U.N. scientist say we only have 10 years to mend our ways, because if we do
not clean up our act, mother nature has some nasty surprises:
Storms – insured losses from weather events have increased 15 fold in the
last 30 years.
Floods – U.N. scientists predict 200 million climate refugees in the next
40 years.
Drought – Land stricken by severe drought has doubled in 30 years.
Every country on this planet has to wake up and smell the pollution. No
nation nor big corporation has the luxury of turning a blind eye to our
situation. The powers that be can not stay this ignorant course of “business
as usual”, poisoning our Earth for the sake of the almighty dollar. Do they
really think when this planet is too far gone, they can just rocket off to
another solar system and buy another class M planet?
But fear not. For alas, solutions are already here. We all know the renewable
green energy sources of wind turbines and photovoltaic, but the world needs
every source of clean energy, there are more creative innovations surfacing
everyday, and listed below are just two of them:
Tides power cities – In New York City with support from various state and
local groups, Verdant Power runs the Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy
(RITE) project, which relies on a field of water turbines to convert
the kinetic energy of the East River’s strong current to electricity
for the island. In December 2002, the output of Verdant’s first turbine
there exceeded expectations, producing an average power output of 14.5
kilowatts per hour. It was such a success the next April, Verdant Power
installed four additional turbines.
Tapping the Sun in a new way – in the Australian outback, EnviroMission Limited
is in the process of building a new form green energy a 3,280-foot
high thermal power station called the Solar Tower. When complete it
will be the tallest structure in the world. The Solar Tower is
hollow in the middle like a smoke stack. At its base a 25,000-acre,
transparent circular skirt. The air under the collector is heated by
the sun and through convection it funnels up the tower. As the hot air
rises, it accelerates to 35 mph, driving 32 wind turbines inside the
tower, which generate electricity much like conventional wind farms.
But the Solar Tower has a major advantage over wind farms and solar
generators, it can operate with no wind, 24 hours a day. Thanks to
banks of solar cells, the tower stores heat during the day, allowing
it to produce electricity continuously.
Just imagine a world where energy is clean and limitless, where powering the
Earth does not cost the Earth. All we need now is to speed up implementation.
Today we share a dream, tomorrow we should all be living it.
