Table of contents

Introduction..................................................................................................
Predictions for our future generations......................................................
Alternative sources of energy Choose wisely.......................................
Unusual alternative energy you can choose from.................................
Interesting facts about alternative power sources.................................
Be the change you want to see in the world!..........................................
Tips and tricks everyone can use to reduce energy costs.....................
Easy DYI solar water heater......................................................................
Conclusion...................................................................................................

Introduction

We have to admit that weve come to a point where tomorrow is an

unpredictable issue. We never know what the next day might bring due to
these rapid and endless changes that are occurring all over the planet. Yes, on
one hand we have managed to build skyscrapers, rebuild organs, invent the
most sophisticated systems ever known, walk on the moon, and much more
but on the other hand we have never stopped to think about the other face of
the coin and the damages weve caused to achieve all those innovations.
Its quite an unsecure world out there and who knows what our children
might face over the years. Will there be enough food, air, or resources to
survive? We do not know. But what we do know is that everything we are
doing today is influencing and affecting their future. Every tree we are cutting
down means less fresh air for them in the future, every bite of food we throw
away as garbage means less for them in the years to come, and every fossil
fuel we burn today means pollution that also affects them.
What are we supposed to do in this case? There are plenty of things we can
do, we just need to think and care more about the planet we are living on.

Predictions for our future generations

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is predicting

that by 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with
absolute water scarcity.

Regarding the resources of oil, if the global production remains at the current
rate it will only be enough for the next 46.2 years, while the resources of
natural gas will only cover the next 58 years.
When it comes to coal, this has the largest reserves left out of all the fossil
fuels, but as China and other developing countries continue to increase their
appetite for coal, demand could finally outstrip supply. As it is, we have
enough coal to meet 188 years of global production.

Considering that the worlds energy consumption is predicted to rise by 37%

during the next two decades, amid rising global population and demand from
Asian markets, our worst enemy remains, nevertheless, pollution.

In the U.S., air pollution causes as many as 50,000 deaths per year and costs as
much as $40 billion a year in health care and lost productivity. Lakes, streams,
and estuaries are dying because of acid rain, 35 percent of Europe's forests are
showing signs of air pollution damage, and crop losses in the U.S. caused by
harmful emissions are estimated to be 5-10 percent of total production--more
than $5 billion a year.

Other places like Milan, Shenyang, Tehran, Seoul, and Rio de Janeiro reported
the worst levels of sulfur dioxide--a pollutant directly harmful to humans.
Paris and Madrid also made the top 10 in the list, produced by a U.N.
monitoring network.

Around the world, the notion that 'pollution is the price of progress' has
become antiquated. Faced with ever mounting costs to human health and
economic losses in agriculture and forestry, countries everywhere are
discovering that pollution prevention is a sound investment.

Alternative sources of energy Choose wisely

The main reasons to move towards alternative energy sources in your home
are:

They are sustainable. From sun to wind to bioenergy, the U.S. renewable
energy base is virtually intact. And because these alternative energy sources
are naturally replenished day after day, they are a source of virtually endless

energy.
They are environmentally-friendly. We rely on earth to provide the air, water,
and food we need for life. Using alternative energy reduces the amount of

digging, drilling, and mining we do, thereby reducing stress on the planet.
Their use provides a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Traditional
fossil-fuel based energy sources release carbon dioxide in the air, resulting in
whats known as the greenhouse effect, which many believe is responsible for
climate change. Since renewable energies dont result in CO2 emissions, they

offer a viable solution to this problem.

Their low degree of emission leads to cleaner air. All of the chemical byproducts and substances that are released in the air by the processing and
burning of fossil fuels ultimately affect the air we breathe. Renewable energy

provides an important step towards a less polluted planet.

They increase our energy security. The use of alternative energy sources
renders us less reliant on the import of fossil fuels, which in turn makes us

less vulnerable to the ups and downs of the market and the influences of an
ever-changing political landscape.
They reduce the need for oil drilling. New drilling prospects still exist, but

many involve further despoiling of some of the natural wilderness areas we

have left.
They provide financial stability for the consumer. A homeowner with an
alternative energy system in place is no longer vulnerable to fluctuations in
the gas and oil markets driven by the ever-changing dynamics of supply and

demand.
There are often subsidies available. Increasingly, governments worldwide
are putting into place significant financial incentives for individual
homeowners to switch to alternative energy systems. Often this can help

offset the initial installation costs of an alternative system.

They have the potential to turn into viable new industries. Many of the
companies responsible for the development of alternative energy sources are
some of the more fore thinking and cutting-edge organizations in the world.
Plus, all of the manufacturing, installation, retrofitting, and so on involved in

the use of these systems carries the potential to create many new jobs.
They can save you money. In the end, using alternative energy sources can
save you money. Although you typically have to make an initial investment,
these types of systems usually pay for themselves over time, given that their
primary energy source (i.e. sun or wind) is essentially free.

These reasons might convince you all to choose an alternative source of

energy but still, if you think for a second, wind and solar power are quite
expensive when it comes to building or buying such a device. These are still
more expensive than oil and coal and may not be the best solution for all
places or uses.

That is because we have probably stuck to these ideas without thinking about
the abundance of other alternative sources of power. You can find cheap and

efficient energy by investigating lesser-known sources, ones that may seem a

little unusual, even ridiculous.
For this reason, we will reveal some of the most bizarre but cheap and efficient
sources of alternative power available all over the world.

Unusual alternative energy you can choose from

Mankinds quest for energy has mainly centered on wood, coal, and oil
though these fuels are slowly giving way to nuclear, wind, and geothermal
power sources. Even newer fuels have sparked alternatives, however, and
what today seems odd and impractical may someday be ordinary.

