Page 55 -

30 • Green Project Management

reneWaBle energy
The sources of renewable energy are more extensive than we thought when
we first started to research this book. Not only are they more extensive,
but much more intriguing than we thought.

Wind

Wind is probably one of the more familiar renewable energy sources. The
American Wind Energy Association provides this explanation: “In real-
ity, wind energy is a converted form of solar energy. The sun’s radiation
heats different parts of the earth at different rates—most notably during
the day and night, but also when different surfaces (for example, water and
land) absorb or reflect at different rates. This in turn causes portions of the
atmosphere to warm differently. Hot air rises, reducing the atmospheric
pressure at the earth’s surface, and cooler air is drawn in to replace it.
The result is wind. Air has mass, and when it is in motion, it contains the
energy of that motion (‘kinetic energy’). Some portion of that energy can
convert into other forms—mechanical force or electricity—that we can
use to perform work.” 14

Within 10 years, wind power could provide 20% of America’s power.
And, offshore wind turbines have the potential to produce as much power
as all of the power plants in the United States.

—treehugger.com

solar

Speaking of solar, solar energy has been used as long as man has been
around. In ancient Egypt, people worshipped the sun god Ra, and they
derived both physical and metaphysical energy from the sun. Solar energy
continues to be used for things as simple as line drying clothes. Interestingly,
a California government Web site (http://www.energyquest.ca.gov) points
out that “decaying plants hundreds of millions of years ago produced the
coal, oil and natural gas that we use today. So, fossil fuels are technically a
form of solar energy stored millions and millions of years ago. Indirectly,