Roberta A. Mazzucco
Biomass is one form of energy that uses plants and waste materials to produce useful fuels such as methanol, natural gas, and oil. The primary argument against generating biodiesel and ethanol has been that this would have a negative effect on the usage of land for agriculture. However, there are fast growing grasses and trees that can be used to augment and resupply the existing forests. This renewable and recyclable energy source does not add to the carbon dioxide emissions. After it is burned, the remaining ash can be thrown back onto the land to restore nutrients. This form of energy production could result in the creation of jobs especially in rural areas. Primarily it is plentiful in large areas of the world covered with forest areas. Still, to produce enough fuel for our present and future energy needs would seriously compromise the use of land for agriculture. Unless there are other technological breakthroughs, advocates see more benefits to the use of biomass for generating electricity.
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Activity 5: Energy from Garbage
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One of the experiments I found has students placing dried peas or beans in plastic bags and placing them in sunny places, shady places, and in total darkness. Students record their observations. The question here is do the beans (garbage) produce a gas and can it be harnessed for use as a source of energy.
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1. Soak some beans in water overnight
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2. Place at least 10 beans in each plastic bag. Squeeze the air out of each bag and seal.
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3. Put 2 bags in a warm sunny place; 2 bags in a warm shady place; and 2 bags in a totally dark place.
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4. Observe the bags for a week and record what you see
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The beans will produce a gas. The problem would be what conditions produce the most gas and how can you harness this. In terms of this unit, it is apparent that this method is not a solution to the energy crisis.