Stand up for clean energy
Please Stand up for clean energy -
Share your voice on the Repower America Wall. A majority of Americans support clean energy. But powerful special interests groups are blocking our path, spending millions to protect the status quo. Join thousands of Americans who have already shared their stories and help make sure our leaders see and hear our collective call.

Please go here to this site – http://www.climateprotect.org/ or go here http://www.repoweramerica.org/wall/#/post to join me in putting your name on the wall as I have. You can see my comments here –
http://www.repoweramerica.org/wall/#/view/42226

To our green Success,
Floyd Pollino
http://www.greendynamicsolar.com

Oil—How Do We Get It?

“LET there be light.” In the United States in the 19th century, a new source of artificial light was needed to replace the inconveniences of flickering light produced by fats, whale oil, and other substances. What was the solution? Oil! Where could it be found?

In 1859, Edwin L. Drake, a retired railroad conductor, using an old steam engine, drilled a well 70 feet [22 meters] deep to the first crude oil discovered near Titusville, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. That marked the beginning of the oil era. As oil was discovered in many parts of the world, it caused great economic and political repercussions. It proved to be the high-quality source of artificial light that the world eagerly awaited.

Soon, frantic buying of land and drilling of wells was a major activity in the so-called oil regions of the United States. In those years it was common to hear of people who suddenly became wealthy and of others who later lost their fortunes. Ironically, Edwin Drake, the man who drilled the first well in Pennsylvania, was one of the latter.

Despite its extraordinary boom, or perhaps because of it, the oil industry in Pennsylvania soon experienced its first drop. Oil fell from $20 a barrel to 10 cents! Overproduction and speculation made prices collapse, and some wells rapidly became exhausted. A special reminder of those times is Pithole City, Pennsylvania, which today is a ghost town. It was established, it flourished, and it was deserted—all within the span of little more than one and a half years. Those ups and downs would become an integral part of oil history.

In 1870, John D. Rockefeller and a few associates incorporated the Standard Oil Company. This company dominated the kerosene market until competitors appeared, especially in the Russian oil industry. One rival was Marcus Samuel, a founder of what is today known as the Royal Dutch/Shell Group. In addition, as a result of the ingenuity of the Nobel brothers*, a powerful oil enterprise was established in Russia with the oil extracted from fields in Baku.

Those were the beginnings of the history of a series of oil enterprises. Since then, alliances and organizations have been created to avoid the price and production instability of the early times. One of them is the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), whose 11 members collectively possess most of the world’s proven crude-oil reserves.

How Much Oil, and Where Is It?

By the end of the 19th century, the widespread use of electricity could have meant bankruptcy for the oil enterprises. However, another outstanding invention had drastically reversed the situation—the internal-combustion engine, used mainly in automobiles. Gasoline, a petroleum derivative, was now essential for self-propelled vehicles, which were already available in most industrialized nations by the late 1920’s. Now much more oil was needed to keep the world moving, but where would it be found?

With passing years, oil’s supremacy in the global market has been reinforced by the ongoing discovery of new oil fields in various parts of the world—some 50,000 of them! But in terms of production, the important factor is, not the number of fields discovered, but their size. How big are they?

Oil fields that contain at least five billion barrels of recoverable oil—called supergiants—are the largest in the classification, while the second largest (from five hundred million to five billion barrels) are called world-class giants. Although some 70 countries are listed in the “U.S. Geological Survey World Petroleum Assessment 2000” as having some oil reserves, only a few of them have giant oil fields. The largest number of supergiant oil fields are grouped in the Arabian-Iranian sedimentary basin, which comprises the area in and around the Persian Gulf.

The search for new oil sources has not stopped. Instead, it has been reinforced by state-of-the-art technology. Currently the Caspian Sea region, made up of the nations of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, has caught the attention of oil producers. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, this region has huge potential for the exploitation of oil and natural gas. Alternative exportation routes, such as through Afghanistan, are being studied. Additional potential has also been found in the Middle East, Greenland, and parts of Africa (Is there any wonder as to why their is war in the Middle East). The conversion of discovered hydrocarbons into energy and items for use in everyday life is a story in itself.

How Is Oil Extracted?

Geologists and surveyors search for places where crude oil could be trapped underground. After performing some specific measurements and taking samples, they drill to confirm that there is actually oil. In the early days, successfully hitting an oil field might have meant being showered by a gusher of mud and oil, with the consequent loss of the initial outpouring and the risk of explosion. However, by means of measuring instruments and special valves, today’s drilling rigs prevent this from happening. Smaller and deeper drillings are also possible today.

Eventually, the pressure that makes the oil and gas emerge decreases, and it must be maintained by the injection of water, chemicals, carbon dioxide, or other gases, such as nitrogen. Depending on the zone, oil can have different degrees of density. Naturally, light oil is by far preferred, for it is easier to obtain and refine.

