Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Important Question
Co2 is a constant threat to the people in our society today. They constantly face the problem of using to many fossil fuels, and how to cut back on Co2 emissions. The question is how do you cut back on CO2 emissions while remaining with the constant struggle to expand and revolutionize technology in a country or Physical system?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
As a country, we could find sustainable ways to keep up with technology. For example, hybrid cars are pretty advanced technology, but they are also sustainable. Our government could do some research on what sustainable technology really is, and then go from there. Also, we do not need to keep building on our technology as quickly as we think. Every time a new thing comes out, something newer takes its place. We could actually let something be "the newest" for awhile and see how that works.
As a country, we could find sustainable ways to keep up with technology. For example, hybrid cars are pretty advanced technology, but they are also sustainable. Our government could do some research on what sustainable technology really is, and then go from there. Also, we do not need to keep building on our technology as quickly as we think. Every time a new thing comes out, something newer takes its place. We could actually let something be "the newest" for awhile and see how that works.
In the United States today, there are many ways to cut back on CO2 emmissions such as improving fuel economy, reduce miles traveled, increase efficiancy in heating, and improve coal finder plants. We could use these things to make our country more sustainable but everybody is so caught up in the cool things and cars these days such as Hummers. Hummers are gas guzzlers. I don't see the point of having one if it is just going to destroy our fuel economy and our environment.
There are many fuel efficient ways to produce enough energy to fuel the United States, even the world. First, there is hydroelectricity. This is energy obtained by running water over a wheel. This spins a turbine, which energizes a genorator. The genorator in turn converts the energy into electricity. Using this way to get electricity is much more sustainable than burning CO2 emitting, non-renewable, and expensive fossil fuels. Some places, though, don't have access to resovors, so another scource of energy is needed. Another scourse of energy is energy obtained from the core of the earth. The core of the earth is non-renewable, but there is ample energy to supply the earth until the core is not hot anymore, which by that time we would have much more importaint thing to worry about. There is also nuclear energy which includes splicing an atom of uranium. This produces a great amount of heat. This is a good way to get heat, because though uranium is a non-renewable recourse, if we only splice one atom at a time, than we could have enough uranium to last us almost the rest of the human existance. These alternatives to fossil fuels are costly uo front, but think about what will happen if we use these methods today. Future generations will be able to have energy that does not harm the environment, and the recourses will not run out like fossil fuels. Fossil fuels worked for us for a while, but it is time to try something more sustainable.
If CO2 emmisions are to decrease, America must take many steps. First off, citizens need think more about the hidden costs of things we use. Some people buy huge Tvs and houses when they do not even need them, plus we leave lights on and mechines running, all of which waste energy and cause the U.S. to burn more fossil fuels. We need to do a better job of not wasting our energy on things we don't need. Americans need to also cut back on the amount they drive and fly across the country. Both driving and flying release a lot of CO2 into the atmosphere. The government needs to also increase the cost of fossil fuels. If they do that, people will be less eager to buy and waste them. Finially, our country needs to countinue to research different ways of powering our country. And in the mean time, we could also research ways to improve are powerplants. We could research ways to filter out CO2 or ways to decrease the amount of CO2 produced, that way less is released into the atmosphere.
Patrick, if the government increases the cost of fossil fuels in order to drive people away from using them, the government MUST establish an alternative energy source that can provide just as much or more energy than fossil fuels before they do that. If not, our country will be pretty much powerless, and lower class citizens will not be able to aford energy. Other than that, I agree with all of the above.
Also Christine, I believe humans have only gone 8 miles into the crust of the earth, so getting to the core might be a problem.
In order to decrease CO2 emissions, the U.S. will need to sacrifice and not be so greedy with their resources. Although, cutting back on CO2 emissions will take time and make some people angry, it is for the best in the future. Every citizen needs to utilize the energy sources we have and appreciate them by using only what they need, not what they want. In all, the U.S. needs to be mature and responsible with our energy use as a country.
If our country wants to decrease CO2 emissions, we will have to be more responsible with our resources, as Collin said. Decreasing CO2 emissions will cause some dramatic changes for people. Also, the government will have to use a lot more money, as it said in the Carbon Wedges Diagram, to increase wind power efficiency, solar power efficiency and also to find some way to capture and store carbon. But, hybrid cars are a good example of how we cut back on CO2 emissions and revolutionizing technology. Another thing like that is this car that will come out in 5-10 years(I'm not sure what it is called, but I saw an article about it in National Geographic and a different science magazine) which has a little bit more than 3,000 miles per gallon. I'm not sure if the U.S. is making it or not, but that shows how much the world is utilizing technology to save the planet.
Cutting back on CO2 emissions would be difficult. Especially for the U.S because we use 25% of the energy. In the National Geographic article we read they suggest a tax on carbon, fuel-efficient cars, turning lights off, using less water, etc . Harsha proved a pretty good point stating that the government would have to find an alternative energy source to 'replace' fossil fuels as energy. But, until scientists discover an alternative energy source, we probably couldn't convince about 301 million people, plus factories, in the U.S. to stop using so much non-renewable energy. We could however, do things in our daily routines to be more sustainable.
Post a Comment