Body Heat

Stretching the imagination when it comes to energy could get us closer to

generating energy the way nature does: freely and efficiently.
In London, Mayor Boris Johnson
announced that excess heat from the
subway

tunnels

and

an

electric

substation would be funneled into

British homes.
Metro stations, airports, and railway
systems invest millions of dollars to cool the heat generated from all of these
machines and establish ways
to dispose it ultimately
resulting in wastage of so
much energy. Fancy all of that
wasted heat actually being
directed towards residential or
corporate buildings or even
better, being converted into a source of electric power. The possibility of such
an alternative energy source is fascinating!

Sugar
Traditionally, putting sugar into a gas tank is a prank that can ruin a cars
engine. But someday, it could be a great way to fuel a vehicle.
We should not dismiss ideas, we should let people pursue ideas of unusual

things, Diego del Castillo Negrete, a senior research scientist in the Fusion
Energy Division at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory said.

Researchers and chemists at Virginia Tech are developing a way to convert

sugar into hydrogen, which can be used in a fuel cell, providing a cheaper,
cleaner, pollutant-free, and odorless drive. The scientists combine plant
sugars, water, and 13 powerful enzymes in a reactor, converting the
concoction into hydrogen and trace amounts of carbon dioxide.
The hydrogen could be captured and pumped through a fuel cell to produce
energy. Their process delivers three times more hydrogen than traditional
methods, which translates into cost savings.
Unfortunately, it might be another decade before consumers can actually
dump sugar into their gas tanks. What seems more realistic in the short term
is using the same technology to create long-lasting sugar-based batteries for
laptops, cell phones, and other electronics.

Cars powered by sugar

In the 1980s, Brazil tried to develop a new fuel for cars from
sugar. They fermented the sugar cane to produce ethanol (just
like grapes are fermented to produce wine) and managed to get
three quarters of all their new cars using ethanol instead of
regular petrol made from oil. Even now, petrol sold in Brazil
contains 26% ethanol.

Solar Wind

One hundred billion times more power than humanity currently needs is
available right now, out in space. It comes through solar wind, a stream of
energized, charged particles flowing outward from the sun. Brooks Harrop, a
physicist at Washington State University in Pullman and Dirk SchulzeMakuch of Washington State Universitys School of Earth and Environmental
Sciences, think they can capture these particles with a satellite that orbits the
sun at the same distance that the Earth does.

Their so-called Dyson-Harrop satellite would have a long copper wire

charged by onboard batteries in order to produce a magnetic field perfect for
snagging the electrons in the solar wind. The energy from the electrons would
be beamed from the satellite via an infrared laser to Earth, since the infrared
spectrum would not be affected by the planets atmosphere.
This Dyson-Harrop satellite has a few technical problems that researchers are
currently trying to fix. It has no protection from space debris, and some of the
power could be lost as its beamed through Earths atmosphere. Plus, finding
a way to aim the laser beam across millions of miles of space is no small task.

10

What seems more realistic is to use this satellite to power nearby space
missions.

Solar power is already recognized as one of

the

cleanest

energy

sources

currently

available; however, solar panels still have

several economic and practical limitations.
Fortunately, scientists are already working on another method of drawing
power from the sun: solar wind. Not exactly a wind as we know it, solar wind
is more of a constant flow of accelerated particles, which can be used to
generate energy using a sail made of copper. The earth does not receive this
flow directly, thanks to our atmosphere, so the power generator would need to
be placed in space. This might be difficult, but it is nothing compared to the
biggest issue of this technology how to send the generated power back to
earth. The best idea so far has been to send it with a laser beam.

Feces and Urine

Most people think that feces and urine should be disposed of immediately.
But feces contain methane, a colorless, odorless gas that could be used in the
same way as natural gas.
At least two solutions -- one in Cambridge, Massachusetts, called Park Spark
and one in San Francisco run by Norcal Waste -- is focused on converting dog
poo into methane.

11

In both of the solutions, dog walkers are provided biodegradable bags, which

after theyre filled, are placed into a large container called a digester. Inside,
microorganisms process the poo, giving off methane as a by-product. The
methane can be used to power lights.
In Pennsylvania, a dairy farm is looking to cow manure for energy. Six
hundred cows that produce 18,000 gallons of manure daily are helping the
farm save $60,000 a year. The waste is used to produce electricity, bedding,
fertilizer, and heating fuel. And Hewlett-Packard recently released a study
explaining how a dairy farmer could make money by leasing land to Internet
server companies, who could power computers with the methane.
Human waste is just as good. In Bristol, Australia a VW Beetle car is powered
by methane captured from a raw sewage treatment plant. Engineers from
Wessex Water estimate that the waste from 70 homes can generate enough gas
to make the car run for 10,000 miles.
And lets not forget urine. At the Heriot-Watt University's School of
Engineering and Physical Sciences in Edinburgh, scientists are looking for a
way to make the world's first urine-powered fuel cells. It could be a viable way
for astronauts or military personnel, for instance, to produce power on the go.
Urea is an accessible, non-toxic, organic chemical compound rich in nitrogen.
So yes, humans are constantly carrying around a chemical compound that can
produce electricity.

Power from poultry poo?

It's true! A company called Fibrowatt built the world's
first power station, which generates electricity using
poultry poo as a fuel. The 12.7-megawatt power station,
which is in Suffolk , generates enough electricity for

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29,000 homes

People
The next time youre standing in a crowded subway in the middle of summer,
dont sweat it. The heat your body produces can warm an entire building,
complete with offices, apartments, and shops. At least thats what's happening
in Stockholm and Paris. Jernhuset, a state-owned property administration
company is putting together a plan to capture body heat from train
commuters traveling through Stockholms Central Station. The heat will warm
water running through pipes, which will then be pumped through the
buildings ventilation system.
Paris Habitat, owner of a low-income housing project in Paris, will also use
body heat to warm 17 apartments in a building, which is directly above a
metro station near Pompidou Center. On a more morbid and less sweaty note,
a crematorium in the United Kingdom is using gasses released from the
cremation process to heat a crematorium. The energy in cremated bodies is
already being captured as it passes through filters to remove the mercury in
the deceaseds fillings. Instead of letting the energy escape, pipes are used to
pump it through the building.

