Response 2: Going Green while Staying Warm

This article tells about the many fuels that we have now and the ones that are being developed for the future. It lists some of the drawbacks to the fuels we use now as well as the pros and cons of the fuels of the future. Coal is the worst fuel out there not only because of the gases it releases, but also how bad it is for the environment to mine. I was surprised to see that wood is actually okay for the environment because the carbon dioxide it releases when it is burned is turned back into oxygen during the trees lifespan. This is a cool idea, and it is also the basic idea behind ethanol. As the corn grows, the plants replenishes the oxygen in the air that was taken when the corn is harvest. Gas is also bad for the environment because of its carbon emissions. This isn't a big surprise, but i was interested in the ideas that not only is it the carbon dioxide that has a negative impact, but the also the possible spills and pipelines that are build. These resource is not renewable as well, and it also harms the environment when harvested.
Now I have a general idea of the fuels of the past, I want to look at the fuels of the future. Geothermal fuel is something I want to look into farther. The article says that the warmth of the earth is extracted through pipes into your home. This must not only be very costly to build, but how far into the earth would you have to go to get this heat? Another fuel which looks more promising is wind and solar energy. These are certainly renewable sources and are looking better and better as gas prices rocket skyward. This article makes a good point that electrical power is only as good as how its made. If coal is being burned to make electricity then its no better, but solar electricity would work very well. The article also mentions that "a solar system is not a stand-alone home-heating source." This would cause a problem because putting in multiple systems in just to heat your home would be too costly. This article was a good overview on many of the fuels sources we use, but I want to look farther into each fuel and learn how it is made, and specifically what are its drawbacks or advantages.

Article 2: Going Green while Staying Warm

- Sustainable energy does not alter biodiversity or ecosystems.

-Renewable energy sources are not reduced by use, or they can be renewed.
- Coal is the worst choice of a fuel to use. It is rarely used today.

- Coal releases carbon dioxide and other green house gases harmful to the environment.
- Often not thought of is the effect coal has on mining communities. It often ruins the ecosystems around it especially in "mountaintop removal."

- Oil is not only harmful to the environment because of its greenhouse gases, but is is also nonrenewable.
- The combustion of oil is what cause the emission of greenhouse gases and other damaging pollutants.

- Transporting oil risks spills that are very harmful to wildlife and drilling for oil upsets the local environment.
- Propane and natural gas also cause similar problems because they are fossil fuels ans are not sustainable.

- "The Environmental Protection Agency, however, found natural gas to have the fewest relative emissions of fine particles -- fewer than oil, pellet stoves or wood stoves." However, pipelines for natural gas have a negative effect on the ecosystems around it just like coal and any other mining or shipping of fossil fuels.

-Propane needs special procedures to be separated and refined that are harmful to the environment.
- Electricity is only sustainable when is comes from solar, wind, or hydro systems.

Forestry must engage in "selective uneven-age harvesting and replanting" for it to be sustainable.
-When a tree is alive it takes in carbon dioxide and turns it back into oxygen, so the life of the tree will account for the carbon dioxide released into the air when the wood is burned.
- An equal amount of carbon will be released into the environment whether or not a tree is burned or simply decays in the forest. Coal, oil, or gas will not naturally release their carbon dioxide "without human intervention."
- "Pellet stoves [are] ... fueled with compressed sawdust, wood chips, bark or other organic matter, or biomass fuels like nut shells, soybeans, corn kernels or cherry pits. "
- In a geothermal system, heat is drawn out of the earth through pumps and moved throughout your house to warm it. A small amount of electricity is used when the warmth is circulated around the house, and if that electricity comes from wind, solar, or hydro then the whole process is sustainable.

Response 1: Biofuel From Food Waste.

I found this article very interesting. I never thought about how ethanol can come from wasted food. It's really cool that school lunches can be transformed into power that not only fuels transportation but also fuels the distillation equipment required to transform the leftover food into fuel. Also, if you think about it, the amount of food wasted in the U.S. each year is ridiculous. Especially in schools where kids either don't eat their veggies or they just waste half there meal because it's gross. If these leftovers that no one will eat could be turned into fuel, then that would solve two problems at once. There are problems with this idea as in all ideas though. The first quote which I took from the article however is something I would never really think about at all, but could definitely be a problem. If many fields are converted into making the food that goes into ethanol, then what happens if you run out of room to grow the crops? I also wonder if land can be overused and loose its fertility.
The second thing this article looks into is a brief overview of how ethanol is made. The leftover food is separated several times into liquids and solids, gases and more leftover liquid. Ethanol is a type of alcohol so the food goes through a fermentation process too. I found all this information very interesting as well as helpful in my quest to understand sustainable fuels better. Ethanol is only one solution to this problem, but because it is often mixed with gasoline, it may not be the best.

Article 1: Biofuel From Food Waste

-food shortages have been thought to have been caused by too much land being used for biofuel crops instead of food crops.
-200 kg of school food waste is transported "to a local processing plant" where it is broken down and enzymes are added. Then waste is then separated into liquids and solids. The ethanol is "extracted from the liquid through fermentation," and biogas is taken from the solids and left over liquids of the wasted lunches.
-The ethanol is used to run the buses and any other school owned vehicles.
-The biogas that has been saved "powers a 9.9 kW generator and a boiler used to operate the distillation equipment."

I have been researching technology in sports for a while on a number of different databases and have found that there is not as much reseach as I thought available. I had not realized that this topic would have to be current within two weeks so I was not prepared for this change. I still want to research the topic, but I feel it is not current enough to sustain an isearch for 5 months. I am now switching my topic to my second favorite idea, sustainable fuel. This topic was my second choice to technology and sports. I am almost just as excited to be researching this topic.