Energy Part 3

RANKING OF THE TYPES OF ENERGY THAT I RESEARCHED THAT IS THE BEST FOR ITALY

3. Hydrothermal Energy

I find hydrothermal energy to be number 3 in being used in Italy for one big reason. Geothermal is already being used in Italy, and since that and hydrothermal are almost exactly identical, it made it absolutely redundant to have both geothermal and hydrothermal when they both do almost exactly the same things. An example of that is they are both hard to move, both are very green in terms of the environment, and both get the energy from almost the same source.

2. Wind Energy

I find that wind energy would be put as number 2 in being used in Italy as a good source in coastline and northern environments. Wind power is being used in Italy in some parts, growing over the past few years. The reason I believe that wind energy is better in the coastal regions is the fact of wind being more prominent in those regions, which also explains lower temperatures. The same thing can be applied to Northern Italy as well. A minor difficulty with wind power might finding room to build the expensive turbines, since Italy isn't that big of a country.

1. Solar Energy 

I find that solar energy would the top option for Italy to implant because of the location of where the country is located. Italy is located in an region where precipitation is moderate not over the top, and sunlight can reach over 11 hours a day in the summer months. All of these help out the usability of solar panels, which unlike the other two, is less expensive. Like wind power, solar power in Italy has grown in the past few years, upwards of around 300%. The only issue with solar power is its lack of effectiveness in the winter months, due to lower amounts of sunlight in the day and higher counts of precipitation.

Energy Part 2: Italy's Type of Energy

Italy's main energy source is geothermal energy, mainly the energy found in the fossil fuels. From the things found in those fuels, such as petroleum for transporting purposes such as importing and exporting goods, and natural gas for things like heating up homes. Italy also imports a bit of energy, about 35%, from countries such as Switzerland and France. In total, Italy has spent around 65 million on energy over the past 12 years. The emissions that the fossil fuels have emitted put Italy 17th in CO2 emissions in 2009. Italy also uses solar and wind energy, and has no nuclear plants.

Energy Part 1

Solar Energy

Solar energy is a type of energywhere one uses the sun's rays as an energy source. It is seen used as a cooker, powering homes, warming up water in a hot water heater and used for ventilation purposes. To use the sun rays, blackish-blue reflective checkered squares on a big panel called a solar panel is used. It collects the sun's rays and stores it as energy and electricity. One benefit of having solar energy is that you don't have to pay an electric bill as much since you basically create your own electricity thanks to the sun. A drawback to solar energy is that it doesn't charge during the night, which makes sense since it uses sun rays. This drawback is amplified a bit if you use a lot of electricity than someone who is more energy efficient. Solar panels are also somewhat expensive to install and maintain.

Wind Energy

Wind energy is another type of energy, this time using wind turbines as an energy source. The wind turbines create energy by using a motor that makes them spin, and the wind they cause creates kinetic  energy. This kinetic energy is then used for specific tasks. You'll generally find wind energy used for harvesting purposes, such as for grain and water pumps. Some benefits of wind energy are that its a pollution free source of energy, only using wind as a power source. It is also a renewable source of energy as well, meaning it can't be wasted. Some drawbacks of wind energy are that its unpredictable on how much power will be made, since some days can be windy and others won't be windy. It is surprisingly a threat to wildlife, mainly birds, since they are at risk of accidently flying into the turbine. Finally, they are quite costly to build, and require heavy investment if your trying to have your own energy.

Hydrothermal Energy

Hydrothermal energy is a type of energy which uses the heat from a body of water as a energy source.

It uses special types of vents which collect the heat from the water which comes out as electricity. The cooled water then goes back down into the earth and reheats so it can be used once again. A benefit to using this type of energy is that it is a renewable source of energy, lowering the cost of energy used. It is also, along with geothermal, the greenest source of energy. A drawback to this energy is that it is very expensive to build plants to get this type of energy. It is made a bit worse as this energy type can't be transported at all. These plants also need to be watched with extreme caution, or chronic problems may ensue.

Case Study: Waikiki Beach

1. The main causes of erosion in Waikiki Beach were the making of building that were put very close to the shoreline and the removal of the close pier which sped up the erosion a little bit. The former of the two has been happening slowly since the late 19th century.

