E NE RGY - TownNewsbloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/heraldextra.com/... · 2012-08-13 · hot.Check your In the News Learning standards: identifying sources and uses of energy,

EENNEERRGGYY

Makes the world go ’round

A Hot Topics Supplement from

2

This Hot Topics supplement was:Written by — Abby HornIllustrated by — Zach HornEdited by — Ken BookmanDesigned by — Linda Berns, Berns & Kay, Ltd.Copyright 2004 Hot Topics Publications, Inc.

that a carnival called "Power Adventures” was actually in town. She sug-gested that they meet up at the carnival after dinner that night.

A few hours later, just as the stars were coming out, the group met atthe gates of the carnival.Together, they walked up the path towards theticket booth. But as they approached, they noticed something strange –there was no one else in sight.The kids were excited for a minute at thethought that there would be no lines.Then, suddenly, the lights on all of therides turned off.The rides stopped moving and the carnival music, whichhad been blasting, faded into silence. Jon screamed.

A second later, his dog, Scout, began barking, so everyone felt a littlebetter.Whatever was going on, Scout would protect them.

“What is it, Scout?” Jon asked.A haunted carnival? Some kind of trick?Or … a cat. For walking down the path towards them, the kids saw a blackcat with white feet.This was what Scout was barking at. Some guard doghe was.

But behind the cat was a figure, and the kids started to scream again asthe figure approached.Then the figure called out to them, and they heard awoman’s voice yelling,“Kids, please, don’t leave. I’m a scientist and I needyour help.”

Powerin the

PARKEnergy makes theworld go around, for sure,but just how much doyou know about thesources and uses of energy?There are many forms ofenergy, butnone of them isperfect. Learnmore about thetough choices in thisnewspaper section as wefollow the adventures of five kids and a scientist learning together about the power of energy.As you

read, you’ll see the words of ourscientist, Dr. E., and you’ll learnmore about each energy source.Come along and feel the power!

The Adventure BeginsLast Friday, a few friends were

hanging out in the schoolyard duringrecess and were getting excited aboutthe weekend.As they were talking, theconversation turned to the topic ofdreams – and then to nightmares. Ramtold about a scary dream he had thenight before. He was riding the FerrisWheel at an amusement park. Just ashe was approaching the highest point

of the arc, the ride stopped, the lights and music turned off, and he wasstuck in the dark at the very top of the ride.

Ram’s dream described a common fear, and his friends shudderedthinking about it.They were all imagining the scene when Julie remembered

✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸

Hi, I’m Dr. E!

NOEnergyIN,

NOEnergyOUTThe kids thought

for a second, andthey decided not torun.The scientistneared and intro-duced herself as Dr.E. She began toexplain that the car-nival had lost power.It looked like some-one turned off theswitch.Without ener-gy flowing in, nothingwould move. Nomusic could play andthere could be nolights.

Ram thought aboutthis for a minute andthen asked a questionhe had been thinkingabout ever since theFerris Wheel stoppedin his dream the nightbefore.

“What’s energy?”he asked.

And this was howthe kids found them-selves a little whilelater eating free cotton candy andpopcorn (which

Answers to WordScramble

1. SOLAR2. OIL3. COAL4. GAS5. ELECTRIC6. NUCLEAR7. WIND8. HYDRO-ELECTRIC9. GEO-THERMAL

energy, they give offheat. Look at the fol-lowing items or activi-ties, and decide if eachis hot or not. Checkyour answer.

Tip! You may needto experiment bytouching some of theitems on the list. Becareful not to leaveyour hand on some-thing warm for toolong.

