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“Going Green” – What Does It Mean?
Dec 31st
There is much information available today regarding energy efficiency and the benefits we receive by making these choices. The main objectives are to save money by using less energy, diminish our dependency on foreign oil and reduce the carbon footprint thus helping the environment.
It seems like you can’t open the newspaper, magazine, book or even your desktop computer without reading something about “going green”. I’m not sure that most people even know what “going green” is. Perhaps the best place to start is with an understanding of what is meant generally by “going green”. Environmentally friendly activities have been popular for many decades, to conserve energy, reduce pollution and save money. In fact it dates back to the 60′s movement. The catalyst for the recent green movement came from the theory that human-generated release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere was contributing to global warming. Consequently, individuals, businesses and governments started re-evaluating how to reduce their carbon dioxide output.
Today when we speak of “going green”, we generally refer to something broader than global warming. We generally refer to a heightened awareness of using the Earth’s resources more efficiently. Today, includes efforts to conserve our natural resources, reduce our contributions to landfills, and reduce pollution generally. Going green, then, can be summarized by “conserve, reduce, reuse, recycle”–which means conserve energy, reduce waste, reuse what you can, and recycle what you can’t.
Personally I feel that the green movement is a public relations problem with the way it was being marketed. Perhaps individuals and the business community would have embraced the concept of green technologies had the movement been known as “becoming more energy-efficient” rather than “going green”. With that said the results cannot be denied. Whether you embrace the concept of “energy efficiency or “going green”, (conserve, reduce, reuse, recycle) will save you money, reduce our dependency on foreign fuels and help the environment.
4 Key Points – Examining Biofuels Pros and Cons
Dec 30th
The term bio is attached to nearly every form of energy. Fuel is no exception. The world is highly focused on reducing the need for oil importation, which pushes developers to create new sources of renewable energy and fuel. Biofuels pros and cons are a hot topic in the world of alternative change.
Pros of Biofuels
Is it difficult for automobiles to use alternative fuel sources? Automobile manufacturers have created fuel systems that can be powered with straight ethanol (or biofuel), gas or a mix of the two. The technology is there and adding the system to new cars does not greatly increase price.
What is the main pull of domestic biofuel production? Domestic is the key word in this question. Crops used are grown within a country and that reduces the need for foreign sources of fuel, such as oil dependence in the United States.
Cons of Biofuels
Can the world switch to biofuels quickly? There is no quick switch from gasoline to biofuels. While the automobile manufacturers have created a Flex Fuel system that can take gasoline or ethanol, the means of refueling these vehicles creates quite a speed bump. Only a few fuel companies have chosen to offer ethanol to customers with specialized pumps. In order to make fuel more widely available, gas companies would have to install pumps across the United States and the westernized world which could take some time.
Are there enough crops or enough cropland to support a total switch to biofuels? Here is another problem with alternative fuel. Croplands are currently used for food production in most cases. When croplands are switched to solely producing corn and other feed for the production of biofuels, food production drops. Corn is the major source of ethanol, but it is also a major source of food for animals and humans.