The Energy Potential of Chicken Droppings

Link: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/the-energy-potential-of-chicken-droppings/?partner=rss&emc=rss 


Summary: Farmers in USA, Canada, and Australia are finding that transforming chicken droppings into biochar fertilizer, biogas, and bio-oil by a process called pyrolysis is proving to be very beneficial. Not only is it an abundant source of energy, it helps farms dispose of growing amounts of manure and is very cost-effective. Considering there are over 30,000 chicken farms in America alone, this industry could grow exponentially over the next several years. Scientists are even looking into the possibility that human, cow, and pig waste could be made into energy by a similar, if not the same exact process. 


Quote: “Our country needs alternative sources of energy to balance against the world’s growing demand for petroleum-based energy.”

Pictured is a factory where chicken droppings are transferred to energy. 

Opinion/Reflection: I think it's very interesting that our scientists are capable of developing such innovative ways creating energy! Never in a million years would I think that chicken waste could be used for something beneficial to us. Even stranger, I never though my own race's waste could help. After reading this article, it seems as if this industry is either very small or has not even started yet. With the right researching and attention, this industry could totally make it big! Americans are always looking for alternative energy sources that will lessen our dependency on foreign oil. All in all, I think that this is a great idea and hope that one day we are able to utilize it! 

Questions: 

1) Would you ever think that chicken waste could be used as a form of energy?

2) Do you agree with me that you think this is a good idea?

3) Would it gross you out to know that something you are using is being powered by chicken waste/human waste?

Very Alternative: 5 Unusual Alternative Energy Sources

http://webecoist.com/2009/12/19/very-alternative-5-unusual-alternative-energy-sources/

This website demonstrated five unusual ways to create energy.

The first is tornado power. Canadian engineer Louis Michaud created an engine that could get pumped with, warm humid air to form a fake tornado that would power wind turbines. These turbines could generate enough electricity to power small town. “Michaud proposes using waste heat from power plants [to create the tornado] since they typically reject more than half of the heat they generate.”

Another is using the gases released from cremation (burning dead bodies.) As the body is being cremated, the gasses pass though a filter that removes mercury and then it is pumped into the building’s heating system. Kinda gross, but it works…

A third energy source is using living people to create energy. “Sustainable Dance Club was formed in the Netherlands with the idea that dancing bodies could create enough kinetic energy to actually power a building.” They designed dance floor and installed one in a club in Rotterdam, but they wish to spread this technology “all over the world to… wherever there are people willing to dance for the good of the Earth.”

The race car above is fueled and made entirely of sustainable materials. The body of the car is made from recycled carbon fibers, resin, and flax; the steering wheel is made of carrot pulp, and the whole thing is lubricated with plant oils. It is fueled by a mixture of chocolate and animal oils. A mixture like this is refered to as a biofuel.

The last alternate energy source is using ancient mudstones as a replacement for fossil fuels. These stones retain shale gas that was originally found in sandstone, but it was recently discovered that these mudstones yield as much as four times the amount of gas in sandstone. “However, extracting the gas from the stones could be challenging since the stones aren’t consistent in their gas retention.”

I found this article to be extremely interesting. I didn't know there were so many unusual alternative energy sources out there. And to think that all of them are using just ordinary things and turning them into power sources. Imagine what kind of energy we could generate if we made a list of everything that we didn't use, everything wasted, and turned into energy.

1. Which of these five energy sources surprised you the most?
2. Do you think that we will ever be able to completely stop using fossil fuels?
3. What other things are we currently wasting that could become potential energy sources?

Energy's checkered past and elusive future

Summary:

This article tells about different energy sources that humans used over the millenniums such as, dung, wood, water, wind, coal, crude and uranium (whale oil). Many thought that hunting whales for there oil was wrong, but up until petroleum was discovered in 1859, there were no better alternatives. With that discovery though, new problems arose as you know, causing an environmental disaster. Also, oil and coal are nonrenewable and are running low so many scientist are trying to find a knew energy source. They predict that fusion, harnessing the kind of power that the sun produces, will be next . Since the suns energy already is everywhere,many hope that this source will become clean, harmless to the environment and renewable. Today, there are three fusion mega-projects under way however, commercial fusion still probably still decades away. If this does work, future generations are going to look back on oil spills, strip mines, and nuclear waste the same way we look back on the slaughter of whales.

Reflection:

I never knew that we used to hunt whales for oil before I read this article! I am so glad that we discovered oil before whales went extinct but I worry that once we run out of fossil fuels and people are desperate for energy we might go back on our ways. To prevent that, there are numerous new energy sources being developed and used, one being fusion power. Personally, from just reading this article it seems great. It is plentiful, renewable and does not cause harm to the earth. Before using it I would want to know more about it and know the downfalls. Also, since it is very new, fusion power probably still has mistakes that need to be worked out before usage meaning that it may not be able to work on a large scale until after we are dead. Overall, If scientist continue to work hard, I think it could be the new coal, oil and natural gas.

Questions:

1.) Do you know of any downfalls of using fusion power?

2.) Do you think that fusion power will be the way of the future?

3.) If not, what energy source will?

Top Solar Sources in the US and North America



Summary: This article is about the alternate renewable energy of solar power. This article talks about how there are many places in the USA where we could put large amounts of solar panels to produce very large amounts of electricity. One of the places they talked about was New Mexico. If we cover cover 25 kilometers with solar panels (that is only 0.06% of it's total landmass) then we would have enough electricity to power all of the USA (based on 2005 stats).

