Renewable Energy: How Energy Works and Why Renewable is Better

So a new college year begins, and as I am told, this is a new CURES - Cornell University for Renewable Energy Sources - blog. Well, I think it’s fitting for our first blog to talk about our goal. We are an organization dedicated to promoting and spreading renewable energy sources, and teaching people about renewable energy sources. Well, why is renewable better? There are many answers to the question, such as saving nature, promoting cleaner air, conserving natural resources, etc. Those are wonderful reasons for renewable energy, but the one reason that probably convinces legislators the most is: it is economically smart to use renewable energy. So, the aim of this first blog entry is to explain the basic process of “making” energy, and why renewable energy sources are beneficial.

Making Energy

As most people who have taken any chemistry or physics class know, energy cannot be created nor destroyed. So, how do we “make” energy? Well, we never really make energy; we simply convert one energy from one form to another. The general outline of this mechanism has not changed very much in the past few hundred years. It started with the basic idea of a water mill. A water mill converts the rivers flowing energy into rotational energy, thus powering a rotating device. Then steam engines were invented much along the same principle. Moving water creates rotational energy, which then can be used for a multitude of purposes. By using a combustible such as wood or coal, you burn it to heat up a chamber of water. The water turns to steam, and the steam is the driving force behind a turbine. A turbine is essentially a rotating device that is designed so the steam can only escape by pushing the turbine, thus causing it to rotate. This was used on steam boats, much like the ones Mark Twain was so fond about in his youth on the Mississippi. Then, how do we make electricity? Same idea as a steam engine, except the turbine doesn’t turn a giant ferry wheel on a steam boat, it turns a magnet surrounded by wires that, in a sense, forces the electrons in the wire to move in a certain direction, which physics calls an electric current. The exact physics is rather complicated, and it’s not always a magnet being rotated, but the general idea of creating rotation using a turbine of any sort to create electricity has not changed for the past hundred years.

Why is Renewable Sources Better?

Well, renewable energy sources, by definition, are sources of energy that do not disappear over time, or rather, our usage of this energy does not decrease its overall supply in the world. Common examples are wind, solar and water energy sources, where, no matter how much wind we use to generate power, the overall wind in the world will not decrease by any noticeable amount. But, the more oil and coal we use, the less and less we have left in the world. Well, any economist can see a problem here: as the supply of oil and coal is constantly decreasing, the demand continues to increase. The price of oil and coal will trend towards infinity, or rather, some really unaffordable number. You think 3-4 dollars a gallon is bad? People in Europe are already paying more, and there is no way the price is going to go down in the long run. By some estimates, all of the petroleum we have left on Earth will be depleted within 50 years. So, even ignoring the environmental benefits of a cleaner air or a greener world, it is still a very good idea to begin investing in renewable energy sources. For example, a simple Wikipedia search on “renewable energy” yields a page, with a chart from the “World Energy Assessment, 2004 Update.” Here are the main points shown below:
Note: all costs are in 2001 American cents per a kilowatt-hour (cents/kWh). The data is for a general overview of current status, and predicted future costs of large-scale implementation. Note, coal is given here as a comparison, but in some G8 nations, such as America, the cost of coal could be as high as 15 cents/kWh. The First set of numbers refer to the 2001 energy costs, while the second set of numbers refer to the predicted future energy cost

2001 Energy Costs (cents/kWh)---> Future Energy Cost (cents/kWh)
Wind 4-8, 3-10
Solar Photovoltaic 25-160, 5-25
Solar Thermal 12-34, 4-20
Large Hydropower 2-10, 2-10
Small Hydropower 2-12, 2-10
Geothermal 2-10, 1-8
Biomass 3-12, 4-10
Coal (comparison) 4

http://www.undp.org/energy/weaover2004.htm - The place to go for more information on this chart.

The reason a range of energy exists is because in some cases, it’s a little cheaper to produce energy in some places than others. For example, it’s cheaper to produce solar power where there’s more sun year round, usually near the equator, than places with comparatively lower amounts of sunlight year round, such as Canada or Alaska. Also note how much cheaper some of these sources of energy will be once the proper infrastructure is developed.

So What do we Do?

