your questions about sustainable energy definition
Your Questions About Sustainable Energy Definition
Daniel asks…
Does nasa understand stars enough to attempt to create them in labs?
I’m guessing not, but the idea behind my question was if we could produce stars we could manipulate them for energy and possibly redirect their energy to move spacecraft at speeds close to if not as fast as the speed of light. What do you guys think?
admin answers:
Humans are making progress in creating sustainable fusion reactions (fusion is what fuels stars), but such a reaction could only be called a “star” in a figurative sense. It wouldn’t fit our definition of “star”.
Fusion has not yet become economical for electrical energy production and the ultimate goal of astronautical fusion based propulsion should be the creation of a ship which electrically charges ions using fusion (engine that uses charged particles for propulsion is known as either a plasma engine or ion drive), but it isn’t beyond our means to create a spacecraft with the raw power of fusion. The idea was thought up decades ago and is called Project Orion.
The idea behind Project Orion is to propel a spacecraft forward by detonating hydrogen bombs behind it. A large plate would be used to both protect the ship from the blast and catch the energy of the bomb, thus pushing the ship forward. Orion could feasibly propel itself so quickly that it could actually make it to Proxima Centauri (the closest star to Sol) in one human lifetime! The ship would have to be very large and thus it wouldn’t be practical to build it today, but it may be possible to blast the ship into orbit using its own propulsion system. The catch is that the ship propelling itself into orbit entails detonating many many nuclear warheads in Earth’s atmosphere, which is bad. Science preserve us if the ship and it’s stock of nuclear bombs crashes while lifting off. 🙁
P.S. – It is impossible to move a massive object faster than light. 😛
Charles asks…
What are the implications of green chemistry?
Hello, I got an assignment to do on green chemistry and there’s this part asking about the implications of green chemistry. Can you please help me out?
admin answers:
Here is Cal Berkeley’s (GO BEARS!!) definition
I am a Cal grad
http://bcgc.berkeley.edu/newchem
Green chemistry is the design, production and use of chemical products that:
Utilize sustainable raw materials completely and efficiently
Minimizes waste and energy consumption in product production
Creates useful and long-lasting products
Produces products that are environmentally benign through recycling or natural degradation
Sustainability is achieved by stressing chemical efficiency throughout the life cycle of chemical products, from inception to disposal.
Driving Research
From designing nanostructured solar cells to the production of new cancer fighting drugs, all chemical design, production and use can benefit from the application of the basic principles of sustainability and green chemistry. Chemists and chemical engineers realize the importance of sustainable design principles and are the key player who can effectively use green chemistry principles to address the challenges presented by resource shortages, chemical waste and toxicity, and climate change.
Training Leaders
Our goal is to bring about a generational transformation in society’s production and use of chemicals and chemical products, We have a unique opportunity to teach societies’ future leaders to think about critical new technologies and to advance the principles of green chemistry and sustainability because more than half of all Berkeley undergraduates take at least one laboratory chemistry course. If other universities and colleges follow Berkeley’s lead, in another generation the principles and practices of green chemistry will be second nature to chemical industry practitioners, chemists and chemical engineers, regulators and policy makers, and to educators.
Transforming Curriculum
To meet the demands of 21st Century education, we are redesigning and rebuilding our undergraduate chemistry and chemical engineering teaching labs. This effort is fully integrated with changes in our curriculum to communicate the fundamentals of laboratory science- including the principles and practice of green chemistry- while including topical applications that demonstrate the central role of molecular thinking in virtually every scientific discipline. As a result of these efforts, the College of Chemistry will remain a national role for safe, sustainable, efficient, and inspiring laboratory education for decades to come.
Innovating Responsibly
With a growing world population, and with standards of living rising in many formerly poor countries, the demand for chemical products will continue to skyrocket. Using today’s technologies, it is becoming difficult to meet this demand while protecting human health and the world’s environment. The way forward is to advance new research methods and capabilities that build sustainability into chemical design processes from their inception, and to create new chemical technologies that minimize environmental and public health problems while producing the products that society demands.
