Category Archives: economy

Geothermal Energy – A Sustainable Alternative

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According to the US Department of Energy, Geothermal energy is a clean and renewable alternative to fossil fuels. Harvesting geothermal energy produces only ⅙ of the carbon dioxide as producing fossil fuels. From an economic standpoint, installing a geothermal small power plant costs between $3000 to $5000/kWe, and power is sold at $0.05 per kWh. This is relatively cheap, considering the average price of electricity in New York State is $0.18 per kWh, according to NPR. Three different techniques are used to harvest geothermal energy at power plants: dry steam, flash steam and binary cycle.

 

Currently, Geothermal energy is primarily available in western US states, Alaska, and Hawaii. However, geothermal heat pumps can be used to tap geothermal energy almost anywhere on Earth. Major sources of geothermal energy such as magma and hot dry rock will be able to be tapped with future technological developments. It can be easily implemented into communities with no visual impacts considering, “Geothermal power plants use relatively small acreages, and don’t require storage, transportation, or combustion of fuels.” (energy.gov) Geothermal is an extremely sustainable source because it relies on the heat generated at Earth’s core, which is almost unlimited. The water treated to make geothermal energy can be recycled and reused after harvesting as well. Hence, geothermal energy is clean, safe, and renewable, and should be further developed as it is a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels.

The Brazilian Amazon

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Brazil is now a large industrial nation that leads the world in production of oil and automobile industry that still heavily rely on the consumption of wood. Through the technological development, the nation is thriving in the economic field when exporting goods to other nations. The economic aspect of the world the country is thriving but through the natives of the and they are being destroyed. The Brazilian wilderness is enormous with thousands of different species of creatures and native tribes that are being destroyed to gather wood for economic profit, regardless of the effects on nature. The development of the country has come at the cost of destroying the environment. The removal of natural resources from the environment often creates bad environments for locals to attempt to make a living as they have lived on the land for hundreds of years. Many countries in Latin America are suffering from the exploitation by corporations and natural resources. In order to have a fair policy the natives should be involved in the government decision about their land. There is no clear path for communication for the natives and the modern and forever changing government. The lack of respect and connection to the natives’ culture creates environmental issues that impact the poor communities.

Go with the Wind?

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Wind energy refers to the process of creating electricity using the wind, or air flows that occur naturally in the earth’s atmosphere. Wind turbines are used to capture kinetic energy from the wind and generate electricity.

Wind energy projects have created many economic benefits to the U.S.. The projects have created jobs, created a new source of revenue for farmers and ranchers in the form of land lease payments, and increased local tax base. Wind energy can also lower electricity bills for those who neighbor the wind turbines.

In terms of employment, wind energy projects create new jobs in rural communities in manufacturing, transportation, and project construction. At the end of 2016, the U.S. wind energy industry accounted for 101,000 full-time jobs.

The US Department of Energy projects that we’ll have 404 gigawatts of wind energy capacity across the country by 2050, up from 89 gigawatts today. Because the overall electricity demand is projected to remain consistent, wind energy would soon help provide one-third of the country’s needs.

Currently, the major incentive to invest in wind is the renewable portfolio standard, which mandates a minimum amount of electricity to come from renewable resources. Another incentive is the federal production tax credit, which benefits wind energy installations across the entire country. Overall, wind energy is one of the fastest growing forms of electricity generation in the United States, with the largest share renewable electricity generating capacity in the country.

 

Solar Photovoltaic Energy

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When people think of solar power, they often think of solar panels on the roof of a house, also known as photovoltaic devices. When sunlight hits these panels, the electrons move freely through their cell, which generates electricity. Solar photovoltaic energy is pollution and noise free, making it a strong alternative to other, less sustainable energy sources. While some people choose not to install solar panels on their homes because it is expensive, solar panel prices are currently on the decline. According to this article, the average price of a solar panel system has decreased by 59% in the last 10 years. The installation price has also decreased because there are more experienced installers available. On a global scale, the U.S. is the fourth largest market for solar panels, behind other countries that have stricter policies to switch to more sustainable practices.