Well, there is a considerable amount of research and development that needs to be done, not to mention the initial investment for such power plants to be developed, in order for large-scale energy production using purely renewable sources to be economically feasible. So, what can we do? Well, you could enter the field of renewable energy research, but for those of us who have other plans in mind, we can simply be aware of the growing need for renewable energy, and continue educating ourselves and others about this growing need, and the benefits of renewable energy. We can promote the idea of renewable energy to our legislators, and push for increase funding and investment into the research. Or, we can simply keep this in mind as an issue we want to consider when we vote, or just spread the word. No one is expecting change overnight, but we can start working towards a better tomorrow with renewable energy. Renewable energy is a real possibility. With enough research funding and investment, it won’t just be a far off dream.

Any comments or questions can be directed to jc867@cornell.edu with the subject heading of, “Renewable Energy Blog Comments,” or something to that extent.

Zeus Serves as Sustainable Sanctuary

Adopted from the Cornell Daily Sun:

of Zeus café, located in Goldwin Smith Hall, cultivates a loyal customer base through emphasis on vegetarian foods and a friendly atmosphere.

The origins of Temple of Zeus, an independently run eatery affiliated with the College of Arts and Sciences, can be traced back roughly 45 years to its first location in what is now Kaufmann Auditorium. Zeus, named for the statues of the West Pediment of the Temple of Zeus in Greece that shared the space in Kaufmann, “grew up from an empty room in a basement,” said Thomas Walls, manager of the eatery. Zeus “was nothing more than some tables, chairs and coffee.” That was the way the café ran for 30 years until the College of Arts and Sciences hired Walls 13 years ago in an attempt to turn Zeus into a viable business.

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University Maintains Climate Commitment

Adopted from Cornell Daily Sun:

Recent news of shipping routes cutting through Alaska and dwindling polar bear populations may cause us to lose hope in our fight against global warming. Cornell, however, is joining other universities across America to do its part in reducing its carbon output.

On Feb. 22, President David J. Skorton signed the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. He was prompted to sign this commitment by a petition organized by KyotoNOW!, a student environmentalist organization.

“I think KyotoNOW!’s involvement was instrumental in President Skorton’s signing,” said Katherine McEachern ’09, president of KyotoNOW!.

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Student Interst Spawns Sustainable Dining Eateries

Adopted from the Cornell Daily Sun:

Two new eateries, Manndibles in Mann Library and Moosewood in Anabel Taylor Hall, have opened this semester to answer the demands of Cornell students for increased sustainability on campus.

Moosewood Restaurant, a longstanding Ithaca landmark for vegetarian eating, opened their lunchtime café this semester.

Anthony Kveragas, senior executive chef of Cornell Dining, said that he has “been working with students to get more local and sustainable practices on campus” and that bringing in Moosewood to implement this plan brought in name recognition and helped Moosewood to test pilot the organic interest on college campuses.

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Center for Progressive Leadership Training Program

The Center for Progressive Leadership (CPL) is looking for diverse college students and other young leaders from across the country to apply for our New Leaders Program. CPL’s New Leaders Program works to change the face of tomorrow’s political leadership by connecting young people of color and women to paid internship opportunities with progressive organizations in Washington, DC.

To learn more, click here.

Redbud II?

It’s been two-and-a-half years since Cornell “paved paradise and put up a parking lot” on University Ave. Flash forward to the present day and we are at a similar crossroads. Only this time, there’s a 270-day building moratorium before the fate of Sapsucker Woods is decided.

During the Redbud Woods debacle, environmentalists and activists found a clear adversary in Cornell. It was almost too perfect. Big Red Bureaucracy vs. heroic students. This time, Cornell has chosen to remain a silent third party in the ongoing debate between developer Rocco Lucente and Ithaca residents.

In a sense, Cornell’s silence is prudent. After all, inaction prevents students from chaining themselves to President Skorton’s desk. Lucente has wisely pledged 25 acres of Sapsucker Woods to Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology to counter the construction of his new housing development project, Briarwood II, thus providing the University with a material incentive to keep her Big Red Lips shut.

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CU Farm Promotes Local Organic Food

Adopted from the Cornell Daily Sun:

As interest in agricultural sciences increases at Cornell, Dilmun Hill, the University’s student-run farm is offering student farmers and those studying agricultural science the opportunity to learn about the benefits of sustainable agriculture.