As explained by the American Petroleum Institute, modern technology includes horizontal drilling, done virtually parallel to the earth’s crust, which reduces the number of wells that must be bored. Offshore extraction, which began in 1947 in the Gulf of Mexico, greatly increased oil production**. Of course, the extraction method used has a direct effect on the price of the final product.

How Is Oil Transported?

In 1863 in Pennsylvania, small-diameter wooden pipelines were built for transporting oil, as they were cheaper and less cumbersome to use than 42-gallon [159 L] barrels moved on horse carts. Today’s pipeline systems have evolved and multiplied. According to the Association of Oil Pipe Lines, the United States alone has a network of 200,000 miles [300,000 km] of petroleum pipeline!

Such pipeline systems, mainly made of metal, transport not only crude oil to refineries but also final oil products to distributors. Modern pipeline technology allows for automated systems that monitor flow and pressure. So-called intelligent pigs (devices used to inspect hundreds of miles of pipeline), Magnetic Flux Leakage inspection, and ultrasonic in-line inspection have also been developed. Yet, all that the ordinary user of the final products will probably see is a sign indicating that a petroleum pipeline lies underground and warning that no digging should be done at the site.

As useful as it is, though, a pipeline system is not practical for the transportation of large quantities of oil overseas. But early oil entrepreneurs found a solution for that too—immense oil tankers. These are specially designed ships as much as a quarter of a mile long [400 meters long]. Tankers are the largest ships to sail the oceans and are able to carry up to a million or more barrels of oil. Unfortunately, as mighty as they look, tankers have a vulnerability that has not been surmounted, as the information below “About Oil Spills” shows. Barges and railcars are also common means of bulk oil transportation. Nevertheless, in oil’s journey, transportation is only half the story.

A small flame coming from a tall pipe stack, or flare—which acts as a safety valve—is a good indication that you are looking at an oil refinery. Basically, in these huge refining facilities, crude oil is heated and sent to an atmospheric distillation tower, where it is separated into several fractions. These fractions range from the lightest—gases, such as butane—to the heaviest, which are processed into lubricants, among other products. But this still leaves the question, Is oil a mixed blessing?

BARRELS OR TONS?

The first Pennsylvania oil companies shipped oil in 48-gallon [180 L] wine barrels***. Eventually only 42 gallons [159 L] of oil was put in to allow for spillage during shipment. A barrel (42 gallons) is still used today for oil commerce.

From the beginning, oil for Europe was transported by sea and was usually measured by weight, in tons, as is the practice today.

HOW DID PETROLEUM FORM?

The opinion that has prevailed among most scientists since the 1870’s is called the biogenic theory. This “holds that biological debris buried in sediments decays into oil and natural gas in the long course of time and that this petroleum then becomes concentrated in the pore space of sedimentary rocks in the uppermost layers of the [Earth’s] crust.” This process then produces petroleum, whose main components are hydrocarbons—that is, hydrogen and carbon. However, since the 1970’s this theory has at times been challenged by some scientists.

In the August 20, 2002, issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the article “The Genesis of Hydrocarbons and the Origin of Petroleum” was published. The authors argue that the origin of natural petroleum must occur at depths that
are “well into the mantle of the Earth” and not at the much shallower depths generally accepted.

Physicist Thomas Gold has suggested some controversial theories and explains his reasons in detail in his book The Deep Hot Biosphere—The Myth of Fossil Fuels. He writes: “The theory of the biological origin of hydrocarbons was so favored
in the United States and in much of Europe that it effectively shut out work on the opposing viewpoint. This was not the case in the countries of the former Soviet Union.” That was “probably because the revered Russian chemist Mendeleyev had supported the abiogenic [not biological] view. The arguments he presented are even stronger today, given the greatly expanded information we now have.” What is the abiogenic view?

Gold states: “The abiogenic theory holds that hydrocarbons were a component of the material that formed the earth, through accretion of solids, some 4.5 billion years ago.” According to this theory, the elements of petroleum have been deep in the earth since the earth’s formation.

ABOUT OIL SPILLS

OIL PRODUCTION—SIMPLIFIED

1—EXPLORING

SATELLITE

The Global Positioning System provides accurate signals used for surveying

GEOPHONES

VIBRATOR TRUCKS

HYDROPHONES

SEISMIC VESSEL

Seismic surveying, one method used, records the below-ground reflections of artificially generated sound waves

2—EXTRACTING

INLAND WELLS

OFFSHORE PLATFORM

UNDERWATER WELL

Extraction methods include the use of inland, offshore, and underwater oil wells. To maintain the pressure, gases or water may be injected

UNDERWATER OIL WELL

Remotely operated submarines are used to construct production facilities on the sea bottom

HORIZONTAL DRILLING

Motors controlled remotely by an engineer turn the drill bit, and sensors detect the rock properties

3—TRANSPORTING

PIPELINES

TANKERS

Pipelines above the ground, below the ground, and under the sea transport the oil. Other methods of transport include tankers, barges, and railcars