It’s Hot/It’s Not■ Light bulb that’s on

❑ It’s Hot ❑ It’s Not■ Rubbing your hands

together ❑ It’s Hot ❑ It’s Not

■ A desk ❑ It’s Hot ❑ It’s Not

■ A person who hasbeen running ❑ It’s Hot ❑ It’s Not

■ A pen or pencil❑ It’s Hot ❑ It’s Not

Look at the thingsthat you decided are hot. Check your

In the News

Learning standards: identifying sources anduses of energy, prioritizing, writing for fluency,

locating information1. We use energy every day in manyways. Do a newspaper search to finddifferent ways that energy is being

used. Then figure out the ener-gy source for each use.Make a list and place

each item in priority order with the use that is mostimportant to you at the top. Then write a paragraphexplaining why energy is important in your life.

2. Try this Energy Scavenger Hunt and find the followingenergy-related items in the newspaper:✸ An energy-saving automobile✸ An appliance that plugs in✸ A battery-operated item✸ A company that produces energy✸ A form of transportation that burns a lot of energy✸ A person with energy to spare

?Word ScRamble!

was made before theenergy went out) andtalking with Dr. E., ascientist who alsoturned out to be thecarnival owner.

“Energy is whatmakes things go,move, or happen,” Dr.E. explained.“Energymakes a car go and itmakes the lights turnon. Energy is alsowhat makes you go.Running aroundmakes you tired andhungry because ituses up energy. Butthat’s just the begin-ning of the story.”

You’re theScientist:Signs of Energy

When things go,move, or happen, youknow they are usingenergy.And there’ssomething else – anytime that things use

answers by askingyourself this question:

Are they makingsomething go, run,or happen?

Trapping HeatAre blankets and

gloves hot or not?That’s a hard question.Most people would saythat they are hot. Butwhat if you put a glovein the refrigerator? Itwould feel cold whenyou took it out.This isbecause “hot” thingslike gloves, jackets, andblankets do not pro-duce heat themselves,which means that theydo not use energy.What they do is trapheat from your bodyand keep it close toyou. Gloves, jackets,and blankets make youfeel warm, but they arenot “hot” themselves –the heat comes fromyour body.

1. ARLOS 2. ILO 3. OLAC 4. SAG 5. RICTECLE 6. CARULEN 7. DWIN 8. DROHY-TRECLICE 9. OGE-MALTHER

We use many sources of energy to make thingsgo, run, or happen. See how many of these typesof energy you can unscramble.

✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸

3

✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸✸

4

Sun

As the carnivalstood silent and

still behind them, thekids and Dr. E. talked moreabout the importance ofenergy.Without energy,the carnival didn’tlook like much funat all.The kids kept hop-ing that it would start upagain.Then maybe Dr. E.would let them on therides for free. Maybe wecan get this thing goingagain, Jon thought to him-self.To Dr. E. heasked,“Where doesenergy come from?”

“The Sun is the startingpoint for all energy,” Dr. E.explained.“The Sun releases atremendous amount of energyall the time.Although it is veryfar away, some of that energy reachesthe Earth.We can observe energyfrom the Sun as light and heatthat we see and feel during theday. If we’re not careful, wealso feel the Sun’s energy on our skin, in the formof sunburn.

“The Sun not only warms people, it alsowarms the land, air, water, and all other objects inits path.When we capture the Sun’s energy, we can use it to runmachines, to warm water, or to dry laundry hanging on a clothesline.”

Solar PowerSolar power is energy captured directly from the Sun. Can you

think of a place where you have seen solar panels that capture theSun’s energy and use it to run a machine? The most common exampleis a solar-powered calculator. See whether someone in your class hasone.

Solar power is a good energy source in sunny places because sun-light is readily available.The problem with solar power is that it doesnot work when it is cloudy or at night. People who rely on solarpower often use other energy sources when the Sun is not shining.

In the News

Learning standard: writing descriptionsPeople depend on energy to make things go, run, or happen. But not all

sources of energy are the same. The best sources of energy arecheap, easy to find, gentle on the environment, and easy to transport.

