http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/evtech.shtml

Termed the Gravia lamp, the human element involves the lifting of a series of weights back to a starting point where the power is generated by the motion of those weights falling. Using a seemingly limitless resource, the pull of gravity to generate power, the Gravia lamp is still a developing concept, requiring advances in technology before becoming totally viable.

Gravity – Powered Energy

The brilliance of the Gravia design is its simplicity. It is a standing floor lamp, slightly less than 5 feet in height, and cylindrical in shape. Inside the cylinder are several parts required to create light brass weights. The process can be summarized as follows:

• Five 10-pound brass weights are attached to a ball screw near the top of the lamp.
• The platform starts dropping along with the screw which is aligned along the length of the lamp. As the platform drops, the screw spins, converting the downward motion of gravity into a rotational motion, which spins the gear at the bottom of the lamp.
• The spinning gear spins a generator which, in turn, converts the rotational motion into electricity.
• This electricity powers 10 LED bulbs, illuminating the housing of the lamp.

The cycle for this process is four hours, where the LED bulbs light up within a few seconds after the weights start to drop, emitting light comparable to a 40 watt bulb. As the weights hit the bottom of the lamp, the LED bulbs go out, but the process can restart by merely moving the weights back to the top of the screw.

Benefits and Challenges of Gravity – Powered Floor lamps

Gravity as an energy source is pretty remarkable: it is free, endless in terms of supply, does not have to be imported, require no mining, refining or growing. The lamp itself does not plug into an outlet, is entirely self-contained, relying only on a person to initiate the cycle that creates light. It’s the ultimate green product.

According to preliminary studies, the components will not need to be replaced for over 200 years. But for the LED light bulb which will burn out, there is virtually no maintenance. The state of technology for the LED light bulb is the current constraint to the commercialization of this product. To generate enough power to light up the bulbs, the brass weights have to weigh more than a collective 50 pounds. In fact, they would have to weigh 2 tons which means the LED bulbs will need to become more efficient before this lamp design becomes a real possibility.

Eco-Friendly Blogger, Meaghan O'Neill, Editor-In-Chief, TreeHugger and PlanetGreen

TreeHugger

TreeHugger is a media outlet in which acts as a “one-stop shop” for sustainability news, solutions, and product information, from science and technology to fashion and health. All information is released through a daily blog, weekly and daily newsletters as well as weekly video and radio segments. Meaghan O’Neill, Editor-In-Chief, joined TreeHugger in 2004 when it was primarily focused on design at the time. “Energy issues are a huge element of green building, of course, and increasingly that meant understanding and reporting on not only how we create buildings and communities that are efficient, but also understanding where that energy supply comes from. We quickly realized that our audience was hungry for a much broader range of information — and today we cover everything from politics to fashion. But energy issues touch all environmental concerns, and clean energy solutions are essential to the figuring how we will balance humankind’s relationship with nature and our consumptive appetite,” stated O’Neill.

Eco-Blogger, Anupam Jolly, Senior Editor, Ecofriend

Ecofriend

A great blog dedicated to educating consumers on the latest green technology, architecture as well as renewable energy is Ecofriend. Anupam Jolly, Senior Editor, stated that “blogging is a great medium to send a strong message across.” Jolly continued stating, “I have my own eco values and I strongly feel that taking care of the environment should be part of everyone’s daily life. I write for Ecofriend because it gives me an opportunity to communicate with people and tell them about the new ways and innovative technologies that can help us find our way to sustainability. ‘Going green’ is a global vision and to make that possible, every individual needs to do his/her bit for the environment. At Ecofriend, I talk about eco-friendly concepts and alternative energy topics as they show us how we can cope up with the ever-increasing energy problems in future as well. It’s all about taking initiatives on individual levels and I am doing my bit for our planet through my blog. I just want everyone to support green solutions so that we can ensure a green, sustainable future for our coming generations.”

Eco-Friendly Blogger, Collin Dunn, Managing Editor, PlanetGreen

PlanetGreen

Launched in June 2008, PlanetGreen offers a vast array of perceptions about home and garden topics to tech and transport subjects, that ultimately generate a social movement on how to be eco-friendly. “I came to the green scene with an eye on product and industrial design, says Collin Dunn, Managing Editor. “Having realized that a full 80 percent of any given product’s life cycle impact is determined in the design phase, I was interested in connecting the dots between the resources used — energy, materials, etc. — and the methods we could use to cut back on using those resources. So much of the way we use energy efficiently, and otherwise — is determined months or years before we actually turn a key or plug into the grid, and so understanding those kinds of connections is what we’re working on every day at PlanetGreen. Making smarter decisions when it comes to using energy is going to become increasingly important in our world, and we’re excited to be a resource for helping everyone do it better,” stated Collins.

