Looking closely at biodiesel, we find that its physical and chemical properties are very similar to petroleum based diesel fuel in terms of operation in compression ignition engines (diesel engines). Therefore, biodiesel can be used in diesel engines without expensive alterations to the engine or fuel system.
When it comes to listing the advantages of biodiesel, there are many and advocates say these include low emissions, better scent, and higher lubricity. According to a DOE report, biodiesel has a lower energy content than regular diesel, but performs as well as diesel when mixed with diesel in blends of up to 20 percent.
The possibility of bio-diesel has been around for a long while, but it is only now, as oil appears scarcer and less secure that people are starting to invest in …

Human activity invariably has an impact on the earth’s ecology through changes to the environment. Major impact drivers are energy and transport, resource use and waste production, and water use and management. These drivers are, however, not exclusive to each other and in fact have considerable overlaps.
Examples of these overlaps are the interdependence of water and energy/power production, the extraction and use of fossil energy resources and the production of wastes, and the utilization of energy for the production and distribution of agricultural and potable water.
Water and Power
Water in the power industry is utilized in many ways, including:
1. steam production for spinning turbines,
2. humidifying air flow into gas-turbines,
3. inter-cooling air in gas-turbine plants,
4. steam injection for nitrogen oxides control,
5. acting as a heat transfer medium in some nuclear plants,
6. condenser …

Scientific American, in the January 2008 issue, has outlined a brilliant plan to end U.S. dependence on foreign oil and slash greenhouse emissions through the use of solar energy. The plan demonstrates how solar power plants could supply 69 percent of the U.S’s electricity and 35 percent of its total energy by 2050. Understanding and supporting this plan could be critical to our businesses and our lives on this planet, so that’s why I’ve devoted this column to informing you about this program.
The potential of solar energy is enormous. The energy from sunlight that strikes the earth in just 40 minutes is equivalent to the total global energy consumption for an entire year, according to Scientific American. In the U.S., we have an a tremendous potential resource; 250,000 square miles …

Solar energy as an alternative energy in our new house we are planning to build? Or so I thought. As my husband and I start the process of building a new home, I thought to myself, “Why not check into solar energy?”
Thus began my search for information on my trusty laptop. First, I learned that there is more than one method to harnessing solar energy. Photovoltaic solar energy uses solar panels to absorb sunlight and then through a conversion process, changes that sunlight into useable electricity. Photovoltaic solar energy is actually used on many small items today such as calculators and outdoor lights.
Indirect (or passive) solar heating is also another method of harnessing the sunlight. This process involves using special windows that transfer and holds heat inside the home. For …

Most people will look at their future and decide where they wish to live, how to spend their time and how best to afford it. They may even consult financial planners and know what they will do with their time once retired. They usually do not look at their future from the perspective of climate change and global warming and the outcome of an ever-increasing burden on the ecology.
One of the most important issues for all of humanity is to have a sustainable environment and sustainable living conditions. This issue is however, still ignored by most people. While it is likely there will no longer be an environmentally sustainable future left within the next 25 years not many people are taking notice of this fact. This will mean that the …