Google now has a feature that enables you to enter in your zip code and it will tell you how much money you could save on your electric bill by installing rooftop solar panels. In Schenectady, it is estimated that you could save $8,000 over a 20 year period. This calculator also takes into account the amount of sunlight each address gets. When I looked up my house in New Jersey, it said my family would lose $37/month if we were to install solar panels because the house is completely in the shade.

The downside of solar photovoltaic energy is that it is weather dependent. If it is very cloudy outside, there may not be enough sunlight to power the system. Also, if the panels are used to power a lot of buildings, opposed to a single home, it may require a lot of empty land to house the whole system.

 

Geothermal Energy Advancement State to State

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This past month, the United States Department of Energy announced seven projects to advance geothermal energy development across the country. One of the projects will occur right next to us at Union; in Niskayuna, NY.  The projects will total approximately $11.4 million and will focus on geothermal energy enhancement through the implementation and research on the benefits and consequences of this renewable energy source.

Geothermal energy is a geographically bound.  It cannot be easily implemented in all areas of the country, and is currently solely located in the western states of the U.S.  Geothermal energy is basically using heat from the Earth as energy. It uses the warmth of the Earth as steam to heat buildings and homes.  The positive aspects of this type of renewable energy source is that it does not produce CO2 emissions, it is sustainable and can work throughout the day or night, and it can be very price competitive if situated in the right area.  Cons to geothermal energy include the deterioration of geysers and springs, and also the presence of toxic elements such as arsenic and mercury, which can contribute to health problems.

Currently, American geothermal electricity contributes 3.8 gigawatts of electricity on the grid.  The projects implemented will help expand the current systems, and is estimated to contribute 100 GW of currently inaccessible resources.  It is also supposed to remove geographical barriers of conventional geothermal resources. The projects will take place in a variety of locations across the country including, Argonne, IL; Stillwater, OK; Albuquerque, NM; Norman, OK; and at the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station.

This is important because one project is occurring in our backyard, at General Electric Company in Niskayuna. This project is research based. It will work on developing and testing new directional drilling orientation sensors that are capable of operating at 300°C for a prolonged period of time (1000 hours). This research will allow measurement while drilling (MWD) at substantially hotter temperatures needed for geothermal drilling than current tools.

Through these projects, the US will hopefully limit the amount of CO2 produced in the atmosphere and create an energy source with an essentially limitless supply of energy for billions of years to come.

Sources:

Energy Department Announces $11.4 Million for New Projects to Advance Efficient Drilling for Geothermal Energy 

Renewable Energy Sources: Geothermal Energy

 

With Great Inflation, Comes Great Recession

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The 2007-2008 Financial Crisis was a formative event in many of the lives of our generation. Many lost jobs, even homes. The entirety of the American economic structure felt unstable, as though it was on the imminent verge of collapse. Yet, when you look back at the data, it almost seems impossible to miss the inevitability of it all. Let’s take the housing sector, for instance:

The above graph shows the rough correlation between housing prices and inflation. As the graph clearly shows, for much of the late 20th century the value of median family homes closely mirrored the consumer price index. And that is as you would expect: as Americans make more, they can afford more, and when they can afford more, prices go up accordingly.

Yet somehow beginning around the turn of the millennium, perhaps even slightly before that, the value of a median family home began to increase at a rapidly faster pace than did the consumer price index. We see a huge differential form between the two values. Economically speaking, its a bubble. And like the bubbles you used to blow when you were a kid playing in your driveway, bubbles eventually burst.

We see an exponentially increasing value of the median family home, while the consumer price index continues to follow its linearly increasing trend. When the growth becomes unsustainable, when the difference between the two values becomes simply too much for the market to believe any longer, the bubble bursts. There’s a rapid and sudden devaluation of one value to match the other. All of a sudden, a house is worth 1/2 what you thought it was, or 1/2 what you bought it for. It’s an enormous financial windfall, and one prone to produce and fuel a serious economic crisis that affects the nation at large. As we saw in 2007-2008 and the years that followed, that’s just exactly what happened.

