Energy and the environment

(Program for a postgraduate course on the subject)

Abstract

Concepts, methods and some untraced data are here compiled and elaborated to give a general view on the problematics of energy use: why is energy needed?, how is energy used today?, what are the effects of energy use upon the environment?, why environmental control is needed?, and other related questions are covered.

Contents

• Global considerations: human needs, energy and the environment
  • Learning, as a human need
    • The different Sciences
  • Energy, as a human need
    • Planetary energy balance
    • World energy market
  • The environment, as a human need
• Energy resources
  • Conventional
    • Hydroelectric
    • Fossil
    • Nuclear
  • Renewable (or alternative) sources
    • Solar thermal passive
    • Solar thermal active
    • Solar photovoltaic
    • Mini-hydraulic
    • Eolic (wind)
    • Biomass
    • Ocean
    • Geothermal
• Energy transport
  • Electricity
  • Piped fuels
  • Batch fuels
• Energy storage (intermediate)
  • Thermal
  • Mechanical
  • Chemical
• Energy consumption
  • Electrical appliances
  • Heating
  • Cooling
  • Propulsion
• Enhancing energy use
  • Advanced energy billing (local metering, load smoothing)
  • Cogeneration
  • Heat pumping
  • Local production
  • Fluidized bed combustion
  • Fuel cells
  • New fuels for vehicles: NG, LNG, H2, LH, Alcohols, Synthetics
• Environmental control
  • Characteristics of the environment
  • Conventional disposal of matter and energy waste
  • Recovering processes
    • Natural
    • Artificial
  • Trade-off between costs and benefits
  • Avoiding superfluous damage
  • Minimising accidental damage
  • Allocation of recovery costs

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