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    HistoryEdited Dec 6, 2012 8:39 PM by balbo_luigi…

    Notes for finals

    Here are my notes for the finals

    PRE-VIEWING QUESTIONS
    1. What is micro-credit? What are the benefits and challenges? micro-credit is an initiative by Muhammad Yunus that provides loans to the poor people living in the country of Bangladesh that otherwise wouldn't be able to receive this loans (from regular banks) because of their poor economical conditions, this can start and boost the little business that can eliminate poverty but it can be challenging as this bank doesn't receive external economic aid.

    2. How is the importance of energy a factor in economic growth? many business and human necessities require energy nowadays, this can improve the quality of life and the economic situation

    3. What are some renewable, alternative forms of energy to create electricity and heat? solar panels and wind turbines: cheap, effective and simple to install.

    POST-VIEWING QUESTIONS
    1. What is the problem with using kerosene to fuel lamps? What are the alternatives for Bangladeshis? kerosene can pollute the air and damage the bodies of the people who are near the burning kerosene lamps, Kerosene is a fuel used by airplanes, Bangladeshis now use efficient, eco-friendly LED lightbulbs powered by photovoltaic panels.
    2. How did access to renewable energy help the economic growth of the poorer communities of Bangladesh? 1 they had a very cheap,constant, accessible source of energy; fundamental for their business and every day necessities, which saved a relevant amount of money.
    3. The United Nations stated that sustainable development “implies meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. Given this definition do you think the programs of Grameen Bank and Grameen Shakti (the non-profit organization) are promoting sustainable development? Why or why not? Use specific examples.
    They definitely are, the use solar panels and wind turbines meets the necessity of the poor Bangladeshis of the present, because it provides free energy and it doesn't compromise the accessibility to this resource for future generations, because these same resources don't contaminate the air and the environment.
    The same concept is applied for the micro-credit, it provides instant capital for the small business without having the poor people become dependent on it, these loans are accessible and have smart rates that facilitate the return of investment and that doesn't weight on the economy.

    BRAZIL E2 QUESTIONS

    Questions on video:


    e2 video: Growing energy


    1. Google Steve Chu

    where does he work? he's currently the United States Secretary of Energy

    where did he work before? he worked as physics teacher at Stanford and Berkeley; and as director of the Berkeley National Laboratory

    on what? biological systems and cellulosic ethanol

    what did he get an award for? In 1997, he won a Nobel Prize for "development of methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light"

    why is this important to the end of this story? his work on cellulosic studies reinvented and improved the ethanol production form sugar canes


    2. Google Dan Kammen

    where does he work?

    He's the director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at the Berkeley.

    on what? He works on designing and experimenting efficient ad renewable energy systems.

    why does he cite Brazilian sugar ethanol as sustainable?

    Brazilian sugar ethanol is largely available in basil, t's easy to crop and it doesn't pollute, also brazil has always been dependent from ethanol

    compare this with corn ethanol grown in the US (e.g. Nebraska)

    As the documentary cites: "It takes a gallon of Oil to produce a gallon of Ethanol in nebraska", this is very inconvenient and harmful for our environment.


    3. Compare sugar ethanol from Brazil with US corn ethanol

    which competes for food? CORN

    which needs petrochemical to fertilize? CORN

    what is the energy balance like for each?

    The energy balance for corn ethanol is seven times less than that of sugar cane, meaning that producing corn ethanol requires much more energy.

    what is/was bagasse used for?

    After the extraction of juice from the sugar cane there's a leftover called "bagasse" which is used for biofuel.

    what is bagasse made of?

    50% cellulose, 25% hemicellulose, 24% lignin, and 1% ash and wax.

    how did sugar cane mills here in Hawaii fuel their boilers?They used bagasse so that they could burn it and produce energy.

    was sugar indigenous, and could it grow here again? explain.

    Sugar cane wasn't indigenous, it could grow here again only if political-economical factors could allow it, because it's not indigenous irrigation is very difficult.


    4. Google Vijay

    what is he involved in now?

    He's the senior editor of "The Economist", he recently published "Power to the people", a book about the future energy revolution and its effects on human lives,industry and environment.


    5. Oil Embargo

    when did this happen?

    From October 1973 to March 1974.

    why? The middle east countries that exported oil created an embargo as a response to the US intervention in the Yom Kippur war in favor of Israel.

    what happened?

    price increased significantly and the nation had to rationate

    how did this change the lifestyle of people in the US?

    Many Oil-saving policies were carried out, people slowly started to become less dependent from oil.

    is this similar to today?

    yes, at least partially, because nowadays we're trying to emulate the same policies that we used during the crisis, but now we're doing it for the environment

    6. Corn Ethanol

    why is this so prevalent in the US?

    Because it's largely available and because some people claim that it's a good alternative to Oil (actually it's not)

    who backs it and why?

    The midwest region of the US supports it because it will boost their economy. President Bush also supported the research of corn ethanol.

    who was president in 2002, when many of the corn ethanol policies began? George W. Bush

    what was his line of work before?

    He created an oil company called "Arbusto", based in Midland, Texas

    what about the vice president?

    He was Dick Cheney, before he served as the CEO of Halliburton, the world's second largest oilfield services corporation.


    7. Cars

    why do you think VW has put more research into biofuel cars than hybrids?

    Batteries are harmful for the environment and sugar cane is a sustainable resource largely available in Brasil.

    when were CAFE standards started? In 1975

    what is a CAFE standard? It's an average standard for Fuel economy of veichles in the US, it stands for Corporate Average Fuel Economy

    what was made exempt from CAFE standards around 1995? SUV cars

    what impact did this have on the country? The average fuel economy for vehicles in the US returned to their normal levels.


    8. Cellulosic Ethanol

    what is this?

    It's made from cellulose, from part of plants that are inedible

    Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol produced from other parts of plants that are inedible.

    how is it different from corn ethanol or sugar ethanol?

    these two are made of starch, whereas Cellulosic Ethanol it's made from cellulose


    now rethink your bagasse question from above

    why is Steve Chu key to this?

    Thanks to his studies now any sort of plant waste (that before was simply burnt for heat) can be converted in cellulosic ethanol.

    imagine Brazil with sugar ethanol AND cellulosic ethanol-your thoughts?

    Brazil in this case would quickly emerge as energy superpower and provider.

    PRE-VIEWING QUESTIONS

    1. What were some of the economic effects on rural areas after the Industrial Revolution? people moving to the city, mechanization of agriculture, economic boom

    2. What are the benefits of building a business (such as a wind farm) locally versus from outside the community? you can control your business and you can get out of the energetic grid

    3. What percentage of the power in the United States do you think comes from wind energy? less than 1%

    POST-VIEWING QUESTIONS

    1. What is a community wind farm? How is it different than any other wind farm? it's a location in a rural area where eolic turbines are built to save energy and operation costs, these turbines are bought by groups of farmers

    2. Dan Juhl says that community wind is a “trifecta,” what are the three reasons that he thinks this is true? Do you agree? Why or why not?

      -It's eco-sustainable

      -it's a cheap, reliable source of energy that last for almost 20 years

      -it brings economic advantages in local rural communities

      I have to agree with Mr. Juhl, I think that there's such an alternative as wind energy and I don't think that this solution will have any drawbacks.

    3. In what ways has the blade manufacturing facility benefited the community of Pipestone? it creates jobs, it reduces costs of transportation and it makes building turbines easier

    4. If we used all of the wind energy available what percentage of our energy needs could it power? potentially, it could cover about 1/5 of our energy needs.

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