POWER UP!Energy fromWind, Sun, and TidesPOWER UP!Energy from Wind, Sun, and TidesFrank MuschalC h e r r y L a k e P u b l i s h i n gAn n Ar b o r , Mi c h i g a nPublished in the United States of America by Cherry Lake PublishingAnn Arbor, MIwww.cherrylakepublishing.comPhoto Credits: Page 19, Shawn Baldwin/Corbis; Page 24, Photo Courtesy of NationalAeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); Page 29, Photo Courtesy of VerdantPower, Inc.Copyright 2008 by Cherry Lake Publishing.All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in anyform or by any means without written permission from the publisher.Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataMuschal, Frank. Energy from wind, sun, and tides / Frank Muschal. p. cm. (Power up!) Includes index. ISBN-13: 978-1-60279-046-9 (lib. bdg.) 978-1-60279-096-4 (pbk.) ISBN-10: 1-60279-046-9 (lib. bdg.) 1-60279-096-5 (pbk.) 1.Wind powerJuvenile literature. 2.Solar powerJuvenile literature.3.Tidal powerJuvenile literature.I. Title. II. Series. TJ820.M875 2008 621.312136dc22 2007005661Cherry Lake Publishing would like to acknowledge the work ofThe Partnership for 21st Century Skills.Please visit www.21stcenturyskills.org for more information.Table of ContentsC H A P T E R O N E Todays Energy Dil emma4C H A P T E R T W OUsing Nat ure t o Do t he Work11C H A P T E R T H R E E Energy from Wind15C H A P T E R F O U R Energy from t he Sun21C H A P T E R F I V E Energy from Tides27Gl ossar y30For More I nformat ion31I ndex3221st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY 4CHAPTER ONETodays Energy DilemmaModern people use a lot of energy. Energy powers our cars, trucks,trains, and airplanes. Energy keeps us warm in winter and cool in summer.We use energy to toast the bread, make the coffee, heat the soup,roast the turkey, wash the dishes, and turn on the lights.POWER UP! Energy from Wind, Sun, and Tides 5Energy provides us with light. It allows us to watchtelevision, listen to music, and surf the Internet.Energy cooks our food and keeps it cool.In the past, many people didnt worry about howmuch energy they used. Basic needs, such as keepingwarm and cooking food, didnt require much fuel.Most people had good supplies of fuel such as treesgrowing close to their homes. They just cut downnearby forests. This was true for the Pilgrims andother early immigrants. It took many, many years touse up the fuel that the forests provided.Al t hough mostAmeri cans nowcook t hei r f oodon gas or el ect ri cst oves, notever yonei n t he worl d t odayi s so l ucky. Somepeopl e i n deser tenvi ronment s st i l luse cameldung t ocook t hei r meal swhen no ot her f ueli s avai l abl e.C21stCenturyontent21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY 6Things are different today. Most Americans nolonger cook their food in replaces as they did whenGeorge Washington was president. There are alsomany more people alive today than ever before.It took more than 10,000 years for the humanpopulation to reach one billion in the early 1800s.It took less than 100 years to increase to two billion.Now, 6.5 billion people live on Earth, each oneneeding energy resources to live.About 95 percent of todays energy comes fromcoal, oil, and gas. These three things are called fossilfuels. They were formed from the organic remainsof prehistoric plants and animals. Over millionsAs t he t i me l i nei n t he passagei ndi cat es, t heworl ds popul at i oni s growi ng f ast erever y year. Why i st hatt he case?Iearning&nnovationSkillsPOWER UP! Energy from Wind, Sun, and TidesThe remains of prehistoric plants and animals such as thesebecame, over millions of years, fossil fuels we use every day.721st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY 8of years, the remains of ancient forests and beastsbecame buried deep underground. Once there,these dead trees, owers, dinosaurs, sh, and otherplants and animals went through tremendouschemical changes.One result of these chemical changes was thecreation of petroleum. Oil companies drill forpetroleum all over the world and turn it into gasolinefor our cars. Another result of the chemical changescreated coal. Electric companies burn coal to makeelectricity. A third result created natural gas. It is usedto heat many homes.The l eadi ngconsumers ofpri mar y energyenergy f rompet rol eum, nat uralgas, coal , andseveralot hersourcesare t heU.S., Chi na, Russi a,J apan, Germany,and I ndi a. Thel eadi ng producersare t he U.S.,Russi a, Chi na,SaudiArabi a, andCanadaC21stCenturyontentPOWER UP! Energy from Wind, Sun, and Tides 