How to conserve energy: Become Power Smart!

            Being power smart and energy efficient are both important to make a difference by reducing energy in the United States. When you are replacing a hot water heater, furnace or air conditioner, look for  Energy Star appliances because it will significantly impact how much energy you are conserving and consuming. Also, turn off all of your lights when you are leaving the room and also use the natural sunlight that you receive from Mother Nature, it's free and energy free. 

Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch: What is this? Why are people concerned about this issue?

           The Plastic Vortex, or the Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch has been talked and investigated in the news lately. This problem is located in the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone.  Sailors and fisherman have noticed an abundance of plastic floating around this concentrated area of the Pacific Ocean. So what’s the big deal? This plastic vortex is not only affecting the marine life that lives there, but it also has a negative effect on people’s health and safety, and may be entering our food chain.  

What the heck is geothermal energy? What's the big deal?

            Geothermal energy, is an alternative source of energy and is quite expensive to install and maintain. This type of energy uses heat pumps that are underground which can be used for many purposes, from heating water to air conditioning. Some of the downsides to this source of energy are that it is more expensive than traditional heating to install, it depends on the climate, soil conditions, available land and installation costs. The pros to this type of energy are that it costs less than conventional heating and cooling costs, it lowers air emissions and increases energy efficiency. 

Solar Power: Is a reliable alternative source of energy to use in the future?

Solar energy, as many might know, is  the energy that we receive from our sun.  The sun’s rays contain a lot of energy that is both clean and abundant in the United States, so it would be a very good decision to start using solar energy everywhere across the United States.  Also with solar energy, it doesn’t just work in California, Florida and Hawaii, it would work anywhere from Fairbanks, Alaska to New Jersey.  

My response to Crystal's blog, "My Insight to Energy"

Crystal’s blog, “My Insight to Energy” totally lures in the reader in several ways. She chose a really luring and appealing picture of a light bulb completely covered in leaves, she has a video bar and on top of that, she also has a poll regarding how much energy costs to use in Alaska. She also has incorporated many interesting pictures into her posts and has very insightful and thoughtful entries, which makes her blog very appealing and very well done.

Map of wind resources in the United States

This map/chart shows its audience where in the United States would benefit or not benefit from having and using wind for energy. The places where it would be beneficial to have wind turbines would be along the Aleutian chain in Alaska, Kodiak, and several islands off of the northwest coast of Alaska.  The places that wouldn’t benefit from this possible alternative source of energy would be Florida, Lousiana, and the other southeastern states.  The chart's key explains what each color represents and how much wind speed power is available in a given location.

My results and response from the BP energy calculator

I think it is interesting that an oil based company would have an energy calculator on their website. Just think about it, most oil companies are not concerned at all with using or producing alternative sources of energy. They are also not entirely concerned with how much energy one consumes in  a year. I use 18,965 kWh/year.  A kilowatt is a unit of measurement dividing energy over time.On average, one gallon of regular gasoline contains approximately 35 kWh of energy. This isn’t a huge number to start with, but just think about how many gallons it takes to fill up your vehicle, and how many gallons of gasoline you use per year. This number  adds up quickly!

Annotated Bibliogrpahy for OLR research report

OLR Research Report.(2008). Pros and Cons of Geothermal Systems. Retrieved from http://www.cga.ct.gov/2008/rpt/2008-R-0543.htm

            This research report tells the audience how geothermal systems work and what geothermal energy actually is.  Geothermal energy uses heat pumps that are underground, which can be used for many purposes, from heating water to air conditioning. This type of energy costs less than conventional heating and cooling costs, it lowers air emissions, and increases energy efficiency. However, the only argument against geothermal energy, is the high cost to install them.

Annotated bibliographic post for Solar Energy Industries Association

Solar Energy Industries Association.(2010). About Solar Energy. Retrieved from http://www.seia.org/cs/about_solar_energy

            Solar Energy Industries Association’s website  covers what solar energy is and the several ways that the United States harnesses solar energy.  This website also covers the history of this corporation and explains how to go solar with existing housing. They  mention that the United States has some of the richest solar resources.  I think that this website truly persuades me to become more solar energy dependent. 

