Energy and World Change (Past, Present and Future) was our focus in this session. The continued use of fossil fuels will eventually lead to its depletion and mankind will therefore need to find alternative, renewable sources of energy. Such of which includes, solar, hydro, geothermal and wind, just to name a few. Some drivers of energy change mentioned in class included the rapid rising of energy prices, the rising energy consumption and need for economic development, need for sustainability and the discovery of new technologies and approaches.
The presentation on Geoengineering was rather interesting. It presents a certain set of solutions that introduces chemicals or other materials into the environment, thus altering it to solve some of the world's problems such as global warming. However, I feel that such a solution is feasible but only in the short run. As mentioned in the presentation, this is due to the fact that by adding chemicals such as sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere, the may be certain negative consequences. This is also not an excuse for people to continue releasing harmful pollutants such as greenhouse gases into the environment. Therefore, this solution can be implemented in the short run as the development of 'clean' and renewable energy continues, eventually replacing the need for fossil fuels altogether.
Osmotic power was also something that was introduced to me in class. The process involves the movement of water molecules from a higher concentration (W1)to a lower one (W2) through a semi-permeable membrane (M).
Image Obtained from :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Blue_energy_mechanism.png
The pressure created (P) would then be used to drive the turbines and produce electricity1. As we move toward the future, renewable methods of obtaining energy will definitely have to play a larger role. Once the costs of harnessing these renewable sources of energy start to fall, more countries will turn to these sources and therefore ease the demand on fossil fuels.
Although osmotic power was not presented in our class, I felt that this should still have been discussed further.
Personal Rating: 8/10
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