Kenya's Jatropha

Kenya was recently planning on growing 50,00 Jatropha plants near Malindi to produce bio fuels. This was opposed when the amount of greenhouse gasses was added up.They found out that the amount of gases out-weighs the amount of bio fuel that it could produce. A Jatropha is a species of a flowering plant, that is a poisonous semi-evergreen shrub. The seeds contain oil that can be processed into bio fuel to run a standard diesel engine.

Information from:http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110323/sc_afp/kenyaenergyalternativeenvironment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jatropha_curcas

Trees are Important Heroes and Killers

Everyone knows that trees are good for

the enviroment, and produce oxygen for the

atmosphere.They also absorb CO2. But, trees shed leaves

and it's a pain to pick up all those leaves. Believe it

or not, but all those leaves that trees drop are

healthy for your other plants or anything growing

underneath the leaves. When the tree sheds the

leaves, they fall on the ground or plants below.

During the winter, these leaves protect the

plants from snow, ice, and the cold.

However, there is a downside.

These leaves also protect

the plants from

the sun and kills

them. That's why

wind is important

in a plant's life... to

blow the leaves

off so it can live.

Wind Energy

by Ivy Long



Her are some facts about wind energy you may our may not know. Many people overlook wind energy as a potential alternative energy source. Wind power should not be over looked. wind energy is a form of solar energy, and therefore, is renewable. wind does not need to be produced so there will be a constant supply of it. but right now wind is one of the least used renewable energy source so let make it our new energy.







http://www.energyrefuge.com/archives/wind-energy-facts.htm

a real workout

By Mallory Coats



Once upon a time there was this guy. You know that one guy with the face? Yeah, that one. Anyway, there is this ocean (the one with water) and its just sitting there. And up on the shore there is a gym for people to work out. Turns out that this gym wastes a lot of energy and isn't very useful. They keep the lights on all day and they pay for electricty for the machines. This gym happens to have a lot of customers and there are people there all day. It takes a lot of electricity to keep a gym open that long. So my idea is, "Why don't we just use the man power from people on the exercise bikes to power the lights?" That way people would get a good work out and save electricity. Their memberships would be cheaper because the gym doesn't have to pay for all that power.

Radiation-The Effects and an Idea

With the power plant meltdown in Japan, and the references to Chernobyl that come with it, some people may be confused-how does it affect us, as humans? A unit used to measure radiation is called a rem, which stands for roentgen equivalent in man. Being exposed to 100 rems can result in temporary hair loss, nausea, vomiting, headache, and some loss of white blood cells. Too much radiation can result in cancer. Half the people exposed to 450 rems die.

Now that we're past the bad part, I have an idea. It probably wouldn't work, but, what if, with all the radiation on free-range, there was some kind of machine that enabled the radiation to be harnessed, and used for energy in, say, homes' electricity. Everyone could put one on their roof or something, and in times like these where radiation poisoning is a factor, the machine could suck the radiation out of the air and use it. Just a thought.

Extreme Weather leads To Energy Efficency Action

By Rhyan Montgomery

A recent study in the UK shows that people are more willing to save energy to when their area is in risk of a flood. The study found that Britian has had many severe floods in the last ten years and there are more to come due to climate change. Awarness of the climate change could help citizens reduce the energy demand in the region. This study proves the first solid evidence that peoples experience with climate related events will promote higher awarness of the issue and suggests new ways for getting people involved with environmental issues. With extreme weather affecting the globe, citizens need to have energy efficency in their thoughts to possibly reduce the impact of climate change.



Sources:

http://www.the-esa.org/

Thorium--The New Nuclear?

by: Morganne Williams



Thorium is much more abundant in nature than uranium and can also be used to provide nuclear energy. India is the only country that sponsers major research on the use of thorium for nuclear energy. Thorium is a slightly radioactive material that was first discovered in 1828 by the Swedish chemist, Jons Jakob Berzelius, he origianally named it Thor after the Norse god of Thunder. It has been discoverd that Thorium can be used as a nuclear fuel like uranium and can be used in a closed fuel cycle. With more research maybe eventually we can use Thorium as a safer nuclear energy alternative to Uranium.





For more Information go to:

http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf62.html