Energy Assignment Part 3

You are now going to go back to the 3 energy types that you researched in Part 1 of this assignment. You are going to rank them based on their potential to be implemented in your country.

Based on the potential to be implanted in my state i would rank the energies in this order for Indonesia:

-Coal energy

-Wind energy
-Solar energy

I ranked Coal energy as their first because it is already being used in the country. The country is a developing country which needs help financially and coal seems to be the best option for them as of now. The coal mining is affordable for Indonesia because it is not as expensive as it is to make solar panels. The size of Indonesia is large enough for coal mining to take place. However research shows each mining area is good for Indonesia for about 80 years. So in the short run running out of coal is not a huge issue to Indonesians. Indonesia is one of the top ten coal producers in 2013. They stand at fourth place! The government and the community  also help out in coal mining. Coal mining opens up many jobs for the public which allows them to earn money for themselves and a profit is gained for the government.
Top Ten Coal Producers in 2013:

1. China	1840.0 Mt	6. Russia	165.1 Mt
2. USA	500.5 Mt	7. South Africa	144.7 Mt
3. Australia	269.1 Mt	8. Kazakhstan	58.4 Mt
4. Indonesia	258.9 Mt	8. Poland	57.6 Mt
5. India	228.8 Mt	10. Colombia	55.6 Mt

I ranked wind energy second due to Indonesia and its finical budgeting. Although solar panels seem like a better idea it is still a little more expensive to build. Indonesians cant afford to pay for the luxury of that. Thats why wind energy comes into play! In certain areas of Indonesia there already is wind energy to help save the environment.The main wind energy potential areas are located in East and West Nusa Tenggara. However the climate may become an issue if wind energy was put in place everywhere. Wind energy requires its turbines to have wind. The main variable of Indonesians climate is not temperature or air pressure but rainfall! With rain it might to be a good idea to use wind energy. I did not rank this first because wind is unpredictable so the people int eh country should not be to dependent on wind energy. The government has recently started using this type of energy to help the environment and have the wind turbines installed to use for electricity in Indonesia.

I ranked Solar energy at third! Although it is  a better option out of the three it is quite expensive to build and manufacture. I think it would be a good idea to invest in because in the beginning you pay the big hefty price but afterwards the costs are less. How much does it really cost to use the suns rays? If you add up the amount of money used to mine, transport and manufacture coal it is probably the same as solar energy maybe even a little more costly in the long run! The geography for my state is actually perfect for solar energy. Indonesia is in the middle of earth (near the equator) so the sun is always shining on the country! The size of Indonesia is pretty good in the sense of covering range for the panels. The government has set up small areas with solar panels to also help save the environment. However most of the time the people have to but it on their own to light up their house or to bring in heat in a safer way. Which probably is the reason why mostly everyone rely on coal!

Energy Assignment Part 2

In this portion of the assignment you are going to research the type of energy currently used in your country. You will likely find that there are multiple types used (and you can mention this) but please try to focus on the primary type used. Explain how this is used, the cost, the impact, etc. It may be one of the three that you researched yesterday or may not be….It doesn't matter.

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Primary energy used:
In Indonesia the primary type of energy used is coal.Indonesia is well supplied with medium and low quality thermal coal. At current rates of production, Indonesia's coal reserves are expected to last for over 80 years. Coal is a combustible black or dark brown rock that is mainly in underground deposits and widely is used as fuel.

How is it used?
The most significant uses of coal are in electricity generation, steel production, cement manufacturing and as a liquid fuel.Different types of coal have different uses. Steam coal - also known as thermal coal  is mainly used in power generation. Coking coal  also known as metallurgical coal is mainly used in steel production. Other important users of coal include alumina refineries, paper manufacturers, and the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Several chemical products can be produced from the by-products of coal. 

How is Coal Converted to Electricity?