Green Prophet

Eco-Blogger, Karin Kloosterman, Founder & Editor, Green Prophet

Strictly serving as an environment news source geared towards business savvy experts, journalists and analysts is the Green Prophet. Content reported from the Middle East and North African region provides information regarding clean technology development and social issues related to the environment. Founder, Karin Kloosterman, started out as a biotech and environment reporter and transitioned to reporting on clean tech and energy news at her Middle Eastern based blog, Green Prophet. Kloosterman shared that she “recognized holes in media coverage and lack of education about the environment in general. This blog bridges the gaps between environmentalists and industrialists, and points out investment potential and innovation in countries such as Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Lebanon, and the major steps made by these countries to adopt green practices in business, culture and society.”

Eco-Concious Blogger, Tracy Hepler, Co-Founder, Your Daily Thread

Your Daily Thread

Your DailyThread is a modern guide for the eco-curious that gives readers daily insight on how to live a greener life in a way that is fun, fresh and relateable. Co-Founder, Tracy Hepler mentioned that she wanted to establish a resource for eco-friendly information that was inclusive to a younger crowd. “When I started blogging, much of the green content on the web was geared towards an older audience and we wanted to create a source for young people who were extremely passionate about making a social and environmental change. Now we have the opportunity to reach a variety of people and our goal is to get as many people as active and informed as possible. ”

Eco Child’s Play

Eco-Dedicated Blogger, Jennifer Lance, Founder, Eco Child's Play

Devoting much of its content to “Green Parenting for Non-toxic, Healthy Homes,” is Eco Child’s Play. While the blog is focused on surrounding family and friends in a health conscious environment, it eludes to new eco-friendly ideas that are passed on from parent to child. “I wanted to share our experiences, in order that other families could chose a simpler path with ease. Living an environmentally-friendly life is one of our family’s core values. In conversations with friends and extended family, I learned that many people aspired to live healthier, greener lives, but they lacked the information or inspiration to do so. I hope that through my writing, I can inspire conversation, community and change,” shared Jennifer Lance, Founder of Eco Child’s Play.

Eco-Driven Blogger, Jake Gosselin, Editor, Sustainability Ninja

The Sustainability Ninja

The Sustainability Ninja provides eco-topics related to news, products, and the people fighting to make an environmental difference. Overall goals of this eco-friendly site is to reduce consumption, improve health and find cleaner alternatives to technology through the power of blogging. Jake Gosselin, Editor, mentioned that “when you take a global perspective and assess all the problems of humanity, so much of it seems to boil down to one thing; the ability to produce and harness vast amounts of energy in a clean and sustainable way. It’s this perspective that has fueled my passion to disseminate information on clean energy news. Humanity is at a crossroads that will require the right political decisions combined with the technological advances. By covering the latest energy news, I see myself as contributing to the overall understanding by the general public of this critical topic and hopefully helping move the world to place that recognizes the importance of this topic.”

Offshore Drilling Rigs

Worldwide daily consumption of oil generally exceeeds 80-85 million barrels thereby driving the petroleum industry to continually search the planet for new reserves. Since the world’s oceans comprise almost 75 percent of the earth’s surface, it stands to reason that much of the world’s future new oil reserves will be discovered underwater.

Underwater exploration, drilling, and transportation of crude oil requires special equipment and processes to first, deal with the inherent challenges of work in lightless and deep areas, and second, to do so without the risk of polluting the environment. This article will focus on the methods of exploration and extraction of crude oil in the deep ocean environment.

