THE DRYING EARTH – SOURCES OF HEAT
With Global Warming causing heated discussions in the media because of the Obama legislation for “Cap and Trade”, people are beginning to reject the entire concept of Greenhouse gases as a cause Global Warming. The problem of rising oil prices still remains a puzzle for Global Warming skeptics, for the price of petroleum is based on supply and demand and nothing else.
As a consequence, we are seeing the entire world turning to “alternative sources of energy” as a means by which the entire conundrum can be solved.
With alternative energy, principally wind and solar power, there is no production of CO2 and the price of petroleum is side stepped.
CHINA
China, soon to be the premier economic power on the planet, wants to do two things:
- Clean up its polluted atmosphere.
- Avoid the high cost of petroleum, which is rapidly being depleted.
China has embarked on a massive transition in producing electricity. It is phasing out its coal burning electrical generator plants and building wind generators and solar generators across its vast country.
“A series of projects is under construction on the nearly lifeless plateau to the southeast of Dunhuang, including one of six immense wind power projects now being built around China, each with the capacity of more than 16 large coal-fired power plants.
Each of the six projects ‘totally dwarfs anything else, anywhere else in the world’,said Steve Sawyer, the secretary general of the Global Wind Energy Council, an industry group in Brussels.”
(Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/03/business/energy-environment/03renew.html?ref=business)
Instead of waiting until 2020 to have 15% of its power from alternative sources, China expects to achieve this goal by 2012!
All major countries on the planet are moving forward to either emulate or surpass the Chinese initiative.
CAN ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SLOW GLOBAL WARMING?
As we noted in the first chapter of THE DRYING EARTH, the planet Earth is heating up for more reasons than the Green House Effect.
The combustion of hydrocarbons, such as oil and gas, produces CO2 and other heat trapping gases. But, the simple combustion itself, produces heat. If we burnt a large enough quantity of hydrocarbons and produced no gas, we could burn up the planet.
Heat is simply the movement of atoms and molecules. If molecules move fast we call that movement heat. If they move slowly, we call that “less” heat, or “cold”. Heat is a term applied to the kinetic energy of particles.
Energy, in any form, can be transformed into heat. This implies that electrical energy, when used, creates heat. When we use electric stoves, air conditioners, lights or simply motors, we produce heat. Electricity creates molecular movement when it moves through conductors. That movement is heat. Thus, although we can use alternative energy to create electricity; nonetheless, when that electricity is used, heat is generated and the Globe becomes warmer.
No CO2 is created by wind turbines, but the electricity which has been extracted from the wind energy turns into heat at the end of its run.
WHERE IS THE HEAT CREATED?
Most of the electricity generated is sent to cities. Cities become the “hot pads” of their countries. Cities are composed of thousands of towering buildings. Each one of these buildings is a form of a stove. Any hydrocarbon used for heating will be burnt in the building. The electricity entering the building will be used for lighting, motors, heating, cooling and many other functions. All of these functions emit heat.
If we look at cities with ultraviolet cameras, we can see the enormous emissions of heat rising from the cities and spreading into the atmosphere. We can see that although alternative energy does not add to greenhouse gases, it does add to global warming.
THREE CAUSES
Green house gases, in particular CO2, retain the heat produced on this planet, from the sun, but also from the burning of hydrocarbons and the use of electricity. Most electricity is used in cities and these very cities remain hot constantly. They are also a cause of global warming. Combustion, alone, is a source of heat. Every gasoline motor adds its heat to the planet.
ALBEDO
The “Albedo” of the earth has also changed. The term “albedo” refers to the heat retention or reflection of the earth’s surface.
The albedo of cities reflects approximately 7% more heat than surrounding areas. This has been demonstrated many times. We can conclude that the earth is heating and that global warming is real. As mentioned in the first chapter that will make the atmosphere enlarge.
Like a large sponge, the atmosphere will hold and not release water vapor. The result is drought.