4—REFINING

REFINERY

Crude oil is heated, distilled, and broken up into fractions that can be used to make everyday products

DISTILLATION TOWER

When sticky, dark crude oil is heated in the furnace, the hydrocarbons turn into gases. The gases condense back into liquids at different temperatures. Oil is thus separated into its parts, or fractions

68°F.
REFINERY GASES These include methane, ethane,

[20°C] propane, and butane

70°-160°F. GASOLINE Used as automobile fuel and as a

[20°-70°C] raw material for plastics

160°-320°F. NAPHTHA Can be made into plastics,

[70°-160°C] automobile fuel, and other

chemicals

320°-480°F. KEROSENE Made into jet fuel and stove oil

[160°-250°C]

480°-660°F. GAS OIL Made into diesel and furnace fuels

[250°-350°C]

750°F.
RESIDUE Further processed into refinery

fuels, heavy fuel oil, candle wax,

FURNACE greases, and asphalt

CATALYTIC CRACKER

The hydrocarbons are heated by steam and mixed with the hot catalyst of powdered alumina-silica gel. This process cracks, or breaks up, the hydrocarbons into smaller and more useful molecules.

Powdered catalyst mixes with the hydrocarbon in steam

ETHANOL PLASTICS

GASOLINE ADDITIVES

This solvent is Polystyrene, for Octane booster prevents used in the example is made by gas from igniting too, manufacturing of, polymerizing styrene quickly in the engine, paints, cosmetic, thus improving its perfumes, soap, performance and dyes.

Oil—Will It Ever Run Out?

ENERGY experts theorize that oil supplies may eventually become exhausted. Some estimate that world oil reserves will last from 63 to 95 years more. In the meantime, other energy sources are being tapped, some of which have been used for decades. Among those that are renewable—or can be replenished quickly—are the following types: solar, wind, wave, hydroelectric, and ocean thermal. But at present, major problems remain involving their production and distribution. Even so they are the means of the future that will replace Oil.

The prospect of exhausting nonrenewable energy sources and only then turning to renewable ones is certainly gloomy. Oil companies are ready to take advantage of the limited time that they say oil is calculated to last. Unfortunately, there is every reason to expect that the social and environmental problems associated with oil will last just as long. Needless to say, the root of these problems is not just oil itself. It is man’s greed and thirst for power that has also given oil its bad reputation.

To your green success,
Floyd Pollino
http://greendynamicsolar.com

“Underground Treasure”

Researchers led by Brazilian hydrogeologist Heraldo Campos have completed a seven-year project to map South America’s largest groundwater reservoirs. The Guarani Aquifer, situated under parts of Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina, has a total surface area of approximately 500,000 square miles [1.2 million km²] and holds an estimated 10,000 cubic miles [40,000 km³] of water. According to a Global Environment Facility report, “the reserve volume today would be enough to supply the entire population of Brazil for 3,500 years.” In the future this “underground treasure” may also be tapped to combat desertification, and because of the water temperature, it may be used as an alternative energy source. By mapping the aquifer, researchers hope to protect its recharge areas from pesticide and fertilizer contamination.

To your success,
Floyd Pollino
http://greendynamicsolar.com

Deforestation in Latin America

In just 13 years, 125 million acres [50 million ha] of forest in Latin America has been destroyed, an area equivalent to all of Central America, says a report published by the United Nations Environment Program. Brazil saw 57 million acres [23 million ha] damaged, while Mexico lost 16 million acres [6.3 million ha] of forest and had 990,000 acres [400,000 ha] of cultivable soil degraded. Haiti, El Salvador, and the island of St. Lucia lost between 46 and 49 percent of their forests in the same period. These statistics are “horrifying,” says ¿Cómo Ves? a scientific magazine of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and “they are even more so when we think about … the hundreds of thousands of plants and animals that have disappeared from our increasingly arid planet.”

Pandas and Their Bamboo

“The giant panda, symbol of China and of wildlife conservation, is not as endangered as thought,” says The Daily Telegraph of London. A four-year study by the Worldwide Fund for Nature and the Chinese government has found that instead of the previously estimated 1,000 to 1,100 pandas in the wild, there are more than 1,590. The more accurate count was obtained with the use of improved technology, including the satellite positioning system, to map out the areas to be searched. Although the results are good news for conservationists, the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, in Cambridge, England, warns that bamboo, the giant panda’s main food source, is seriously threatened by deforestation. What makes bamboos particularly vulnerable to rapid deforestation is that “individuals of each species flower once simultaneously every 20 to 100 years and then die,” reports The Guardian of London.

For more information on this subject of deforestation please Click Here

To your green success,
Floyd Pollino
http://www.greendynamicsolar.com

The History Of Deforestation And The Impact

It is a common mistaken belief that deforestation is only a contemporary incidence. Some say that annihilation of the vast green world has dated back only to the 50′s, but all these were proven to be wrong. The history of deforestation takes us back into the corridors of time when humans primarily occupied the earth.