Look in the newspaper to find pictures of items that fit each of thesecategories. Find at least one picture for each one.1. cheap2. easy to find

3. gentle on the environment4. easy to transport

THE

AND SOLARENERGY

“I have a solar-powered calculator,” Ram saidto Dr. E., “but I don’t have a solar-poweredhouse.What makes things in my house turn on?”

The kids were getting interested in Dr. E.’sstory.They hoped she would tell them some-thing that might provide a clue so that theycould get the carnival going again. Dr. E.decided to tell the kids about othertypes of energy…

“Solar panels capture the Sun’s energy andstore it so we can use it as power,” Dr. E.began.“But you don’t need fancysolar panels to capture andstore energy from theSun. Plants do it allthe time.Trees,shrubs, and otherplants capture theSun’s energythrough their leaves.They usethis energy from the Sun to live and grow.

“After plants store up energy, animals mayeat the plants. Plants are good food becausethe energy they have captured providesenergy for animals to run their bodies.Some animals eat plants and other

animals, and theenergy from

the Sun

is passed along to them.This process of passingenergy between different plants and animals iscalled the ‘food web.’”

BACK IN TIMEAbout 300 million years ago, before the

time of the dinosaurs, the Earth was coveredwith oceans and swamps.Trees, ferns, and other

plants grew on the swampy land, andgreen algae filled the water.The

trees and plants captured ener-gy from the Sun and

grew tall.When theyeventually died,there were more

plants than decom-posers (animals that eat and recycle

them). So many of the plants sunk to the bot-tom of the swamps.

Sand, clay, and rock covered upthe plants. Rock piled on rock andpressed down on the energy-rich

plants. Over millions of years, the pres-sure from the rock pressed all the water

out of the plants. Eventually, they turnedinto coal and oil.We call these energy

sources “fossil fuels,” because they are likefossils, very old impressions of what the

Earth looked like millions of years ago.Fossil fuels formed under very

specialconditionsover mil-lions ofyears.Although

plants stillcapture energy

from the Suntoday, we cannot

make new fossilfuels from plants.

When we use upthe Earth’s fossil

fuels, they will begone.

FOSSIL FUELS

5

“Wouldanyone likesome morepopcorn?”Dr. E. asked.Five handswent up, soDr. E. wentto get an-other roundof snacksfrom the concessionstand.Theneveryone settledback formore ofthe story.

“People have used fossil fuels, especiallycoal, as a source of energy for thousands ofyears,” Dr. E. continued.“However, in the pastwe did not rely on fossil fuels to the sameextent that we do today.About 200 years ago,most people used wood-burning stoves toheat their homes and to cook. Back then,most manufacturing used small, handmademachines that ran through human labor.

“Today, 90% of our energy comesfrom fossil fuels. Machines todayreplace human labor with fuel. Somepeople still burn wood for fuel, butthis is not common. One reason isthat burning wood depletes foreststhat we need for clean air, soil, andanimal habitats.”

Activity: What doyou use it for?

Think back about today and yes-terday. List all the times when yousaw someone or something usingenergy. Keep that list and as you learnmore about energy sources, checkyour list to see where each type ofenergy used comes from.

FossilsFuel Most

Things

CoalCoal, a hard black substance, is one type of

fossil fuel. Different parts of the world have dif-ferent deposits of fossil fuels. In the UnitedStates, most of the 50 states have undergroundcoal. In fact, 90% of the fossil fuels in the UnitedStates are coal.

To remove coal from the ground, miners usetwo methods. In underground mining, workerstunnel underground to remove coal. In strip

mining, miners dig up soil and rock and dig downto the coal underneath. Most of the coal miningin the United States is strip mining.That’sbecause it is cheaper and easier than under-ground mining. Can you think of some down-sides to strip mining?

Once miners remove coal from the ground,they ship it away to fuel power plants and facto-ries.The United States has enough coal to provide power for hundreds of years. But burn-ing coal is dirty. It causes more pollution thanother fossil fuels and other sources of energy.