Located on a 12-acre plot of land on Rt. 366 and next to the Cornell Orchards, Dilmun Hill is one of the largest student-run farms in the country. About 30 students, spanning several colleges and majors, operate the farm independently and participate in all aspects of farming — from planning to harvesting to transporting the crops.

The farm presents “an unmatched opportunity for students seeking a hands-on learning experience and wanting to be more involved in their food system,” said Ben Scott-Killian ’09, one of the farm’s managers. Students use the farm for both informal agricultural training as well as an outdoor classroom for academic work.

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Sustainable Enterprise Association Fall Work

The following includes a brief summary of each SEA Project Committee with the committee leader's e- mail information:

SustaInvest/Finance Initiatives:

Launch of SustaInvest: The Sustainable Investment Challenge, co-sponsorship of The Cornell Sustainable Investment Coalition. Leading other finance-related events like the Sustainability-Driven Financial Management Panel Discussion.

- Allison Silverstein (als232@cornell.edu)
- Addison Raap (awr22@cornell.edu)
- Richard Weidel (raw49@cornell.edu)

SEA Event Planning: Development and Marketing: Collaborating with other sustainable clubs like Sustainability Hub to host sustainable- related events like "Sustain Your Appetite" where local food companies will display their products. If you're interested in meeting people on-campus and off-campus with similar sustainability interests, join this committee.

- Melissa Kim (msk57@cornell.edu)
- Emily Isaacs (eri2@cornell.edu)

Net Impact Undergrad: All programming related to the Net Impact Sustainable Business network with which SEA is affiliated (www.netimpact.org). Opportunities to get involved with The Johnson School's Net Impact MBA Group projects.

- Allison Silverstein (als232@cornell.edu)S

EA Salons: Educational/social events, which will be hosted approximately twice each month on-campus or at a SEA member's home in close vicinity to campus with special guests (i.e., professors, advisors, etc.)

- Leah Feygin (lbf32@cornell.edu)
- Marina Goland (mg345@cornell.edu)

Thank you your interest in in SEA. Please e-mail committee leaders if you are interested in being included on their assigned committee. Feel free to sign-up for more than one! Each project committee will receive regular e-mails from committee leaders regarding related opportunities and meetings.

will meet as an entire group during SEA Salons (approximately bi- monthly) and major SEA programming/event. Of course, all information regarding major SEA programming/events and relevant on-campus initiatives will be sent to the listserve, so keep your eye out for those; your level of involvement is up to you. Looking forward to a great year!

Cornell Carpooling on Facebook Competition

***PLEASE SPREAD FAR AND WIDE***

The Cornell Carpool on Facebook Competition

The Problem: Driving our personal cars contributes 20% of US CO2 emissions, the single most significant source from individuals. CO2 emissions levels need to be curbed to avoid potentially catastrophic effects of climate change.

Solution: You and Carpool on Facebook!

Carpool on Facebook was built to provide a safe and hassle free way to find a ride, wherever you are going. Carpool on Facebook will make life easier for those without a car, provide company and money for those with a car and help those who want to share a cab. The application is built upon Facebook’s social network of 30,000,000+ users. Carpool on Facebook uses geo-coding technology to make rides easily searchable, and calculates your CO2 emissions saved.
For more information about Carpool on Facebook go to: www.zimride.com.

Your Mission: To market Carpool on Facebook to the Cornell community bydeveloping and executing a marketing plan that could easily be replicated at other universities. The best statement of interest we receive prior to October 15th, will be chosen to participate in the Carpool marketing campaign. The winning team will be supplied with a marketing budget to cover all associated expenses.

For years, there have been carpool-matching sites on the internet. Never has there been a community (campus or city) that has achieved large-scale use of carpooling as a means of transportation over single occupancy travel. Social networking, the strength of the Cornell community and your help can make history towards a more sustainable planet.

Statements of interest should describe your team (please include resumes if easily attained) and your plan. Statements should be approximately 2 pages in length. Judging submissions will be the founder of Carpool on Facebook, New York City Senior Project Manager for Congestion Pricing, and a Professor in the field of Sustainable Business.