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Your Questions About Sustainable Energy Definition
Chris asks…
What is environment-friendly product for you?
Hi guys, it’s a survey that i have to do.
I have few questions for you.
What is environment-friendly product in your own definition?
Are you willing to pay more for “green” products?
Why or why not?
Please also specify your field of study or work and age (if that is ok with you)
Thanks a lot people.
Your help is really appreciated.
admin answers:
I use many environmentally friendly products. Most cost less, but I would pay more. I look at a couple of factors, does it contain suspected harmful chemicals, is it made of natural materials, are the materials aquired in a sustainable fashion and how far did it have to travel to get here. Some items don’t meet this criteria so I consider if I actually need it and will it save energy.
I’m a 40’s mom who has dramatically reduced the number of known and suspected toxins in my cleaning and body care products. I buy organic local food and organic fabrics as much as possible. I have invested in solar and energy saving items and have saved a lot of money in the process.
Nancy asks…
Which of these is a sustainable energy source?
(a) Natural gas
(b) wood
(c) coal
I require the answer for an online competition with prizes. Does anyone know?
admin answers:
It depends on your definition of sustainable. We have limited supply of all of the above…
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Your Questions About Sustainable Energy Definition
Richard asks…
Define the factors that make a society sustainable?
Is our society sustainable?
admin answers:
A society is sustainable when it can survive indefinitely. This may seem like a broad definition, but it really gets to the heart of it. A society becomes sustainable when all the processes and methods it uses for continuation of economic, social, environmental, and institutional aspects will remain feasible in the future.
Our society, right now, is not sustainable. I could go on for hours, but one of the major problems is our reliance on oil and coal. It is sustainable short term, but these are not renewable resources, so in the long run we will run out. This is one aspect of the green movement, is trying to switch over to renewable energy (ie wind, water, solar, geothermal, etc). We are also slowly but surely killing off the environment. Actually, the Wikipedia article on sustainability is a very accurate and helpful one, and I judge this based off of a few years of studying sustainability and sustainable technologies.
Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability
Maria asks…
How does an open system contrast with a closed system?
A) An open system is prone to collapse, while a closed system is typically more sustainable in the long term
B) An open system is open to scientific scrutiny, while a closed system is not
C) An open system is able to convert energy from one form to another, while a closed system is not able to do so
D) An open system exchanges energy and/or materials with its surroundings, while a closed system does not
admin answers:
D
That’s the definition of open vs. Closed. A closed system is self-contained. An open system gets inputs from and gives outputs to the part of the world outside it.
However, bear in mind that to some extent, it’s a matter of definition. A nuclear power plant might be considered a closed system, on the power source side anyway, by considering the atomic pile part of the system. And at the same time, the same people might consider a coal plant open on the power source side because of the constant feed of coal from the world. In truth, that’s more of a defined difference. The atomic pile, for instance, might need refueling only every several years while the coal plant needs it every second, but they both still need refueling from the world outside the system.
Time IS a major factor in defining open vs. Closed. In a related way, so is the ease with which the transfers occur. And often one defines something as closed because the aspects of it that are open are not of concern to the definer.
Of course, there’s no truly closed system. Most wouldn’t be much use anyway. And nature is notoriously leaky when it builds systems so built-by-chance doesn’t really produce anything close to closed either.
However, one should also point out that the other three choices are incorrect. So D) is the answer for positive and negative reasons both.
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Your Questions About Sustainable Energy Definition
Mandy asks…
What is a sustainable Development in biology terms?
I have this biology project and don’t know what it means because I missed the module because I changed schools late. Can anybody help me?
admin answers:
Well the technical definition is: a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This basically means, growing enough food and sourcing our energy and raw material needs without doing irreversible damage to the environment.
Hope it helps!
Laura asks…
How is sustainable development sustainable? *sigh*?
