The law of conservation of Energy tells us that we can’t Get something for nothing, But we refuse to believe it.

Enormous amounts of electrical Energy can be transported Over thousands of miles through A wire the diameter of a Quarter! In order to generate electricity, All you have to do is set Electrons in motion.

The way this is usually done is With an electric generator. An electric generator is Simply a device that changes Mechanical energy to Electrical energy.

In other words, a generator is Merely an electric motor Run backwards! In order to power cities, they Are huge and wired together. The only difference between the Ones that run on coal, or Hydro, or nuclear is the fuel Used to turn the motor.

A fossil fuel plant burns coal (or oil or gas) which boils water, And that steam is used to Turn a turbine which is Connected to a Generator that makes power. There are 2 major problems with Fossil fuel power plants…

The first is that they are really Dirty and pollute the air. The second is that there is Only a certain supply of Fossil fuels and we are Running out.

Nuclear energy is energy that Exists within the nucleus of An atom. This energy is released when The atom is split in 2.

The splitting of atoms is Called nuclear fission, and Huge amounts of energy Are released.

This is the same amount of Energy as is released during An atom bomb! The difference is that in a Nuclear power plant the Reaction is controlled.

The energy that is released Is used to heat up huge amounts Of water to the boiling point And then the steam is used To turn a turbine to create Electrical energy.

There are only 2 byproducts… One of them is steam and The other is caustic, radioactive Nuclear waste. The only real problem is NIMBY. Nobody wants the nuclear Waste placed near them.

We can’t ignore that sometimes Stupid people work at these Places and thus there are Accidents! In 1986 in Chernobyl, Russia A worker turned off the safety Devices during a test, then An explosion happened in the Core and radioactive material was Released to the atmosphere.

And in the US at Three Mile Island, In Pennsylvania in 1979 there Was an accident. Human error and broken water Pumps combined to create a Small release of radioactive Gas into the air. Since then, there have been over 300 safety improvements to Nuclear power plants.

The United States, with just Over 4% of the world’s Population, uses 24% of all The energy produced.

The best way to create a Sustainable future is to Conserve energy. This doesn’t mean living in the Dark ages, it means using Materials that are more Energy efficient.

You can use solar energy from The sun! There are 2 ways to do this, Passive solar heating and Active solar cells.

Passive solar heating is when You heat your home or your Water with black panels on The roof of your house.

Using solar cells to convert Light into energy is used All the time. It can be direct in that The cells create energy that Goes directly into your house. Or the new thing is that mirrors Reflect light to a tower that Is filled with water and that Water boils and turns a turbine.

Wind energy is another Eco option. It is becoming much cheaper To use, but the issue is that They require 1 acre to build. Many people don’t like them Because they ruin the beautiful Landscape with their tall Towers and hum.

Geothermal energy uses Energy from the heat of The earth to create energy. This heat can be harnessed to Heat up water, which turns To steam and turns a turbine.

What we can’t forget is that A lot of the energy that we Use is for transportation. And we are using old technology. There are many new options that Can help, but they are currently Very expensive.

Hybrid cars are a step In the right direction, But more has to be done. Electric cars are a viable Option, as are hydrogen fuel Cells, ethanol, and Water fuel.

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