Humans will be able to power their cell phones, i-pods, or

television with their own body heat. This is generated
through the difference in temperature between the
human body and the surroundings through which around
200 millivolts can be produced.

German scientists have been able to find a mechanism

that allows body heat to be converted into electricity with
the help of circuitry.

13

Vibrations/dance clubs
Go out and party; it may help the environment. Club Watt in Rotterdam,
Netherlands is using floor vibrations from people walking and dancing to
power its light show. The vibrations are captured by piezoelectric materials
that produce an electric charge when put under stress.
The U.S. Army is also looking at piezoelectric technology for energy. They put
the material in soldiers boots in order to charge radios and other portable
devices. Although this is an interesting renewable energy with great potential,
its not cheap. Club Watt spent $257,000 on this first generation 270-squarefoot floor, more money than it can recoup. But the floor will be reprogrammed
to improve output in the future. Your dance moves really can be electric.
So perhaps you dont want to use animals as fuel, and you think that big
lasers are some kind of sci-fi fantasy. Well, good news: it turns out that merely
moving around will be enough to create energy. Harnessing it is another
matter. As things stand, our everyday life is generally one big waste of energy.
But by walking or jumping over special plates, you can use the wasted energy
to generate electricity. Currently, this technology is too expensive to be

14

considered as a real solution but thinking about the amount of energy

wasted in clubs or crowded streets makes it a really interesting solution.

Sludge
California

municipalities

alone

produce 700,000 metric tons of

dried sludge annually, which has
the potential to generate 10 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per day.
The University of Nevada, Reno, is drying sludge to make it burnable for a
gasification process, which turns it into electricity. A team of researchers at the
university built the processing machine as a way of producing low-cost and
energy efficient technology. The machine turns gooey sludge into powder by
using relatively low temperatures in a fluidized bed of sand and salts to
produce the biomass fuel.
The waste-to-energy technology is designed to be on-site which means
companies can save on trucking costs, disposal fees, and electricity. Although
research is still ongoing, estimates show that a full-scale system can
potentially generate 25,000 kilowatt-hours per day to help power reclamation
facilities.
Best out of waste, at its best here! Sludge, the gooey, disgusting semi-liquid
which contains highly toxic chemicals can be treated, dried, and put through a
gasification process to turn it into biomass fuel or electricity. At least all of our
holy and non-holy rivers will be free of this disgusting waste.

15

Trees are electric. It has been always been known that

trees can produce electricity through biomass and

burning wood, but the new fact is that trees can produce
electricity even without being cut.
MIT scientists discovered in 2006 that there is a slight pH
imbalance between a tree and its surrounding soil, and
this imbalance is able to cause a generation of a small
amount of electricity.
The potential for this application is still minor and
limited to local uses of electricity to operate sensors and
small electric devices.

Jellyfish
Jellyfish that glow in the dark contain the raw ingredients for a new kind of
fuel cell. Their glow is produced by a green fluorescent protein, referred to as
GFP. A team at The Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg,
Sweden, placed a drop of GFP onto aluminum electrodes and then exposed it
to

ultraviolet

light. The protein

released electrons, which travel a

circuit to produce electricity.
The same proteins have been used to
make a biological fuel cell, which
produces

electricity

without

an

external light source. Instead of an external light source, a mixture of

chemicals such as magnesium and luciferase enzymes, which are found in
fireflies, were used to produce electricity from the device.
These fuel cells can be used in small, Nano devices such as those that can be
implanted in a person to diagnose or treat disease.

16

Exploding Lakes
There are three known "exploding
lakes," in the world, so called because
they contain huge reservoirs of methane
and carbon dioxide trapped in the
depths

by

differences

in

water

temperature and density.

If temperatures should change and the lake turns, these gases would
immediately fizz to the surface like a shaken bottle of soda, killing the
millions of people and animals living nearby. In fact, such an event happened
on August 15, 1984, when Cameroon's Lake Nyos unleashed a huge cloud of
concentrated carbon dioxide, instantly suffocating hundreds of people and
animals.
In Rwanda, Lake Kivu is such a place. But the government has built a power
plant that sucks up the noxious gases from the lake to power three large
generators, which produce 3.6 megawatts of electricity. The government hopes
that in the next couple of years, the plant will produce enough power for onethird of the country.

Bacteria
Billions of bacteria live out in the wild, and like any living organism, they

17

have a survival strategy for when there is a limited food supply. E. coli

bacteria store fuel in the form of fatty acids that resembles polyester. That
same fatty acid is needed for the production of biodiesel fuel. So, researchers
are looking to genetically modify E. coli
microorganisms to overproduce those
polyester-like acids.
The scientists removed enzymes from
the

bacteria

to

boost

fatty

acid

production, and then dehydrated the

fatty acid to get rid of the oxygen, which turned it into a type of diesel fuel.
The same bacteria that can make us sick can also help save people money and
the environment, by providing fuel for transportation.
Biodiesel production has been a reality for quite a while now. It is a fuel
obtained through the combination of vegetable oil and alcohol. However, it
requires extensive cultivable lands, and a lot of energy is involved in
production. To counter these problems, scientists are already working on
alternative methods of transforming seed oil into biodiesel, such as via the
natural activity of bacteria. However, even if these reached full efficiency,
external energy would still need to be expended in order to obtain oil from the
seeds. Another new option is therefore to use insects to produce oil, which
could be cheaper. Bugs may well fuel the future.

Food Leftovers
Biogas is a fuel (mainly methane) obtained from organic matter, after bacteria
and natural conditions have degraded it over time. A lot of leftover food and

18

waste such as fruit skins or coffee can be used to obtain biogas, and there

are already a number of small industries collecting and using the trash
produced in big cities to generate electricity, a lot like in Back to the Future.

The process of generating energy from organic matter is called Anaerobic

Digestion. Anaerobic digestion is slowly becoming a more ordinary method
of energy production for both businesses and households alike. It involves
harnessing the gases that are produced as a result of biodegradation.

