There are two categories from which originate the causation of global warming: natural causes and man-made causes. The following are listed under the first category, the natural causes of global warming:
1. Melting permafrost
2. Volcanic eruptions
3. Forest fires
4. Water vapour
5. Decomposition process

Let us begin by tackling about the greenhouse effect, a frequently encountered concept that remains to be confusing to many. Amidst the atmosphere rests gases that are better referred to as greenhouse gases. The four major greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour, and ozone; but other gases such as nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons may also be included but only to a limited extent. These gases have the capability to radiate back to the earth’s surface heat that has already been emitted by the latter which was reflected by the sun early on since they can absorb heat that could have been lost in space. The absorption of this energy warms the atmosphere resulting to the greenhouse effect. So what does the greenhouse effect have to do with global warming and how will events lead to it?

Evidently, the higher the concentration of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the more heat is reflected back to earth as more heat is absorbed; thus the warmer it then gets.

The first on the list is melting permafrost. Apparently, permafrost contains carbon dioxide, frozen and stored in it, which upon melting releases the most prominent type of greenhouse gas in the earth’s atmosphere. Turns out, the factors labeled as the other natural causes of global warming like volcanic eruptions and forest fires are both antecedent events that result to the massive liquefaction of the permafrost in the north and south poles.

Another cause is volcanic eruptions. Aside from the destruction of properties and livestock as volcanoes explode, they simultaneously disgorge carbon dioxide in the atmosphere along with its contents. It is said that a million pounds of carbon dioxide is spewed at one time. The sudden emission of this hefty amount causes temporary warming of the earth.

Forest fires act the same way as volcanic eruptions. They send carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere as an imminent combustion occurs in the forest. This inevitable contingency is brought to happen because the elements, heat, oxygen, and fuel necessary for it to occur are available in the forest surroundings.

The essence behind water vapour is simply the usual evaporation of sea waters, lakes, puddles and other body of water. Upon the changing of state from liquid to gas, water vapour immediately becomes a contributory to global warming as it is the most prevalent greenhouse gas. However, it is sometimes only a repercussion of the large-scale emission of carbon dioxide from factories and other human activities.

Last is the decomposition process. As animals die, a cycle known as decomposition cycle, a naturally occurring phenomenon, happens with which methane gas is released along the process. Furthermore, swamps, bogs, and peats naturally release methane gas in the atmosphere.

All of these events send one or the other greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Together they increase the amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere and trap the heat that earth reflects back to the sun. As a result heat once again is radiated back to the earth getting warmer and worse as time flies by. Although global warming may ensue without human intervention it still does not put us in the position to be complacent and continue to sustain the way we deal with nature.

Truth is we make global warming happen at a faster pace than natural occurrences would if they went through their normal processes on their own. We need to wake ourselves of the growing problem on global warming. A reality that needs a hasty response before it leads to our destruction.

Heat pumps are becoming more popular across the country.  Once thought of as only good for milder climates, heat pumps are now widely used in colder climates too.  And with increased efficiency levels, they can be a very cost-effective form of heat.  Here are 3 things about heat pumps every home owner should know.

#1: Heat Pumps Lower Utility Bills

High-efficiency heat pumps are now a cheaper way to heat than gas furnaces in many places. Local costs for electricity and natural gas vary, but in many places you’ll lower your utility bills by using an efficient heat pump.  Here’s why.  Heat pumps maximize the electricity they use.  You get a return on the electricity as high as 5 to 1.  Here’s what that means. With a space heater, you get a 1 to 1 return.  You use 1 kW of electricity and get the equivalent of 1 kW of heat.  With heat pumps, the electricity isn’t used for heating directly.  It is used to cycle refrigerant.  In heating mode, the refrigerant absorbs heat from outside and carries it into the house to release it.  When in cooling mode, that action is reversed.  It’s the refrigerant that does the heating and air conditioning.

Depending on the efficiency of the heat pump, you’ll get up to 5 times more heat from 1kW of electricity than you would with a space heater.  That level of efficiency will produce lower energy bills than high-efficiency gas furnaces. In the last 15 years heat pump efficiency has increased as consumers have demanded more efficient models.  A typical 15-year old heat pump offers 8 SEER for cooling efficiency and 5.5 HSPF for heating efficiency.  Today’s average heat pump is a 16 SEER model with 8.5 HSPF.  Models are available with over 20 SEER and up to 13 HSPF.  Now, with dual fuel heat pumps designed to work in a system with a gas furnace, you can have the benefits of a heat pump even in a cold climate.  The heat pump is used when temperatures are above 40.  The system switches to the furnace then, because heat pumps aren’t effective in very cold weather.

