Ending our Oil Addiction - Tedtalk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKEtQ_zz4GA

This is a Tedtalk video by Yossie Hollander, the founder of Fuel Freedom Foundation. I feel that Yossie raises two important points regarding the use of oil in today's world. 

1. Oil / petroleum is an expensive resource. 

The total value of oil reserves can amount to US$18 trillion which is a much larger when compared to the country's government debt. This suggests that we do not have enough money to consume all of the oil available. It is estimated that there maybe 1000 years worth of supply of oil costing at US$1000 a barrel. This is probably due to technology needed to drill deeper and exploration costs which amount to this large sum of money. In the long run, oil will not be able to support our demands. Hence, it might be necessary to start switching to other sources now to prepare us for the future. 

2. There are restrictions to substitute oil for transportation and the market does not signal the use of alternative fuel sources to power cars. 

While there are increasing options of hybrid or electric cars, petroleum is still the most popular fuel used for most cars. I feel that this situation is also quite relevant in Singapore where I observe that most cars also run on petroleum. In Singapore, there are only petrol stations available and there are no stations that provide more cost-effective sources of fuel and emit lower carbon emissions. Examples of such fuels are methanol or ethanol. The government probably needs to play an active role to suggest other more cost-efficient fuels to car manufacturing companies and create gas stations to provide these other sources. In addition, in Singapore, one usually gets stuck with the petrol run car for 10 years. An option of converting from petroleum to other fuel sources for cars can be promoted to car users. In the video, it is mentioned that this process of conversion costs only about $2000 which is only a small amount as compared to the costs of cars in Singapore. 

In conclusion, I feel that these two points are very relevant to the market on oil and how to reduce the usage of oil by providing alternatives. There are other cost-effective fuel sources that can be used and are known to release lower carbon emissions. In the long run, oil is an non-renewable source that only leads to a rise in oil prices. By substituting oil with other sources, consumers benefit from the lower cost and the environment benefits from the decrease in release of carbon emissions. Hence, I agree with Yossie Hollander that now is the time to end our obsession with oil and substitute with alternatives that are already available.  

Green panels, Green Living (BIQ)

In 2013, the 1^st apartment, Bio-Intelligent Quotient (BIQ), powered by algae has been built in Hamburg, Germany. The microalgae are grown in transparent glass panels. The glass panels have various uses. Firstly, they function as bioreactors. Sunlight and liquid nutrients are made available to support the growth of algae by photosynthesis. The process of photosynthesis generates sugars which becomes the biomass of the algae. Growing microalgae is a rather efficient process as its population grows rapidly, 5 times faster than average soil-grown plants. These algae will be harvested regularly into tanks.  The local energy company then transports the algae biomass to a power plant. The algae will undergo fermentation and the biogas produced is used to generate electricity. In addition, pressurised air is pumped into the panels to prevent the settling of micro-organisms. This is because the micro-organisms may decompose when they settle. Secondly, the glass panels also act like solar panels. Excess sunlight, not used by the algae, is collected and converted into heat energy in the building’s geothermal system. The heat energy can be stored and used immediately. Lastly, the panels can block out sound and heat and provide shade.

While generating electricity using biogas is more expensive than solar energy, it is optimistic that its price will fall with greater research and development of technology. In the near future, hopefully more green residences will be available to the people such that they can enjoy green living at an affordable price. 

References 

Iba-hamburg.de, (2015). IBA Hamburg – BIQ. [online] Available at: http://www.iba-hamburg.de/en/themes-projects/the-building-exhibition-within-the-building-exhibition/smart-material-houses/biq/projekt/biq.html [Accessed 21 Sep. 2015].

Roedel, C. and Petersen, J. (2013). Smart Material House BIQ. 1st ed. [ebook] Hamburg: IBA Hamburg GmbH. Available at: http://www.iba-hamburg.de/fileadmin/Mediathek/Whitepaper/130716_White_Paper_BIQ_en.pdf [Accessed 21 Sep. 2015].

Coasta Rica: Running 75 days only on Renewable Energy

Costa Rica’s electricity company has announced that non-renewable energy was not used for a period of 75 days in 2015. It is the first time that a country has reported to run purely on renewable energy for such an extended period. The renewable energy used by Costa Rica mainly comes from three sources.  

Rivers and volcanoes in Costa Rica 

Source: http://costarica-information.com/nature/national-parks-other-protected-areas/national-parks/p-t/turrialba-national-park-volcano

1.     Heavy downpours

80% of the renewable energy generated during this period of 75 days was from the hydroelectric plants in Costa Rica. These hydroelectric plants were initially built to generate hydropower from the many rivers in Costa Rica.

