Combat Global Warming with Evaporative Cooling
Sam Carana
To combat global warming, wind turbines along the coastline could be
used for the dual purposes of generating electricity at times when
there is wind and evaporating water at times when there is no wind.
Just a small breeze over the water can give the top water molecules
enough kinetic energy to overcome their mutual attraction, resulting
in evaporation of water and associated cooling of both water and air.
Such dual use of wind turbines can be implemented at many places where
turbines overlook water; evaporation will work most effectively in
hot and dry areas, such as where deserts or dry areas meet the sea or
lakes. Evaporative cooling will add humidity to the air, which can
also cause some extra rain and thus increase fertility of such dry
areas as a beneficial side effect.
The energy needed to run the turbines can be obtained and stored in a
number of clean, safe and renewable ways.
At times when there is plenty of wind, surplus energy from the
turbines could be used to convert Water into hydrogen by means of
electrolysis. Alternatively, bio-waste could be burned by means of
pyrolysis to create both hydrogen and agrichar, which could be used to
enrich soils. The hydrogen could be kept stored either in either
compressed or liquid form, ready to power fuel cells that can drive
the turbines at any time, day or night.
Another alternative is to run the turbines on electricity from
concentrated solar thermal power plants in the desert. A desert area
of 254 km² would theoretically suffice to meet the entire 2004 global
demand for electricity. Ausra offers a solar thermal technology that
uses the sun's heat to generate steam, which can then be stored for up
to 20 hours, thus providing electricity on demand, day and night.
Ausra points out that just 92 square miles of solar thermal power
facilities could provide enough electricity to satisfy all current US
demand.
Finally, there are some environmental concerns about wind turbines.
There are concerns about carbon dioxide being released into the
atmosphere in the process of making the concrete for the turbines. To
overcome this, turbines could be made using alternative manufacturing
processes, which can be carbon-negative. Furthermore, a recently
completed Danish study using infrared monitoring found that seabirds
steer clear of offshore wind turbines and are remarkably adept at
avoiding the rotors.
In conclusion, wind turbines have a tremendous potential. They can
potentially generate 72 TW, or over fifteen times the world's current
energy use and 40 times the world's current electricity use. Offshore
and near-shore turbines can make seawater evaporate and thus cool the
planet, at times when they are not used to generate electricity.
References:
Ausra
http://ausra.com
Wind power - Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power
Evaluation of global wind power
http://www.stanford.edu/group/efmh/winds/global_winds.html
Solar power and electric cars, a winning combination!
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977115548
Agrichar
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977139103
Alternative method of manufacturing concrete
http://www.tececo.com
Massive Offshore Wind Turbines Safe for Birds
http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/18167/
Footnote:
This article was written by Sam Carana; it can be freely copied and
published elsewhere, as long as the autor's name is retained in the
article.