6

Energy RiddlesQ. Why did the inventor bury coal in his garden?

A. He wanted to grow a power plant.

Q. What can you put in a barrel of oil to make it lighter? A. A hole.

Q. Why was the woman so impressed with windpower? A. It blew her away.

Q. How is an old clown like oil? A. He’s a fossil fool.

Q. Which weighs more, a ton of coal or a ton of feathers?

A. They both weigh a ton.

French Fry Fuel?Most cars and buses use gasoline

that comes from the fossil fuel kindof oil. But some inventors havesomething else in mind.They havefigured out how to use vegetable oil,used to cook foods like French fries,to power cars and buses.This kind of

power, called “biodiesel,” creates lessair pollution than regular gasoline. It is

also what’s known as a renewable energysource (meaning that we cannot use it

up). Do you know how to identifybiodiesel? It smells like fried chicken when it

burns.Many people think biodiesel is a good idea.

They are working to make it cheaper and easier toget. Some schools have already switched their school

buses to biodiesel. Has yours?

Oil is an energy-rich liquid found in rock beneaththe ground. In 1859, Edwin Drake was looking for away to extract large amounts of oil from the ground.He was digging for oil in Titusville, Pa., and he foundsome. More importantly, he was the first person tofigure out how to pump the oil out of the ground.

Today, we use the same technology that Drakeused to pump oil from the ground.Workers drill into the ground and pumpthe oil up to the surface. Pipes or ships transport the oil.We must be verycareful when transporting oil. If oil spills out during transit, it will cause pol-lution and harm sea life.

In the United States today, we use more oil than any other source ofenergy.We use oil for gasoline to power cars and buses. Power plants useoil to make electricity.We also use it to make products, like toothbrushesand water bottles.Almost all plastic comes from oil.

Some of the oil we use in the UnitedStates comes from oil wells in our coun-try, but most of our oil comes from othercountries, especially countries in theMiddle East.

Did You Know?Oil is used to make

ink, crayons, bubblegum, dishwashingsoap, deodor-ant, glasses,records,and tires.

In the News

Learning standards: understanding the global economy and economicdevelopment, explaining the effects of human activities on the environ-

ment1. Is the price of gasoline rising? Look through the newspaper to

find articles that have a connection to the oil industry. How doesoil affect the ways the United States deals with oil-

producing countries? What businesses are involved in oil? 2. Check the Classified ads to see which cars are

energy-efficient.3. The Earth has been warming slowly since the

late 1800s. Burning fuels such as gasoline and coal adds to the problem. Circle items inthe news that use these fuels. What laws could we pass to stop global warming? Whatwould be the advantages and the disadvantages of such a law?

7

Oil

8

Find thePOWERsourceHere are some illustrations ofdifferent sourcesof energy. Seewhether you canidentify each one,then skim thenewspaper to findan example ofeach in action.

9

10

Dr. E. and the kidswere still talk-ing about energy.Jon thought energy fromFrench fry oil was a coolidea. Julie was interested inlearning how coal and oil wereformed before the dinosaurs.Thestars twinkled above the darkcarnival as Dr. E. introducedanother energy source.

“Natural gas is lighterthan air.You can’t see it andyou can’t smell it,” Dr. E. said.“Natural gas is found under-ground, usually near oil.It’s removed from theground in thesame way, bydiggingwells.Thenworkers transport itthrough elaborate systems ofpipes. Before they put natural gasin pipes, workers mix it withanother chemi-cal that makes itsmell like rotteneggs.Why? Naturalgas is very flammable.The smell is awarning that natural gas is leaking intothe air.”

Today, natural gas provides about 25%of the energy for the United States. Manypeople use it for heat and for cooking. Natural gas is a good source ofenergy because it causes less air pollution than coal or oil. However, natural gas is limited. Once it isused up, it will be gone.Also, using natural gas requires pipes to transport it. Some people who live inrural communities do not have these pipes.They may use propane instead. Propane is another type ofgas made from oil.

