transform energy from time to time? A question that perhaps has been discussed by so many researches but the basic goal was not emphasized why we need this process.

Energy transformation is the process of changing energy from one form to another. This process is happening all the time, both in the world and within people. When people consume food, the body utilizes the chemical energy in the bonds of the food and transforms it into mechanical energy, a new form of chemical energy, or thermal energy. Energy transformation is an important concept in the application of the physical sciences. The ability for energy to be transformed automates lights, entertains, and warms the world in an astounding multitude of ways.

The concept of energy transformation can be illustrated in a number of common activities. An engine, such as the engine in a car, converts the chemical energy of gas and oxygen into the mechanical energy of engine movement. A light bulb changes the chemical energy of the bulb into electromagnetic radiation, or light. Windmills harness the energy of the wind and convert it into mechanical energy in the movement of the turbine blades, which is then converted to electrical energy. Solar panels transform light to electricity.

Energy transformation can also be explained in terms of potential energy, the stored energy of a system, which can be converted into KE or kinetic energy - the energy of movement. For example, a roller coaster sitting at the top of a hill is said to have potential energy. This potential energy is gravitational, which is gained when the coaster moves up the hill. Once the coaster begins to move down the hill, the force of gravity is exerted and the potential energy is transformed into the kinetic energy of the car moving.

During energy transformations, potential energy is often transformed to kinetic energy and back again to potential energy. During any kind of energy transformation, some energy is lost to the environment. As a result of this loss, no machine is ever 100% efficient. Commonly, a portion of the energy lost during energy transformation is lost as heat. This can be observed in practice by noting the heat emitted by a computer, a car, or another type of machine that has been in use for a period of time.

The ability of a given machine or system to convert between forms of energy is called the "energy conversion efficiency." All systems have different energy conversion efficiencies. Water turbines for instance, have an extremely high energy conversion efficiency of nearly 90%, while combustion engines have from 10% to 50% conversion efficiency. Engineering and physics are constantly in pursuit of systems capable of achieving high energy conversion efficiency like developments of new energies and at the same time preserving our nature (source: J. Peska, Science Writer).

Thus, transforming energy is just like making the most out of something to make it more useful and more efficient to us and for our future generation.