Great Green Idea: Green Energy: Going Tidal: Green Energy Rides a Wave of the Future

Going Tidal: Green Energy Rides a Wave of the Future

The oceans cover 70 percent of the surface of the earth's surface with water. And as most eco-friendly people know, this amount of water represents the potential for tremendous energy resources. Fortunately, technology is being produced that can harness all of this green power into sustainable, renewable energy. The future will provide even more techniques for power to be generated from the water itself; rather than the oil and natural gas that is beneath the floors of these oceans. Ongoing research makes it clear that ocean waves, currents and tides all make a huge contribution to the evolution of this process.

A benefit to harnessing power from the ocean is that the ebb and flow that naturally occurs in the ocean never ends; and should continue to do so from all indications. Charts can predict by a narrow margin when tides will occur. Maps are used to evaluate information as to the size and speed of currents. The possibilities for eco-friendly energy resources are endless with this type of technology and these techniques are more sophisticated every year. The density of seawater makes green power even more effective. A five mile current causes a tidal turbine to produce enough energy to deliver much more energy output than a wind turbine of the same size. Further, tidal turbines will continue to be used as energy sources because they are smaller and quieter than wind turbines. The waterways of the planet offer even more to the environment.

When numerous macroalgae, or algae that can be seen by the naked eye, settle in marine environments the effect is called green tide. In order for the algae to grow in such large numbers, the water has to be very rich in nutrients to promote plant life. The two most common of these species are unattached and their forms can be simply described as "sheets" and "tube" shapes. They are increasingly developing on many European coasts in the spring and summer months in bodies of water such as bays, seas and lagoons. The algae from these green tides have huge ecological impact around the world. Algae can be used to make ethanol, animal feed and oil. Ten thousand square meters of algae can result in 8,000 gallons of oil 2,400 gallons of ethanol. The green power of algae has a major economical impact as well. Major oil companies are spending millions of dollars to study ways it can be utilized as fuel source on an industrial scale.

The immediate and long term future will see tremendous progress in the innumerable ways that water can be used to harness energy. As this technology evolves, the costs for creating and using these methods will decline, making it easier to take advantage of these opportunities. This will result in positive economical change in addition to benefiting the environment. The purpose of tidal turbines is not to eliminate other eco-friendly technologies such as solar panels and wind turbines, but to combine all the earth's resources in a concerted effort to help the planet to heal.