Anaerobic digestion can be used on both large and small scales even for
everyday household food waste, creating a useful form of waste management
for homeowners.

Being a great source of sugar, watermelon has been

discovered to have good energy content that can be
readily distilled into alcohol. Alcohol in turn can be used
to power automobiles and other machinery equipment.

19

A study conducted in the US has shown that around 50%

of the watermelon fruits available are fermentable and

could be easily fermented to ethanol. The potential for

ethanol in watermelons has been shown to be 20 gallons
per acre from fruit that otherwise would go to waste.
Being a great source of sugar, watermelon has been
discovered to have good energy content that can be
readily distilled into alcohol. Alcohol in turn can be used
to power automobiles and other machinery equipment.
A study conducted in the US has shown that around 50%
of the watermelon fruits available are fermentable and
could be easily fermented to ethanol. The potential for
ethanol in watermelons has been shown to be 20 gallons
per acre from fruit that otherwise would go to waste.

Sound waves
Every day we feel the energy that sound waves can generate: we feel a big
truck passing by, or the annoying woofer of our neighbors. Since sound waves
can make almost any material in the earth vibrate, some scientists are trying to
transform these waves into electricity by using wires and electrodes. The
amount of energy that can be obtained with sound waves is not exactly
enormous, but current research is exploring the possibilities of using it to
charge small devices, such as cellphones or clocks.

20

Electric eels
An electric eel is a fish capable of
generating

400

electric

discharge. This mechanism is used

by the fish to defend itself from
predators and to hunt small fish
but its main purpose is that of a
radar system, a replacement for its nearly blind eyes. This fish has fascinated
us since the very moment someone realized its awesome electric power, so the
next step was obvious: find a way to use it. A Japanese aquarium has already
used an eel to light up a Christmas tree, so maybe the future electrical
generator in our homes will be a small pond full of eels.

Cows
Cows, and cattle in general, are
responsible for a lot of the gases
that

cause

global

warming.

Their burps, which mostly emit

methane

gas,

can

also

be

harvested and used as a source

of power. A lot of people have
been trying to collect it, and some of them have been successful. It might be
ridiculous to see a cow with a giant balloon attached to its butt but if its
attached in the right way, it could well kill two birds with one stone: provide

21

useful energy, and at the same time solve the gas problem.

Human waste

Not only bugs and cattle

produce usable wastes
humans can claim this ability
too. It might seem rather
disgusting, but our own pee
and poop can be used to
obtain energy. Some companies claim to have found the best source: used
diapers, since there are just too many of those in the world. Pee, on the other
hand, due to its saline properties, can be easily hydrolyzed to obtain
hydrogen. Overall, pee is better than simple water for this process. Finally,
considering the high obesity levels in some countries and the growing market
for liposuction, even our own fat can be used as a replacement for oil in the
production of biodiesel.

Breathing

22

Too lazy to walk? Dont worry human bodies can still be useful sources of
energy just by being alive. As an example, you can recharge your cellphone by
breathing. You can also feed your pacemaker and some small medical devices
with the energy created by your heartbeat and muscular spasms. Now you
can stay on the couch watching movies, and tweet to the whole world that
your message was powered by
your own internal energy.

Chocolate
There are a few different ways in
which chocolate has been used
to produce clean energy. The waste left over from a chocolate factory in the
U.K. was fed to E. coli bacteria, which resulted in the production of hydrogen.
Hydrogen is one of the cleanest fuels, its only by-product being water. Fat
from chocolate was also converted into biofuel and used to power a racing car,
which reached 130 miles per hour on the racetrack. The shells of cocoa beans
can also be converted into biofuel: A chocolate factory and power plant in
New Hampshire recently joined forces to include cocoa bean shells, many of
which are produced as waste
from the chocolate factory, as an
additional fuel source.

23

Dance floors
The sustainable dance floor converts kinetic energy into electricity. Movement,
such as people walking or dancing, generates kinetic energy. The electricity is
used to power the LED lights in the floor itself. Excess electricity can also be
fed back into the grid and sold, much in the same way excess energy from a
solar panel might be, or could be used to power other systems within the
same building.

The technology used in the sustainable dance floor could potentially be

applied to other situations and locations, such as a bus stop or train station for
example, to make the most of kinetic energy generated by movement.
Walking, dancing, jumping all these result into wasted energy.
Piezoelectricity, meaning electricity resulting from pressure is generated
through people walking, dancing, or jumping on piezoelectric floor pads. A
few initiatives across the world include the use of piezoelectric floor pads
being used at crowded train stations, green gyms (Green Gym groups meet at
least once a week and do between 1 and 4 hours practical conservation or

24

gardening work.

All participants are Volunteers. Over two-thirds have never taken part in
environmental conservation work before. Examples of the types of work
undertaken include coppicing, clearing scrubland, path building, treeplanting or digging on an allotment), and nightclubs.

The Worlds First Sustainable Dance Club, Club WATT is in the Netherlands
where these piezoelectric floor pads generate electricity for the entire club.
Talking about closer home, what are the rest of the worlds train stations and
the crowded footpaths waiting for?

Diapers & Adult diapers

Dumping of diapers in landfills only causes underground water pollution,
spreads diseases, and gives off that God-awful smell. What if we can stop this
dumping and use it productively? Feces contain methane, which can be used
as natural gas. Around 40 thousand children are born every day around the
world the amount of energy we could generate from so many diapers would

25

be a win-win situation towards waste management and energy generation.

Tornadoes, Hurricanes, Tsunami

If you think wind is a powerful source of energy, think what a tornado or a
tsunami can do. Researchers and various studies have shown that in the
future we can develop technologies to harness the power and energy
generated during a natural disaster to power cities.

Seawater

26

Imagine the largest water bodies on our planet, the oceans, used for fuel.
Oceans and seas are the largest untapped energy resource and the US Navy is
all set to change it. In a recent report from the US Navy, experts have found a
way to extract carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas from seawater and then by
using a catalytic convertor, transform it into a fuel by a gas-to-liquids process.
Lets suppose that they share this
technology

and

then

take

into

account all the sources of seawater

around

the

world.

