Thursday, March 17, 2011


Moving through the renewable energy resources, we are now going to begin discussing hydroelectric power. Hydro is an ancient Greek word for water and hydroelectric is using water to create electricity. Usually this means damming a river in order to channel the water of that river through a turbine which turns the shaft of a generator creating an electric current.


Watch the video below and describe how hydroelectricity works.
Extra credit: Research Micro hydroelectric power and describe it.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011


By some estimates, Earth's windiest places could generate more than 10 times the energy used worldwide. But what are the obstacles that prevent us from doing it? Technological advances and the money to fund them are the primary barriers to our becoming free of our dependence on fossil fuels.


Watch at least two of the videos posted. Write a detailed paragraph describing what you learned in the videos.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Solar Energy

This week's unit has been about renewable energy, the type of energy we get from sources that can be replaced on a regular basis. Mostly, we are talking about the sun because the sun fuels the renewable sources, either directly or indirectly. For now, we'll talk about the direct ways, like passive or active solar heating.


Watch the video and describe how a photovoltaic cell works.