Word: thermal
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...that's still pretty egregious. We used an estimated 4 quadrillion British thermal units on air-conditioning in 2006, which is more than the total energy usage of all but 21 countries. And a fair amount of that is peak usage - the sort that sends the electric grid crackling toward brownouts and meltdowns and increases the demand for the construction of more electric power plants (and the pollution they spew - unless they use renewable sources like hydropower or, as John McCain correctly insists, nuclear power, which should be carefully reconsidered). "A lot of utilities supplement their main power sources with...
What is true for food will be true for energy, water and other increasingly scarce resources. We can combat these problems--as long as we act rapidly. New energy sources like solar thermal power and new energy-saving technologies like plug-in hybrid automobiles can be developed and mobilized within a few years. Environmentally sound fish-farming can relieve pressures on the oceans. The food crisis provides not only a warning but also an opportunity. We need to invest vastly more in sustainable development in order to achieve true global security and economic growth...
...That was bad luck for the Spanish renewable power company Acciona Energy, which had chosen that day to publicly inaugurate its new Nevada Solar One (NS1) thermal power plant, around 30 miles from Sin City. The sky was darkened and violent winds rattled a canvas tent that held dozens of Acciona executives, energy experts, journalists and even a few celebrities like the astronaut Sally Ride and the ubiquitous green actor Ed Begley, Jr. But while the unusual weather might not have put the Solar One complex in its best light (or often, any light at all), it didn't dampen...
...solar power with a twist: it harnesses the heat of the sun, not just its light. Instead of directly converting sunlight into electricity with photovoltaic panels - the kind you might see on rooftops - solar thermal uses rows of specially curved parabolic mirrors to focus sunlight on a pipe full of synthetic oil. The sun's energy superheats the oil, which is then used to boil water into steam. The steam runs turbines, which generates electricity. The technology is as simple as any fossil fuel plant, and cheaper by material than the technologically complex photovoltaic panels. It can be more easily...
...Fortunately, the same engineering which brought us the umbrella also brought us something far more useful: the raincoat. For those unfamiliar with it, the raincoat wraps snugly around the wearer’s body, poses no threat to fellow pedestrians, and has the added advantage of thermal insulation. Driving rain poses no threat to the raincoat-clad pedestrian, while the umbrella user vainly struggles to position his or her weapon against the onslaught of the wind. And, if one wishes, the raincoat can be augmented by rain-pants and even gaiters to provide an unassailable guard from the weather?...