An

added

thought here is that if the US Navy

has found a way to extract carbon
dioxide from sea water does this mean that the increasing destructive effects
of excess carbon dioxide in sea water will be controlled, forever? Phew, thats
got to be a relief!

Confiscated Alcohol
How

about

we

turn

confiscated illegal alcohol

into fuel rather than letting
policemen drink or sell it? Confiscated alcohol, smuggled alcohol every
drop of this toxic substance which either goes to waste or into the stomachs or
pockets of our law enforcers can be transformed into biogas and used to fuel
transport vehicles such as buses or even police vehicles, for all we care!

Coffee Grounds

27

Next to oil, coffee is the most traded commodity on the planet. Unlike oil,
coffee production and preparation creates a lot of waste. Now it seems that
this so-called waste coffee grounds in particular can be put to good use as
a fuel. Researchers at the University of Nevadas Department of Chemical and
Materials Engineering analyzed coffee grounds and discovered that they
contain a significant percentage of oil in the form of biodiesel. Whats more,
the natural anti-oxidants in the extracted coffee oil help extend its shelf life.
The leftover grounds can be compacted and burnt as pelletized fuel.

While home users wont be able to do much with their used coffee grounds
beyond composting them, major coffee retailers could reap huge rewards by
changing the way they treat waste grounds. Its estimated that Starbucks
generates 210 million pounds of coffee grounds annually. Processing these
grounds could provide nearly 3 million gallons of biodiesel and about 90,000
tons of fuel pellets.

All of these alternative energy

sources offer a two-pronged effect
wherein you can generate and
clean. Such innovative ideas have
what it would take to change the
realm

of

energy

in

an

unprecedented way. These are untapped energy sources which our world has
the potential to use and overuse, as that is our specialty. Most of them might
seem futuristic but the kind of science and research institutions that several

28

countries throughout the world harbor, the research can be streamlined

towards exploring new, alternative energy resources which can help us to be

independent of fossil fuels and the destructive environmental effects they

have.

Interesting facts about alternative power sources

In case you are still not convinced about the importance of alternative sources
of power and the urgent need for continuous and innovative researches on
this matter, you will find on the following pages much information that is not
only meant to raise awareness but also trigger the instinct in each of you to
try and make a difference. Yes, its true that many of us may not have the
opportunity or knowledge to discover or implement innovative ways of
producing eco-friendly energy, but at least do the best you can to conserve
and make the right choices.

Alternative energy is one of the hottest environmental topics today and

sweeping the entire world in its grip. It no longer revolves around the use of
nuclear energy to generate electricity but also includes the use of alternative
products like ethanol in vehicles.

29

Today it has become important to know about alternative energy, how it

works, and its different forms, so that
one can stay on the top of the
presidential campaign policies and the
environmental legislations and how it
affects our house and family. This type
of energy is formed from sources that
are neither harmful to the environment nor deplete the natural resources of
the earth. So, this type of energy excludes everything such as coal and petrol
that pollutes and harms the environment.
Many people think that utilizing alternative sources for energy is a fairly new
concept, which scientists came up with after the world finally started waking
up to the dangers of global warming.
However, this is a misconception as mankind has been using alternative
sources of energy since it first learned to light a fire with two stones!
Ancient civilizations took advantage of alternative sources of energy in the
form of wind, sun, water, and even geothermal heat. Here are 10 of the most
interesting facts from the history of alternative energy sources, which were
the stepping-stone to inventing todays alternative energy technology:
You can find out about the intrigues of the big oil companies in the world that
are struggling to intensify the drilling processes to earn more money despite
the damages they are causing.

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The U.S. rotary rig count from Baker Hughes was down 48 at 1,310 for the
week of February 20, 2015. It is 461 rigs (26.0%) lower than last year. The

number of rotary rigs drilling for oil was down 37 at 1,019. There are 406
fewer rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil represent 77.8
percent of all drilling activity.

Three months after Saudi Arabia made it clear that it was going to let oil
prices keep tumbling; the strategy is showing signs of working. U.S. drillers
are idling rigs at a record pace, gutting investment plans, and laying off
thousands of workers.

The U.S. energy information administration reduced its 2015 U.S. crude
production forecast to 9.3 million barrels a day in February from 9.42 million
in November. The projected output will fall in the third quarter for the first
time in four years.

Oil has rebounded 14 percent in February, following a drop of more than 50

percent since June, in part because of the decline in drilling, which signaled
supply growth will slow. Lower prices also spurred demand from bargain
hunters, putting European benchmark Brent Crude on track for its first
monthly gain since June.

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 The U.S. rotary rig count from Baker Hughes was down 48 at 1,310 for the
week of February 20, 2015.

Renewable energy is a type of alternative energy, which makes use of natural

resources like tides, wind, sunlight, and geothermal heat, which are naturally
refilled by nature and can never come to an end. About 13% of energy comes
from renewable sources of energy. When countries started thinking about
alternative sources of energy, they could never have realized that there would
be such a large number to draw from.

Hydro power: this energy is formed through flow of water in dams. Tidal
energy: it also works upon the same model as dams.

Wave energy: this is very much similar to hydro energy and tidal energy.

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 Fuel cells: these are usually associated with hybrid cars or electric cars.
Electro-chemical devices are used to produce energy through chemical
reaction without producing any harmful pollutants.

Solar power: it is produced by transforming sunlight into electrical energy

with the use of silicon.

Wind power: this energy is obtained by converting wind energy into kinetic
energy to generate electricity.
Ethanol: it is a fuel that is an alternative to gasoline. It is made from an alcohol
made of wheat and corn, which is known as ethyl alcohol.

Bio-diesel: it is produced from animal fats and vegetable oils and is an

effective alternative for petroleum diesel.

Hydrogen: it is produced from biomass, fossil fuels, and through

electrolyzing of water.