The Future of Fossil FuelsFossil fuels were formed long, long ago, over millions of years.Today, we have become very good

at finding fossil fuels buried deep in rock and at removing them to use. However, we are using fossilfuels very quickly.We may eventually run out of fossil fuels.When that happens, we will need to useother sources of energy.

Some people believe that we should start using other sources of energy before we use up all ofour fossil fuels.That’s because burning fossil fuels creates smoke, which can cause air pollution, isunhealthy to breathe, and can result in acid rain. Fossil fuels also affect the environment in other waysthat may be dangerous.

In the News

Learning standard: describing the effecthumans have on the environment

1. Look in the Travel or National sec-tion of the newspaper. Can you find

an article about a place that has aspecial environment, such as a

beach or park? Do you think weshould protect that place?

Why or why not? 2. Skim your

newspaper to find a photograph that shows how peo-ple can make changes to the environment. Write astory about the photo, explaining the changes. Thendraw a picture that shows what could happen as aresult of the action.

Warning:If you ever smell a

rotten-egg odor inyour house, tell anadult and go outside.

Do not switch on anylights or other electrical

machines. Even tiny sparks from these machines could

ignite the naturalgas.

NATURAL GAS

Look For The MeterElectricity is not free.Ask an adult you

know to show you the electric meter on ahouse.The meter keeps track of how muchelectricity the household uses. Knowing thatcan tell you how much it will cost.

ELECTRICITY AND RECYCLINGThe kids were starting to catch on to energy. Ram pressed Dr. E. for

more.“Why don’t I ever see oil or coal in my house?” he asked.“I thoughtelectricity was what made things like lights or my computer run.”

“Many forms of energy can be converted into electricity,” Dr. E.explained.“This is a good thing because electricity is very easy to trans-port. It ‘travels’ very quickly along wires.

“Other forms of energy are hard to transport, because they are bulkyor heavy, like coal or wood, or because they need to be used near wherethey were collected, like energy from windmills or watermills.When weconvert these forms of energy into electricity, their power is much easierto transport.

“For this reason, power plants are often used to convert differentforms of energy into electricity. For instance, very few people have coaldelivered to their house today. Instead, many people use electricity thatcomes from burning coal at a power plant.”

Does Recycling Save Energy?Yes, recycling saves energy. It takes energy to make products such as

glass bottles, aluminum cans, or newspaper.When we recycle, we grind up old things andmake new ones out of the same materi-al.This takes less energy than makingnew ones from scratch.

Most communities recyclealuminum, glass, plastic, paper,and newspaper. Check withyour family and school to makesure that they are recycling.Youcan start by recycling this newspaper.

A Brainstorming GameGet together with a group of

two to four people. Pick some-one to be the timekeeper.Thatperson should time the groupfor five minutes. During thattime, try to think of five waysyou could reuse each of theitems below instead of throwingthem out.Then compare youranswers with those of yourfriends. Give yourself 10 points foreach answer you have on your listbut that no one else has on theirs.Then vote as a group on the mostcreative or zany idea. Give theperson with that idea 30bonus points.

1. cardboard tube2. shoebox3. coat hanger4. soda can5. old sneaker

In the News

Learning standard: under-standing how materials areconserved and recycled1. Look through the news-

paper ads and check outhow they are written.Design your own ad topromote recycling.

2. Pretend you are a news-paper reporter writinga cover story for thefront page. Write yourstory about a recy-

cling program thatyou can devel-

op.

11

NUCLEAR POWERWhen Dr. E. got

excited, she wouldwave her handsaround as she spoke.Now her hands wereflying around in frontof her and her voicetook on a more eagertone.“OK, kids,” shesaid,“Let’s talk aboutsomething a little dif-ferent — nuclearenergy.”