I know its a hard question. At our school the statement ‘sustainable development as a concept is unsustainable’ came up. i disagreed but couldnt come up with any valid arguments.
Lets see if anyone here can. it will be much appreciated ; )
admin answers:
Sustainable development :
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use that aims to meet human needs while preserving the natural environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but in the indefinite future. The term was used by the Brundtland Commission which coined what has become the most often-quoted definition of sustainable development as development that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
The field of sustainable development can be conceptually broken into three constituent parts: environmental sustainability, economic sustainability and sociopolitical sustainability.
The United Nations Division for Sustainable Development lists the following areas as coming within the scope of sustainable development:
* Agriculture
* Atmosphere
* Biodiversity
* Biotechnology
* Capacity-building
* Climate Change
* Consumption and Production Patterns
* Demographics
* Desertification and Drought
* Disaster Reduction and Management
* Education and Awareness
* Energy
* Finance
* Forests
* Fresh Water
* Health
* Human Settlements
* Indicators
* Industry
* Information for Decision Making and Participation
* Integrated Decision Making
* International Law
* International Cooperation for Enabling Environment
* Institutional Arrangements
* Land management
* Major Groups
* Mountains
* National Sustainable Development Strategies
* Oceans and Seas
* Poverty
* Sanitation
* Science
* SIDS
* Sustainable tourism
* Technology
* Toxic Chemicals
* Trade and Environment
* Transport
* Waste (Hazardous)
* Waste (Radioactive)
* Waste (Solid)
* Water
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Your Questions About Sustainable Energy Definition
Sandy asks…
Why is burning coal not sustainable? Do natural gas and petroleum stack up any better?
Three reasons why coal is not sustainable? And do natural gas and petroleum stack up any better in terms of sustainability?
admin answers:
One reason coal burning is unsustainable from an environmental standpoint is that is finite, and using it will deplete it’s use for future generations. In fact, that is the definition of unsustainable. Another factor is that coal burning releases sulfur, and sulfur dioxide is a component of industrial smog, a noxious fume that kills many people and produces a slew of respiratory diseases. Not to say coal is useless, but its downsides may be particularly pronounced
Each source of energy has its own issues. Natural gas is essentially limitless but is probably hard to capture. Petroleum is also finite and involves drilling. The scales may tip towards natural gas for these reasons
Ruth asks…
What does it take to call a building “green”?
Can you market your building as “green” if it has just a few green features, or does it have to meet certain minimum guidelines? I am thinking about this in the way that the word “organic” is regulated on food labels.
Also – do you think it’s redundant to call something “green” and “sustainable” in the same sentence? I am putting together a sign for my company’s real estate development, and I’m wondering if it is pointless to call the project “a green, sustainable development” or if both words really mean the same thing.
admin answers:
I don’t think there is a green certification, however, there are some things to consider.
Energy star certification.
Green building/ construction methods (hay bale, cob, cordwood, papercreate, adobe, earth shelters… )
Minimizing the use of concrete (pier or rubble trench foundations )
Passive solar design
Solar hotwater
Separate grey water systems
Sustainable certified lumbar
The list goes on and on
The term green is probably the best way to go. You are opening a big can of worms if you use the term sustainable. Sustainable has a real definition. A friend of mine sells “sustainable” clothing, woven with thread from banana leaves. That is not sustainable in and of itself. Scientists have predicted that bananas (the type we eat) will soon face a blight that we can not protect them from, ending its presence in our super markets. Although the thread may be a commendable effort at maximizing a resource that otherwise may have been left unused, bananas in general are not a sustainable resource. Every material in the house would have to be made from a sustainable resource (like wood and hay) and would exculde non sustainable materials like (metal, plastics….). Then again, there is no MARKET definition for sustainable.
If you are interested in charging more money for a “green development” and using expensive things like bamboo flooring, or salvaged lumbar from the bottoms of lakes and rivers, or anything ridiculously expensive and unpractical, then forget everything I said. Just put whatever you want on the sign, spit in thier face, and ask them for $400,000
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