Mean Green

There are uranium sources all over the United States and the world. It is estimated, by some, that these uranium mines could last for up to 700 years. Other experts believe the sources will last up to 5 billion years. Each of these cases leans toward a far different answer to whether or not nuclear energy is renewable.

The Official Definition of Renewable Says – No

Renewable energy sources are those that will always be there. These sources do not require fossil fuels or mining to continue energy production. Now, taking into account that the 5 billion years mark is true, there is still a finite amount of uranium in the Earth’s soil and thus the energy is not renewable.

Stretching the definition a bit is what many experts choose to do. Five billion years is so far into the future that nuclear energy might as well be considered renewable. But, what about the experts that place uranium mine lifespans at the 700 year mark? Seven hundred years is a second in terms of Earth lifespan and if that is all the uranium left, there is no way nuclear energy can be considered renewable even if the term’s definition is stretched.

The simple answer to the question is no, nuclear energy is not renewable, but that does not mean it is not an effective and useful source of alternative energy. Odds are, there is more than enough uranium to last at least a few thousand years and hopefully, well before then, a true renewable source of energy will be perfected.

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For the Walt Disney World Resort, the road to a greener tomorrow may be closer than we think. That’s because many vehicles used throughout property are becoming more and more environmentally friendly.

Take Disney’s fleet of Walt Disney World Transport buses for example. They now are being tested on B20 (20 percent bio-diesel, 80 percent conventional diesel). This accomplishment started modestly by using a B5 blend, but the percentages have been methodically increased with no real problems for the engines.

In the Walt Disney World Theme Parks, certain alternative-fuel vehicles were specifically selected for their reduced emissions. For example, because the Kilimanjaro Safaris vehicles travel through animal habitats at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, propane is used instead of gas or diesel for its better emission properties. In the enclosed Utilidors (backstage tunnels) at Disney’s Magic Kingdom Park and Disney’s Epcot, zero-emission electrical vehicles are prevalent.

Also heading down the right track are the Walt Disney World Railroad locomotives. They have been retrofitted to accommodate bio-diesel. The Walt Disney World Resort uses 1,500 alternative-fuel vehicles, including electric golf carts, hybrid trucks, Segways and the electric monorails. “We’re very excited about this program and its potential to help our environmental efforts,” said Jackie Ogden, vice president of Animal Programs and Environmental Initiatives. With each and every mile, these vehicles contribute to lower emissions and, ultimately, a greener tomorrow.

The Disney Cruise Line implemented a new initiative to re-purpose used cooking oil to create bio-diesel fuel for vehicles on Castaway Cay. Used trans-fat-free cooking oil from the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder is offloaded and combined with diesel fuel in a 60 percent oil/40 percent diesel mixture that is utilized to power small vehicles, heavy equipment, refrigerated trucks and other machinery on the island. This innovative program successfully reduced petroleum diesel consumption and decreased carbon emissions.

The Walt Disney World Resort has also had a long standing recycling plant which the company owns and operates. The Walt Disney Theme Parks have a long history of recycling initiatives. All Theme parks at the Walt Disney World Resort separates and recycles aluminum, plastic and cardboard. Walt Disney World’s property truly is a self contained city, and the recycling plant is just one part.

The horticulture team at Disney World uses reclaimed water for their irrigation. Manure is used for flower beds and trees and shrubs are grind-ed up and used for mulch. The Walt Disney World has a long tradition of using everything and not wasting.

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Biomass

This program is “helping transform the nation’s renewable and abundant biomass resources into cost competitive, high performance biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower.” Due to a goal brought about by the President to reduce gasoline consumption by 20 percent in 2017, the Biomass Program is designed to make sure that cellulosic ethanol is cost effective by 2012.

Building Technologies

The Building Technologies Program “works to improve the efficiency of buildings and the equipment, components, and systems within them.” The overall goal of the program is to achieve net-zero energy buildings at low cost by 2025. The research aspect of this program focuses on lowering the demand for energy within buildings, allowing for renewable energy to be integrated.

Federal Energy Management

The federal government is largest energy consumer in the United States. The purpose of the Federal Energy Management Program has to do with this entity taking responsibility for this factor and setting a positive example through their own energy management. “By promoting energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy resources at federal sites, the Federal Energy Management Program helps agencies save energy, save taxpayer dollars, and demonstrate leadership with responsible, cleaner energy choices.

Geothermal Technologies

Working in conjunction with industry to establish geothermal energy as an economically competitive contributor to the United States energy supply, the Geothermal Technologies Program will provide the nation with novel sources for electricity that allow for green energy. Geothermal energy production is a $1.5 billion a year industry and the benefits of it are numerous. One of these advantages is that it is not subject to the ups and downs of fuel prices and supply disruptions from various vendors. “The Geothermal Technologies Program develops innovative technologies to find, access, and use the Nation’s geothermal resources.

Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Infrastructure Technologies Program

“Hydrogen and fuel cell technologies have the potential to solve the major energy security and environmental challenges that face America today – dependence on petroleum imports, poor air quality, and greenhouse gas emissions.” This is why the Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Infrastructure Technologies Program is working towards a hydrogen economy through the goals the program has set. The goals of this program are as follows:

* To overcome technical barriers through research and development of hydrogen production, delivery, and storage technologies, as well as fuel cell technologies for transportation, distributed stationary power, and portable power applications.

* To address safety concerns and facilitate the development of model codes and standards.

* To validate and demonstrate hydrogen and fuel cell in real-world conditions.

* To educate stakeholders whose acceptance of these technologies will determine their success in the marketplace.

You’ve probably seen and heard in the news that people (including me and you) have invariably ended up making a big mess in the environment. Although there’s finger-pointing between genders, races, and countries about who’s to blame, the truth still stands: The entire world’s ill affect everyone, and everybody benefiting from this world should try to make either small or big contributions to find cure. You might be wondering: “How can I possibly become a solution to these humongous global and environmental problems?” The answer is simple: Do your part. Do you know that there is no contribution that is ever too small to matter? That means, every bit of help and effort from every single individual counts.

This article gives you the heads-up on simple solutions you can do to help Ma Nature:

1. Get a map – Know where you’re heading and you’ll save up on fuel and gas. If you’re going to travel from one state to another, ensure that you have a map with you. This doesn’t only help you save the environment, but it also saves you from major frustrations that could ruin your entire trip. Avoid left turns; keep in mind, idling in traffic produces more pollution than if you hooked on a few rights.

2. Learn to recycle – Do you know that more and more plastic water bottles each day are being tossed everywhere and only one-third of these bottled waters are recycled worldwide? If you really care for the environment, you should devise ways on how to recycle your things including bottle beverages as a way of doing your fair-share.

3. Sign up for earth hour – Just so you know, this movement is a global environment thing. People from around the globe are into this energy conservation as a way of saving the planet. So, if you haven’t tried turning off your lights for an hour, doing so will be a great contribution to the environment.

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Everyone today is aware of the high costs in the use of the traditional energy sources as electricity, petroleum and many others. Also it has being predicted that in the next century most of the sources of these ‘energies’ will be depleted as the natural resources become over exploited beyond the natural replenishing rate. This has compelled us-the human beings to vigorously seek for new energy sources to service our domestic, industrial and even military needs.

The first hindrance in the exploitation of the renewable energy is the remoteness of the locations that they are found. It is true that most of the energy generated anywhere in the world is consumed in the expansive towns or cities. The location of these vital energy deposits are in places that make the viability of the projects to be impossible due to the cost; resulting from the terrain and long distances that the energy need to be transmitted.

Another shortcoming in the use of renewable energies is their dependency on climatic or geographical conditions. A renewable energy provider such as the sun (solar energy) maybe affected by lack of adequate sun exposure during cold or cloudy seasons. Also the human activity in some geographical locations may interfere with the productivity of certain renewable sources as biomas.

Due to the long time command and existence of some energy sources such as petroleum and electricity many organization are reluctant in doing, or funding renewable energy research and development. This has also been brought about by sabotage by multinationals that stand to lose billions if the whole globe switches to renewable energy.

Despite these drawbacks we are confident that renewable energy will take the day at the end, for they have many advantages compared to the convectional energy sources as minimal pollution and lower cost if carefully harnessed.in fact we don’t have a choice.

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A biofuel plant is a manufacturing facility that processes alternative fuels. The two most commonly recognized fuels are ethanol and biodiesel. In order to reduce the carbon footprint on the surrounding area, the facilities are most often located next to, or in the middle of, a large corn or soybean field. Corn and soybean are the two food sources most often used when creating alternative energy sources.

There are three main processes that take place in order for natural food sources to be converted into fuels that can be used in planes, trains and automobiles – growing / harvesting, preprocessing and conversion.

Growing / Harvesting – The farmer will often sign a contract with a biofuel plant to buy the produce grown on the land. This farmer will take care of growing and harvesting the produce. The term for this produce is biomass.

Preprocessing – After caring for the biomass, the farmer will harvest the plants and push them through the preprocessing stage of biofuel production. Preprocessing involves extracting the cellulose from the biomass that will be used in the conversion process.

Conversion – Chemical process are very interesting and the production of alternative energy does not disappoint. Cellulose is treated with microbes and chemicals and the result is biofuel.

In most cases, the production of biodiesel and ethanol takes more energy than these fuels put out after production. For this reason, research has been focusing more on new sources of oils that can be more efficiently and quickly converted into useable energy.

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