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Essay on the environmental impact of wind power
Wind turbines how they help the environment essay
Essay on the environmental impact of wind power
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Wind Energy and its Environmental Effects
Wind energy can play a critical role in saving our planet from the negative effects of energy powered by fossil fuels. Wind turbines work effectively at reducing carbon dioxide emissions. For instance, a single utility scale wind turbine can prevent the emission of 5,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere a year by displacing the power generated by fossil fuels. Also, a single 750-kilowatt turbine can produce roughly 2 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually. Turbines of this nature are the ones now being used in power plants around the world (Wind Energy Weekly). One good example is California. Their wind power plants displace 4.5 billion pounds of CO2 each year with the 3 billion kilowatt hours of energy they produce. To put it into an environmental perspective, that is as much CO2 as could be absorbed by a forest covering 1100 square miles (Wind Energy Weekly). Although wind energy has little to no impact on the environment when it comes to air pollution or greenhouse gases, there are other environmental concerns surrounding this form of energy production. Some of the concerns about wind energy include visual impacts, birds and other living resources, lightning and noise (Wind Energy Development).
Wind turbines, by nature, must be sited in highly visible areas to give them enough space to produce the amount of energy desired. However, many of the sites for wind turbine farms are now located in areas that are ...
These include the history of windmills and their role concerning the survival in the immense plains that range from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi River. The rise of the economic condition of those living around the wind farms along with the surge of investments from energy companies. Finally, the promising data relating to the amount of energy produced, and the consequences they will have on the environment. In the later and longer part of the article, the possible negative results or wind farms are brought up. Primarily, the points against wind farms have to do with the conservation of wildlife. This is separated into two sections, the first addresses the dangers wind turbines present to birds, the other on the dangers presented to bats.
You’ll almost always find these wind turbines in open fields and they are usually called wind farms. Because these wind turbines create so much turbulence they have to be so far apart from each other and they can’t be right behind each other (Gipe). These wind turbines have to be 200-300 feet in the air because the blades on these wind turbines are 65-130 feet long (Gipe). Also these wind turbines have to have a 17 miles per hour wind to start spinning, because a wind smaller than that won’t create enough energy
military, and in recent years, seeds genetically engineered to contain and endure immense amounts of Monsanto herbicides and pesticides. Monsanto has been recognized as being synonymous with the corporatization and industrialization of global food supply. Their astonishing rise to dominate global food supply is fueled by its technology in order to achieve laudable aims such as providing adequate food production, responding to the adversity of global warming, and minimizing agriculture’s adverse effects on the environment. Yet, Monsanto’s expansion has been accountable for controversial cases, such as not allowing private research on their products and influencing policy makers. As Monsanto expands, some of its business practices are considered unethical and are paving a path full of consequences for the environment and
Monsanto is one of the largest genetically modified seed companies with sales over $11.8 billion to date. Founded in 1901 in St Louis Missouri, by John F. Queeny, the first product that this company produced was an artificial sweetener named saccharine that is sold to the Coca-Cola company. From there, the company went into chemical manufacturing where they came under scrutiny and a lawsuit for the chemical Agent Orange that was used during the Vietnam war. After this and years of battling bad PR for dumping toxic waste and chemicals containing PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) into the environment via creeks and landfills, the company has since made itself to the position that it finds itself today. While GM (Genetically modified) foods are
The report outlines the lack of quality data on alcohol and its related harm is an immediate issue, when considering adopting legislation. The report’s focus is the effectiveness of the outlined arguments, whilst considering the cost effectiveness of the implementation of the policies. The reports running theme is that the policies have to implemented together, or in the broad context of social reform in relation to drinking. It is unreasonable for any of the arguments to be reasonably sound as standalone arguments, or when the policies are implemented without further alcohol education. ...
...vidence why historians cannot distinguish a single cause for the Vikings drive to travel. Religion may be a factor but the most common or shared need among these varies groups of Vikings is urban marketing and trade. This is not an answer to the age-old question, “why did they invade”, but insight into “who” they were as a culture of many different identities with similar needs.
Monsanto started out as a company that created an artificial sweetener for a well-known company called Coca-Cola. Throughout the last century with the use of new types of innovation the corporation has set out to change the world and has set a specific goal to change the way food is grown. Through the agriculture industry Monsanto has created new technology that enables farmers to grow food faster and with less land area. Although the results seem to be positive, there are also critics of this new way of agriculture and health implications are unknown for now. Business Ethics states, “In 1981 Monsanto leaders determined that biotechnology would be the company’s new strategic focus” (Farrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, pg. 383).