Geothermal energy: it is excellent for use on a small scale for heating houses,
small industries, and businesses. If needed on a bigger scale, the geothermal
plants create steam from earths heat and provide energy to the turbine
engines.

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 Alternative energy is a clean energy, which produces little or no hazardous

emissions as compared to other sources of energy like wood and coal. Fossil
fuels such as natural gas and coal are limited in nature so humans will need
alternative sources for generating energy. Alternative sources of energy can be
replenished quickly and easily and the earth will never run out of them.
Perhaps, we will soon be able to heat our houses by transforming our wastes
into usable sources of energy.

The power of the sun was utilized by man as early as the 2nd century A.D. in
the shape of the oculus that was built at the top of the roman pantheon in
Italy. It was an ingenious way to utilize the sun to illuminate the chamber to
compensate for what we now have: electricity.

In 1838, Edmund Becquerel was the first man ever to theorize about the
possibility of turning sunlight into energy. His ideas were considered
interesting, but not worth pursuing.

The first machine to use the power of the sun was built in 1861 by Auguste
Mouchout the first active steam engine. He then went on to invent a
refrigeration device, which made ice by utilizing the sunlight.

Wind turbine energy was first used around 5000 B.C. to propel boats along
the Nile.

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 The first ever windmill was invented and used in Persia (Iran) and was in the
shape of old paddle wheel. The Dutch adapted this invention as a means to
draining their marshes and lakes.

Hydropower was first used in 100 B.C. by the Romans and the Chinese when
they invented the waterwheel to grind crop along the river bed.
After the waterwheel, water turbines were invented which use gravity to turn
the wheel.
Archaeology shows that geothermal heat was being used as early as 10,000
years ago by Paleo-Indians in the form of hot springs for bathing, cooking, etc.

Geothermal heat was first commercially used in 1807, when Thompson started
charging $1 for using a hot spring bath in a wooden tub.

The first plant to convert geothermal heat into electricity was constructed in
1921.

Only 10% of energy in a light bulb is used to create light. Ninety percent of a
light bulbs energy creates heat. Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), on
the other hand, use about 80% less electricity than conventional bulbs and last

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up to 12 times as long.

 Refrigerators in the U.S consume about the same energy as 25 large power
plants produce each year.
There are two basic groups of energy: renewable energy (biomass,
geothermal, solar, water, and wind power) and non-renewable energy (fossil
fuels coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear). Three quarters of the worlds energy is
generated by burning fossil fuels.

Sunlight energy: humans have harnessed solar energy since ancient times.

Enough sunlight reaches the earths surface each minute to satisfy the worlds
energy demandsfor an entire year.

The amount of energy Americans use doubles every 20 years.

From 2008 to 2030, world energy consumption is expected to increase by more

than 55%.

About 5,000 years ago, the energy that people consumed for their survival
averaged about 12,000 kilocalories per person each day. In 1400 A.D., each

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person was consuming about twice as much energy (26,000 kilocalories). After
the industrial revolution, the demand almost tripled to an average of 77,000

kilocalories per person in 1875. By 1975, it had tripled again to 230,000

kilocalories per person.

The worlds biggest blackout occurred on August 14, 2004, when a massive
power outage occurred across the northeastern U.S. and throughout Ontario,
Canada, affecting 50 million people.

Google search: Google data centers used 260 million megawatts of power in
2010.

Google accounts for roughly 0.013% of the worlds energy use. It uses enough
energy to continuously power 200,000 homes.

According to google, the energy it takes to conduct 100 searches on its site is
equivalent to a 60-watt light bulb burning for 28 minutes. Google uses about
0.0003 kWh of energy to answer the avenge search query, which translates into
about 0.2 g of carbon dioxide released.
The United States produces half of its electricity from coal. China uses coal to
generate more than three-fourths of its electricity. Australia, Poland, and
South Africa produce an even greater percentage. Overall, coal makes up 2/5
of the worlds electricity generation.

Ten countries produce 2/3 of the worlds oil and hold the same percentage of
known reserves. Saudi Arabia tops both lists.

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 Ten countries produce 2/3 of the world's natural gas and hold about the same
percentage of known reserves.

The United States produces more nuclear-generated electricity than any other
country, nearly 1/3 of the worlds total. The second largest producer is France,
which generates more than 3/4 of its electricity in nuclear reactors.

The most powerful hydroelectric project in the world is Chinas Three Gorges
Dam. The controversial and enormous power plant brings power to millions
of Chinese villagers and generates more than 22,000 megawatts from six
generators.

In 2007, wind produced 1.3% of the electricity in the world. The worlds
largest wind farm is the Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center near Abilene,
Texas. Covering 92 square miles, the center has more than 400 turbines that
are 262 feet tall. They produce 735 megawatts of electricity.

Over 86% of the energy used in the U.S. each year is generated from the
combustion of fossil fuels.

Developers of new houses might construct homes differently if they had to

pay the utilities.

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Some researchers suggest that if developers had to prepay 50 years worth of

utility bills, they would construct buildings differently.

 Cooling and heating costs make up approximately 1/2 of an average U.S

homes total energy bill.

On average, one pool pump consumes electricity equal to 44% of the annual
electricity consumption of a typical California household. There are over 7
million pools in America.

American hospitals are some of the most energy-intense buildings on the

planet.

Electric utilities are the largest source of greenhouse gas in America.

In 2008, the Wall Street Journal reported that transportation fuel consumption

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in the U.S would grow from 150 billion gallons annually in 2020 to over 250

billion gallons by the middle of this century. Researchers hypothesize that we

would have to export trillions of dollars to oil producing countries, which
would compromise our currency, economy, and environment.

Lighting currently accounts for about 20% of U.S electricity consumption.

James Hansen, director of NASAs Goddard Institute for Space Studies, has
argued, Coal is the single greatest threat to civilization and all life on our
planet. In America, burning coal releases more CO2 in the air than all cars
and trucks combined.

A PlayStation 3 uses more energy than a refrigerator.

