Physics for Future Presidents(pffp) was a mini project that we did before we started the sports magazine project. For this mini project we were put into groups and were given a packet to read. The group was given a certain topic that was in the reading, our groups was Global Warming. After the group read the packet, we were to write a paper on what global warming was and how we can use it to make the earth a better environment. After that we made a stop motion video describing our paper that we wrote on global warming.The process of this project wasn't complicated at all.
Here is our stop motion video: |
Global WarmingIntroduction
Global warming is not a new issue. Scientists have been researching this issue for hundreds of years. However, due to the media, the public has the wrong perspective on the entire situation. The public believes that global warming is solely due to humans’ actions. This is not the case; signs of global warming began before people invented pollution-causing machinery. This is where scientists began to discover that global warming has happened before, in reverse, during the ice age. The pollution-causing machinery which humans created over the years, merely sped up the process, but didn’t initiate it. Therefore, global warming will occur with or without humans’ actions. Clean Coal: Clean coals can be used as an alternative to gasoline. Coal costs $40-$80 per ton to mine in the U.S. When you compare the amount of energy that you get from 1 ton of coal to the amount of gasoline you would require for an equal amount of energy, you need over 200 gallons of gasoline. Currently gas cost about $4.00 per gallon, which means due cost of energy is $800. When compared to gas, coal is actually less than 1/10 of the price. Unfortunately, coal actually produces more carbon dioxide than either oil and natural gas for the same amount of energy. The reason for this is because coal is mostly carbon, and all of it gets turned into carbon dioxide. But to every problem, there is a solution. Clean coal can be achieved when consumed in a centralized plant, as the carbon dioxide will be captured and stored underground. This is also known as sequestration. Sequestration is not a new process, as a million tons of carbon dioxide is usually being pumped into the ground each year. Bio-fuels: Bio-fuels are when you use an eco-friendly fuel substituting gasoline. They are created from vegetables and some fruit. It can be used to fuel cars and other machinery instead of gasoline. This is because bio-fuels don’t burn carbon into the air like gasoline. Bio-fuels come from mainly vegetable oils to create cleaner fuels. Some pros to bio-fuels are that they don't burn carbon dioxide into the air so it is better for the environment. A lot more people are starting to use bio-fuels because of it being environmental friendly. This is because using bio-fuels is more efficient and can help us save the earth from pollution. Renewable Energy: When thinking about renewable energy, some of the first things you think of are: solar power, wind power, bio-fuels, hydro-power, and geothermal energy. Renewable energy is energy that can be reused. For example fuel (gasoline) burns into the air, permanently. Once you use it, its gone. But renewable energy is always there. Some are more effective than others. Solar panels, for example, can produce 100 watts of power per square foot. But with geothermal energy, you can only produce .007 watts per square foot. Even though not all types of renewable energy produces massive amounts of energy, that doesn’t mean that they cannot be used. We recommend that you make the executive decision to use more renewable energy. Windmills: Windmills seem to be a very promising solution to helping with our global warming situation. Windmills use the energy generated from wind to power anything needing energy. We believe that the windmill is a good solution because it gives the best “bang for your buck”.They cost 2 million dollars to install, and they generate 1.5 million dollars in energy. Windmills produce more than 15% of the world’s energy use, and considering that the windmill can easily pay for itself many times over, it would be a good investment for the earth. As a naturally occurring force, it can be harvested anywhere in the world. In order to put the windmill to it’s most efficient use, our advice would be to combine wind energy with other sources of energy, as well as a better conservation of energy on the citizens’ part. This would maximize the equilibrium between the demand of the people, and the supply that is provided. |