Portal:Energy
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The Energy Portal Welcome to Wikipedia's Energy portal, your gateway to energy. This portal is aimed at giving you access to all energy related topics in all of its forms.
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Introduction
Energy (from Ancient Greek ἐνέργεια (enérgeia) 'activity') is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat and light. Energy is a conserved quantity—the law of conservation of energy states that energy can be converted in form, but not created or destroyed; matter and energy may also be converted to one another. The unit of measurement for energy in the International System of Units (SI) is the joule (J).
Forms of energy include the kinetic energy of a moving object, the potential energy stored by an object (for instance due to its position in a field), the elastic energy stored in a solid object, chemical energy associated with chemical reactions, the radiant energy carried by electromagnetic radiation, the internal energy contained within a thermodynamic system, and rest energy associated with an object's rest mass.
All living organisms constantly take in and release energy. The Earth's climate and ecosystems processes are driven primarily by radiant energy from the sun. The energy industry provides the energy required for human civilization to function, which it obtains from energy resources such as fossil fuels, nuclear fuel, renewable energy, and geothermal energy. (Full article...)
Selected article
Climate Change 2007, the fourth report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to evaluate the risks of global warming since 1990, is being published in sections throughout 2007. Prior to publishing, the report - which is the combined work of hundreds of experts - is reviewed by representatives from many of the world's governments.
Due to the accumulation of evidence, the report goes further than previous reports by stating that 'warming of the climate system is unequivocal'. It goes on to say that 'most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is 'very likely' due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations'. Fossil fuel use is given as the primary source of the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide, with the increase in methane being very likely caused by a combination of agricultural practices and fossil fuel use.
Based on an analysis of computer climate models, the report states that average surface temperatures will rise during this century, most likely between 1.1 to 4.3°C (5.2 to 11.5 °F), depending on the mitigation actions taken. Excluding the effects of ice sheet flow, they also predict a sea level rise of 18 to 26 cm (7 to 23 inches), more heat waves and more heavy rain. An increase in areas affected by droughts, in the intensity of tropical cyclones and in extreme high tides is also likely. The IPCC believe that stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations is possible at a reasonable cost, with stabilization between 445 and 535 ppm costing less than 3% of global GDP. They do warn, however, that a 'large shift in the pattern of investment' is required.
Selected image
Photo credit: Björn Appel
A solar furnace can be used to generate electricity, melt steel or make hydrogen fuel.
Did you know?
- The Stuart Shale Oil Plant (pictured) in Australia was in operation only five years?
- Atlantic LNG Company of Trinidad and Tobago operates the world's largest LNG train?
- Despite projections of producing four times as much power as it used in heating, the Riggatron fusion reactor was never built due to a lack of funding?
- In the late 1980s, as many as 50 percent of Argentina's thermal power plants had to be shut down due to lack of maintenance, causing a supply crisis?
- Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, the largest nuclear power plant in the world, was shut down after being hit by the Chūetsu offshore earthquake in July 2007?
- The world's largest surface oil shale pyrolysis reactor is Petrosix, operated by the Brazilian oil company Petrobras?
- Russia plans to build several floating nuclear power stations?
- Shale gas, a form of natural gas extracted from shale, may also refer to oil shale gas?
Selected biography
Hansen studied at the University of Iowa, obtaining a B.A. in Physics and Mathematics, an M.S. in Astronomy and a Ph.D. in Physics. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1996 and received the Heinz Environment Award for his research on global warming in 2001.
Hansen is a vocal critic of the Bush Administration's ideology on climate change. In 2005 and 2006, he claimed that NASA administrators have tried to influence his public statements about the causes of climate change. He has also claimed that the White House edited climate-related press releases from federal agencies to make global warming seem less threatening, and that he is unable to speak 'freely', without the backlash of other government officials.
Hansen has said that a global tipping point will be reached by 2016 if levels of greenhouse gases are not reduced. After this point global warming becomes unstoppable. As a result he claims that there may be a rise in sea levels by as much as 10 feet (3 metres) by 2100.
In the news
- 15 October 2024 –
- Google signs an agreement with Kairos Power to use small nuclear reactors to generate the energy to power its artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. (BBC News)
- 30 September 2024 – Coal phase-out
- The last coal-fired power station in the United Kingdom shuts down in Ratcliffe-on-Soar, Nottinghamshire, England, ending the 142-year history of coal-fired electricity in the UK. (The Guardian)
- 20 September 2024 – Ukraine–European Union relations
- President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announces a loan of up to €35 billion (US$39 billion) for Ukraine in military and energy support following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's drafting of a new victory plan against Russia. (Reuters)
- 18 September 2024 – Israel–Hezbollah conflict
- Several home solar energy systems explode in Beirut, Lebanon. (ABC News)
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Quotations
- "In recent years, new nations have entered enthusiastically into industrial production, thereby increasing their energy needs. This has led to an unprecedented race for available resources. Meanwhile, some parts of the planet remain backward and development is effectively blocked, partly because of the rise in energy prices. What will happen to those peoples?" – Pope Benedict XVI, 2007
- "In order to prevent the harmful consequences that crude oil price volatility is having on the well-being of our people, it is urgent that we convene a World Leaders Summit to present alternative solutions to this serious problem, which could quite possibly be a significant shock to the prosperity of developing nations." – Leonel Fernández, 2005
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