PLEASE EMAIL QUESTIONS AND YOUR SUBMISSION TO LOGAN@ZIMRIDE.COMDEADLINE: OCTOBER 15TH

Mark Orlowski from Sustainable Endowments Institute

Just wanted to let everyone know about an amazing upcoming speaker- Mark Orlowski from the Sustainable Endowments Institute, the group that puts out the College Sustainablity Report Card. Check out how Cornell did last time here- http://www.endowmentinstitute.org/sustainability/profile29.pdf. Pretty good, excepts for those couple of F's. Luckily, Mark will be talking about that in particular- how our investments stack up against all the work towards being a more sustainable university. Mark's a great speaker and a really fun guy so I encourage all of you to come out, hear him speak and chat with him afterwards.
Monday, Sept 24 in Goldwin Smith's Lewis Auditorium!
More info on Mark: http://www.endowmentinstitute.org/staff.html

Sustainability Center Aims to Unite CU Researchers

Adopted from the Cornell Daily Sun:

The City of Ithaca has a history of being passionate about living sustainably, as evidenced by the presence of various environmental groups and rallying around issues such as Redbud Woods and recently, the Cayuga Lake Cooling Project.

Cornell is adding to the efforts by creating the Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future to integrate research efforts dealing with sustainability across and beyond the Cornell community. The need for the center arose in part as a response to President David Skorton’s signing of the President’s Climate Commitment to a climate-neutral campus last year.

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Lake Source Cooling Critized

While this summer marked the seventh operating year for Cornell’s lake source cooling facility on Cayuga Lake, the anniversary has not marked a lucky break in resolving worries over lake health and the controversial cooling plant.

Concerned community activists in Ithaca have been keeping a close eye on the project since its approval in 1998. Many activists view the facility as a threat to the lake’s delicate ecosystem. This year has been no different despite recent talks between Cornell’s utilities department and Tompkins County’s Water Resources Council that focused on improving water quality monitoring at the plant.

Attempting to win over the opposition, the University has engaged in dialogue with the WRC to review the current monitoring system and solicit advice on how to better handle the facility’s monitoring duties. Early assessments have revealed costly redundancies in some areas of the system and needed additions in other areas — an eye-opening start to what is hoped to be a productive partner ship.

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Powershift 2007

The first-ever youth global warming summit is happening November 2 - 5th at the University of Maryland - College Park.

All across the country, tens of thousands of young adults are rising to confront the global warming challenge. Power Shift is designed to build off of the momentum on campuses and catapult the youth global warming movement to the next level. On Nov. 2nd, thousands of youth leaders will converge on the Washington, D.C. area for Power Shift 2007, the largest climate conference ever held.

Youth leaders from across the country will hear from invited leaders and experts on global warming including invited speakers former Vice President Al Gore, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Carol Browner, former head of the EPA. You will learn new skills, make new connections with other youth leaders, and establish a national voice for their generation that now is the time to address global warming.

Register now at http://www.powershift07.org.to/ be a part of this historical event, sign up to be a campus coordinator to recruit your peers to attend. For more information or to get involved please contact Natalie at nataliepowershift07@gmail.com or 240-281-7270.

New Rules To Promote Coal Would Cook The Planet

Adopted from the Cornell Daily Sun, by myself:

As if it isn’t clear that global warming is being fueled by our use of fossil fuels, the Bush administration is coming up with new rules that will allow coal companies to expand their mountaintop removal activities. Despite major support for a clean energy economy from the public and many in the private sector, the Bush administration has decided to once again ignore the massive public outcry in the hopes of making a few wealthier.

Coal is the main source of global warming pollution by far. The cheapest way of extracting coal, called strip mining or mountaintop removal, has already flattened more than 400 mountains, destroyed dozens of communities, filled up thousands of miles of rivers and streams with toxic waste and eliminated vast areas of forests in the U.S.

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Just New: Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future

From the Cornell Chronicle:

Issues of sustainability facing the world as well as the university are the drivers behind the new Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future, still in early stages but quickly gaining momentum.

Leading the effort, which will bring together expertise in education and research from across campus to work toward common sustainability goals, will be interim director Frank DiSalvo, the John A. Newman Professor of Physical Science, Cornell Provost Biddy Martin recently announced.

The Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future has emerged from several committee reports, including from former Cornell President Jeffrey Lehman's "Call to Engagement" and the provost's Task Force on Sustainability in the Age of Development. Since then, several other groups submitted reports on different aspects of sustainability needs; the most recent one is Cornell's first campuswide Green Report, available at http://www.sustainablecampus.cornell.edu/.

Continue reading more here.

KyotoNOW! To Organize New York Climate Summit

Jumping off the amazing energy that's emerging nationally for strong action on global warming, KyotoNOW!, together with other student and community organizations around New York State, plan to organize the New York State Climate Summit 2007. Scheduled for November 16-18, the summit's goals will be to 1) train students and community members to lead effective energy campaigns in their campuses or communities, and 2) to develop an agreed-upon plan to launch a strategic campaign to pressure Albany to pass legislation requiring 80% reductions in greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels by 2050.

With states like California, New Jersey, Oregon, Minnesota, and others leading on this important issue with binding targets, New York should become a leading state in the fight against global warming. Stay tuned for more as we develop our plans for the summit. To get involved, please contact Carlos Rymer at carlos.rymer@gmail.com.

Sustainability Hub Updates

The officers this year are Carlos Rymer (President; cmr55), Chelsea Clarke (Treasurer; cmc255), Ding Kong (Vice President; dk278), and Whitney Larsen (Outreach Coordinator; wbl5). Our advisor is Dean Koyanagi (drk5), who is also Cornell’s Sustainability Coordinator. More on Sustainable Campus at http://www.sustainablecampus.cornell.edu/. Our website can be found at www.rso.cornell.edu/sustainabilityhub. Also, the Cornell Activist Calendar can be accessed at http://my.calendars.net/cu_ac. It is updated for the Fall Semester.

Here are the projects we plan to work on this semester, ordered by high priority:

- Sustainable Investment Initiative: forming a coalition of student organizations to ensure that Cornell invests in sustainable and responsible companies.

- Newsletter: collecting and distributing updates from sustainability efforts on the Cornell campus.

- Energy Independent Caroline: see attached document. Making the Town of Caroline a model of sustainability. Projects include work in wind energy, energy efficiency, outreach, and much more!

- Website: Improving the website and update all recent news, newsletters, minutes, etc.

- Sustainability Boards: Maintaining our outreach boards on a monthly basis.

- North Campus Outreach Team (new, to be discussed next week): speaking to students in North Campus Residence Halls about sustainability, what they can do, and how they can get involved.

- Biodiesel: potentially producing biodiesel using Cornell Dining waste vegetable oil.

- Green Building (LEED-Gold): identifying what needs to happen to make this policy and pushing for it.

- Double-Sided Printing: working with the Society for Natural Resource Conservation to increase this activity on campus.

- Recycling: placing more recycling bins in all buildings and other campus locations.

- Plastic Bag Reduction: reducing the use of plastic bags in the Cornell Store.

- Renewable Energy Awareness: talking to students and the community about the benefits of renewable energies.

- Dorm Competition for Energy Conservation: working with the Campus Life Green Team to make this happen.

Here's a quick summary of the calendar for the Fall semester. Add anything that's not here to the Activist Calendar:

- Environmental Justice Series, September 5th @ 7PM in HEC Auditorium of Goldwin Smith Hall.

- Confronting the Triple Crisis Conference(www.ifg.org), September 14-16

- Green Festival in D.C. (http://www.greenfestivals.org/content/view/625/280/), October 6-7

- Trustee Council Weekend, Skorton Annnounces Sustainability Initiative, October 18-20

- Campus Sustainability Day, October 24th

- Special Guest Speaker, Bill McKibben, October 26

- Step It Up 2 (theme is leadership; www.stepitup07.org), November 3rd

- Powershift 2007 (National Youth Climate Conference; http://www.powershift2007.org/), November 2nd-5th

Cornell Study Says Pollution Causes 40% of World Deaths

A recent Cornell research project concluded that pollution deserves a place alongside heart disease and cancer on the list of leading causes of death worldwide. Contamination of water, air and soil leads to 40 percent of the planet’s death toll, according to a study conducted by Prof. David Pimentel, ecology and evolutionary Biology.

“In the United States alone, 76,000 people are in the hospital each year, with 5,000 deaths, just due to pollution of air, food or water. Cancers are increasing in the U.S., and AIDS is on the rise,” Pimentel said.

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