Students from around the world calculated their class mean and standard deviations for their footprints and posted them on our world map.
Do you see differences across the globe? If so, why do you think those differences exist?
Did you use the calculator to try to reduce your footprint down to the average from a citizen of another country? What changes would you have to make to lower your footprint in this way? Are you going to try and take some of these actions in your daily life?
Student Footprints >
Stored Energy (why isn't there more solar and wind?)
After looking at the many posts and well-intentioned cries of "Why isn't there more solar and wind?" I have the real answer why. It comes down to stored energy. We do not have the proper means to store the energy we produce for when we really need it. The sun doesn't shine when we really need it to, at night. Nighttime is when we use lights, appliances, and the majority of EV charging. The truth is the sun doesn't always shine and the wind doesn't always blow. Therein lies the reason there is not more of these renewable energy sources. A lack of stored energy.
Predicted responses:
"What about dams Ryan?"
Dams create a massive ecological disruption and take a long time to build.
Also, there isn't the water to do that in many areas.
"What about Batteries Ryan?"
The current technology needed to store that amount of energy would be incredibly inefficient. Additionally, the materials to make those batteries would create a massive environmental disruption(and already does.) Also, there would be more fighting over minerals(like in the Congo(look it up.))
"What about nuclear power?"
While the nuclear power industry is fairly safe(kinda sorta) the waste produced by them is very difficult to dispose of. For now, all we can really do is bury it and hope nothing digs it up. (it's like giving your kids a puppy that will kill anything it gets too close too and will pollute the water and soil and almost everything, and saying "can you take care of this for the next 10,000 years.)
Anyway, I'd love to hear what you have to say.
Ryan, I agree wholeheartedly that wind, solar, and nuclear sources of power aren't very reliable when attempting to create a large amount of energy sustainably. Additionally, storing large amounts of energy definitely causes a lot of problems as well. However, for energy sources such as geothermal energy and yes, dams, the energy outputted can be reused continuously. Therefore, I think that if for example we were able to accomplish the task of storing large amounts of the energy from these sources or other sustainable sources, then we could make a serious impact on the issue of global warming. But like you said, to power our planet with the amount of energy demanded in a modern lifestyle worldwide, we would have to find a way to store large amounts of energy efficiently, along with having efficient and sustainable methods of gaining energy in the first place.
Ryan your post was very good. What about wind power, it is a good renewable power source that can he used almost everywhere. Wind power is expensive each turbine costs between 1.3 and 2.2 million but I think it is worth it to save our environment. Nuclear is a good idea but you are right the waste it produces does sit in the ground and if the plant meltdowns it is not good for the surrounding area. Solar energy is good but the sun is not always there. Thank your for your post Ryan. Here is a website that tells the different types of renewable energy. http://www.altenergy.org/renewables/renewables.html