Home Owners and the Decline of the American Dream

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It’s safe to say that the American Dream is still around in a pretty prominent way; however, is the American Dream and all it’s trimmings becoming obsolete? One of the key pillars of that famously patriotic dream was the idea of owning a home with a mortgage somewhere out in the suburbs. However, the recent years following the real estate bubble and the 2008 recession have shown a decrease and stagnation in home ownership across the country which could lead to the idea that the American Dream may stop being relevant.

There are massive amounts of articles discussing this problem in America, but the general consensus seems to be that there are five major reasons for the stagnation/decline of homeownership after the housing bubble and 2008 recession all outlined in an article for US News. The first is the lack of mortgage availability due to the credit shortage following the recession, which led to the decline in loan approval even with excellent credit. The second, an issue incredibly relevant to out generation, is the dramatic increase of student debt among younger generations and the rising prices of higher education which leads to the lack of saving for the future goals of owning a home. The third has to do with a more psychological aspect of s term coined “post-foreclosure stress disorder”, essentially meaning that families and individuals whom had their homes foreclosed upon during the recession could be more hesitant to take the risk on homeownership once again. The fourth and fifth reasons appear to be the issues of housing supply and affordability, and the supply is minimal while the affordability for first time home owners isn’t affordable at all.

The following data for homeownership was collected from the US Census Bureau’s website. Sorry it’s a download, my computer wouldn’t let me insert the excel sheet into the post.

chart hw week 4-ql76xt

 

 

Wage gap between immigrants and U.S.-born citizens

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Immigration has been an increasingly covered issue in the media in the last few years. Many americans fear that immigrants are “taking the jobs from american-born citizens.” However, this article in Forbes shows the wage-gap between US-born and immigrant americans. The discrepancies in pay between these two groups is in the thousands in over 29 states. This graph below shows the ten states with the highest wage-gap differences between immigrants and US-born citizens.

According to this graph, the top of the list is an almost $20,000 difference in the annual income of these two groups. The US-born citizens had a median annual income of $59,689 while the immigrants earned $40,145. The article also mentions that immigrants make less money than U.S.-born citizens in 45 states. So although some americans may fear that immigrants are taking opportunities from U.S.-born citizens, this data shows that U.S.-born citizens are, at the end of the day,  making more money annually than immigrants.

 

Employment Rates in 2000-2005

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I looked at data concerning the employment rates of single mothers vs. married mothers in 2000-2005. Unsurprisingly, the data showed that single mothers were challenged in the job market. In 2001-2003, both single and married parents employment rates dropped due to the recession. Afterwards, married parents employment rate increased but the single mothers did not. This is an issue we as a society must deal with because single mothers often do not have the same resources as married parents.

 

Global Healthcare Facilities

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It is no secret that some countries offer better healthcare than others. Some have socialized medicine, some have public and private medicine and some have Universal care. Because healthcare is such an important resource, many countries have poured a great amount of funding, engineering and research behind their healthcare system. Those countries that prioritize healthcare, often do have the best health systems. Other times, it is more affluent nations that have the ability to provide advanced care for its citizens. Either way, it is clear that there are countries with superior care options than others. But how do we measure this? Are all countries being judged fairly?

A study conducted by Siemens in January of 2015 thought that by measuring the quality and accessibility of healthcare facilities in different countries, we could better define what ‘good’ healthcare actually means. In one graph, they measured the number of hospital beds per 1000 people. This aimed to see which countries have invested in helping and providing access to the greatest number of people.

Image result for global access to healthcare statistics

And then they showed a chart of the countries with the most access to improved sanitation. By this, they intend to show the correlation between countries that have the resources to create improved sanitation technology, and those that have the wherewithal to provide superior medical access and facilities to its people.

In the Southeast Asian and African Region the proportion of population with access to improved sanitation is far below the global average

These two figures show that we cannot view healthcare in a vacuum. It is obvious that the wealthier countries have the better healthcare systems- at face value. But we cannot judge a developing country against an economic superpower country because their resources are not equal. This is why, many developing countries do not get the aid that they need to advance because they are discriminated against. They are viewed as less than, and thus makes it harder for them to improve. It is sad that, as a global community, we are so focused on ‘being the best’ instead of helping those in need. It is important to remember for people that live in countries with superior healthcare to remember that there is more we can do to help developing countries give their people the care that they need.