Fire was used deliberately and was started to be the first cause of bald forests since thousands of years ago. Ever since the era of the ancient domain has processed, the ways to barren our lands have changed and thereby discovered recent man made ideations to deplete our forests of its natural glow. The turn of the twentieth century has further paved way for more advanced knowledge on deforestation techniques that the number of destroyed forests has not stopped counting ever since.

Although it is a sad fact, deforestation has been used as a method of means to earn a living. From small to bigger profits, deforestation has been used by humans in all class types and races. For whichever ways it served them, there is truly no excuse for destroying the forest and harming the nature that brings a heap of better and bigger possibilities for the world. Our forests offer a permanent life source, and it shouldn’t be exchanged for the temporary joys of human gain and profit.

Pre Historical Deforestation

Some 4000 years ago, evidences of man made plant and animal extinction actions have been seen. Fire was one of the popular methods of balding a forest to be turned into an agricultural area. Grazing animals also became a lead to major deforestation in area locales. The aborigines transferred from one location to another whenever the land becomes barren and of no further use to them.

Perhaps the only reason why there were no significant effects at that time is because of the population issue. If the present population has been born in the past, then extreme deforestation actions could have happened. The world could not have tolerated the effects thousands of years ago if this were the case. Luckily, the population now isn’t the same in number than the people who used to inhabit the earth. If it so happened that the aborigines were wide in number, then the earth now could have been one of the dreadful places to live in.

The Industrial Times Of Deforestation

Since the advent of industrialization began, deforestation processes still continued and even rose to bigger numbers. None at that time was able to see the probable effects that we are experiencing right now. During those times, timber was in great popularity among shipbuilders thus, the business of logging grew in astounding counts.

Also, woods were used in constructions and pottery and whenever forests were depleted of these essential businesses, men flew from place to place in search of a new and fresh source of timber. On and on the process continued until visible barren land areas came to view. Since then, it became difficult to put a stop to deforestation, and men only grew with greed for their sole profits.

Present Deforestation Trends

Marginal soils are being used in a slash and burn method for creating short term goals. Over 200 million people are using this technique all over the world and perhaps it is the main reason why gigantic land areas have been totally exhausted and eroded. Such lands are of no use for any form of cultivation at the present time. Beyond doubt, the demand of growing businesses have endangered the forests ever since.

If people try to go over the history of deforestation then and now, it can virtually be seen that our untouched land areas are slowly disappearing. The means of reversing could still be probable but it needs great deal of human effort to finally bring a change into our world.

No matter how unreachable goals may seem, there can still be ways to achieve it if followed with utmost sincerity and unconditional love for nature.

For more information on this subject please Click Here

To your green success,
Floyd Pollino
http://www.greendynamicsolar.com

In an effort to deal with water shortages on islands in the Aegean Sea, Greek scientists have built the “world’s first autonomous, floating, ecological desalination platform,” reports the Athens News Agency. Powered by wind turbines and onboard solar cells, the platform produces enough potable water for the daily needs of about 300 people. The unit is fully operational under adverse weather conditions, can be remotely monitored and operated, and can be moved to wherever it is needed.

▪ During 2007, Arctic sea ice shrank to “the lowest levels since satellite measurements began.” The ice measured 1.65 million square miles [4,280,000 km²], a 23 percent drop beyond the previous low, recorded in 2005.—NATIONAL SNOW AND ICE DATA CENTER, U.S.A.

To your green success,
Floyd Pollino
http://greendynamicsolar.com

WIND:

▪ Mankind has long harnessed the power of the wind to propel sailing ships, turn grinding mills, and pump water. In recent years, though, enthusiasm for wind power has swept the globe. High-tech windmills now generate enough nonpolluting, renewable power worldwide to provide electricity for 35 million people. Denmark already generates 20 percent of its electricity from wind power alone. Germany, Spain, and India are rapidly adopting wind power, with India claiming the fifth-largest wind power capacity in the world. The United States currently has 13,000 windmills generating electricity. And some analysts claim that if all the suitable sites in the United States were developed, that country could generate more than 20 percent of its current electric needs from the wind.

SUN:

▪ Man-made photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into electricity when the sun’s rays excite electrons in the cells. Worldwide, nearly 500 million watts of electricity are produced by this method, and the market for solar cells is growing at 30 percent per year. At present, though, photovoltaic cells are relatively inefficient, and the electricity produced from the cells is expensive when compared with that produced from fossil fuels. In addition, toxic chemicals, such as cadmium sulfide and gallium arsenide, are used in the cells’ manufacture. Because such chemicals persist in the environment for centuries, notes Bioscience, “disposal and recycling of the materials in inoperative cells could become a major problem.” Scientist are working furiously to improve this developing technology and soon will have new green improvements to provide the energy we need.