Steam Coal is first milled to a fine powder, which increases the surface area and allows it to burn more quickly. In these pulverised coal combustion systems, the powdered coal is blown into the combustion chamber of a boiler where it is burnt at high temperature. The hot gases and heat energy produced converts water,  in tubes lining the boiler, into steam.

Costs?

Coal is much more inexpensive however in the long run costs us the environment and our health. Covenional coal is around $94 per meawatthour! Compare this price to solar which is $160 per megawatthour.

Impacts:

The environmental impact is a negative with the coal industry. Such issues include land use, waste management, water and air pollution, which is all caused by the mining of coal,  There are severe health effects caused by burning coal. According to the reports issued by the World Health Organization in 2008 state coal particulates pollution are estimated to shorten approximately 1,000,000 lives annually worldwide.Surface mining of coal causes direct and indirect damage to wildlife. The impact on wildlife begins primarily from disturbing, removing and redistributing the land surface. Some impacts are short-term but some can be long term! The combustion of coal is one of the largest man made contributor to carbon dioxide in the air! Electric generation using coal burning produces around twice the greenhouse gases compared to the generation of natural gas. Over all the coal may be cheap and easy to use however it is impacting the live hood around it severely in the long run!

Energy Assignment Part 1

You are going to start this assignment by researching 3 of the following types of energy production options. Please research ones that interest you AND NOT just the ones that your friends choose. I will be checking when I mark to ensure that natural social groupings have no researched the exact same things. 
For EACH of the energy types that you research you should look at the pros and cons, how we use it, the benefits, drawbacks etc. Make sure that you are familiar with how they work. 

From the following list choose THREE: 
-Coal
-Nuclear
-Solar
-Tidal
-Wind
-Hydrothermal
-Geothermal

Coal:

Coal is a fossil fuel which is used around the world to produce electricity. It is a black sedimentary rock. Somethings it can be brown is very flammable. It is mostly made out of organic carbon and is a primary source for energy. It is mainly used to produce heat or electricity. Back in the days it was frequently used to heat up homes and power factories and trains. Since the 2000's coal consumption as risen up a lot than any other fuel globally. Around 6 billion tonnes of coal were used world wide in 2014! Thats how important coal is in modern society.

Pros for coal:
-inexpensive
-supply is more in industrialized cities/countries
-good utilization
-cheaper than gas (better to invest in financially)
-continuous power
-can change to a liquid state
-can turn into low carbon 

Cons for coal:
-not a renewable source
-has a large contribution to global warming
-has different levels for radiation
-emits methane (a lot of it)
-bad for environment around it
-has carbon dioxide in it
-impacts human health negatively
-burning coal emits mercury
-increases the rate of asthma and cancer in lungs

Solar:

Solar energy comes from the suns rays which is converted into electricity for various products. For instance light bulbs to light up a  house! This type of energy can be used in heating pools, water, homes and even for ventilation. It can heat up things that coal can heat up! Many people use solar energy lights on their driveway. So how does it work? There are panels called solar cells that convert sunlight into electricity. Using the energy of photons it creates current with the panel. A photon is created in the sun by the fusion of atoms.

Pros:
-Can replace certain products that need coal
-Using it is cost efficient
-Renewable source
-High efficiency
-Doesn't pollute the atmosphere
-saleable of at least 100MW level

Cons:
-low energy
-a little more expensive than the solar PV
-have to set it up in a proper location
-need to have proper upgraded technology to create
-to create the panel is super expensive
-Needs a lot of space
-does not look pretty in backyards
-manufacturing may cause pollution
-people still would rather buy gas (its cheaper)

Wind:

This type of energy also can be used for almost anything.. It can power boats, batteries and be used for electricity! In the olden days instead of wind turbines there was wind mills. Wind turbines convert energy in the wind and change it into mechanical power. This power can be used for pumping water or giving light in a house. Wind turbines can use generators to turn the wind energy into electricity. Which leads the house having light.