2.     Volcanoes

Geothermal energy spots

Source: http://www.sciencedirect.com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/science/article/pii/S037565050600068X

Volcanoes are capable of providing geothermal energy. Water is injected through wells and is heated to high temperatures underground. The water boils to form steam. The steam is then used to turn turbines and generate electricity. Countries such as Japan and Indonesia probably should aim to increase their geothermal energy production. It may be timely for Japan to tap on this source of energy since nuclear energy are sparking off protests.

3.     Sun and wind

Costa Rica experiences a tropical climate. It receives a large amount of sunlight throughout the year. Hence, it is able to capture solar energy. Wind energy is also harnessed. Solar and wind energy constitutes about 7% of energy produced.

While there are countries that can harness these renewable sources too, they may have a difficulty in using 100% energy for a continuous period of time. Population size sets Costa Rica apart from these countries. Costa Rica has a relatively small population of 5 million and hence, energy demand is much lower as compared to other large countries such as the United States. Costa Rica is actively promoting the use of renewable energy. The Costa Rican government also has aims to become the first carbon neutral country in the world by 2020. 

References: 

FENDT , L., 2015. The truth behind Costa Rica’s renewable energy. Available from: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/30/truth-behind-costa-rica-renewable-energy-reservoirs-climate-change [Accessed 14 September 2015].

MOYA, P. & DIPIPOO, R., 2007. Unit 5 bottoming binary plant at Miravalles geothermal field, Costa Rica: Planning, design, performance and impact. Geothermics, 63–96. [Accessed 14 September 2015] 

TARANTOLA , A., 2015. Costa Rica hasn't used any fossil fuel in over two months. Engadget. Available from: http://www.engadget.com/2015/03/23/costa-rica-hasnt-used-any-fossil-fuel-in-over-two-months/ [Accessed 14 September 2015].

Cleaner fossil fuel: Natural Gas (shale)?

Types of natural gas
Source: http://www.total.com/en/energies-expertise/oil-gas/exploration-production/strategic-sectors/unconventional-gas/presentation/three-main-sources-unconventional-gas

There are a few types of natural gas as shown on the above diagram. In this blog post, I will be focusing on the arguably cleaner fossil fuel – the shale gas.

Let me start with a bit of background on the increasing usage of shale gas to generate electricity. The geographic distribution of shale gas is largely different from other fossil fuel sources. Countries that previously depend on other countries for energy can now become energy independent. These countries are looking into exploiting this source of energy through fracking.

These countries also use lowered greenhouse gas emissions in comparison with coal as a reason for the increasing extraction of shale gas. The shale gas life-cycle emission is found to be 6% lower than conventional natural gas, 23% lower than gasoline and 33% lower than coal. (Burnham et al., 2011) (Life-cycle emission is a technique to assess potential environment impacts associated with the product)  However, concerns are raised with regards to the fugitive methane emissions. This is because methane is largely more potent gas than carbon dioxide. Methane gas in the atmosphere has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 72 times more than carbon dioxide in a 20 year period. (IPCC, 2007)

Fracking, the process of extracting shale gas, is also known to impact the environment and health adversely. Fracking is a process of breaking the large rocks deep underground with high pressures and channelling large amounts of chemicals and sand to displace and collect the shale gas. Clearing of land is needed for fracking to take place. In this process, the survival of species in the area is threatened as their habitats are lost. Toxic chemicals that may escape can potentially affect skin, eyes, respiratory and gastrointestinal systems. In addition, fracking also uses large amounts of water which can pose a problem in water scarce areas.

I believe that natural gas can be used as a transitional fuel to cleaner alternative energy given the lowered carbon emissions it arguably releases. In the long run, countries should still look towards alternative energy like solar and wind power which undoubtedly releases less carbon emissions than natural gas. Furthermore, natural gas extraction is also not as green as alternative energy as seen from the adverse impacts on environment and health.

References

ANON (2014) Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). EPA. Available from: http://www.epa.gov/nrmrl/std/lca/lca.html [Accessed 6 September 2015]

BURNHAM, A., HAN, J., CLARK, C., WANG, M., DUNN, J. & PALOU-RIVER, I (2012) Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Shale Gas, Natural Gas, Coal and Petroleum. Environmental Science & Technology, 46(2), pp. 619-627

PEDUZZI, P. & HARDING, R. (2012) Gas fracking: can we safely squeeze the rocks? UNEP Global Environment Alert Service (GEAS) . Available from: http://www.unep.org/pdf/unep-geas_nov_2012.pdf [Accessed 6 September 2015].

SOLOMON, S., QIN, D., MANNING, M., CHEN, Z., MARQUIS, M., AVERYT, KB., TIGNOR, M., MILLER, HL(eds.) (2015). Climate Change 2007 The Physical Science Basis. 1st ed. [ebook] New York: Cambridge University Press. Available at: http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg1/ar4_wg1_full_report.pdf [Accessed 6 September 2015].