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY:

▪ If a person were to dig a hole in the earth’s crust toward its hot core, which is an estimated 7,000 degrees Fahrenheit [4,000°C], the temperature would increase, on average, by about 90 degrees Fahrenheit for every mile [30 degrees Celsius for every kilometer] dug. However, for people who live close to thermal springs or volcanic fissures, the earth’s heat is more readily available. Hot water or steam produced by hot spots in the earth’s crust is used in 58 countries to heat homes or generate electricity. Iceland satisfies about half its energy needs by harnessing geothermal power. Other countries, such as Australia, are looking into tapping the energy trapped in large areas of hot, dry rock buried just a few miles beneath the earth’s surface. Australian Geographic reports: “Some researchers believe that by pumping water down to that trapped heat and then using the hot water to turn turbines as it returns to the surface under very high pressure, we could generate power for decades—even centuries.”

WATER:

▪ Hydroelectric power plants already supply over 6 percent of the world’s energy needs. According to the International Energy Outlook 2003 report, over the next two decades, “much of the growth in renewable energy sources will result from large-scale hydroelectric power projects in the developing world, particularly among the nations of developing Asia.” However, Bioscience warns: “The impounded water frequently covers valuable, agriculturally productive, alluvial bottom land. Furthermore, dams alter the existing plants, animals, and microbes in the ecosystem.”

HYDROGEN:

▪ Hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, combustible gas and is the most abundant element in the universe. On earth, hydrogen is an integral part of plant and animal tissue, is bound up in fossil fuels, and is one of the two components that form water. In addition, hydrogen burns more cleanly and more efficiently than fossil fuels.

The journal Science News Online states that water “can [be] split into hydrogen and oxygen when electricity passes through it.” While this method could produce abundant amounts of hydrogen, the journal notes that “this seemingly straightforward process isn’t yet economical.” Factories already produce some 45 million tons of hydrogen globally, mainly for use in fertilizers and cleaning agents. But this hydrogen is extracted in a process involving fossil fuels—a process that also gives off the poisonous gas carbon monoxide and the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

Still, many see hydrogen as the most promising of the alternative fuels and feel it is capable of satisfying mankind’s future energy needs. This optimism is based on recent dramatic improvements in a device known as the fuel cell.

FUEL-CELL POWER:

▪ A fuel cell is a device that produces electricity from hydrogen—not by burning it, but by combining it with oxygen during a controlled chemical reaction. When pure hydrogen is used rather than a hydrogen-rich fossil fuel, the only by-products of the reaction are heat and water.

In 1839, Sir William Grove, a British judge and physicist, developed the first fuel cell. However, fuel cells were expensive to build, and the fuel and components were awkward to obtain. Thus, the technology lay dormant until the mid-20th century when fuel cells were developed to provide power for American spaceships. Modern spacecraft still use fuel cells to provide
onboard power, but the technology is now being refined for more down-to-earth uses.

Today, fuel cells are being developed to replace the internal combustion engine in motor vehicles, to provide electricity for commercial and domestic buildings, and to power small electric devices, such as mobile phones and computers. Even so, at the time of writing, the power generated from existing stationary fuel-cell plants is more than four times as expensive as that from fossil fuel sources. Still, hundreds of millions of dollars are being invested in developing this emerging technology.

To your green success,
Floyd Pollino
http://greendynamicsolar.com

WHEN a car is well maintained, it can provide safe transportation. But that vehicle when abused and neglected can be dangerous. In some respects, the same may be said of planet Earth.

In the opinion of a number of scientists, human-induced changes in earth’s atmosphere and oceans have made our planet a dangerous place by contributing to more frequent and more severe natural disasters. And the future looks uncertain. “We’re in the middle of a large uncontrolled experiment on the only planet we have,” said an editorial on climate change in Science magazine.

So that we can better grasp how human activity might be affecting the frequency and severity of natural disasters, we need to understand a little about the underlying natural phenomena. For example, what causes severe storms, such as hurricanes, to form?

Planetary Heat Exchangers

Earth’s climate system has been likened to a machine that converts and distributes solar energy. Because the Tropics get most of the sun’s heat, the resulting temperature imbalance sets the atmosphere in motion. Earth’s daily rotation causes this mass of moving, moist air to form eddies, some becoming depressions, or areas of low atmospheric pressure. Depressions, in turn, may develop into storms.

If you observe the general path of tropical storms, you will notice that they tend to move away from the equator—either north or south—toward cooler regions*. In doing so, storms also serve as massive heat exchangers, helping to moderate the climate. But when the temperature in the upper level of the ocean—the “boiler room” of the climate machine—exceeds about 80 degrees Fahrenheit [27°C], tropical storms may acquire enough energy
to become cyclones, hurricanes, or typhoons—regional names for essentially the same phenomena.

In terms of lives lost, the worst natural disaster in U.S. history resulted from a hurricane that slammed into the island city of Galveston, Texas, on September 8, 1900. Storm waves claimed between 6,000 and 8,000 lives in the city, plus up to 4,000 in nearby areas, and demolished some 3,600 houses. In fact, not one man-made structure in Galveston remained unscathed.