9There are main three drawbacks to relying on fossil fuels. First, we are rapidly using some of them up! This is most true of oil because it is not just used to run cars. It is also used to make plastic, paint, and many other everyday products. Some scientists predict that in about 100 years, oil production will fall below the amount that we need. Many American oil refineries operate 24 hours a day.21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY 10The second drawback is much more immediate.Burning fossil fuels causes air pollution. In someplaces, people with breathing problems already wearmasks when they are outside. Will everyone somedayneed to wear masks when they go outdoors?Third, our planet is getting warmer. Burningfossil fuels only makes this worse. This may causepolar ice caps to melt and sea levels to rise. Thencities such as Houston, Miami, and New York couldbe partly ooded.Ai r pol l ut i on hasnegat i ve i mpact st hroughoutnat ure.For exampl e, pol arbears are havi nghard t i mes. Theyneed i ce t o hunton,butwarmer weat hercaused by ai rpol l ut i on i s del ayi ngt he f ormat i on ofi ce. Then t he pol arbears have t o wai tl onger t o be abl et o huntf or f ood. Asa resul t , t he bearsare st ruggl i ng t osur vi ve.C21stCenturyontentPOWER UP! Energy from Wind, Sun, and Tides 11CHAPTER TWO Using Nature to Do the WorkFortunately, fossil fuels are not the only way to produce energy. For example, wind power has been used for many centuries.Ships on the Nile River have used the same type of sail for wind power for thousands of years.21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY 12Wind Power About 4,000 years ago, Egyptians began using boats with square sails to travel up and down the Nile River. However, these early boats could travel only in the same direction as the wind. Over time, sail technologyimproved. By the 1500s, ships could sail around the world.Windmills from the 1800s and before are kept around as remembrances of the past.POWER UP! Energy from Wind, Sun, and Tides 13Sailors were among the rst to harness the wind,but others soon followed. Windmills were probablyrst used in what is now Iran even before 700 A.D.These windmills created the energy for grindinggrain, sawing wood, and running looms. People inHolland became famous for their windmills. Thesewindmills provided energy and also pumped wateraway from the land so it could be planted with crops.In the 1800s, many American farmers used windmillsto pump water out of the ground.Wat er, wat er,wat er! Al t houghmore t han hal ft hepl aneti s coveredi n wat er, mostofi tcannotbe used byhumans t o dri nk orgrow pl ant s. That sbecause mostofi ti s sal twat er. That swhati s f ound i nal lt he oceans andseas. Onl y l akes,ri vers, and st reamshave f resh wat er,whi ch i s whatweuse t o dri nk andgrow t hi ngs. Andf resh wat er i s i nshor tsuppl y. Sal twat er can be t urnedi nt o f resh wat er, butt he process i s wayt oo expensi ve t o bepract i cal yet .C21stCenturyontent21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY 14Another source of energy is waterpower.Watermills built alongside rivers use the rushingwater to do the same tasks as windmills. However,watermills are more reliable than windmills, sincewind doesnt blow constantly. Watermills poweredmachines at the start of the Industrial Revolution.In the early 1800s, for example, watermills providedenergy for the woolen mills in Lowell, Massachusetts.Many young,unmarri ed womengotj obs i n t heLowel lmi l l s.Worki ng condi t i onswere so badt hatt hey hel ddemonst rat i ons andst ri kes as earl y as1834. Whatef f ectdoes a st ri ke byworkers have on abusi ness?Iearning&nnovationSkillsPOWER UP! Energy from Wind, Sun, and Tides 15CHAPTER THREEEnergy from WindWindmills have long been used to grind grain and pump water. However, they were mostly replaced in the early 1900s by electrical plants Windmills are still used to pump water for cattle and other livestock.21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY 16that could generate a great deal more power byburning coal. Now, though, windmills are makinga comeback!Of course, single windmills still arent powerfulenough to make large amounts of electricity. Muchlargerand morewindmills are needed. Thatsexactly what are being built now around the planet.In the past, windmills were only three or fourstories tall. However, windmills today are huge! Theycan be 15 stories tall or more, and this is just for thebase. The blades of todays windmills are huge aswell. Each of the three blades of