Pros of wind energy:
-also renewable
-a sustainable option
-no land is being drilled to collect it (saves environment)
-power is free
-cost is lower
-can be used almost anywhere

Cons of wind energy:
-have to rely on government as wind power may not be cheap
-turbines make a lot of noise
-birds have casualties from the propellers
-wind is not always blowing in the sky
-wind is inconsistent and unpredictable

Impact of Climate Change

Using SPECIFIC examples from your country, list the impacts that Climate Change will/ is having on it. You should organize your information based on the impact on the 4 spheres of the Environments. You must include AT least 4 pictures on your assignment. 1 mark will be given for every example up to a total of 30.

These are the following impacts that impact Indonesia:
Biosphere:
the regions of the surface, atmosphere, and hydrosphere of the earth:
- Negative impacts on human health (cholera)
-Negative impact on human lives (cause death)
-Destruction of certain plants
-Destruction of farmland crops
-Loss of aquaculture
-Loss of other living organisms(such as animals)
-Marine migration
-Human movement (away from the country)
-Fishing would decline (loss of profit)
-Destruction to trees and rainforests
-Destruction of topsoil
-Can start desertification

Atmosphere:
the envelope of gases surrounding the earth or another planet:
-Warmer climate in the atmosphere because of the rise in temperature
-More pollution in the atmosphere
-Trade winds decrease
-More carbon dioxide in the air than oxygen

Lithosphere:
the rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle:
-Loss of land
-Prone to more droughts
-Coastal areas are destroyed due to erosion
-Beaches can be destroyed
-Destruction to roads mountains and the soil

Hydrosphere:
all the waters on the earth's surface, such as lakes and seas, and sometimes including water over the earth's surface, such as clouds:
-Contamination in drinking water
-Water bodies could decrease in size
-Ocean acidification
-Coastal floodings may occur
-Oceans are more warmer than cool
-Sea level rises
-Less fresh water(could get contaminated) for living organismis
-Water around that area is polluted

Plate Tectonics

1)     What was believed BEFORE continental drift.

-Find one theory from Pre-1910 that describes how humans explained such phenomena as earthquake, volcanoes, mountains, etc.
The speculation that continents might have 'drifted' was first put forward by Abraham Ortelius in 1596. The concept was independently and more fully developed by Alfred Wegener in 1912, but his theory was rejected. In 1858 Antonio Snider-Pellegrini created two maps demonstrating how America and Africa continents might have once fit together. Antonio Snider-Pellegrini, and others had noted earlier that the shapes of continents on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean,mostly Africa and South America, seem to fit together.

2)     The theory of Continental Drift

-          Who came up with it?

-          When did they come up with it?

-          What did it state? What was the evidence?

-          Was the theory accepted? Why or why not ?
In 1915, the German geologist and meteorologist Alfred Wegener first proposed the theory of continental drift, which states that parts of the Earth's crust slowly drift atop a liquid core. Wegener hypothesized that there was a gigantic super continent 200 million years ago, which he named Pangaea.Wegener published this theory in his 1915 book, On the Origin of Continents and Oceans. The evidence was the fossils in the ground. Some fossils from south america were in Africa which proved Pangaea truly did exist. However his theory was rejected because there was no explanation as to why/how the continents would have split up and drifted apart from the super continent Pangaea.

3)     The Theory of Plate Tectonics

-          Who came up with it?

-          When did they come up with it?

-          What evidence did they use to support their theory?

o   Be sure to include how plates move.

1. Plate tectonics theory is the theory that the outer rigid layer of the earth (the lithosphere) is divided into a couple of plates that move around across the earth's surface. Alfred Wegener also came up with this theory around 1912.One of the first pieces of geophysical evidence that was used to support the movement of lithospheric plates came from paleomagnetism. This is based on the fact that rocks of different ages show a variable magnetic field direction, evidenced by studies since the mid–nineteenth century.

4)     The theory of Hot Spots

-          Who came up with the theory?

-          When?

-          What evidence did they use to support their theory?