#2: Heat Pumps Offer Comfortable Heating

Older heat pumps were criticized for being inefficient and not producing air that was very warm.  Now, with improved technology, the air coming out of your heating grate will feel as warm as air from a gas furnace.  You won’t have to wait for a long time to get a cool house warmed up, for example, when you return home from work.  In addition, if you choose a 2-stage or modulating heat pump to go with a variable speed air handler, you can experience very balanced temperatures in your home with very little temperature fluctuation and no warm/cold spots.  Most homeowners who switch to a heat pump are very satisfied with their performance.

#3: Heat Pumps are Durable

With proper maintenance, a heat pump can last 20 years or longer, with minimal costly repairs.  When you have a heat pump maintained every 1-2 years, about the same schedule gas furnaces should be serviced, you’ll get excellent longevity from most models.

Summary

Heat pumps are growing as a segment of the heating market.  If you are interested in learning more about, find quality sites online that contain well-written and objective heat pump reviews.  Those that contain heat pump prices are also very helpful. Take a look at Trane, American Standard, or Carrier heat pump prices and you might be surprised at how affordable heat pumps can be. Today’s heat pumps are efficient, more versatile with the development of dual fuel heat pumps, and more durable than ever before.  Heat pumps also give you the opportunity to create a very comfortable indoor environment in all seasons. When homeowners know these 3 things about heat pumps, they may realize it’s a good time to consider one for their home.

Many homeowners are choosing heat pumps when it comes time to replace their heating and cooling system.  Heat pumps are gaining market share in competition with gas furnaces and other HVAC systems for many reasons.  Here are the top reasons why switching from a gas furnace to a heat pump makes sense in many areas of the United States.

Heat Pumps Use Less Energy

In cool weather, heat pumps use less energy to heat homes than gas furnaces do.  They produce lower energy bills than gas furnaces do when weather is above about 35 degrees F.  Here’s the reason for this.  A 95% AFUE gas furnace is considered to be very efficient.  It uses 95% of the heat created to heat the home and only 5% is lost through exhaust.  Gas furnaces achieve Energy Star status at 90% efficiency, even though 10% of the heat created is wasted.

A heat pump, by comparison, might be called 400% efficient or more!  Let’s compare a heat pump to a space heater.  The space heater uses electric resistance heat.  Fully 100% of the electricity is used to create heat.  It is 100% efficient.  A heat pump uses the same electricity to circulate refrigerant between the outside coil where it absorbs heat during a heating cycle to transfer into the house.  With a heat pump, the same amount of electricity can actually produce 3-5 times the amount of heat the space heater does.  When compared to a high-efficiency gas furnace, a heat pump will use 25% to 40% less energy to create the same amount of heat.

Dual Fuel Heat Pumps Give Homeowners Options

Heat pumps absorb heat from the outside air during the heating cycle.  Once the temperatures drop into the lower 30’s heat pumps have to work too hard to capture enough heat, making them inefficient.  So for many years, they weren’t an appropriate option for areas of the United States where winter temperatures drop below freezing.

A new generation of heat pumps known as dual fuel heat pumps has changed that.  They are designed to be used in a split system with a gas furnace.  When temperatures are above about 40 degree F, the heat pump is used because its heat is less expensive than gas furnace heat.  When temperatures drop, the heat pump stops and the gas furnace takes over.  The system thermostat can be programmed to switch from the heat pump to the furnace at an appropriate outside temperature.

Not all heat pumps are dual fuel heat pumps, also called hybrid heat pumps.  They cost about 10% more but the difference is quickly made back through the savings they produce on utility bills. Dual fuel heat pumps are being embraced by homeowners in cooler climates but also by those in other parts of the United States who like the idea of heating with a heat pump whenever possible and reserving gas furnace use for the coldest parts of winter.

Summary

These are the primary reasons why switching from a gas furnace to a heat pump makes sense in many areas of the United States.  Some consumers are switching from a gas furnace to a heat pump while those where winters get hold are adding a heat pump to their HVAC systems to get the energy-cost advantages that heat pumps offer.

To learn more about the advantages of standard heat pumps and dual fuel heat pumps, look for sites that offer heat pump reviews of different models, their features and their prices.  You’ll learn more about heat pumps and learn which ones might be right for your home.

There are many advantages of wave energy. Probably the most important one is the fact that this energy source does not pollute. It is completely green. This means that while we generate electricity from the waves, there are no emissions of any climate gases into the atmosphere whatsoever.

Most clean sources of energy are also renewable. This of course is also the case with wave energy. The basic meaning of renewable energy sources is the following: They are here to last. Unlike nuclear fuel we do not suspect to run out of these energy sources any time soon.

The reason why wave energy is renewable is because this energy originates for the sun. To read more about this I suggest you go to http://energyinformative.org, which is an extensive resource on these things.

