Solar Energy

Solar energy is RENEWABLE energy that comes from the sun. Solar energy is a great alternative. Many homes all around the world used solar energy panels to support their home's energy use, this way they are using more from what we already have (the sun) and less of what we need to save (non-renewable energy such as fossil fuels). I am so interested in solar energy, because it is safe for the environment, as well as easy to maintain, it's realistic! Many countries all around the world are using solar energy as a renewable source, that doesn't take millions of years to re-create.

Germay is the world leader for using solar power. in 2009, Germany installed over 3806 megawatts of solar energy...that's alot! Their goal is to have their entire country 100% solar powered by 2050. Do you think that will happen? Do you think Canada could achieve this? I wonder how many panels that would take? I wonder to myself why we haven't tried to do this EVERYWHERE in the world, if using the sun is free/renewable.

Using Energy: Then and Now

I realized that we do use a lot of energy, just in our own homes! I am going to talk a little about how energy is used in my home, and compare it to how energy may have been used in the 1900's.
At home -
 I wake up to an alarm clock on my phone. In the 1900's they may not have had a phone with an alarm, or even an alarm clock to wake them up. They might wake up from the sun, a natural source of energy.
When I cook my breakfast I used a pan and the stove, I also used a toaster over for my toast. In past, I might have had to use a flame from a fire to heat my food. I can't imagine doing that 
everyday!
I also noticed that last night, as the sun went down, my outside lights automatially turned on, so that we could see if we went outside at when it was dark. If this was in the past, I wouldn't be able to see outside unless I had a candle light, energy use at my home helps me to see in the dark when it's spooky!
I think that energy use now compared to in the 1900's is alot more. We rely on energy way more, because there are so many more electronics and objects that rely on energy.
We rely more on gas and oil today than coal or wood. I think that in the past, we would have relied more on wood and coal, because it was more natural and easy to access.
One last thing, I did notice last night that my younger brother kept a light on for over 4 hours. I saw hm turn it on in the living room at 4:00 pm and then turned it off at 8:00pm. Although this light helped us see for those four hours, it also wasted a lot of energy, as we were not in the room for all four hours. This made me think about the immediate impacts of energy, but also how the long term impacts may have used up too much energy, not leaving us any for when we really need it.

Let's Get Moving with Kinetic Energy!

I found a really neat website about soccer players in Brazil and how they use their own bodily energy to power the lights in the field they play at. There are many power shortages, so this innovative thinking helped these players to play soccer. The energy comes from the movement of the players, their running steps on the soccer turf is used to power the lights! This encourages people to think of new ways to deliver energy. Here is the link:

http://www.dogonews.com/2014/10/9/no-step-goes-wasted-on-this-soccer-field

Tiles were being laid below the astro-turf, which then illuminated the field at night. I thought this was a really great example of how Kinetic Energy can be created, and this kind of energy excites me because I like to move around and be busy! Below is a picture of the soccer field:

Tidal Energy - It Will Sweep You Away!

I have always been interested in tidal energy. How do waves make power? Does the most powerful wave create the most energy? I am going to write today about tidal energy, hopefully I can help you understand more about this too. Tidal energy comes from the ocean. Below is a picture that I found.

                                                  

I was very surprised that there would not be a massive wave in this picture. After researching this photo, I now understand that the machine in the water creates the tidal waves, and makes movement.... I guess you could also call this Kinetic Energy! This is a new term we learned yesterday, let me tell you more!

Florence Meares and its Energy Use

Last week as a class we explored Florence Meares, discovering just how much we rely on energy here. In just our classroom alone, we discovered that Mr. Ferguson's class uses a lot too. For example; the overhead projector, the clock and the chrome book cart. Once we stepped outside of the classroom we took a look at the top and bottom floor, finding lots of other ways our school uses energy. I was very proud of the Grade 5 students, as they discovered unique objects in the school that used energy, such as ; security cameras, defibrillators , water fountains or elevators. This activity helped us to see just how much our school relies on energy in order for it to function. I wonder how much energy our school uses in a year? Will it ever run out? Do other schools use the same amount of energy than Florence Meares?