Locating Fossil Fuels

Most of the world’s petroleum lies between 500 and 25,000 feet in depth below ground. Petroleum products are generally believed to have begun as plankton between 10 and 600 million years ago. Over millenia this decaying matter of tiny plants and animals drifted to the bottom of the ocean, was covered with sand and mud, and with the help of heat and pressure evolved into deposits of liquid oil, gas, and petroleum materials. This organic material, settling in traps under thick layers of rock, has taken a number of forms:

• Liquid petroleum (oil)
• Gaseous petroleum (natural gas)
• Petroleum deposits (oil shale or tar sands)

Locating these deposits is the first obvious challenge; geologists have traditionally studied surface features and satellite maps, taken soil and rock samples, and used gravity meters to identify gravitational fluctuations that could indicate a subterranean flow of oil. These options are viable in the exploration of land and relatively shallow water but are ineffective when working at ocean depths of thousands of feet amidst rough seas. There are a number of methods available to deal with this challenge:

• Sniffer equipment, which is used to detect traces of natural gas in seawater, aids in locating seeping deposits.
• Magnetic survey equipment can be used to identify magnetic anomolies that might serve as indicators of underground traps.
• Seismic surveying (referred to as sparking) analyzes information from sending shock waves down through the water to locate possible traps in the ocean floor. Seismic surveying is somewhat controversial with the environmentalists as the shock waves cause what some term “acoustic pollution,” viewed as a threat to the more seismically aware sea life (e.g. blue whales).

Once undersea oil deposits are detected, the survey teams typically note the GPS coordinates, plant a buoy, and apply for a government lease to perform exploratory drilling. Only through exploratory drilling can the true potential of a specific area to provide significant and commercially feasible amounts of petroleum based products be quantified.

Exploratory Off shore Drilling

Exploratory drilling involves the use of a mobile drilling platform (ship-based or towed), where the oil companies typically drill 4 temporary exploratory wells over the area in question, each drilling taking 60 to 90 days to complete. The goal is to obtain a core sample which is used to look for signs of petroleum (termed a show). Once a show occurs, the drilling is terminated and the additional tests are performed to assess the quality and quantity of the sample. If determined is determined to adequate and commercially feasible, then the oil company will drill additional wells to verify the initial findings.

Production Offshore Drilling

Production wells are anticipated to last 10 to 20 years before they are no longer profitable and  are fixed directly to the ocean floor using foundations or tethering cables. The design of these structures is critical as the actual platform must remain steady which is not an easy task given the realities of ocean effects particularly amidst storms. With the platform in place, there are a number of factors to consider:

• Coverage area: By using a process termed directional drilling, platforms can reach deposits miles away from the actual drill site.
• Efficiency: Through use of a subsea drilling template, high levels of drilling accuracy can be achieved, thereby ensuring the anticipated quantities are obtained.
• Effectiveness: Oil companies have perfected a 3-phased drilling process to ensure the oil and gas is transported to storage in tact without polluting the ocean.

Transport of Oil and Gas

Once a petroleum source is hit, the focus shifts to measures to control the flow of pressurized oil and gas up to the surface. These measures include:

• The use of a production casing, initially closing off the well from the surrounding petroleum reservoir and then perforated at different depths using well-targeted explosives, provides for the surfacing of oil and gas at less than that of a blasting geyser.
• With the gradual decline of natural pressure, injection systems providing water, compressed air, or steam are used to boost the pressure or add heat and allow for the flow the remaining petroleum.

The liquid that is removed from a well is typically a mixture of crude oil, natural gas, water, and sediments. A necessary step before refinement is the removal of unwanted substances from the oil. These production facilities are typically part of the drilling platforms themselves. As most oil refinement takes place onshore (and in some instances on converted tanker ships), the job of the drilling facility is to provide oil and natural gas to storage and treatment plants free of these pollutants.

Closing of a Well

Once a well runs dry or more typically when the costs of further development outweighs the potential future profits, the oil company will plug and abandon a well. Depending on specific geographic, political, and economic factors, the platforms will either be removed from their moorings and  relocated (or scrapped) or they will remain and slowly deteriorate from the gradual erosion and corrosion caused by the sea.

This harnessing of the sun represents a virtually untapped potential for generating energy for human use at a time when efforts to commercialize photovoltaic–cell technology are underway. Using a semiconductor–based system, photovoltaic technology converts sunlight to electricity, but in an expensive and somewhat inefficient manner with notable shortcomings related to energy storage and the dynamics of weather and available sunlight. However, recent advances have been made with artificial photosynthesis, which, if perfected, could provide unlimited, relatively inexpensive, and clean electricity, with a storage capability.

Artificial Photosynthesis – A Developing Concept

Photosynthesis

To gain a clearer understanding of artificial photosynthesis, we need to delve deeper into the process that plants have perfected and then relate these concepts to commercial energy applications. Two things occur as plants convert sunlight into energy:

• Sunlight is harvested using chlorophyll and a collection of proteins and enzymes, and
• Water molecules are split into hydrogen, electrons, and oxygen.