2. There have been a few attempts to fix the erosion problems, such as small attempts like mats on the beach to cross over eroded areas and sandbags to keep the water from seeping into the beach. These are small fixes, but not long term ones that will last a few years. They have also done things such as beach maintenance in the early part of the new year since 2012. This would bring most of the beach back towards its former glory.

3. Economically, because of the loss of sand due to erosion, less and less people are on the beach, especially during high tide where the water is so close to the buildings you can barely put one row of chairs on the beach. Less people on the beach means less earned money for people who work on the beach, either in the hotels or the shops and food places. Environmentally, not only is there a lack of dry sand, there are also worries that the water could get contaminated from the storm drains and flooding of the roads close to the beach. Socially, many might become homeless if floods were to happen, although this might only affect the people closer to the beach. Another issue is the possibility of contaminated water. Many might put themselves at risk if they drink it and make themselves sick. Finally, many might lose their jobs from not making money if the tourism is very low.

Case Study: Glacial Retreat

PART A

1. All 3 areas that were experiencing the glacial retreat were hit by higher temperatures and the snowfall patterns like what has happened with the Chhota Shigri glacier since 1962. In the Glacier National Park in Montana, the retreating is worse as it is lower on elevation. This melting was mainly caused by the temperature raising over 1.33 higher than global mean average. In the Antarctic, ten  ice shelves have been lost and 87% of the glaciers have retreated.

2. Socially, the glacial retreat has created an increased amount of water from the melting of them. This might cause an increased risk of flooding is areas close to water and increased water levels in general. Environmentally, the higher water levels are the major concern. This could cause many species that live in shallower water to become less and less seen and maybe endangered of even extinct. Economically, this affects the tourism industry the worst, less people coming means less revenue earned.

PART B

Because of melting glaciers, the tourism industry in areas like Banff are losing many tourists because the glaciers are just disappearing. In Banff it's said that by 2100 over 90% of the glaciers in the area will be melted, which really hurts the economy in that area.

PART C

The majority of Italy isn't mainly affected by the glacial retreat, mainly like the rest of the world, higher water levels. However Northern Italy fares worse, since not only the water levels are rising but it's also affected by the lack of tourism since it's proximity to the Alps if people want to see them.

Case Study: Flooding in Brisbane, Australia

1. The flooding was caused by increased rainfall in the region, higher than average. This caused the Brisbane river to become overflowed. The Wivenhoe dam also caused a bit of flooding, due to higher inflows than outflows.

2. Economically, the flooding caused heavy damage to the crops grown in the region, many of them drowned from the amount of water. Tourism in the region was also harmed. The flooding also caused fuel inflation an cost 3-5 billion dollars. Socially, the flooding made many people worried about things such as food poisoning from water contamination, among other diarrhoea like symptoms such as lung disease and toxic shock. It of course left many people homeless, and forced them to do risky methods of using power. Environmentally, the flood waters hammered a lot of the Queensland landscape. Creeks and rivers eroded, became contaminated and covered in debris. These ended up putting exotic species like carp at risk. Soils as well became contaminated from the chemicals some industrial areas put out after being flooded. These issues also threatened marine environments like Moreton Bay with the amount of contamination surrounding them.

3. Queensland is preparing by coming up with plans to do such as guides on what you need to do and awareness maps so you know how much at risk is your area. The guides include how to prepare, how to report a flood incoming, and to understand the problems that might arise.

Case Study: Desertification in Botswana

1. Desertification is basically once vegetated region has now lost all of its vegetation and soil fertility. This is generally caused by the lack of water or moisture in the soil, causing it to become dry and unusable for planting crops.

2. Botswana is literally on the latitude that the Tropic of Capricorn is, meaning itgets high temperatures and quite low rainfall. It is also surrounded by more desert, though isn't a true, real desert since it has quite a bit of vegetation. Botswana's region also has a very high evaporation rate of 7.5 mm maximum.

3. Human causes towards the desertification in Botswana are the overstocking of crops, increase of population of humans living there and cattle over the span of 20 years, land degradation and overgrazing because of the over abundance of cattle.

4. The land degradation is generally the biggest issue when solving the problem in Botswana, but there have been steps to combat the desertification, such as Botswana joining the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in 1996. It would later make the National Action Programme (NAP) in 2006, which outlines strategies and activities in combat the issues in Botswana.