“Albert Einstein,possibly the mostfamous scientist of alltime, came up withthe mathematical for-mula E=mc2.Thisbecame a key formulain the development ofconverting matterinto nuclear energy.Nuclear powerplants allow scientists toget the

energy outof the ele-ment urani-um.Anotherfamous scien-tist, MarieCurie, isresponsible forwork withradioactive materi-als.

An importantcharacteristic ofnuclear power is thata tiny amount of ura-nium can produce ahuge amount of ener-gy. Scientists can con-vert this energy intoelectricity for peopleto use. Many families

in the United Statestoday use electricitythat comes fromnuclear power.

“But there are afew problems withnuclear energy.Themost serious problemis that creatingnuclear energy pro-duces dangerouswaste.Thewasteproductsfromnuclear

power are radioactiveand remain dangerousfor many years afterthey are produced.

“Nuclear powerforces politicians andscientists to make

important decisions.They must decidewhere nuclear wasteshould go and how tokeep people away

from it to preventanyone from gettingsick from radioactivewaste.”

What WouldYou Do?

Imagine that youare the governor ofyour state.Where

would you putnuclear waste to keepthe most people awayfrom it? How wouldyou mark the spot sothat people wouldknow to keep away?Remember, the wastemay be there so farinto the future thatpeople no longerspeak English. Draw apicture of a sign youwould use to warnpeople about nuclearwaste.

It’s Still ThereWhen power

plants burn fossil fuelsor use nuclear

reactions tocreate elec-

tricity,most ofthe

energybecomes elec-tricity, but notall of it. Someof the energybecomes heatand is lost.When we con-vert energyinto electricity,we want to loseas little energy

as possible.This is an

important point toremember. Energynever disappears altogether.When wesay that energysources can get “usedup,” we mean that allof the energy is lostas heat.The energyexists somewhere,just not in a form thatwe can use.

12

However, we cannotuse hydroelectric power

everywhere. Hydroelectricpower works by

blocking moving water onrivers with dams. For this

reason, it is especiallypopular in states withlots of rivers and high

mountains.The state of Washington getsmost of its electricity from hydroelectric power.

Another problem with using hydroelectric poweris that it can kill fish and other animals that live in

rivers.

“Do you know why wind power is popular?” Dr. E. asked the kids.“No,why?” Julie responded.“Because it has a lot of fans!” laughed Dr. E.The kidsgroaned.

Wind PowerAir can make a pinwheel turn

or help some boats move.Andfor hundreds of years, peoplehave used windmills tocapture energy fromwind.Windmills aretall and have bladeslike a fan.The windturns these blades,creating energy inthe form ofmotion. Farmerscan use thisenergy to pumpwater out of wellsor to grind grain.

Today, windpower is much easierto catch with windturbines.Wind turbinesare tall fans that look likewindmills. Countries such as theUnited States, Denmark, and Germany have begun to usewind turbines to create electricity. Some states, such as California, havebuilt huge fields full of wind turbines, called “wind farms.”

The advantage of wind power is that it is a renewable source of ener-gy.After all, we won’t run out of wind.The problem is that the wind isnot always blowing.Wind power works only in certain areas, where theweather is especially windy. Some people also think wind farms areugly.They can block beautiful views and may hurt birds that fly intothem.Wind farms also take up land, but some farms and cattle may beable to share land used for wind power.

Hydroelectric powerWater power (also called hydroelectric power) has a long history,

going back to the Roman Empire. In the 17th century, water power wasvery popular on farms. People used waterwheels for energy.Waterwheels are like windmills in the water.The motion of the waterturns the blades of the wheel, and the energy of the wheel’s motion canbe used to move a grinding stone.This stone would grind wheat to makebread and other foods.

Hydroelectric power now provides 10% to 15% of the electricity in theUnited States. It is popular because it is a clean and renewable source ofenergy. Like wind power, we will not run out of water power.

