The conflating of “renewable” with “sustainable” is not a perfect pairing. Consider the definition of sustainable, “of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged.” While renewable fuels offer the possibility of renewed sources of energy, they do not automatically represent [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Thermodynamics’
From Renewable Fuels to Sustainable Ones
July 31st, 2011 
Eric Wilson The Reality of Physics
January 16th, 2011 Eric Wilson 
A few months ago I wrote a piece about living in a world of limits. The laws of physics (especially the laws of conservation of matter & energy and the laws of thermodynamics) dictate the ability to produce goods and services. The ecosystems in which we live can only absorb so much waste and generate [...]
Posted in Conservation, Economics, Eric Wilson, Recylcing 
Tags: Biomimicry, Carbon Dioxide, Cradle to Cradle, Energy, Food, New Belgium Brewery, Oil Consumption, Thermodynamics, Waste 
No Comments »Energizing Your Workout
December 10th, 2010 Nick Grue This guest post is from Nick Grue. Nick is an Environmental Science and GIS student at the University of Colorado Denver. Nick is interested in the integration of renewable energy sources and the private sector’s conversion to green technologies. According to the first law of thermodynamics, energy cannot be created or destroyed, only converted. Understanding [...]
Posted in Business, Energy Efficiency, Guest Authors, Renewable Energy Tags: Electricity Generation, Grid, Nick Grue, People Power, Thermodynamics 3 Comments »Hydrogen Clean Energy Project at Emory University
August 8th, 2010 Eric Wilson In the summer edition of Emory Magazine, there was an intriguing article about chemists using solar power to turn “hydrogen into clean fuel.” One of the major issues with using hydrogen as a fuel source, is that it needs to be separated from water, which requires energy. However, since the first law of thermodynamics (also [...]
Inefficient Devices and the Laws of Thermodynamics
January 23rd, 2010 Eric Wilson As a science teacher I can tell you that people find science scary. Perhaps you already knew that. They think it is something they “can’t do” or “don’t get.” They may say they do not have a scientific brain. I can also tell you that these are entirely untrue. Real world, personally accessible examples, instead [...]
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Eric Wilson, Op-Ed, Renewable Energy Tags: Coal, Electricity Generation, Photovoltaic, Science, Thermodynamics, Wind Power No Comments »