Scientists are studying whether
this is linked to global warming, which may be providing more energy to storm systems. Changes in the weather, however, may be just one symptom of global warming. Another potentially harmful consequence may already be in evidence.

Rising Sea Level and Deforestation

According to an editorial in the journal Science, “sea levels have risen 10 to 20 centimeters [four to eight inches] in the past century, and more is in store for us.” How might this be related to global warming? Researchers point to two possible mechanisms. One is the prospect of the melting of land-based polar ice and glaciers, which would add to the volume of the oceans. The other factor is thermal expansion—as oceans become warmer, their volume increases.

The tiny Pacific islands of Tuvalu may already be experiencing the effects of rising sea levels. Smithsonian magazine notes that data collected on the atoll of Funafuti shows that the sea level there has risen “an average of 0.22 inches [5.6 mm] annually over the past decade.”

In many parts of the world, population growth means more urban sprawl, more shantytowns, and more environmental degradation. These developments may tend to magnify the severity of natural disasters. Consider some examples.

Haiti is an island nation with a high population and a history of deforestation. A recent news report suggested that as bad as Haiti’s economic, political, and social problems may be, nothing threatens the country’s existence more than deforestation. This threat became tragically evident in 2004, when torrential rains caused mud slides that claimed thousands of lives.

Time Asia points to “global warming, dams, deforestation and slash-and-burn farming” as exacerbating factors in the natural disasters that have plagued South Asia. At the other extreme, deforestation can worsen drought by causing soil to dry out more quickly. In recent years, droughts in Indonesia and Brazil have paved the way for record-breaking fires in forests that are normally too wet to burn. Extreme weather, however, is by no means the only cause of natural disasters. Many lands are subject to disasters that are generated deep inside the earth.

When the Ground Convulses

Earth’s outer crust is made up of plates of various sizes that move in relation to one another. Indeed, there is so much movement in the crust that several million earthquakes may occur each year. Of course, many of these go undetected.

It is said that about 90 percent of all earthquakes occur along faults at the perimeter of plates. Although rare, sometimes very destructive quakes also occur within the plates. According to estimates, the deadliest quake in recorded history was one that struck three provinces in China in the year 1556. It may have claimed as many as 830,000 lives!

Quakes can also have lethal aftereffects. For example, on November 1, 1755, a quake flattened the city of Lisbon, Portugal, which had a population of 275,000. But that was not the end of the horror. The quake caused fires and also tsunamis estimated to be up to 50 feet [15 m] high, which raced in from the nearby Atlantic Ocean. All told, the city’s death toll
exceeded 60,000.

Again, however, the scale of such disasters hinges to some extent on the human element. One factor is population density in high-risk areas. “Nearly half the world’s big cities now lie in areas of seismic risk,” says author Andrew Robinson. Another factor is buildings—the materials used and the structural quality. The adage, “Earthquakes don’t kill people; buildings do,” is all too often proved true. But what choice do people have when they are too poor to build earthquake-resistant structures?

Volcanoes—Builders and Destroyers

“At least 20 volcanoes will probably be erupting as you read these words,” states a report by the Smithsonian Institute in the United States. Broadly speaking, the theory of plate tectonics says that earthquakes and volcanoes will occur in similar regions—in rifts, especially oceanic rifts; in earth’s crust, where magma rises from the mantle through fissures; and at subduction zones, where one plate plunges under another.

Subduction volcanism is the biggest threat to people in terms of both the number of eruptions observed and their occurrence near populated areas. The Pacific Rim, dubbed the Ring of Fire, is peppered with hundreds of such volcanoes. A small number are also found at hot spots away from plate boundaries. The Hawaiian Islands, the Azores, the Galápagos Islands, and the Society Islands all appear to be the product of hot-spot volcanism.

Actually, volcanoes have played a long and constructive role in earth’s history. According to a university Web site, as much as “90% of all the continents and ocean basins are the product of volcanism.” But what causes some eruptions to be extremely violent?

Eruptions begin with an upwelling of magma from earth’s hot interior. Some volcanoes simply ooze lava, which seldom moves fast enough to catch people by surprise. But others explode with more energy than a nuclear bomb! The underlying factors include the composition and viscosity of the molten material that feeds the volcano and the amount of gases and superheated water dissolved in that material. As the magma nears the surface, captured water and gas rapidly expand. With the right magma composition, the effect is much like soda that blasts from an opened beverage can.

Fortunately, volcanoes often give advance warning of an eruption. Such was the case with Mount Pelée on the Caribbean island of Martinique in 1902. An election was imminent in nearby St. Pierre, however, and politicians encouraged the people to stay, despite the ash, sickness, and fear that pervaded the city. In fact, most shops had been shut for days!

