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.

Wind Energy and Its Consistency

Like many other forms of renewable energy, the prime energy source of wind power is the sun. The sun heats the Earth's surface causing movements of air due to temperature and pressure differences. Wind power harnesses the kinetic energy of wind and converts this into mechanical energy. Historically windmills used this energy to turn machinery e.g. grinding corn or pumping water. In a wind turbine the energy is used to produce electricity by driving a generator or alternator.

The big question is whether this source of energy can really be sustainable. While the list of these 'sustainable' sources of energy is very long, wind energy is considered as one of the ideal examples of clean and renewable sources of energy. The easiest and most common source of energy is the wind energy. This as compared to solar energy and geothermal energy has not been widely accepted. Certain disadvantages of wind energy have been emphasized and most likely they are not into using this in the future as the main alternative. Let us take a look at some of the main challenges that questions wind energy from becoming truly sustainable.

We see three disadvantages of wind energy: commercial factors, natural or environmental factor and other factors. Natural Factors – Obviously, we cannot get enough amounts of wind everyday. So inconsistency occurs. We cannot expect the same level of wind to blow every single day, some days would be more winds others less. The intensity of wind tends to change on a daily basis. One day the wind would be perfectly suited for generation of wind energy. Another day the wind would blow with an extreme force; so much that it would take the blade of mill with itself. In some cases, the wind would be too calm to be of any use. Another nature related disadvantage of wind energy is that it adversely affects the bird population in a given area. In case of rural area, this can be extremely disastrous. The birds play an important role in our ecosystem and they are also a natural pesticide and can really help farmers especially in crop production. Loss in the bird population would mean the growth of pests and insects which could affect agricultural industry.

Commercial - Apart from the fact that wind is rather unreliable and inconsistent; a big commercial disadvantage of wind energy is that it requires a huge initial amount of money. The equipments use for wind energy is a simple wind mill but this costs a lot. The maintenance of windmills is not something which may be considered as cheap. In a number of cases batteries are to be used to store the energy and overcome inconsistency issues. This is not an option for large scale power generation projects.

Secondly, you would need big hectares of land to install these windmills. To make wind energy working, the number of windmills to be installed should be very high or else it is useless. These windmills would require big areas to act as wind mill fields. Purchase or lease of such large pieces of land is not really an economically attractive option. It is not possible to find such stretches of land in urban areas which is a great hurdle. If ever there is a good and economical land available, the question is the consistency of the amounts of wind coming through everyday.

Finally, the other factors on disadvantages of wind energy, is a mixed of both the above disadvantages. Windmills can create noise pollution and windmills make land looks so vague and idle. 

Building-integrated PhotoVoltaics (BIPV)

Have you heard about building-integrated photovoltaics or BIPV? They are photovoltaic materials that are used to replace conventional building materials in parts of the building envelope such as the roof, skylights or facades.

It is part where new buildings use it as ancillary source of electrical power as per the module of BIPV. The advantage of integrated photovoltaics over more common non-integrated systems is that the initial cost can be offset by reducing the amount spent on building materials and labor that would normally be used to construct the part of the building that the BIPV modules replace. These advantages make BIPV one of the fastest growing segments of the photovoltaic industry (source: Wikipedia).

  

The use of PV for buildings according to the history began in the 1970s. It is where aluminium-framed photovoltaic modules mounted on buildings that were usually in remote areas without access to an electric power grid. It was later on modified and use on roofs in the 1980s. These PV systems were usually installed on utility-grid-connected buildings in areas with centralized power stations. In the 1990s BIPV construction products specially designed to be integrated into a building envelope became commercially available.

This particular discovery helped save a lot of money and at the same time this helps the building infrastructure to become more stable and thus, enhances on becoming energy efficient. Building-Integrated Photovoltaic modules are available in several forms such as flat roofs, pitched roofs, solar shingles - modules designed to look and act like regular shingles, while incorporating a flexible thin film cell; and in facades.

Facades can be installed on existing buildings, giving old buildings a whole new look. These modules are mounted on the facade of the building, over the existing structure, which can increase the appeal of the building and its resale value (source: Wikipedia).

Glazing on the other hand is a transparent module that be used as an alternative to a number of architectural elements such as windows and glass doors or any similar materials related to it.

There is also what they call as transparent solar panels which use a tin oxide coating on the inner surface of the glass panes to conduct current out of the cell. The cell contains titanium oxide that is coated with a photoelectric dye.

 For many building owners, this is an answered prayer. The government from different countries in fact supported anything for energy efficiency program. Including providing grants such as Green Loans Program in Australia, rooftop systems subsidy programs, and some other programs relating to the development of photovoltaic electricity generation ventures and the commercialization of PV technology.

Many other government agencies support energy efficiency programs and developed some more due to the increasing issue on global warming as well as making the most to save the energy and become more efficient. Billions and billions of dollars yearly are being spent to projects – great or small, in order to achieve the goal of being efficient both in buildings and in residential houses.