If you compare wind and wave energy you see one major difference. The air that drives the turbines around above the water (with wind turbines that is) is about one thousands as dense as the water just below the ocean surface. The energy that can be harnessed and used in electricity generation is parallel to the density of the medium. What this means without all the tech-savvy words is that wave energy could be harnessed at much lower speedsThe next thing on the list is the fact that wave energy is relatively reliable if you compare them to energy sources such as wind power and solar energy. There are a lot of comparisons on EnergyInformative.org about these kinds of things. Back to the point, reliability in waves around the globe makes using the right dimensions on the wave power systems easier.

As much as wave power generators can cover the entire electricity generation of 5.000 houses in the U.S installed in a region of a quarter square mile. This can of course be scaled up in massive quantities if the environment allows for it.

Offshore wave power farms like offshore wind turbines have a greater amount of energy potential than their little brothers closer to shore (or on land if wind turbines are the case).

They are more expensive, but there are also numerous of other benefits other than having a greater potential that comes with them. Most important is the fact that they don’t posses a threat to tourism or people that don’t like their aesthetics.

Another thing is the fact that the environmental harm they do might be lower (we are mostly talking about sea life, boat traffic and so on)

Unfortunately there are also a lot of disadvantages when it comes to harnessing energy from waves:

Most important is the question if wave energy possesses a threat to the environment. By the environment I don’t mean polluting climate gases as I previously mentioned was not the case. I mean if these devices are harmful to the life below the sea and if the large tidal barrages altering large water flows, much like dams for hydroelectricity, is a threat. We know for sure that the latter is the case, but only time will tell if the sea life is under danger as well.

There is no doubt that the largest downside, or the reason for why wave power is taking so long, is that at the current moment this technology is incredible pricey. There has been over a thousand different patent ideas for devices that are supposed to generate electricity out of waves, most of which have failed.

A handful of good projects are remaining, but every one of them still early in the development. It is expected that prices will be lower in a few years after extensive government funded help for new projects leading to development of larger scales, as well as fine tuning and polishing of technology involved in these devices.

Tidal energy has been used since the roman times, where grain was crushed in large mills. Today, the same sources of this energy (the moon and sun’s gravitational field), are being used to generate electricity. Tidal energy is a fairly complicated way of generating electricity. In this article I’m going to give you a simplified version as well as listing the most important advantages and disadvantages.

The basic gist of tidal energy is this:

Gravitational fields around the sun as well as the moon in addition the rotation of earth itself is pulling the large water masses on earth around – what is known as high and low tide. Not only are these cycles extremely predictable, but they are also completely renewable. The gravitational fields we are talking about are not going away any time soon. Compare this to the earth’s remaining fossil fuel reservoirs and also the nuclear fuel we have left, you’ll see that renewable energy sources are the future.

You can read more on this technology at the following link:

EnergyInformative

The first thing I would like to mention about tidal energy is that the potential is really large. Calculations show that as much as 1000TWh of electricity can be supplied by tidal power plants every year.

We need both renewable and green energy sources for the future. Tidal energy has both, not only will this source last for millions of years, but there are no emissions involved when these power plants generate electricity.

Tidal energy is, unlike wind and solar energy, a very predictable energy sources, in fact one of the most predictable of the renewables. This allows for a wide array of advantages: Equipment can be dimensioned properly, good larger scale energy management and so on.

Water has a much higher density than what air does. Therefore wind turbines and tidal stream generators have a very important difference: Tidal stream generators are able to deliver energy even with lower speeds (calculations show as low as one meter a second).

The biggest disadvantage of tidal power is the fact that these installations are relatively new, and therefore prices do not yet compete with fossil fuels and other conventional ways of generating electricity. However, we do expect to see that tidal power plants generate lower energy in the future, partially due to better technology, but most of it due to mass production and larger scales of these plants.

It is still a bit early to say what the effects of tidal energy on the environment are. People speculate in if it has as large affect on nearby fish-life as hydroelectricity due (due to the movements and alterations of large masses of water). This might only be with the tidal barrages, but not as much with stream generators under water.

The tidal energy potential worldwide is estimated to be about 600 TWh, in other words a lot of energy. This number could be even higher if we could figure out how to build tidal power plants on deeper water, not so close to the shore. There is only a certain amount of the sea that currently is suitable for tidal energy generation.

I hope I opened your eyes for the incredible potential that lies in tidal energy. However, this technology needs to mature a bit (hopefully not for more than a few years) before it prices are as low for it to be as cheap as the nasty polluting energy sources (e.g. nuclear and fossil fuels). The future of energy is renewable and green. It will be very interesting to see what degree of importance tidal power generation will have in the future.