May 8 was Ascension Day, and many people went to the Catholic cathedral to pray for deliverance from the volcano. That morning, shortly before 8:00 a.m., Mount Pelée erupted, venting a searing mass of pyroclasts—ash, cinders, obsidian, pumice, and superheated gas—that ranged from 400 to 900 degrees Fahrenheit [200-500°C]. Hugging the ground, the resulting dark cloud of death rushed down the mountain, overwhelmed the city, killed almost 30,000 people, melted the church bell, and set fire to the ships in the harbor. It was the deadliest eruption of the 20th century. Yet, it would not have been so deadly if the people had heeded the warning signs.

Will Natural Disasters Increase?

In their World Disasters Report 2004, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies states that during the past decade, geophysical and weather-related disasters have increased by over 60 percent. “This reflects longer-term trends,” says the report, which was published before the catastrophic December 26 tsunamis in the Indian Ocean. To be sure, if populations in high-risk areas continue to climb and forests continue to decline, there is little cause for optimism.

Additionally, many industrialized countries continue to pump ever more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. According to an editorial in the journal Science, procrastinating on emissions reduction “is like refusing medication for a developing infection: It guarantees that greater costs will have to be paid later.” Pointing to those costs, a Canadian report on disaster mitigation stated: “Climate change can be argued to be the most pervasive and far-reaching environmental issue ever dealt with by the international community.”

At present, however, the international community cannot even agree on whether human activities contribute to global warming, let alone how to manage it.

To your green success,
Floyd Pollino
http://greendynamicsolar.com

WHAT do you think of when you look at a picture of a windmill? Are you reminded of a Dutch landscape? Or do you call to mind Don Quixote, a fictional Spanish nobleman who imagined windmills to be dangerous giants? Perhaps that picture makes you think of a restored windmill that is now a local landmark.

Although windmills still dot the countryside in many parts of the world, they may seem little more than quaint reminders of a bygone age. For centuries, however, windmills were at the cutting edge of technology. And recently, after decades of neglect, the windmill concept has enjoyed a revival that is benefiting people everywhere. You are invited to follow the history of the windmill as it has been adapted to changing winds and changing needs.

Grinding Without the Grind

It all started with the basic need for bread. To obtain flour for bread, ancient peoples, ground edible grains by using “hand mills.” Grinding with one heavy stone above another by hand was an arduous task. In time, heavier millstones “turned by an ass” or some other draft animal became popular. But even animal-driven mills had their drawbacks.

Man had already learned to harness water power with the waterwheel and wind power with the sailboat. Possibly somewhere in the arid steppes of Asia or the Middle East about the seventh century C.E., the two concepts were combined to get the wind to turn a grindstone. The wind-driven sails of this new invention turned a vertical axle that was attached to a millstone. This type of rudimentary windmill served to grind wheat or barley as well as to pump underground water. How true that necessity is the mother of invention!

Changing the Design to Catch the Wind

The early mills, with their sails revolving around a vertical axle, were not very efficient. But their efficiency greatly improved when it was discovered that more power could be produced when the sails or blades were attached to a horizontal shaft that jutted out of a tower. To turn the millstone below, the rotation of the horizontal shaft was transmitted to a vertical shaft through a series of gears. This modification enabled windmills to take greater advantage of the wind’s energy. These new mills had enough power to drive heavy machinery, such as circular saws.

Whatever the task, however, windmills needed a constant energy supply. And wind has the inconvenient habit of changing direction frequently. How could the windmill’s sails keep aligned with the wind? An early solution was the invention of a swiveling windmill, or post-mill. The mill was pivoted on a post, which permitted the whole structure, along with the main sails, to swivel directly into the wind.

Since such swiveling windmills had, of necessity, size limitations, other millwrights decided to keep the tower fixed and instead have a revolving roof. In these windmills the main axle protrudes from the roof, enabling roof and sails to face the wind irrespective of its direction. How could a miller move a roof complete with axle, sails, and a brake system? If you take look at the a windmill in Cartagena, Spain. You would notice a beam that slides out of the roof behind the windmill and reaches down to the ground. Although it may look like a support post, it is actually a leverage arm. This pole can be pushed or pulled by human or animal power, turning the roof until the mill’s blades face the wind.

Other windmills have what looks like a small propeller, or fantail, set behind the main sails. This fantail is designed to move the sails automatically in the right direction. How does it work? Imagine that the main sails of the windmill are facing the wind and revolving at full speed. Suddenly the wind shifts direction, and the sails slow down. The fantail, located at a right angle to the sails, now catches the wind and begins to spin. This motion turns a set of gears that automatically turn the roof and the sails back into alignment with the ever-shifting wind.

From Sails to Slats

Another factor that makes harnessing the wind difficult is its constant change of strength. Early windmills, which had sails similar to those of a sailboat, could not easily adapt to variable wind speeds. If brakes were applied, the resulting heat produced by the friction could start a fire. And strong gusts of wind could cause sails to crash into each other or into the mill itself, causing untold damage. In some cases, when the brakes slipped while the miller was on a blade folding up the sails, he was flung into the air!