-          Is the theory accepted?
In 1963, Canadian geophysicist J. Tuzo Wilson came up with the hotspot  theory to explain why although most earthquake and volcanic activity happened at plate boundaries.Wilson noted that in certain locations around the world, such as Hawaii, volcanism has been active for very long periods of time.He reasoned that if relatively long lasting and exceptionally hot regions called hotspots existed below the plates it would provide localized sources of high heat energy to sustain volcanism. It was accepted by some people however rejected by others. Some people could not fit this theory with the plate tectonics theory and thought the scientist was WRONG.

Biomes research

Indonesia is in the tropical forest biome and desert biome. Eastern side of Africa for instance Madagascar is in the rainforest biome and so is Malaysia! In an average year, in a tropical rain forest, the climate is very humid because of all the rainfall! Rainfall amounts to about 250 cm per year. The rain forest has lots of rain because it is very hot and wet. This climate is found near the equator(which is why Indonesia is a tropical biome forest). That means that there is more direct sunlight hitting the land and sea there than anywhere else. The main plants in this biome are trees. A lot of the rain that falls on the rain forest never reaches the ground. It stays on the trees because the leaves act as a shield, and some rain never gets past the trees to the smaller plants and grounds below. Trees in this climate reach a height of more than 164 feet. The annual precipitation of a rain forest is greater than 150 cm. The rain forest is different from a lot of other climates. In other climates, the evaporation is carried away to fall as rain in far off areas, but in the rain forests, 50 % of the precipitation comes from its own evaporation. The average temperature of a rain forest is about 77 degree Fahrenheit. The rain forest is about the same temperature year round and rarely changes dramatically. The temperature never drops below 64 degrees Fahrenheit. Rain forests are so hot because they are found near the equator. Indonesia’s vegetation is similar to that of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea. There are some 40,000 species of flowering plants. There are more than 3,000 tree species, including Duran, which are the large bears. Woody rattan vines are abundant in Indonesia’s forests. Thousands of plant species are exploited for economic purposes, either directly or indirectly. Another typical feature of Indonesian vegetation is the mangrove forest, characterized by the formation of prop-rooted trees, which grow only in salty water along muddy shores. Mangrove swamps are extensively developed along the shallow seas on eastern Sumatra and the southeastern segment of western New Guinea. Many of the islands contain endemic species. Among these are such birds as the Javanese peacock and the Sumatran drongo,A giant lizard, the prehistoric Komodo dragon, which attains a length of 12 feet lives on two small islands! The two islands are Rinca and Komodo, between Sumbawa and Flores.

Indonesia is in the tropical forest biome and desert biome.

Indonesia has an enormous and varied insect life that includes many unusual species. Examples include giant walkingsticks that can attain 8 inches in length, leaf insects , huge atlas beetles, elegant luna moths, and beautiful birdwing butterflies.

The reason there are so many animals inhabiting the worlds tropical rainforest is that the conditions are optimal for survival. There is plenty of food and water, there is shade from the heat, and plenty of shelter from the rain.

Many animals of the rainforest are camouflaged which aids them in avoiding predators.

Some animals have adaptations that enable them to eat food that other animals can't. For example parrots have strong beaks that crack the shells of very hard nuts.

As human population grows the need for agriculture, energy and development space increases with it. Tropical rainforests cover a massive amount of the world’s tree surface, each year over 90,000 square miles of the forests are harvested for human use. This deforestation has worried environmentalists because of the release of carbon from the machinery. The carbon dioxide is very harmful for the air and humans. It is believed that deforestation may accelerate the effects of global warming and transform the rainforest climate. The impact humans have on the forest is very bad and pretty much negative!

The lumber, agriculture, and mining industries are more major impacts on the tropical rainforest. They all require large areas of forest to be cleared so that they can take place. In mining large areas of forest are cleared and roads are built to access the mines. This greatly affects the diversity in the area because of the loud construction noises as well as pollution. The lumber and agriculture industries also have a very adverse affect on tropical rainforests. This is chiefly due to the fact that the soil fertility is only good enough to grow crops for a few years after it has been cleared. This leads to farmers clearing more and more forest each year to satisfy the needs of consumers.

