Energy and the Environment-A Coastal Perspective

In the past forty years, the Dare County has seen tremendous growth. From 1970 to 1980, the permanent population growth rate was 6.7 percent and approximately 5.5 percent in the following decade (Dare County, 2011.) Moreover, the profuse influx of tourist during peak summer months draws the total population to exceed 268,000 people (Dare County, […]

This section will address the methods by which carbon deposits are stressed to emission, along with the ways in which these coastal ecosystems vary. For reference, it should be stated that the brunt of the disturbances is felt by the top one meter of sediment, and therefore the following regards near-surface carbon. Seagrass ecosystem degradation […]

After my initial post on the great strides Scotland has made to promote renewable wave and tidal energy, I thought it might be prudent to explain in greater detail the Saltire Prize.  Just to clear up any confusion on how the timeline is supposed to work — the application deadline is January 2015, which means […]

The production of energy from the creation of an ion gradient is a method which is far from new or original—this process is the foundation of energy generation in cellular respiration and photosynthesis. Humans, however, did not conceive the idea to generate electricity from the creation of an ion gradient until the 1970s and this […]

The Italy National Renewable Energy Plan was commissioned in April of 2009, as part of an update to the European Union’s directive in 2001. The 2001 directive produced a set of national targets from individual member states. Italy was supposed to have 25 percent of its power generated from renewable resources by 2010 but, falling […]

Renewable energy is on the rise. We are not only seeing dramatic increases in the solar and wind energy fields as shown by the media primarily, but also in wave and tidal energy. Although these technologies are still in their infancy, they are out there and have begun to become competitive. Major steps have been […]

Based upon the present data, it appears that the most immediate effect of vegetated coastal region degradation will be an increase of GHG emissions, as projections hold that these rates of release could be up to 50 times that of carbon sequestration, given the ecosystems were still intact (McLeod E, 2011). Luckily, the mechanism by […]

Undoubtedly, the development and installation of offshore energy devices comes with environmental impacts. Out of the many areas of impact, the area which receives perhaps the most attention is the impact on marine organisms—specifically pelagic predators. An interest in pelagic predators such as whales, marlins, tuna, sharks, and seals has led to a respectable amount […]

The Renewable Energy Target (RET) scheme in Australia was designed to ensure that 20 percent of the country’s electricity come from renewable resources by 2020. Since 2011 the scheme has operated in two parts: the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) and the Large-scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET) (Renewable Energy Target, Australian Government). The LRET is […]

New York’s Goal of 30% by 2015 Back in September 2004 the New York Public Service Commission (PSC) created a renewable portfolio standard (RPS). Essentially, it was designed to set goals for future renewable energy use within the state. Implementation rules were issued in April 2005. Initially the goal was to have a renewable energy […]