These electrons and oxygen then turn the CO2 into carbohydrates, after which oxygen is expelled.

Rather than release only oxygen at the end of this reaction, an artificial process designed to produce energy for human use will need to release liquid hydrogen or methanol, which will in turn be used as liquid fuel or channeled into a fuel cell. The processes of producing hydrogen and capturing sunlight are not a problem. The challenge lies in developing a catalyst to split the water molecules and get the electrons that start the chemical process  to produce the hydrogen.

There are a number of promising catalysts available, that, once perfected, could have a profound impact on how we address the energy supply challenge:

• Manganese directly mimics the biology found in plants.
• Titanium Dioxide is used in dye-sensitized cell.
• Cobalt Oxide is very abundant, stable and efficient as a catalyst

Artificial Photosynthesis Applications

There is general agreement that fossil fuels will eventually disappear from the range of energy sources. While they are providing for the majority of our energy needs today, they significantly impact pollution and climate change. Most of the more traditional sources of renewable energy pose other challenges as well:

• Wind turbines have a negative impact on picturesque landscapes.
• Corn requires an extremely large amount of land to produce energy in an adequate supply, and
• Traditional solar technology is quite expensive, still inefficient, and limited in that it depends upon the presence of sunlight.

Artificial Photosynthesis could be a solution:

• It produces stored  fuel
• It can produce more than one type of fuel: liquid hydrogen to be used like gasoline in hydrogen-powered engines, incorporated into a fuel-cell-setup and create electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen into water, or methanol as either a gasoline additive or primary fuel source.

It does not require mining, growing, or drilling. Since artificial photosynthesis involves water and carbon dioxide –  neither of which is in short supply – it is virtually limitless, potentially less expensive, and not only does it not emit greenhouse gases but it removes large amounts of CO2 from the environment in the process of producing fuel. However, there are a number of obstacles that thus far preclude this process from being used on a large scale.

Obstacles and Challenges

Theoretical solutions applied in a lab environment have met with some success. However, artificial photosynthesis is not yet ready for full implementation, primarily because replicating what took plants billions of years to perfect takes a lot of trial and error. Some of the specific challenges include:

• The catalyst for plants, manganese, is unstable, has a relatively short lifespan, and will not dissolve in water, leading to an inefficient and impractical approach.
• Like the human body, the molecular makeup of plants is both complex and exact, making it difficult to replicate the overall process at the required level of intricacy.
• Stability remains an overriding issue as organic catalysts will degree or cause other reactions that can actually cause cell damage. Inorganic catalysts offer a potential solution, but the speed at which they have to work to make efficient use of the chemical reactions can be an issue.
• In the case of state-of-the-art dye sensitized cells, the issue is not with the catalyst (Titanium Dioxide) but rather with the electrolyte solution that is made of solvents that can erode other parts of the system.

Progress has been made in the last few years with the further development of Cobalt Oxide as a stable, fast and abundant catalyst and even with the dye-sensitized cells, solutions have been developed that are less corrosive. Current estimates are that we are 10 years away from full scale implementation, if at all. The development of a comprehensive energy policy will require many dimensions and that the path to success is going to require pursuing a number of possibilities, expecting only a percentage of them to pass the test of time. Artificial photosynthesis should be one of the candidates.

Figure 1 - Offshore Drilling Platform

• Those in favor of offshore drilling point toward lower gasoline prices and reduced reliance on foreign oil that would result from domestic drilling and feel strongly that the impact on the environment would be negligible.
• Opponents are equally adamant that the drilling would not noticeably impact the price of gasoline nor appreciably the increase domestic energy supply, and it would have a devastating affect on the surrounding ecosystem.

The chance of a meeting of the minds is remote as the discussion rapidly deteriorates into an inflammatory exchange where motives are questioned and integrity is challenged. To the extent they are available and sustainable, this article will attempt to assess the facts with the goal of relieving some of the tension around the argument.

How Much Oil is Available?

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the current supply of recoverable crude oil on the off limits portion on the U.S. continental shelf is estimated at 18 billion barrels. Since the U.S. uses 7.5 billion barrels of oil per year, this would equate to slightly more than a 2-year supply assuming the EIA estimate is correct.

How Soon Could the Oil be Available?