a modern windmillmay be 40 feet (12.2 meters) long. Thats longer thanOl d wi ndmi l l sare so popul ar i nGreatBri t ai n t hatt hey have t hei rown cel ebrat i on.Nat i onalMi l l sWeekend usual l yhappens in May andhas been hel d f ormore t han 75 years.Whatdo you t hi nkcauses peopl e t ocel ebrat e t hese ol dmachi nes?Iearning&nnovationSkillsPOWER UP! Energy from Wind, Sun, and Tides 17a three-story building is tall. The new windmills areso huge that several large atbed trucks are needed tomove the parts of just one of them.Even though they are huge, modern windmillswork best when there are a lot of them. Sometimes,dozens of windmills are erected in the same area.Then you have a wind farm. Having 40 or morewindmills in a wind farm is common. The AltamontPass area of California has about 7,000 windmills.Now thats really a lot! Some companies in Californiaeven offer tours of local wind farms.Maki ng t he bestpossi bl e use oft he energy wenow have i s al soi mpor t ant . Thi nkaboutyour energyuse i n t he pastf ew days. Haveyou l ef tunneededl i ght s burni ng?Have you t urnedt he t hermost atupor down i nst eadofdressi ng f or t het emperat ure? Howcan you do yourpar tt o conser veand make bet t er useoft he energy nowavai l abl e?Careerife&Skills21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY 18Of course, wind farms do best in windy areas. Sometimes, these are in vast, open areas, such as the plains of the Midwest. The winds there are fairly constant. Right now, there are big wind farms in California, Iowa, New Mexico, New Jersey, and other states. Japan, India, Germany, and Australia have wind farms, too. Another good place is on the seacoasts, where winds are pretty constant, too. Tests have shown that seacoasts are a good place for wind farms due to the steady velocity of coastal breezes.POWER UP! Energy from Wind, Sun, and Tides 19However, local people sometimes object to having a wind farm nearby.People in Ireland objected to more wind farms after one there caused anenormous landslide. The huge windmills were too heavy for the groundthey had been built on, and the land collapsed. In India, monsoon rainshave been essential to life for thousands of years and bring up toThe people of India willingly deal with the monsoons floodingto get the benefits the essential rainfall brings to farmers.21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY 2090 percent of the yearly rainfall. When the monsoonrains were poor, some people blamed the 1,700windmills in one region.People have protested American wind farms, too.A few years ago, an energy company planned to build130 windmills more than 40 stories tall off Cape Codin Massachusetts. Many protestors demanded thatthe project not be built, saying it would harm theareas famous ocean views. In California, protestorswent to court to have some windmills removed. Birdsin the area, including some golden eagles, had beenkilled when they ew into the slowly spinning blades.Modern wi ndmi l l sare about495 f eett al lwi t h bl adesover 300 f eeti ndi amet er. Thesewi ndmi l l s onl yproduce si gni f i cantpower ( 12 mega-wat t s)when wi ndsbl ow hard.Iearning&nnovationSkillsPOWER UP! Energy from Wind, Sun, and Tides 21CHAPTER FOUREnergy from the SunThe Sun is an enormous source of energy. If you ever got a sunburn,you know this is true! The Sun has burned for billions of years and willcontinue to do so for billions more. Enough sunlight falls on the EarthsEvery 24 hours, the Sun comes up and begins anothercycle of radiating enormous energy down on Earth.21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY 22surface in an hour to meet the worlds energy needsfor a year. Today, scientists are nding ways to makesolar energy an efcient, cost-effective power resource.Solar-Powered TodayAlready, we are using solar-powered tools, andwe may not even realize it. Many people have small,solar-powered calculators. They are inexpensive tobuy, and they never need batteries. Solar energy alsosupplies the power for some radios, ashlights, andfans. Manufacturers are even beginning to makesolar-powered refrigerators and freezers. These areall good uses for solar power, but they provide onlysmall amounts of energy overall.I n t he 1830s,Bri t i sh sci ent i stJ ohn Herschelusedi ngenui t y duri ngan expedi t i on t oAf ri ca. He madea sol ar col l ect orand cooked f oodwi t h i t . Thi nk ofat i me you have usedi ngenui t y. Whatdi dyou do?Careerife&SkillsPOWER UP! Energy from Wind, Sun, and Tides 23Solar-Powered HomesMost homes today use lots of electricity. Now