Environmentalists estimate that we are losing 137 plant, animal, and insect species every day due to rainforest deforestation. The economic development in these areas are polluting tropical rainforests, reducing the habitat of numerous species!

Human activity and development in the tropical rainforest has lead to massive amounts of forest land being converted into other human uses. Overexploitation of the rain forests and Natural resource is a highly damaging impact that humans have on the rainforest.

However human activity in the Rainforest Biome has allowed for the discovery and implementation of many different medicines, nearly 120 prescription medications today are derived from plants in the tropical rainforest, nearly two thirds of these drugs are known to have cancer fighting properties, not only are the drugs used to combat cancer, they are key in fighting malaria, heart disease, hypertension.

 "Pros and Cons of Moving to Indonesia." Expat Arrivals. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2015.

"Indonesia." Greenpeace International. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2015.

"Indonesian Rainforests | Rainforest Action Network." Rainforest Action Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2015.

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 19 June 2015.

"Indonesia." Greenpeace International. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2015.

Earthquake in your Country

Earthquake in your country

***You will need to know the Earthquake terms to know in order to fully understand this assignment.

1)     Find an Earthquake that has occurred in your country. When did it occur?

In 2004 the Indian Ocean earthquake occurred at 00 :58 UTC on December 26. This event was known as the Sumatra Andaman Earthquake. The magnitude was estimated to be a 9.0 or 8 (scientist have a rough estimatg).

2)     Where was the focus of the Earthquake? Was it a deep or shallow focus earthquake?

The epicenter was between Simeulue and mainland Indonesia.  3.316°N 95.854°ECoordinates: 3.316°N 95.854°E

3)     What caused the earthquake to occur? (Plate names, boundary type, human caused) Explain.

The under sea mega thrust earthquake was caused because the Indian plate was subducted by the Burma plate and triggered multiple tsunamis along the coasts of landmass bordering the Indian ocean. The earthquake was unusually large  and was estimated that 16000 km of the fault surface slipped along the subduction zone. The slip did not happen instantaneously but took place in two  phases over a period of several minutes.

4)     What was the Richter scale magnitude of your earthquake.

On the Richter scale the magnitude of this earthquake was around 8.0 to 9.0. Since 226 scientist have been estimating this strong impact.

5)     Describe the damage caused by your earthquake.

a.       What was the impact on the biosphere? (Humans, animals, plants)

There was a huge impact on the biosphere about 222,879 people died because of the earthquake and tsunami. The tsunami caused serious damage to the plants and trees. Salt water was added into the soils of the plants. In addition, the spread of solid and liquid waste and industrial chemicals, water pollution and the destruction of sewage collectors and treatment plants threaten the environment even further. The drinking water contained a spread of diesasees such as cholera and typhoid.

b.      Lithosphere (Roads, mountains)
Because of the earthquake the roads have been damaged.  Buildings crushed onto the roads and have damaged them. Homes are part of the lithosphere and they have been damaged due to the earthquake. Things have either broke apart here or fell on them and broke it apart.

c.       Economic Impact

Austria pledged 819 million dollars for  aid packages and about 760 million went towards Indonesia.  The level of damage to the economy wasn't as huge. The two man occupations affected but the tsunami was fishing and tourism. The impact on coastal fishing communities and the people living there, some of the poorest in the region, has been devastating with high losses of income earners as well as boats and fishing gear. Because of the tsunami there became a demand for fiber glass and the industry  for plastic boomed. However the huge demand led to lower quality in the process.

Impact on the infrastructure (buildings, roads, overpasses , bridges) 
The impact on infrastructure is a negative one. It either completely ruined or destroyed certain parts of  buildings, roads, overpasses and bridges. Without a proper bridge townspeople cont have ways to go home or to their workplace. A bridge helps goods and ideas transport and when there is no bridge its harder to transport stuff.