Alternative energy sources| In our modern industrial society we consume vast amounts of energy to make our daily life more comfortable and productive. We use energy every day - for heat and light in living and working areas, cooking, transportation, manufacturing, and entertainment. The choices we make about how...
Solar energy| Solar energy makes an enormous but largely unrecorded contribution to our energy needs. It is the sun's radiant energy that maintains the Earth's surface at a temperature warm enough to support human life. But despite this enormous input of energy to our civilisation, the sun is virtually ignored in national and...
Indirect use of solar energy| The above examples illustrate the direct harnessing of the sun's radiant energy to produce heat and electricity. But the sun's energy can also be harnessed via other forms of energy that...
Wave power| When winds blow over the world's oceans, they cause waves. The power in such waves, as they gradually build up over very long distances, can be very great – as anyone watching or feeling that...
Geothermal energy| Geothermal energy is another renewable source that is not derived from solar radiation. As the name implies, its source is the earth's internal heat, which originates mainly from the decay of long-lived radioactive elements. The most useful geothermal resources occur where underground bodies of water...
Biomass and coppicing for cheap, renewable energy| Biomass is a biofuel derived from plants which are harvested and suitably processed for burning. The heat produced is the form of energy which can be harnessed. Other names commonly associated with the technique are Coppicing and Energy Fuel. Biomass is, strictly...
Bio-Diesel, a renewable alternative to petro-diesel for motor vehicles| Biodiesel, a green and renewable fuel for motor vehicles.As its name suggests biodiesel is a fuel oil derived from biological sources. Mainly these are vegetable oils and recycled cooking greases or oils, and it is a viable alternative to traditional petro-diesel for...
The carbon-neutral feature of biodiesel| The carbon-neutral feature of biodiesel can be reduced to some extent because fossil fuels may be used in general transportation and in the manufacturing process. That is a variable depending on...
Ethanol and methanol as biofuels for internal combustion engines in motor vehicles| Ethanol & Methanol can replace Petrol (Gasoline) with minor vehicle & fuel-storage modifications.Ethanol (ethyl alcohol) and Methanol (methyl alcohol aka wood alcohol) can be used to...
Waste from fields| It is fairly common knowledge that the alcohols can be made from organic materials such as grains, fruit and wood. In practical and commercial terms the sources may be quite varied and sometimes surprising. For example, waste from fields...