some homeowners are installing solar panels to provide some or all of this electrical power. These solar panels can cut electricity bills in half. The town of Solar panels work best in regions with lots of strong sunlight, such as Arizona.21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY 24Clarum, California, already has 257 houses powered with solar energy. The town wants to become the largest community in California to generate as much electricity as it uses.The International Space Station is largely powered by several long rows of solar panels.POWER UP! Energy from Wind, Sun, and Tides 25Out of This World EnergyThe International Space Station uses solar panelsas its main source of electricity. And this electricitydoes more than just turn on the lights! It alsoprovides the energy to contact Earth, do experiments,and just plain live. Without the solar panels, crewmembers would quickly freeze to death.The station circles Earth almost 16 times a day.When it is on the nighttime side of Earth, it uses thesolar energy it has stored in batteries.Compani es areworki ng t o expandt he use ofsol arenergy. Al t hought here are about10,000 homes i nt he U.S. ent i rel ypowered by sol arenergy, over 60% oft he sol ar t echnol ogysal es are expor t st o devel opi ngcount ri es.C21stCenturyontent21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY 26Solar Power PlantsSolar panels are now being used for more thanjust individual homes. They are being used to createlarge amounts of electricity. One such solar powerplant is in the Mojave Desert in California. Severalothers are in Europe. And these plants can be very,very big. One solar plant in Germany has 33,000 solarpanels in it! We can expect to see more and moresolar power plants in the future.The st at e ofCal i f orni a haserect ed a newsol ar- poweredof f i ce bui l di ng i nt he sout hern par toft hatst at e. The sol arpanel s are at t achedt o t he out si de oft he bui l di ng. Sol ar-powered bui l di ngscan save t he st at eand i t s t axpayersmoney by cut t i ngdown on how muchpower f or ot hersources mustbepai d f or.C21stCenturyontentPOWER UP! Energy from Wind, Sun, and Tides 27CHAPTER FIVEEnergy from TidesAnother source for energy may be ocean tides. One big advantage isthat tides are very predictable. Even a thousand years ago, tidal mills wereused to grind our in Europe. However, things have not progressed muchin all that time because the technology is expensive. Large-scale, costlyThe power of tides, as they go in and out, canmove boats such as this far up the beach.21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY 28engineering is required to tap the potential energy ofthe tides. Once the project is in place, however, tidalpower is very cheap.Using TidesRising and falling tides can be used to createpower. When the tide comes in, it ows throughsluice gates into a natural or man-made basin. Thenthe sluice gates are closed, holding the water in thebasin. As the sea level drops during low tide, thesluice gates control the water as it ows back out. Theforce of the moving water is used to create electricity.I n some pl aces, t hedi f f erence bet weenhi gh t i de and l owt i de can be qui t egreat . Att he Bay ofFundy i n Canada,t he di f f erence canbe 17 met ers. Thati s probabl y moret han your housei s t al l . Why do yout hi nk engi neers sawt he energy pot ent i ali n such a ri se andf al li n t he t i des?Iearning&nnovationSkillsPOWER UP! Energy from Wind, Sun, and Tides 29Another Tide SystemIn 2007, another type of tidal system began testing in New York CitysEast River. This system uses underwater turbines. They rotate very slowlyas tides ow in and out. In fact, the turbines move so slowly that they willnot harm any sh in the area. Still, each turbine creates enough electricityto power one home. For now, though, there are just a few turbines.Someday, however, there may be hundreds!The East River turbine project may someday provideelectricity for a significant portion of New York City.21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY 30Glossaryair pollution (air puh-LOO-shuhn) unheal t hy t hi ngs such as smoke, dust , and f umes i n t he at mospherebasin (BEY-suhn) depressi on i n t he Ear t hs sur f ace t hathol ds a l arge vol ume ofwat erIndustrial Revolution [in-DUHS-tree-uhl rev-uh-LOO-shuhn] hi st ori cal peri od st ar t i ng i n t he l at e 1700s when l arge- scal e f act or y product i on began looms (looms) machi nes t hatweave cl ot h monsoon (mon-SOON) ver y st rong, seasonalwi nd pat t ern petroleum (puh-TROH-lee-uhm) t hi ck, f l ammabl e mat eri alt hatoccurs nat ural l y under t he ground and can be t urned i nt o gasol i ne and ot her product ssluice gates (sloos geyts) devi ces t o cont rolt he f l ow ofl arge amount s ofwat ersolar (SOH-ler) ofor rel at i ng t o t he Suntechnology (tek-NOL-uh-jee) t ool s and t echni ques f or carr yi ng out i ndust ri alpl ansturbines (TUR-bins) machi nes wi t h bl ades or paddl es t hatt urn t o produce energy when a f l ui d f l ows over t hemwind farm (wind fahrm) area wi t h many modern wi ndmi l l sPOWER UP! Energy from Wind, Sun, and Tides 31For More InformationBooksCoughl an, J ohn. Green Cars: Ear t h- Fri endl y El ect ri c Vehi cl es.Mankat o, MN: Capst one Press, 1994.Levet e, Sarah. Sol ar Power.Nor t h Mankat o, MN: St argazer Books, 2006.Macaul ay, Davi d. Mi l l . Bost on: Hought on Mi f f l i n, 1983.Mi l l er, Ki mberl y. WhatI fWe Run OutofFossi lFuel s?New York: Chi l drens Press, 2002.Pet ersen, Chri st i ne. Al t ernat i ve Energy. New York: Chi l drens Press, 2004.Pet ersen, Chri st i ne. Wat er Power. New York: Chi l drens Press, 2004.Rogers, Dani el . Waves, Ti des and Current s.New York: Bookwri ghtPress, 1991.Wal ker, Ni ki . Generat i ng Wi nd Power. New York: Crabt ree Publ i shi ng, 2007.Other MediaThe Engi ne Count s. DVD. Vari ed Di rect i ons, 2006.Gl obalWarmi ng: The Si gns and t he Sci ence. DVD. PBS, 2005.NOVA: Worl d i n t he Bal ance: The Popul at i on Paradox.DVD. WGBH, Bost on, 2004.To f i nd outmore abouthow el ect ri ci t y i s made, see:ht t p://www.ei a.doe.gov/ki ds/energyf act s/sources/el ect ri ci t y.ht ml21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY 32IndexAbout the Authorair pollution, 10basin, 28camel dung, 5cars, 4coal, 68, 16cooking fuel, 56, 23Egyptians, 12electric companies, 8electrical plant, 15electricity, 8, 16, 2326,2829energy conser vation, 17fossil fuels, 610, 11gasoline, 8golden eagles, 20heat, 8Herschel, John, 22human population, 6Industrial Revolution, 14International Space Station,2425looms, 13Lowell mills, 14monsoon rains, 1920National Mills Weekend, 16natural gas, 5, 8oil, 6, 8, 9oil companies, 8petroleum, 8Pilgrims, 5polar bears, 10polar ice caps, 10sails, 11,12sea level, 10, 28sluice gates, 28solar energy, 2226solar panels, 2326solar power homes, 2325plants, 26tools, 2223Sun, 21sunlight, 22technology, 12, 27tidal mills, 27tidesas energy source, 2729high and low, 28under water turbines, 29warm weather, 10water pumps, 13, 15watermills, 14waterpower, 14, 28wind, 1213, 15, 17wind farm, 1720wind power, 1113windmills, 1213, 1520Frank Muschal l i ves i n Chi cago wi t h hi s el derl y cat , Agat ha. ( Shes ol der t han l apt ops and cel lphones, butI m ol der t han TV.) Hes been wri t i ng and edi t i ng f or t ext book publ i shers f or t hi r t y years and has no gui l t f eel i ngs aboutt orment i ng st udent s al lt hatt i me. Besi des wri t i ng, Frank keeps busy pl ayi ng t enni s, ri di ng horses, and f umbl i ng around on hi s gui t ar. I m no rock st ar, he says. Ij ust wantt o make me more i nt erest i ng t o mysel f .Scientists looking for alternative sources of energy have worked with these naturalforces for several years. More recently they have harnessed them to providepower. Look inside to learn about how people are using the energy sources fromnature for power.The Power Up! series introduces readers to important concepts and informationneeded to understand the quest energy and alternative energy sources in the21stcentury. Other titles in the series include:Bio-FuelsElectric Power GridEnergy from HydrogenGeothermal EnergyTo guide your reading, look for these notes that will help build the understandingand skills youll need in the 21st Century. Look for the following margin notes: Learning and I nnovat ion skil l sYou need to learn about lots of things, but you also need to learn how tolearn. These notes give you hints about how to use what you know in betterand more creative ways.21st Cent ur y Cont entYou study reading, math, science, and social studies. You also need tolearn about the world of work and your community. These notes tell youabout business and money. They also give you ideas about how you canhelp yourself, your community, and the world. Life and Career skil l sThese notes tell you about skills you will use throughout your life. They giveyou ideas about how to work well with others, make good decisions, andachieve your goals in life.Hydroelectric EnergyNuclear EnergySearching for Oil9 781602790469ISBN-13: 978-1-60279-046-9ISBN-10: 1-60279-046-9