Week 9/Session 8 --Energy and World Change

Today’s session: first of all, prof shows us a short but interesting video, which talk about New habits, New technology, New ideas and New thinks. This video is closly related to today's session and lead to the main idea of today's session.

With the global economic development, especially the exponential economic growth in developed countries, the world’s demand for energy is increasing at a similar pace. This is especially so as energy is required when more poor are pulled out of poverty and gain access to electricity, and even air conditioners, refrigerators and cars. Furthermore, energy is required to power firms such that they will be able to function optimally. With this increasing demand for energy, other sources of energy need to be discovered and further utilized to meet the demands. This also indicates that sustainability in energy sources is required.  For example, China currently uses 25% of oil compared to US. And because of the increasing demand of energy, China need to research on new energies, such as solar energy, wind energy and biomass energy. Increase energy not only can reduce the dependence on petroleum, but also can  help in the advancement of the country. In addition, new energy is usually more environmental friendly and pollution prevention.

One interesting point I get from this session is that almost all kind of energies are come from the sun. No matter energy below the ground(such as coal, oil and gas) or energy above the ground(wind, water and wave). Hence, most of the energy come from the sun in direct and indriect way. However, 75% of the energy are wasted, the amount of energy given from the sun is not equal to  the amount we use. People cannot catch the energy dirsecty from the sun. Therefore, if people can make advantage of using sun, human will get more benefits and will produce more energies. Another interesting point I get from the session is the energy uses situation around the world. Middle east use more natural gas and oil. Asia use more coals and natural gas. North America use more coal, oil and natural gas. Europe also use more coal, oil and natural gas.

 In the recent years there has been a paradigm shift towards new, renewable energy resources and away from fossil fuels.  Billions of dollars are being invested in hundreds of new ideas. These ideas range from conservative improvements on to current technologies, all the way to outlandish sci-fi like concepts.  It is likely that there won’t be one magic bullet, but instead,  a number of innovations will help free us from the bondage of our current energy situation. The following innovations are some of the more exotic and exciting new ideas in renewable energy, some of which may have the potential to change everything we know about how our world is powered.

1). Tornadoes Power Plant

Tornadoes are among nature’s most powerful and destructive forces. In fact, tornadoes have the highest energy density of any storm in nature.  Traditional wind turbines have been around for years, and have continuously improved their efficiency. Unfortunately, modern wind turbines are limited by the wind speed and consistency of their location. Hawaii based company Makani Power believes they have invented a new technology that will allow them to circumvent the constraints of traditional turbines by capturing wind at much higher altitudes via energy generating kites.  Below is an enlightening TED presentation about their new technology.

2). Inflatable Solar Collectors

One of the major problems with solar energy is cost. Solar cells, mirrors, and rigging equipment are expensive and reduce the value of solar technology as a viable alternative energy solution. To address this problem, the company Cool Earth Solar has developed an inflatable solar collector that is cheap, lightweight, durable, efficient, and can be repaired with tape. According to Cool Earth Solar. Below is a video of the Video of Cool Earth’s technology in action:

 

3). Solar satellites

Current energy-efficient solar power plants can produce significant amounts of electricity, but consistency is a major hurdle. Earth based solar power does not work in unfavorable weather conditions and cannot harvest electricity at night. Solar Satellites on the other hand, have the advantage of being above the weather conditions, and would be able to harvest electricity from the sun 24 hours per day. The technology is in very early stages with scientists at NASA, and in conjunction with private companies, they are working on making the technology feasible. While potentially an excellent solution, the issues with the technology reside in the prohibitive costs of getting materials in space, and the technology required to send the collected energy back to earth for consumption. 

4). solar island

Creating solar power plants that produce a large amount of electricity requires a great deal of space for the mirrors and solar cells. Additionally, solar power plants need to reside in areas of the world that have sunlight for the majority of the year. In the United States, places like this are abundant, but in other regions of the world, other solutions must be used. CSEM, an energy and technology company from Switzerland has pioneered a solution by conceptualizing the first “Solar Island.” These solar islands could be placed on land or in the ocean, and would have the capability of generating up to One Gigawatt of electricity. The concept has gone over so well, the UAE has commissioned a pilot program from the company. Below is a video explaining the solar island in greater detail.

What I hope we discussed more on: I wish we discussed more on the relationship between climate change and energy change. And I find that Climate Change Program aims to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy based on sustainable use of renewable energy sources in concert with major energy-efficiency gains, sustainable agricultural practices, and low-emissions transportation, hence I want to know more about carbon trading.

In addition, Worldwatch research shows that new energy would create vast economic opportunities, spur innovation and job creation, and assist efforts to reduce poverty while providing a more resilient and sustainable global economic system. I wish we can discuss more on this part, which is about how does new energy influence the country's economy.

Overall, I will give this session 7.5/10.