In the News

Learning standards: identifying formsof energy, understanding weather

patterns, describing the environmentIs today a good day to count on

the wind for energy? Is it a goodday for solar energy? Check the weather report in

today’s newspaper andexplain why or

why not. Thenlook out the window and write an observation ofthe day’s weather. Was the weather report in thenewspaper accurate?

WindWWaatteerraanndd

13

ExperimentSee whether you can transport hot water

to heat your house.1. At home, turn on your sink faucets so

that you get warm water. Be careful not tomake the water so hot that you will burn your

hand.2. Put about one inch of hot waterin a cup. Feel the heat from the out-

side of the cup.3. Carefully leave the cup

by the sink and touch a wallon the other side of the

room.Then go back tothe sink.

4. Feel the waterin the cup again. Isthe water the sametemperature aswhen you firstturned on the sink?

The water inthe cup probablycooled down.Thesteam heat fromgeothermal energycools down thesame way.That’swhy we can’t trans-

port heated steam. Itcools down too fast.

YellowstoneParkRam had been listening

carefully.“So I guess we can’t usegeothermal energy to run this

amusement park,” he said. Dr. E. lookedsurprised.“Oh, no, I forgot to tell you.We

have geothermal energy here in the UnitedStates.

“Have you ever been to Yellowstone National Park? InYellowstone, they have geysers that shoot rockets of water into the airlike clockwork.These huge streams of water are powered by geothermalenergy. It gets even better. Some scientists have figured out how to turngeothermal energy into electricity. Right now, near San Francisco,California, scientists are producing energy from geothermal wells.”

14

Just when the kids began to think that they knew allthe different kinds of energy, Dr. E. came up withsomething new.“Kids, do you know what avolcano is?” she asked.“Of course,” yelled

five different voices.“But,” Dr. E. asked,“do youknow how people use volcanoes to heat theirhomes?” Ram looked confused and asked,“But isn’t that a little dangerous? We’renot supposed to play with fire!”

Geothermal Energy“People don’t use erupting

volcanoes for heat, they useunderground volcanoes,”Dr. E. said with a smile.“In certain places in theworld like Iceland, NewZealand, and Italy, hotmagma heats upwater underground.They call this under-ground energysource, ‘geothermalenergy.’

“When you boilwater on a stovetop,the water releasessteam. Undergroundvolcanoes producesteam, too. People wholive in places like Icelandforce the steam into pipesthat heat their homes. Itmight sound funny to thinkthat Iceland has steam, butthey’re not funny for using it.Thebest part about geothermal energy isthat it is free!

“Would you like to switch your houseto geothermal energy? Everyone would like toheat his or her house with free energy.Unfortunately, we can’t move steam heat very far before itcools down.That means that only people who live near the under-ground volcanoes can use geothermal energy.”

GEOTHERMAL POWER

Dr. E. got a gleamin her eye and said,“Have you ever beento a bonfire or had afire in a fireplace?”“Yes,” said some ofthe kids.“Well,” saidDr. E., “then you allknow about biomasscombustion.”

The name “bio-mass combustion”has three parts.“Bio”means living,“mass”means stuff, and“combustion” meansburning. So biomasscombustion is burningstuff that comes fromliving things, like treebranches in a bonfire.In biomass combus-tion, people use trees,old crops, bark, saw-dust, and leftoverpaper to make a fire,which heats up water.The water is thenused to make elec-tricity.

The best thingabout biomass com-bustion is that it usesup trash that wewould have to putinto a landfill.Also,since we always makemore trash, we willnever run out of bio-mass.

The problem withburning biomass isthat it puts soot intothe air that pollutesthe environment.Some people say thatbiomass combustionis good, while otherssay that biomass com-bustion is bad for theenvironment.Whatdo you think aboutbiomass combustion?

Stinky EnergyIf you ever have

driven by a landfill,you know that trashsmells bad.That stinkysmell from trash isactually a gas calledmethane that is pro-duced when the trashstarts to rot.There islots of methane inlandfills.