Imagine a silvery-white metal, filled with so much energy that it is named after the Greek god of thunder, and has the power to fuel the world. Dated forms of energy like fossil fuels are damaging our planet on a monumental scale; however the nuclear option is free of greenhouse waste products and available in large supply. What makes Thorium even more amazing is how efficient and clean it is; when producing the same amount of energy Nuclear reactors produce 0.02% of the CO2 made by a coal reactor (World Nuclear Association). In addition, Alexis Madrigal, a senior editor at the Atlantic Newspaper says Thorium reactors are “A brilliant solution to our energy dilemma: They would be impervious to meltdowns, could be built faster and smaller than traditional nuclear plants, and cannot be used to produce radioactive material for nuclear weapons” (Nelson). Moreover, as global struggles for energy continue, Thorium becomes a viable option that must be developed and implemented commercially.
Monsanto is one of the first chemical companies to apply the biotechnology industry business model to agriculture, it is also well known for their controversy in producing genetically modified seeds for crops. This kind of system concerns some stakeholders about the negative effect on the environment and ecosystem while growing GMO seeds and the possibility that it will affect health. On the other hand, the system helps some farmers in preventing loss crop yield and increasing revenue, especially farmers in developing countries, even though this is yet to be proven. (https://stakeholderdoce.wordpress.com/)
In everyday life, there are things that one needs to survive. And sustainability problems arise every day. One such problem is energy loss. The world is using up a lot of energy and new ideas need to be formed to help the rest of the world and the future of the generations that are to follow, to survive. With that the problem is that people use up energy and they do not use it efficiently. Therefore scientists are needed to find ways to deal with the sustainability problem that is arising. That is where wind turbines are used to generate this energy but the actual wind-turbines are very large, loud and they kill birds, thus new designs need to be found in order to help energy usage and to bring the size and structure of the wind turbines to a smaller scale to prevent injuries to nature and the species around it.
First and foremost, unlike power plants that rely on combustion of fossil fuels, wind turbines do not produce atmospheric emissions. Strangely enough, wind is a form of solar energy. Winds are caused by the irregular heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the variations of the earth 's surface, and rotation of the earth. This wind flow, or kinetic energy, when "harvested" by modern wind turbines, can be used to generate electricity. There is an abundance of wind to meet our needs, “the potential of [the total] wind power [in the world] is… 20 times more than what the entire human population needs” (Maehlum). Currently, wind power is one of the lowest-priced renewable energy technologies available, costing between four and six cents per kilowatt-hour, depending upon the wind
Some habitats will avoid areas that have disturbance and will never return to that area. When building these wind turbines, they should be placed as far offshore as possible, avoid sensitive areas, try not to build near areas that are already indicated by the state or federal government to have problems, and utilize best management practices to try to minimize project risk.
Instead of giving you superpowers, nuclear waste kills you within days if you stood near it without protection. Nuclear waste is a dangerous substance made up of the mutated uranium atoms called isotopes which are created in the process of nuclear energy (nuclear fission). Because the substance is radioactive, it is not safe to be around so it has to be locked up for thousands of years while it becomes safe to be in nature again. Many people think that nuclear energy should be shut down because nuclear waste cannot be disposed of. Nuclear power should continue even though it is hard to transport it to a safe repository. More underground storage areas should be created to combat the transportation problem and the issue of the waste should get more attention and
Wind is a form of solar energy. The term wind energy describes the process by which the wind is used to generate electricity or mechanical power. Wind turbines convert mechanical energy from the wind into electrical power. Wind turbines usually have three main parts. There are blades that connect to a central hub, a box behind the blades that contains the generator, and a long stem that connects to the ground. The way how it works is that the wind turns the blades, which spins a shaft that connects to a generator making electricity. After the electricity is produced it is sent through transmission lines to a substation that is sent to business and homes. For the sake of our planet, we must promote a renewable energy economy. Wind power can be a foundation of that sustainable energy future because it provides jobs in states that are building wind turbines, is a renewable energy source, and does not damage our environment. The environment will not be damaged by the pollution, the natural resources will not be used up, and there won’t be generating of hazardous wastes. Welcoming wind energy today will lay the foundation for a healthy tomorrow that will affect everyone in the United States. There are obstacles and challenges that will make it more difficult, but the environmental impact is well worth it to invest more money into wind energy.
Deal, W. (n.d.). Wind power: An emerging energy resource.Technology & Engineering Teacher, 70(1), 9-15. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=a747d6c4-9f9f-4066-be3e-d7d26a427ef2@sessionmgr115&vid=1&hid=114&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWNvb2tpZSxpcCxjcGlkJmN1c3RpZD1zc2Mmc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZlJnNjb3BlPXNpdGU=