In the average home, 75% of the electricity used to power home electronics is
consumed while the products are turned off. The average desktop computer
idles at 80 watts, while the average laptop idles at 20 watts. A Sony
PlayStation 3 uses about 200 watts and nearly as much when idle. Idle power
consumes more electricity than all of the solar panels in America combined.
On a hot summer afternoon, California consumes the entire output of two

large nuclear reactors in pumping water.

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 One ceiling fixture can use $2,000 to $5,000 of electricity over its useful life.

The most energy-intensive part of the food chain is the kitchen. Much more
energy is used to refrigerate and prepare food in the home than is used to
produce it in the first place.
China has taken over the U.S. as both the worlds largest CO2 emitter and the
worlds largest energy consumer.
Heating and cooling rooms use the most energy in American homes today.
Civilizations first significant energy invention was fire. It was only about
5,000 years ago that humans began using other energy sources such as wind.
In America, the first natural gas light was created in 1821. The first oil well
was dug in 1859. The first gasoline car was built in 1892.
Thomas Edison built the first power plant, and in 1882 his Pearl Street power
station sent electricity to 85 buildings. People were initially afraid of electricity
and parents would not let their children near the lights.

English polymath, Thomas young (1773-1829) was the first to use the word
energy in its current sense, replacing the traditional term viva or living
force.

Hydropower is the main renewable energy source that the U.S relies on
more than wind, solar, or geothermal power.
Coal generates more electricity than any other source. It produces twice as
much electricity as natural gas.

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America burns nearly half of the worlds gasoline.

 More than 1/5 of the worlds primary energy is used for transport, followed
by industry, construction, and agriculture. Much is in the form of gasoline, of
which nearly 792.5 million gallons is burned every day.

The top seven oil consumers combined use more than half of the worlds total.
The United States alone uses more than a quarter.

A watt is a unit of power that measures the rate of producing or using

energy. The term was named after Scottish engineer James watt (1736-1819),
who developed an improved steam engine. Watt measured his engines
performance in horsepower. One horsepower equaled 746 watts.

Just 1/3 of the energy produced from burning coal reaches the consumer as
electricity.

Researches note that energy is the key to the advancement of civilization

and that energy is the catalyst that allows human societies to evolve.

The word energy comes from the Greek word, energies, which means
operation or activity.
Energy cannot be destroyed or createdonly transformed.
Albert Einstein defined energy as mass multiplied by the speed of light

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squared, or e=mc2.

 Food contains energy, which is measured in calories or joules.

According to the World Factbook, 2008, the worlds oil reserves will last until
2052 and gas reserves will last until 2065.

The World Coal Institute says that, at current production levels, proven coal
reserves are estimated to last 147 years. This means, no more coal after 2155.

Inefficient appliances, drafty windows and doors, poor insulation, and other
fixable energy wasters cost U.S consumers an estimated $300 billion a year
more than the U.S military budget.

If a person yelled for 8 years, 7 months, and 6 days, he or she would produce
enough energy to heat up one cup of coffee.

Be the change you want to see in the world!

You can easily help conserve air by keeping in mind a few simple but very
important daily aspects:
Painting your house? Use a latex paint. Oil-based paints release hydrocarbon
fumes.
Get a tune-up. Properly maintained vehicles get better gas mileage and emit
fewer pollutants.
Dont top off your gas tank. Overfilling causes spills that release

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hydrocarbons and other toxic chemicals into the air.

Conserve energy. Youll lower your utility bills and help avoid peak demands

on utility plants.
Dont burn your yard waste. Its illegal in many areas because burning yard
waste releases mold spores, soot, and other contaminants that can aggravate
allergies and cause respiratory problems.
Plant a tree. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
Park the car. Walk, bike or use mass-transit whenever you can. Vehicle traffic
is a major contributor to smog.
Here are bunch of other things you can pay attention to in order to maintain
clean water:
Use less fertilizer on your lawn. When it rains, excess fertilizer runs off into
storm sewers and pollutes streams.
Never pour anything especially waste oil or leftover lawn chemicals into a
storm drain. It will end up in the nearest stream.
Dont trash our streams. Volunteer groups sponsoring annual cleanups find
everything from old tires to old appliances in our waterways.

Water your lawn in the early morning, when the water will soak in and not
evaporate in the heat of the day.
Dont water more than once a week, and then only if it hasn't rained.
Established lawns need only one inch of water a week.
Dont water the sidewalk - it wont grow. Set your sprinkler to keep the water
on the lawn.
Mulch around your landscaping. A three-inch layer of mulch holds moisture
and prevents evaporation, reducing the need to water.
Use a bucket when you wash the car, instead of the hose. Letting the water
run while you work costs money and wastes water. Only use the hose to rinse.
Sweep your driveway and sidewalk instead of cleaning them up by spraying
with the hose.
Dont do the dishes until you have a full load. Your dishwasher uses 12

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gallons of water whether its full or half-empty.

 Wash a full load of laundry. Your washing machine uses 40 gallons of water.
Run it full, or adjust the water level to the size of your load.
Dont let the water run while you shave or brush your teeth. Turn it on only
when you need it. Every minute the faucet runs, five gallons of water go down
the drain.
Take a shorter shower. And switch to a low-flow shower head.
Repair leaky faucets and toilets. You can tell if the toilet leaks by putting food
coloring in the tank. If color shows up in the bowl without flushing, theres a
leak.
Install faucet aerators. You can cut your water usage by up to six percent.

There are also several things you can do day by day in order to preserve the
soil:
Recycle. If your community does not offer a recycling program, ask local
officials to start one.
Dont put hazardous materials in the trash. Save paints, pesticides, lawn
chemicals, car batteries, waste oil and similar materials for your local
household hazardous waste collection day
Turn in your mercury thermometer and replace it with a digital one.
Mercury is a persistent pollutant that moves up the food chain and can cause
serious health problems. Never vacuum spilled mercury.
Dont buy more than you need. When it comes to lawn chemicals, pesticides,
paints and other hazardous materials, buy a smaller package so you wont
have leftovers to dispose of.
Paper or plastic? Better yet, take a canvas bag to the grocery and re-use it each
time you shop.
Use both sides of the paper. Set your copier to make double-sided copies and

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youll substantially reduce your paper use.

