Fuel Cells - Green Power - Martin's Marine Engineering Page

The Climate Change DebateThe Road to Kyoto: How the Global Climate Treaty Fosters Economic Impoverishment and Endangers U.S. Security. Angela Antonelli, et.al.The Heritage Foundation, Roe Backgrounder No.1143, October 6, 1997.The Forgiving Air – Understanding Environmental Change. Richard C.J. Sommerville. University of California Press, 1996.Global Warming: The High Cost of the Kyoto Protocol – National and State Implications. WEFA, Inc. 1998.Kyoto Protocol: A Useless Appendage to an Irrelevant Treaty. Testimony of Patrick Michaels, Cato Institute, Committee on Small Business,U.S. House of Representatives, July 29, 1998.CLIMATE: Making Sense and Making Money. Amory B. Lovins and L.Hunter Lovins, Rocky Mountain Institute, November 13, 1997.The Costs of Climate Protection: A Guide for the Perplexed. Robert Repetto and Duncan Austin, World Resources Institute, 1997.While the link between climate andecology remains uncertain, decisionsmade during the next ten years couldaffect generations to come. Giventhe current levels of uncertainty, thecomplexity of our environment, andthe potential for “surprises” orunanticipated events, prudent actionappears to win out over a “businessas usual” scenario. Given the longtime lags between cause and effect,and between effect and remedy, weare challenged to use technologywisely to enhance our investment inthe future. The world’s governmentshave signed a climate convention andare negotiating implementationstrategies. It is not unreasonable tosuggest that the introduction of fuelcells into the transportation andenergy sectors will have globalimplications. Energy efficiency,reducing world use of petroleum, thetransition to renewable fuels, andcontinued support for research areimportant and responsible steps.While the link between climateand ecology remains uncertain,decisions made during thenext ten years could affectgenerations to come.The Greenhouse Effect: Essentially, all energy that enters the Earth’s atmospherecomes from the sun. The incoming radiation is partly absorbed, partly scattered, and partlyreflected back into space by the various gases of the atmosphere, clouds, and aerosols — tinyparticles suspended in the atmosphere. The sun emits solar radiation mainly in the form of visibleand ultraviolet radiation. As this radiation travels toward Earth, approximately 25% of itis absorbed by the atmosphere and 25% is reflected by the clouds back into space. The remainingradiation travels to the Earth and heats its surface. Because the Earth is much coolerthan the sun, energy reflected from the Earth’s surface is lower in intensity than that emittedfrom the sun, i.e. in the form of invisible infrared radiation. About 90% of the infrared radiationreflected by the earth’s surface is absorbed by atmospheric trace gases, also known as“greenhouse gases,” before it can escape to space. These gases, as well as clouds, re-emitthis radiation — sending it back toward ground. The atmosphere acts like the glass in a greenhouse,allowing short-wavelength radiation to travel through, but trapping some of the longwavelength infrared radiation which is trying to escape. This process makes the temperatureof the atmosphere rise just as it does in the greenhouse. This is the Earth’s natural greenhouseeffect and keeps our planet about 60ºF warmer than it might otherwise be.(Courtesy: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)This document, and more, is available for download at Martin's Marine Engineering Page - www.dieselduck.net31