Even if the outer continental shelf (OCS) were immediately opened for drilling, EIA studies estimate that it will be at least 10 years before any oil would be available and the amount would not be enough to materially affect world prices. The technicalities in play (i.e. leasing wells, locating the oil, and getting the oil to the surface) suggest that production wouldn’t even begin until 2020 and it would take until 2030 to reach full production, resulting in daily output of 0.2 million barrels per day (as compared to 82.5 million barrels each day worldwide).

Opponents to drilling may have a valid point in questioning the potential impact of 0.2 million barrels per day, but to argue that the time lag itself is a reason not to pursue offshore drilling seems disingenuous. The real question that needs to be answered is, “Does offshore drilling figure as part of an overall U.S. energy strategy?” And, if so, then the time lag to full production suggests starting the preliminary steps as soon as possible. If not, then the implication is that there are replacement strategies that will lessen U.S. reliance of foreign oil and keep energy prices at manageable levels.

What are the Real Objections to Offshore Drilling?

The major environmental objections to offshore drilling include:

• In offshore oil drilling, we are not just digging underground, but also thousands of feet underwater.
• In recovering oil from the ocean floor, other chemicals and toxic substances come up (e.g. mercury, lead and arsenic) and these substances that are often released back into the ocean.
• Seismic waves, used to locate oil, can cause harm to and / or disorient sea mammals.
• The mere infrastructure for drilling wells and transporting the oil can accelerate erosion and inadvertently lose marshlands and other storm buffers on shore.

Are these Objections Valid?

Proponents for offshore drilling will say that technology and stronger government oversight have led to a 99.999 percent safety record since 1975, decreasing from 3.6 million barrels of crude oil spilt in the 1970s to less than 500,000 in the 1990s. In fact, more oil spills into U.S. waters from natural sources and industrial waste than from offshore oil and gas drilling. Toxic chemicals are released at levels too low to be absorbed by fish.

Opponents state that these facts relate to the offshore operations themselves and do not tell the whole story. Marine transportation of the oil accounts for nearly one-third of the oil spills worldwide and the Mineral Management Service estimates there will be at least one oil spill per year of 1,000 barrels or more in the Gulf of Mexico over the next 40 years; and a major spill of over 10,000 barrels every 3 to 4 years. Further, though a 99.999 percent safety record is indeed impressive, that minuscule accident rate of 0.001 percent can represent disaster to those living in the vicinity of the accident.

What is the Likely Outcome?

It is uncertain whether the U.S. will risk its coastline for promises of price relief. Our view is that the answer will lie within an comprehensive strategy and approach where offshore drilling represents only a part of the solution. The numbers themselves do not seem to support offshore drilling as a primary, stand alone initiative.

• Per U.S. Department of Energy requirements, to receive the ENERGY STAR label all refrigerators and freezers must be at least 20 percent more efficient than the federal standard (NAECA).
• In choosing ENERGY STAR qualified models over ones sold in the 1980s, a consumer’s energy bill will be reduced, on average, by $100 per year.
• ENERGY STAR refrigerators use less energy and aid in reducing the release of greenhouse gasses.

The National Energy Conservation Act (NAECA) dictates minimum standards for energy consumption in refrigerators and freezers, the specifics of which vary by configuration, automatic vs. manual defrost, and type of ice service.

Other Considerations in Purchasing Energy Efficient Refrigerators

Independent of the decision to buy on not to buy ENERGY STAR refrigerators, the following items should be considered in making a purchase decision:

• Review the Energy Guide label to determine and compare energy use and estimated annual operating costs with similar models.
• Seriously consider the top-mounted freezer option as these models typically use 10 to 25 percent less energy than the side-by-side models at a comparable size.
• Ensure an appropriately sized refrigerator recognizing that the most energy-efficient models range between 16 and 20 cubic feet.
• Recognize that automatic ice-makers and through-the-door dispensers increase energy use by 14 to 20 percent and typically raise the purchase price by $75 to $250.

Best Practices

There are a number of practices that can further reduce the amount of energy a refrigerator uses. These include:

• Keep the temperature of the refrigerator between 35 and 38 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Place the refrigerator away from major heat sources (e.g. oven, dishwasher, and direct sunlight)
• Allow sufficient room (a few inches) between the wall and the refrigerator to maintain air circulation.
• Routinely inspect the door seals to ensure they are airtight and replace them as necessary.
• Minimize the amount of time the refrigerator door is open.

To learn about energy efficient dishwashers click here