Use rechargeable batteries. Many batteries contain metals that are better kept

out of landfills.
Give it away, dont throw it away. Many charitable organizations accept
donations of wearable clothing and gently used household items.

Tips and tricks everyone can use to reduce energy costs

As it is more than obvious that not everyone is capable of using these amazing
bizarre sources of alternative power, but hope for those who can to do
something about it. Meanwhile, there are also quite long lists of things you
can do in the privacy of your home and if not necessarily to save the resources
of the world, at least to reduce the costs of your energy bills.
Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs. These bulbs use 75 percent
less energy than typical incandescent, and they last 10 times longer.
Dust light fixtures regularly. A heavy coat of dust can block up to 50

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percent of the light output.

Use low-voltage lighting kits to light walkways, patios and decks. The
soft light will also attract fewer annoying insects.

 Get rid of spare refrigerators or freezers. An extra appliance can add

more than $100 to your energy bills every year, and it's a safety hazard
for small children.
Unplug any electrical device that's not being used. Many appliances,
especially computers, televisions and VCRs draw power even when
turned off.
If your home has no sidewall insulation, place heavy furniture like
bookshelves, armoires and sofas along exterior walls, and use
decorative quilts as wall hangings. This will help block cold air.
When you take a vacation, don't forget to give your appliances a rest
too. Turn off and unplug everything you can, set your water heater to
the lowest setting and shut off the water supply to the dishwasher and
washing machine.
Use smaller kitchen appliances whenever possible. Microwaves, toaster
ovens and slow-cookers can use 75 percent less energy than a large
electric oven.
Seal doors and windows with caulk, weather-stripping and plastic film.
An investment of $50 in weatherizing supplies can reduce heating costs
by two to three times that much. Don't forget the basement windows!
Install a programmable thermostat. If you use it to set back the
temperature by 10 degrees for eight hours every night, you'll lower
your heating bills by 10 percent. A $50 digital thermostat can pay for
itself in energy savings in less than a year.

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All the information given so far has been directed toward helping make the
use of independent energy a pleasant and, most importantly, a liberating and
self-reliant experience. This experience is unique and can lead a person to
look beyond energy needs to even greater self-reliance.

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Easy DYI solar water heater

Heres a simple but efficient idea for those who leave in hot areas. Isn't it nice
to take a nice, hot shower or bath after a long day of playing outside? But have
you really thought about how the hot water in your shower or bath gets hot?
Sure, the water heater in your house gets it hot, but what makes the water
heater work? Water heaters are powered by natural gas or electricity. But are
there any other ways to heat water? What about using the Sun?

You can build your own solar water heater by investing a few dollars.

1. You just need to recycle beer bottles, soda bottles or plastic bottles in order to
build this system.
2. The next thing you have to do is to insert a hose through as many bottles as
possible and dispose them on a board covered with airfoil. You can place the
board somewhere outside in the sun.
3. Use a large barrel full of water and a circulating pump that assures the water

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circuit through the hose. In case you want to keep it simple, you just have to
fill the hose with water and block its ends. Still, the different water densities

are enough to cause a cyclic movement from the collector panel to the tank:
less dense hot water upward, denser cold water downward.
The alternative water heater can provide power savings of up to 30 per cent,
but apart from that, every recycled solar water heater built also means less
plastic bottles and cartons finding their way to landfill.

The following sketch might help you design your own solar water heater in
order to reduce the costs with your hot water at least during summer.

Conclusion

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These continuous discussions on issues and ways of searching new

alternatives to supply the worlds need for electric power are obviously
necessary. Do we really need so much energy? And in case we do, why not
choosing the less harmful alternatives that could help us become prosperous
instead of destructive?

Scientific evidence shows that global climate change is caused by burning

fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas), which emit carbon dioxide (greenhouse
gases) into the atmosphere. The carbon gases act like a bubble around the
Earth, trapping heat in, and in turn, causing temperatures to rise on the
planet's surface. This phenomenon can be observed through shrinking
glaciers, thawing of permafrost, rising sea levels, and lengthening of growing
seasons.

Coal, natural gas, and oil reserves are finite and hidden. An unknown and
limited amount of each resource is buried deep underground or under the
ocean. As more is harvested, finding new sources becomes more difficult and
more expensive, and exploiting them becomes more challenging and
sometimes dangerous as well. Marginal reserves, such as oil sands, require
the burning of huge amounts of natural gas to refine them into usable oil.
Drilling under the ocean floor can lead to catastrophic accidents, such as the
British Petroleum oil spill of 2010.
Renewable energy, by contrast, is as easy to find as wind or sunlight or several
other option that our Earth has to offer.

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The good news is that over the last few years, countries around the world,

including the United States, Spain, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, and
China have been investing in clean and renewable energies in an effort to
lower carbon emissions and transition to a more sustainable power source.
Renewable energy is energy that comes from natural resources such as
sunlight, wind, tides, geothermal heat, and even other innovative sources
based on recycling. Unlike oil, these energy sources are in endless supply and
carbon-neutral.
We shouldn't have to trade safe drinking water, clean air, climate, health, or
communities for energy. Energy efficiency and renewable energy must be our
world's top energy priorities because they are the quickest, cleanest, and
cheapest solutions to global warming and other pollution problems.
Bizarre sources of alternative power offers useful information for all those
who are concerned about preserving our planet and keep it as clean and safe
as possible for the future generations.
The conventional sources of power harm and destroy the environment in the
worst possible ways, but there are several other ways of living our lives in
comfort without the need of destroying what we have. We are surrounded by
endless sources of power but we just need to open our eyes.
This is what Bizarre sources of alternative power is meant to do. To raise
awareness among responsible and careful people like you about eco-friendly
alternative sources of power and a list of endless things you can do to cut the
power costs and improve your lives.

Be the change you want to see in the world!

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