Green Technology Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Green Technology - Research Paper Example With the rapidly decreasing natural resources replete, people are concerned if one Earth would be sufficient to meet the needs of humans in the near future. There is obviously no choice as this Earth is all we have to manage our resources in. Therefore, people all over the world are being encouraged to live green. Living green means adopting all ways and means in everyday life that would make minimum use of the natural resources and would be environment friendly. In order to facilitate people, the contemporary research and development is largely directed at developing green technology. â€Å"The field of "green technology" encompasses a continuously evolving group of methods and materials, from techniques for generating energy to non-toxic cleaning products† (Green Technology, 2010). This paper aims at discussing some of the most significant elements of green technology. Renewable energy sources Renewable energy is a kind of energy which is retrieved from such natural sources as geothermal heat, sunlight, wind, rain, and tides. Most of the times, projects of renewable energy are executed on a grand scale but renewable energy is equally usable in rural and backward areas. Kenya, a small country that has the largest rate of solar ownership for residential communities in the whole world sells as many as 30,000 units of solar power that have a capacity between 20 and 100 watts per annum (Renewable Solar Energy, 2011). Although some technologies that produce renewable energy are deemed unreliable, yet the growth in the market of renewable energy is steady. There are several forms of renewable energy that include but are not limited to wind power. Wind has been employed as a source of energy for a long period of time. Chinese have been making use of wind for watering their crops almost for over 4000 years. Sailors have also used wind to make journeys. Wind energy can be captured w ith the help of a tower that has a big propeller top that stands at considerable height from the sea level. The propeller’s circular motion because of wind generates electricity. Magnitude of electricity produced can be increased manifolds by building several towers and using them simultaneously. Open fields, coastal regions, hill tops and any areas with frequent and large air currents are the most appropriate areas for the construction of wind turbines. Electric vehicles Electric vehicles or electric cars do not use gasoline engines unlike the regular cars. A controller provides the electric motor with the energy for regulating the power according to the way driver manipulates the accelerator pedal. The batteries of electric vehicles are rechargeable. Common domestic electricity available in the houses can be used to charge these batteries. Electric motors are employed to drive electric vehicles. Rechargeable battery packs are used to run the electric motors. Electric motors offer considerable benefits in comparison to the internal combustion engines (ICEs). To power the wheels, as much as 75 per cent of the chemical energy stored in the batteries is converted by the electric motors. This percentage of conversion of chemical energy into gasoline is reduced to 20 when internal combustion engines (ICEs) are employed as converters instead of electric motors. Electric vehicles are friendly to the environment in that they do not emit any pollutants from the tailpipe, though some pollutants may be emitted from the power plant that generates the electricity. No air pollution whatsoever is produced by the electricity generated from the wind powered plants, hydro powered plants, solar powered plants and nuclear powered plants. The operation of