Alternative Energy Take a look at how electricity is made Investigate other methods of generating electricity

How Electricity is Made Most electricity today is made by heating water to make steam. This steam is pumped through turbines that generate the electricity.

Fossil fuels The most common materials used to heat up the water are coal oil and gas. These are known as FOSSIL FUELS because they take millions of years to form. So once they have been used up they cannot be replaced (NON RENEWABLE RESOURCES)

Problem with Fossil Fuels Not only are these non-renewable resources, but burning them releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which increases the greenhouse gases and contributes to GLOBAL WARMING

Why is Carbon Dioxide released? Coal and Oil are formed from the fossilised plants and animals that lived on the earth millions of years ago. When these organisms were alive they took in CO2 and when they are burnt this gas is released back into the atmosphere.

So is there another way? We need to find other ways of turning the turbines without having to burn these fossil fuels. Some methods use forms of heat like the sun or burning other materials. Others use things like water or wind to turn the turbines.

Your Task To investigate your chosen type of alternative energy How does it work? What are its advantages? What are the disadvantages?

Alternative Energy Wind Power Solar Power Biofuels Wave Power Tidal Power Hydro Electric Power Geothermal Energy Nuclear Power There are lots of good websites, but a good one to start with is http://home.clara.net/darvill/altenerg/tidal.htm Also look at a plan to reduce our carbon emission www.zerocarbonbritian.com