Personal Reflection: So far the government has done nothing with this land, even though it will cost a lot of money, it could end up being very profitable in the long run. I personally think they should do something with this land, and the other open land in the US. Even if we just use a little bit of the land, and just a little bit of solar energy, it is better then what we are doing right now.

Questions
1. Do you think the government should do something with this land?
2. If so, what?
3. Why do you think the government has not yet done anything with this land?

The Effect Of Erosion On Our Earth

Link: http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Effect-Of-Erosion-On-Our-Earth

Summary: This article is about how erosion is made worse by human use. For example, humans contribute to deforestation, allow cattle to overgraze, tillage and unmanaged construction or building of roads. With all of these factors soil is being eroded at a much faster rate then it can be reformed, causing the land to be unprotected and vulnerable. With the more soil and top soil gone, erosion has become a huge environmental issue around the world. For example, erosion is effecting the quantity of crops grown. Many are worried about the long terms effects of soil erosion mainly because if there isn't enough soil then there isn't enough food for everyone. This article is saying that people need to be more concerned and start preventing soil erosion.

Reflection: I think that soil erosion is a big deal and that people don't know about it enough to help prevent it. To help stop this problem, people have to be more carful in how they plow fields and where they let there animals graze. Also, in the lab that we did early this week, it tells about many things that farmers can do on there farms to prevent soil erosion. Cover crops seem to help the most. I hope that we can stop this problem before it gets even worse, that way in the future we won't run low on food.

Quote: Globally, the most serious consequence of erosion is the threat to long term sustainability of agricultural productivity.

Questions:

1.) Do you think that over the next 50 years people will have found a way to almost completely stop soil erosion? How?

2.) Do you think it is possible for laws to be put in place to regulate soil erosion? If so what types of laws?

3.) What ways can people everywhere help stop soil erosion?

Farmers Lean to Truce on Animals’ Close Quarters

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/12/us/12farm.html?partner=rss&emc=rss


Summary: This article refers to the ongoing debate over factory farming, and touches base on some states that are making laws that will eventually make factory farming illegal. Factory farming is when farmers use large-scale, intensive methods to have the highest, cheapest amount of eggs and meat produced. Ohio, the second largest egg producer in our nation, has agreed to stop using extreme cage methods by 2015. Michigan, Arizona, and Florida also have similar laws. People feel strongly about factory farming because they feel it is inhumane and wrong. However, considering 90% of our country's eggs are produced from chickens raised in cages, change may not be the best thing. The United Egg Producers, a national trade group, states that egg prices would rise by 25% if they were hatched by uncaged hens, which would be detrimental to school cafeterias and families alike. Additionally, the American Veal Association has agreed to abolish the close confinement of calves by 2017. Basically, factory farming is on the way to a much healthier and more ethical way of raising animals.


Quote: "...so-called factory farming — a staple of modern agriculture that is seen by critics as inhumane and a threat to the environment and health — is on the verge of significant change." 


Photo:

This is the living conditions of pigs who are bred in factory farms. 

Opinion/Reflection: After reading this article, I'm really happy that America is making a change in the way that animals are bred. Some of the facts in the article are mind blowing, such as the fact that 268,000 small white hens live in cages about the size of an open newspaper, six or seven to a cage, and that sows are now inseminated artificially. I don't understand how it was ever legal in the first place for the owners of these factory farms to treat these animals this way! It is absolutely heartbreaking. Although raising animals in a family farm setting is uncommon, and could possibly up the prices of meat and eggs, I feel very strongly that factory farming should be forever abolished. If people were aware of these awful statistics, I'm sure that they wouldn't mind paying an extra 25 cents for their groceries! 

Questions: 

1) What are your views on factory farming? Do you think it is inhumane, or just extremely efficient?

2) If you were to start a farm, would it be a factory farm or a family farm? Why?
3) If you could ever work at a factory farm, tending to the animals, would you do it? Or would it be too upsetting for you to see the animals in that kind of condition? 

Vaccines could help what's ailing fish

This is a catfish. Researchers at Mississipi State University tested a vaccine on these fish with positive results.

Scientists at the USDA have recently discovered a way to vaccinate fish against pathogens such as Streptococcus iniae and S. agalacticiae. Their motives for developing these vaccines are to promote international food safety. What they do is they modify the genetic makeup of the pathogens to make them not as dangerous and then use these pathogens to produce vaccines so they can expose the fish to low doses of the pathogen, with the hopes that they will develop immunity to it. These vaccines work the same way that human vaccines work, except that instead of injecting the fish with the vaccine, they are immersed in water that contains the vaccine.

In a trial performed by Mississippi State University, researchers used a vaccine intended to protect catfish from enteric septicemia. The results were positive, showing a 12% increase in the survival rate among this species.

I personally think this is pretty cool. I had never heard of vaccinating animals, well maybe domesticated pets, but fish? That's pretty neat. I am glad that these scientists have found a way to do this because it will definity improve our food safety. If we ingest fish that have some sort of disease, we could also possibly get sick.

1. These scientists are trying to come up with new methods or ways to vaccinate fish, besides immersing them in the water. What other ways might be possible?
2. Do you think eventually people will be vaccinating all of the animals we use as food? Will this be difficult?
3. Do you think these vaccines could possibly have a negitive effect? Explain.

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2010/10/22/vaccines.could.help.whats.ailing.fish