In 1772 this problem was overcome when a Scottish millwright replaced the sails with shutters that automatically opened and closed, somewhat resembling venetian blinds. The book Windmills explains: “When a strong gust comes, the pressure on the shutters overcomes the tension of the spring and the shutters open, spilling wind and slowing the sail. As the
wind dies away, the tension of the spring overcomes the pressure of the wind and the shutters close, presenting a greater surface to the wind and maintaining the speed of the sail.”

With rotating roofs and self-adjusting sails, windmills reached their zenith by the late 19th century, when it was estimated that European mills were churning out some 1,500 megawatts of power. But then the winds of technological change brought electricity, steam turbines, and the internal-combustion engine. Windmills could not compete with the efficiency and mobility of the new machines, and it seemed that the wind had been blown out of their sails forever. Then an unexpected need arose.

Modern Successors to the Ancient Windmills

The fuel crisis of the 1970’s led to the investigation of alternative energy not dependent on fossil fuels. At approximately the same time, a growing concern arose about emissions from fossil-based fuels polluting the atmosphere. The search began for “clean” energy. Suddenly, the windmill concept became an attractive option and wind turbines became a developing technology.

Modern “windmills” are much slimmer than their predecessors. This is because, unlike the traditional windmill, modern wind turbines do not normally drive a machine housed within the mill structure. Each turbine converts wind power into electrical energy, which often passes to the local electricity grid. By 1988 these new “windmills” were producing 1,500 megawatts of power in Europe, just as their predecessors had done a century earlier.

Looking like a line of huge, frost-covered trees on the crests of prominent hills, modern wind farms have begun to change the face of rural landscapes. Although these wind turbines may not look beautiful, most people feel that any negative visual impact is a small price to pay for the tens of thousands of megawatts of clean power that the wind turbines produce globally. These modern windmills make a significant contribution to the worldwide effort to reduce greenhouse gases, something that benefits everyone.

However, neither the traditional windmill nor the modern wind turbine could function if it were not for that never-ending supply of “clean” energy—the wind.

To your green success,
Floyd Pollino
http://www.greendynamicsolar.com

“Veu Lesa, a 73-year-old villager in Tuvalu, does not need scientific reports to tell him that the sea is rising,” says The New Zealand Herald. “The beaches of his childhood are vanishing. The crops that used to feed his family have been poisoned by salt water. In April [2007], he had to leave his home when a spring tide flooded it, and the waves showered it with rocks and debris.”

FOR the people of Tuvalu, a group of islands no more than 13 feet [4m] above sea level, global warming* is, not abstract science, but “a daily reality,” says the Herald. Thousands have already left the islands, and many more are preparing to go.

Meanwhile, Robert, who lives in Brisbane, Australia, can water his garden only on certain days, using a bucket—not a hose. And unless he goes to a car wash that recycles water, he can wash only parts of his car—mirrors, windows, and registration plates. Why such restrictions? Robert lives in a part of the country that is suffering from what has been called the worst drought in a century. Other areas are even worse off. Are the problems in
Australia and Tuvalu evidence of global warming*?

What Some Predict

Many believe that human activities are a major cause of global warming*, which may have catastrophic consequences for the climate and the environment. For example, large-scale melting of land-based ice and the expansion of the oceans as water warms could cause sea levels to rise drastically. Low-lying islands such as Tuvalu could disappear, as could large parts of the Netherlands and Florida, to name just two other areas. Millions of people could be displaced from such places as Shanghai and Calcutta, as well as parts of Bangladesh.

At the same time, rising temperatures could intensify storms, floods, and droughts. In the Himalayas, disappearing glaciers—from areas that feed seven river systems—could cause shortages of freshwater for 40 percent of the world’s population. Also at risk are thousands of species of animals, including polar bears, whose hunting grounds are largely on the ice. Indeed, reports already indicate that many bears are losing weight and some are even starving.

Rising temperatures may also foster the spread of disease by enabling mosquitoes, ticks, and other disease-carrying organisms, including fungi, to spread farther afield. “The dangers posed by climate change are nearly as dire as those posed by nuclear weapons,” says the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. “The effects may be less dramatic in the short term . . . , but over the next three to four decades climate change could cause irremediable harm to the habitats upon which human societies depend for survival.” Adding an even more ominous note, some scientists believe that changes attributed to global warming* are occurring faster than they had expected.

What are we to make of these predictions? Is life on earth really at a crossroads? Skeptics of global warming say that such dire predictions are groundless. Others are not sure. So, what is the truth? Is earth’s future—and ours—in peril or can you and I do our part to help? If so how? We hope this site can give you the answers!

We hope Blog Action Day 2009 serves as an entry point into the movement to address the issue of climate change. For more ways to continue your involvement, click the take action link here now.www.blogactionday.org

* “Global warming” refers to an overall increase in temperature in earth’s atmosphere and oceans.

To your green success,
Floyd Pollino
http://www.greendynamicsolar.com