Annotated bibliographic post for Project Kaisei's website

Project Kaisei: Capturing the Plastic Vortex.(2009). The Plastic Vortex. Retrieved from 

http://projectkaisei.org/vortex.html

            Project Kaisei’s website mainly covers what the plastic vortex is, where it is located, this website shows any publicity and news articles on the plastic vortex, and what Project Kaisei does in a day. The plastic vortex is also referred to as the “garbage patch” and is located in the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone. This overwhelming concentration of plastic is not only endangering the marine life that lives there, but it also has a negative effect on people’s health and safety.  This website has really interesting pictures paired with articles on several topics and it is also very informative. 

Annotated bibliographic post for Alliance to Save Energy's website

Alliance to Save Energy.(2010). Power$mart: The Power is in your hands. Retrieved from 

 http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/housing/power-smarts/index.html          

The Alliance to Save Energy’s website covers what energy is and ways of conserving energy in our t day-to-day lives.  This website tells the average reader about energy efficiency and conservation. Also, they review ways in which energy bills may be inaccurate and how to prevent it from happening. I think that this website is organized very well and the way the Alliance to Save Energy composed the articles can be easily understood by anyone.

Annotated bibliographic post for U.S. Department of Energy

U.S. Department of Energy. (2010). Energy Sources. Retrieved from http://www.energy.gov/energysources/index.htm

            The United States Department of Energy’s website is an excellent website for someone who is interested in learning about alternative sources of energy.  This website covers a variety of topics on energy.  They cover the science and technology of energy, energy sources (alternative sources of energy besides fossil fuels), energy efficiency, the environment, and prices and trends.  Also this website has some brief newspaper articles on any current breaking news about what the U.S. Department of Energy has done recently.  I think that this informative website also has luring pictures that catch the reader’s eye, which makes this website so much better to look at and browse. 

My response to " Where I lived and What I lived for" by Henry David Thoreau

 “ Where I lived and What I lived for” by Henry David Thoreau is a short essay about Thoreau’s experiences living deep in the woods. “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived (Thoreau, 2007).” He was talking about how we get so caught up in daily drama and things that are not  necessary to stress and think about. Thoreau is saying that when he was living in the woods, he was able to figure out the things in life that were worth worrying  about. Also, near the beginning of Thoreau’s essay, he empathizes that people's lives should be simplier.  I think that he is attempting to say that we need to enjoy our lives without so many activites that we try to cram into one day. We also need to simplify our ways of using different energy sources. 


Reference
Thoreau, David H.(2007). Where I lived and What I lived for.In S.Cohen, 50 essays: a portable anthology. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.

My reflection on "The Use of Energy" by Wendell Berry

Wendell Berry’s essay, “ The Use of Energy” explores how energy is used in America and tells us how we are wasting energy that shouldn’t be wasted. “ Energy is superhuman in the sense that humans cannot create it. They can only refine or convert it. They cannot have it except by losing it; they cannot use it except by destroying it (Berry, 1986).” Yes, I agree, but we can create energy by ourselves, like creating and storing energy by using glucose(a sugar in our bodies) and we can make solar panels to obtain and store rays from the sun that we receive everyday. “Technology joins us to energy, to life. Our technology is the practical aspect of our culture (Berry, 1986).” Technology is a significant part of how we communicate with one another. We can email, instant message, use MySpace, Twitter, we can video chat and send people videos over the Internet. Technology is truly an essential aspect of our culture and how we live with this everyday. We should be trying to conserve energy in our homes and the community. You can use less energy by turning off all lights in a room when you leave it and you could bike or walk to destinations during the day instead of driving.

Reference
Berry, W.(1986). The Use of Energy: In the Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture. San Francisco:The Sierra Club Books.

What is Energy?

What is energy? What’s the big deal about energy? Are there different types of energy? Is there such a thing as clean and abundant energy? Energy is something that lets us move and work. This vital force powers businesses, manufacturing, and transports goods and services to people all over the world. The supply and demand of energy plays an increasingly vital role in our national security and our nation’s economic standing. An interesting fact is, the United States alone spends over 500 billion dollars annually on energy. According the United States Department of Energy’s website, “As America’s need for energy grows, the Department of Energy is meeting the challenge by establishing clean fuel initatives to make the most of traditional fossil fuels while investing in cutting research to develop sustainable sources.” Also DOE (Department of Energy) thinks that fusion, which isn't working yet and employing hydrogen(similar to electricity) would significantly reduce our imported oil dependence. Also by taking advantage of wind, hydro, and geothermal energy, we would be able to create more clean and abundant energy.

U.S. Department of Energy.(2010). Energy Sources. Retrieved from http://www.energy.gov/energysources/index.htm