http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/13/green-heating-not-so-impossible-after-all/?partner=rss&emc=rss
By: Elisabeth Rosenthal
Summary: The article I have read this week is about using biomass for heating. In Kristianstad Sweden (an area known for its farming in Sweden) the government has converted the city from oil and coal heating the biomass and food waste. Kristianstad and its people have changed the way they live and now pay less for heating and is one of the most environmentally friendly cities in Sweden. The town has cut their per-capita carbon dioxide emissions to 4.1 tons per person because of their new way of heating their homes. In other towns of Sweden they have also adapted to using wind, tidal, and hydroelectric power as their sources of energy. If wholes towns in Sweden can heat their homes with an alternative energy, why can't we?
Opinion: I think this article tells a great story of how a town used their waste from farming, and converted it to energy for heating their homes. This is a great and clever idea that can be used wherever there is farming. If farms and houses in the United States used biomass and waste for heating they could cut their bill down and use a lot less oil and natural gas. I future years, I hope that people will take alternative ways to make energy and make them even better as years progress.
Questions:
1. What source of renewable power can we use?
2. Do you think more towns will use this source of energy?
3. Can you think of a weird alternative energy?
This article is very inspirational. America could really learn from Sweden. Our society are taking very small steps to help our environment. Yes, they are helping a little bit but we need to do more to actually change our environmental issues around. As I read this I was surprised that they were able to change an entire town's heating to biomass and food waste. These renewable fuels make an incredible difference. Heating without using coal or oil will help us in the long run. Sweden is very wise to think of this environmentally friendly idea to conserve energy. This article really made me think about my house and how much oil and coal we are using just to keep my house warm in the winter.
ReplyDeleteBelow is a cool website with a bunch of alternative ways to heat your house...
http://www.alternative-heating.com/
Biomass is my one of my favorite alternative energy sources. It takes our waste and gives it a purpose. Otherwise, our waste would just take up space and pollute our land, but this way our waste is able to truly be beneficial. Reading this reminded me of the article another group member wrote about a few days ago. Once again, America is falling behind. If Sweden can utilize new energy technology, America should be able to as well. Oil and coal are extremely harmful to our environment and will soon run out. There will always be waste on our Earth, as long as we are here. Renewable sources are always a better idea because they are reliable. Thankfully, if Sweden is using these technologies, soon countries all over the world will start to use them also. Hopefully we can stop the damage to our environment from continuing. I personally connect with this because as I get older, our non-renewable sources are depleting. By the time I am an adult it will be more and more expensive for me to do a variety of things such as fill my car with gas and heat my home. This is one of many reasons we should start to decrease our dependency on fossil fuels.
ReplyDeleteAnswer to Question 2:
I think in the future that many more towns will utilize biomass technology. It is an effective way to use our waste. It also is free to obtain the wastes needed to create energy. Overall, it seems like a very efficient and cost-effective way to create energy that many communities will take advantage of.