Waves

Did any of you know we can actually use wave power?
i don't really know how it works, but the fluid motion of the sea water does something with a generator out in the ocean
AND fifteen miles off the coast of california winds blow long and hard enough to generate(hold on i gotta find the figures) ummmm..... well i wrote a research paper on this stuff and i think i am just going to put that up here it's a little long so please forgive me


Air pollution is the contamination of air by smoke and harmful gases, mainly oxides of Carbon, Sulfur, and Nitrogen (World Book Online). Ancient Civilizations struggled with all forms of pollution. Wood, smoke, dust, and tanneries polluted the air, while raw sewage flowed down the streets in Ancient Rome. Benjamin Franklin increased the public awareness of pollution. In 1905, Henry Antoine Des Voeux devised the term smog in London to begin showing concern about air pollution. In 1907,the Supreme Court limits sulfur and other harmful emissions by the Tennessee Copper Company. In 1970, the first Earth day is celebrated which starts an era of Environmental Awareness, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is created. Congress also passes an extension to the Clean Air Act, requiring the EPA to control amounts of Nitrogen, Sulfur Dioxide, and particulates in the air (Leading Issues Timeline).
The history of air pollution will help the world understand the causes of it. Transportation has played a big role in air pollution. Burning the fuels in cars releases harmful gases into the air such as carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur, and others. These gases cause global warming, which is thermal pollution of the atmosphere. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) from old refrigerators, old aerosol cans, and some old air conditioning units destroy ozone. Ozone is an oxygen molecule consisting of three oxygen atoms (O3). CFCs break it down into two oxygen atoms (O2). Ozone reflects ultra violet and other radiation back into space so the earth is not cooked in a matter of seconds. Factories also release these harmful gases.
The harmful gases have effects on the entire world. The gases in the air mix with water, and they create acidic substances that break down the waxy coating on the leaves of plants. The waxy coating protects the plants from diseases, pests, drought, and frost. Plants and trees can equalize the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere as long as the number of burned trees equals the amount of those still standing (Socha). However, the world is burning much more than are standing, it is just disguised as fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are plants from millions of years ago that stored the CO2, then died and held it. Burning the fossil fuels releases the CO2 back into the atmosphere. Air Pollution also affects the circulatory system. Air pollution can thicken blood, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Catherine Zandonella says, “Levels of pollution commonly found in major U.S. cities can trigger sudden heart attacks, contribute to hardening of the arteries or atherosclerosis, induce abnormal heart rhythms, cause inflammation of heart tissue and even thicken the blood, according to a review of the topic in the June 1, 2004, issue of the journal Circulation. All of these effects can eventually lead to death from cardiovascular causes such as heart attack.” Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere cause global warming. Global Warming is actually air pollution, by warming up the air, causing thermal pollution. Thermal pollution is warming something up to make life change. Warmer air is melting the ice caps, which is going to change life.
The effects can be counteracted though. Since many of these are because of power, we could use alternate power sources. One possible solution is solar power. The U.S. could run on solely solar power if it used rooftops of apartment buildings, city buildings, and unused areas like the desert. “On a sunny winter morning, Reg Gage's electric meter is spinning backward--and that's good. It means the 36-rooftop solar panels are producing more electricity than his new five-bedroom house is using. The surplus electricity goes out to the "grid"--back to his utility, Pacific Gas & Electric Co.--and Gage gets a credit that lowers next month's bill,”(Ritter). With that much solar power, if a part of the country were dark, another could supply the energy needed for that specific area. It would take about ten thousand square miles of solar panels to provide enough electricity to power America (Parfit 2-31). Some people are also trying to better focus light on solar panels to collect more light. Other people are trying to create a better solar panel. The combination of the two could result in America completely switching to solar power. They are also considering putting solar power stations in space and “beaming” the energy down to earth. This technology was already attempted in Palau, a small island nation of about 20,000 people (Hanley).
Solar power is not the only solution wind power can be used. Wind power could be harnessed with wind towers. Wind towers could be put off the coast where winds are much stronger. “The winds blowing 15 miles or even farther off the U.S. coasts potentially could produce 900,000 megawatts of electricity, or roughly the same amount as nearly all the nation's existing power sources combined, according to Department of Energy estimates,” says Blumenthal. Wind energy is a clean energy source, the world could cut down on coal and oil power plants, and it could even cut back on nuclear power plants. There are more places than just California; they could be used as well.
They are planning on putting wave power generators on the offshore windmills. They would harness the power of the waves. They would use the wave power to supply energy to a machine that would make hydrogen through hydrolysis. Hydrolysis is a process in which hydrogen is separated from water through the use of an electrical current. The created hydrogen would be shipped back to mainland USA, which could then be used to power hydrogen cars.
These energies could be shipped around the country and it could turn America into a Green Nation. They could double energy output, putting coal power plants out of business. According to Ellen Hale, “The relentless winds that blow off the seas and across the British Isles rip umbrellas to shreds and tear trees up by the roots, but now people who live here are finding a silver lining in the gale forces: cheap, clean energy, and lots of it.” This could be a solution for America as well, like in The Windy City.
There are solutions that don’t replace power plants. Carbon Scrubbing is one of them. Carbon Scrubbing is the act of taking carbon out of the air. On the discovery planet show Project Earth, they discuss ways to do this, they build a machine that uses caustic soda to capture the CO2 and store it. The CO2 would then be frozen and they would turn the frozen CO2 into discs that would be put on “rockets” that would be dropped into the ocean to embed themselves into the seafloor below. The rockets consist of a weighted nose cone with a rod that the discs are put on, and then a tail fin is attached. This would remove the CO2 from the air and reduce global warming.

i know it's a lot of yadda yadda yadda blah blah blah.... and what not but there are some great ideas in it

I LOVE ECHO!
-Sonar

ps. Cruz is right, we do need to get back to this kinda stuff!