People can putpipes deep into land-fills to bring themethane out.Then wecan burn this gas tomake electricity.Thisis another kind ofbiomass combustion.

Imagine That!Scientists know

the power of biomasscombustion. Becausewe always have stuffto burn, biomass mayreplace fossil fuels inthe future.Can youimagine put-ting treebranches intothe gas tankof your car?

You proba-bly won’t haveto do that.Instead scien-tists havedeveloped a

liquid called ethanolthat is made frombiomass. Car compa-nies are trying tomake cars that canuse ethanol instead ofgasoline.

This is a goodthing because we willrun out of gasolinebut we will never runout of ethanol. In thefuture, using ethanol

In the News

Learning standards: evaluatingcareer opportunities, generating

scientific questions1. Look through the Help

Wanted ads for jobs that arerelated to science. Decide

whether jobs in scienceare readily available

and comparethose salaries

to other fields. Do you think it makes sense tolook at a career in science?

2. Science influences our lives everyday. Look intoday’s newspaper and find an article thatshows how science affects us. Write an expla-nation of your findings.

will be like puttingtree branches intoyour gas tank.

MysterySolved

“Well,” Dr. E. said,“I hope you kids real-ize now how impor-tant energy is. Now ifonly we could get thiscarnival going again.With all of this infor-mation, we should beable to figure some-thing out.”

Dr. E. got out anotepad and startedwriting. She had writ-ten down E=mc2 andwas beginning a chartof different energysources when Ram cuther off. “Um, Dr. E.,” hesaid as he pointed tosomething on theground behind him.“Do you think itwould help if weplugged in that plug?”

A moment later, aslightly embarrassedDr. E. flipped theswitch that broughtthe carnival to life.Thekids spent the rest ofthe night as her guestsat the carnival.Theywent on every ride.

15

What Can

You Do?Energy is important to make things run, work, and

happen. It is part of everything we do on Earth, fromusing a computer or turning on the lights to running afactory. Our main sources of energy, fossil fuels, areextremely limited. Many people are working to develop newsources of energy, but the most important thing we can do to protect our energy sources is to save energy.

Wasting energy is expensive and bad for the environ-ment. Here are some ways you can do your part to makesure you don’t waste energy:

Turn off machines such as televisions, radios, and com-puters when you are not using them.✸ Walk or ride your bike instead of taking the car.✸ Turn off the lights when you leave a room.You can

remind yourself to do this by making signs that say“turn it off” and putting them by the light switchesin your home or school.

✸ Ask your parents to buy energy-saving appliances, suchas dishwashers, and energy-saving light bulbs.

✸ In the summer, use a fan instead of air conditioning.✸ In the winter, wear an extra sweatshirt instead of raising the ther-

mostat.✸ Don’t leave the refrigerator door open.✸ Take your own bag when you go shopping.✸ Saving water saves energy.Try to save water by

taking shorter showers.And don’t let the waterrun when you brush your teeth or wash thedishes.

✸ www.eia.doe.gov/kidsA terrific site is offered by the Energy InformationAdministration. It provides lots of facts about what energy is andhow we use it, along with graphics and fun games.

✸ www.fe.doe.gov/education/energylessonsInformation about fossil fuels can be found here.

✸ www.energyquest.ca.gov/index.htmlThis is a lively and interactive site about using and saving energy.

✸ www.eere.energy.gov/roofus/Meet Roofus the energy-smart dog and find out what makes his home so energy-efficient!

✸ www.earthdog.com/entrance.htmlEarthdog is an environmentally-loyal canine with lots of fun and facts to share.

✸ http://cipco.electricuniverse.com/html/eu/education/louie/index.htmlLouie the light bulb explains all about electricity.

✸ http://kids.rrc.state.tx.us/A site created by the Texas Railroad Commission, all about energy.

Resources to Help You Learn More About Energy

16