Green Energy By ATSURO ZHAI and ALEX GUTIERREZ

Green Energy Green energy is energy that is produced in a manner that has less of a negative impact to the environment than energy sources like fossil fuels, which are often produced with harmful side effects. Types of green energy: - geothermal power - wind power - biomass power - tidal power - nuclear power - solar power - hydro power The goal of green energy is generally to create power with as little pollution as possible produced as a by-product. Every form of energy collection will result in some pollution, but those that are green are known to cause less than those that are not.

Example of green energy: BedZED The guidelines of BedZED are low energy consumption; carbon neutral/zero carbon; built from recyclable materials; green spaces have to cover at least 40% of the urban area and there has to be safe walking routes and cycle lanes built into the planned layout. BedZED is located in Wallington, South London and is a low carbon development in the UK. BedZED stands for Beddington zero energy development, and is described as an ‘eco-village’. The homes in BedZED have heating needs that are only about 10% of the typical UK home’s heating requirements; energy and water efficiency are designed in. About 10% of the construction materials were from waste timber, doors, kerb stones and paving, reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill. The ‘village’ is well served by public transport – it is located on a bus route, only five minutes walk from a train station and a 15 minute walk to the Tramlink from Croydon to Wimbledon.

How it reduces climate change Using green energy such as solar energy means that you don’t need to burn as many fossil fuels for energy, which results in cleaner air (less air pollution) and less PPM of CO 2. Therefore, carbon emissions are lowered. By using different types of green energy and utilising the natural energy sources around us, carbon dioxide emitting fossil fuels will not have to be used which reduces human contribution to the greenhouse effect which in turn will reduce the rate of global warming. Furthermore there is no need to distort the landscape in search of fossil fuels, which can also lead to destruction of habitats.

Pro’s Green energy produces little or no carbon dioxide and hence does not contribute to the greenhouse effect. They are seen as cheap alternatives in many cases over long term periods (mainly with wind energy and solar energy) as they “pay for themselves”. It allows fossil fuels to be conserved for when they become a necessity to be used (though this will only be true if green energy becomes a dominant energy source) It reduces your carbon footprint

More Pro’s Allows habitats/landscapes to be preserved more frequently than having to destroy/remove it in order to access fuels/more space. The green energy industry will produce several jobs A successful example of geothermal energy use is Iceland where they rely on 89% of houses to be heated by geothermal energy and 57% primary energy is provided by this source.

Con’s It is often questioned on how reliable it is, some types of energy (wind/solar/tidal) requires a lot of energy to be stored in order for efficient use. You wouldn’t want to be running on solar energy, taking a shower and having the shower suddenly stop because the clouds block out the sun! The construction of these takes time and costs a lot of money, occasionally some will end up intruding and even destroying habitats. Tidal falls under this case where it consumes huge amounts of space. There is an attitude from communities known as NIMBY (not in my back yard) which is when people do not want green energy sources to be located near them because it produces lots of noise and potentially ruins the environment for some people/communities. Developing countries cannot switch to these alternative fuels as they simply cannot provide enough energy to sustain their growth. Examples of these are China, India and Brazil. If green energy becomes dominant, it can be argued many people will be made redundant with the loss of fossil fuel consuming jobs.