How can technology aid in identifying alternative energy sources to the fossil fuels that the world has become

Question

very dependent upon?

Answer 1

Tall towers with a very small wind turbine on top are built and a computer stores information on time, wind speed and direction to see if the site would be worthwhile to consider installing large versions there.     Sattelites can detect areas where there is likely hot rock below the surface that can be used to create geothermal steam to run turbines.

Answer 2

It's simple. Technology will help us FIND new fuel reserves that we can use. Technology is just the data and such that make up things. It's not a demon. It's simply a tool to find better fuel sources.

Answer 3

Technology is already finding solutions to our oil dependence and it's environmental impacts.

Great strides have been made and continue to be made in alternative energy.  We have new windmill designs that are more efficient than current technology, which in itself already provides cheap clean energy.

We have new designs for anaerobic digesters to gather methane from biowaste like manure.  This kills two birds with one stone, also removing eventual release of methane from the greenhouse gas equation, and providing clean power at the same time.

We have solar thermal power plants being built in Arizona, Nevada and California, with more to come.

Photovoltaics have been going down in price at a rapid rate since 20 years ago.  The efficiency of solar cells has improved as much as the cost to produce them has gone down.

We are now within a few years of reaching grid parity with the price of fossil fuel power plants.

This company says they are already there.

"Nanosolar’s founder and chief executive, Martin Roscheisen, claims to be the first solar panel manufacturer to be able to profitably sell solar panels for less than $1 a watt. That is the price at which solar energy becomes less expensive than coal.

With a $1-per-watt panel,” he said, “it is possible to build $2-per-watt systems.

According to the Energy Department, building a new coal plant costs about $2.1 a watt, plus the cost of fuel and emissions, he said."  http://www.grinzo.com/energy/index.php/c...

We have Plug in Hybrid vehicle designs that will get 100 mpg for the average American driver.  These will save a huge amount of oil.

http://www.pluginpartners.org/

http://www.setamericafree.org/blueprint....

A Blueprint For U.S. Energy Security

Shows how to achieve energy independence and still have a healthy economy.

WIND

"In the US, the American Wind Energy Association forecasts that installed capacity could grow from 11,603 MW today to around 100,000 MW by 2020. In Canada, Emerging Energy Research predicts that installed wind capacity will expand from around 1,500 MW today to around 14,000 MW by 2015."

{from an article at altenergystocks.com by Charles Morand}

We have the technology, we need the political will to use it.

Answer 4

Technology is a broad concept that deals with a species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt to its environment. In human society, it is a consequence of science and engineering, although several technological advances predate the two concepts. Technology is a term with origins in the Greek "technologia", "τεχνολογία" — "techne", "τέχνη" ("craft") and "logia", "λογία" ("saying").[1] However, a strict definition is elusive; "technology" can refer to material objects of use to humanity, such as machines, hardware or utensils, but can also encompass broader themes, including systems, methods of organization, and techniques. The term can either be applied generally or to specific areas: examples include "construction technology", "medical technology", or "state-of-the-art technology". People's use of technology began with the conversion of natural resources into simple tools. The prehistorical discovery of the ability to control fire increased the available sources of food and the invention of the wheel helped humans in travelling in and controlling their environment. Recent technological developments, including the printing press, the telephone, and the Internet, have lessened physical barriers to communication and allowed humans to interact on a global scale. However, not all technology has been used for peaceful purposes; the development of weapons of ever-increasing destructive power has progressed throughout history, from clubs to nuclear weapons.

Technology has affected society and its surroundings in a number of ways. In many societies, technology has helped develop more advanced economies (including today's global economy) and has allowed the rise of a leisure class. Many technological processes produce unwanted by-products, known as pollution, and deplete natural resources, to the detriment of the Earth and its environment. Various implementations of technology influence the values of a society and new technology often raises new ethical questions. Examples include the rise of the notion of efficiency in terms of human productivity, a term originally applied only to machines, and the challenge of traditional norms.

Philosophical debates have arisen over the present and future use of technology in society, with disagreements over whether technology improves the human condition or worsens it. Neo-Luddism, anarcho-primitivism, and similar movements criticise the pervasiveness of technology in the modern world, claiming that it harms the environment and alienates people; proponents of ideologies such as transhumanism and techno-progressivism view continued technological progress as beneficial to society and the human condition. Indeed, until recently, it was believed that the development of technology was restricted only to human beings, but recent scientific studies indicate that other primates and certain dolphin communities have developed simple tools and learned to pass their knowledge to other generations.

Technology and applied sciences Portal

Contents

[hide]

    * 1 Definition and usage

    * 2 Science, engineering and technology

    * 3 Role in human history

          o 3.1 Paleolithic (2.5 million – 10,000 BCE)

                + 3.1.1 Stone tools

                + 3.1.2 Fire

                + 3.1.3 Clothing and shelter

          o 3.2 Neolithic through Classical Antiquity (10,000BCE – 300CE)

          o 3.3 Modern history (0CE —)

    * 4 Technology and philosophy

          o 4.1 Technicism

          o 4.2 Optimism

          o 4.3 Pessimism

          o 4.4 Appropriate technology

    * 5 Other species

    * 6 See also

          o 6.1 Theories and concepts in technology

          o 6.2 Economics of technology

    * 7 Notes

    * 8 References

          o 8.1 Printed sources

          o 8.2 Online sources

    * 9 Bibliography

[edit] Definition and usage

The invention of the printing press made it possible for scientists and politicians to communicate their ideas with ease, leading to the Age of Enlightenment; an example of technology as a cultural force.

The invention of the printing press made it possible for scientists and politicians to communicate their ideas with ease, leading to the Age of Enlightenment; an example of technology as a cultural force.

In general technology is the relationship that society has with its tools and crafts, and to what extent society can control its environment. The Merriam-Webster dictionary offers a definition of the term: "the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area" and "a capability given by the practical application of knowledge".[1] Ursula Franklin, in her 1989 "Real World of Technology" lecture, gave another definition of the concept; it is "practice, the way we do things around here".[2] The term is often used to imply a specific field of technology, or to refer to high technology, rather than technology as a whole.[3] Bernard Stiegler, in Technics and Time, 1, defines technology in two ways: as "the pursuit of life by means other than life", and as "organized inorganic matter."[4] The term is mostly used in three different contexts: when referring to a tool (or machine); a technique; the cultural force; or a combination of the three.

Technology can be most broadly defined as the entities, both material and immaterial, created by the application of mental and physical effort in order to achieve some value. In this usage, technology refers to tools and machines that may be used to solve real-world problems. It is a far-reaching term that may include simple tools, such as a crowbar or wooden spoon, or more complex machines, such as a space station or particle accelerator. Tools and machines need not be material; virtual technology, such as computer software and business methods, fall under this definition of technology.[5]

The word "technology" can also be used to refer to a collection of techniques. In this context, it is the current state of humanity's knowledge of how to combine resources to produce desired products, to solve problems, fulfill needs, or satisfy wants; it includes technical methods, skills, processes, techniques, tools and raw materials. When combined with another term, such as "medical technology" or "space technology", it refers to the state of the respective field's knowledge and tools. "State-of-the-art technology" refers to the high technology available to humanity in any field.

Technology can be viewed as an activity that forms or changes culture.[6] Additionally, technology is the application of math, science, and the arts for the benefit of life as it is known. A modern example is the rise of communication technology, which has lessened barriers to human interaction and, as a result, has helped spawn new subcultures; the rise of cyberculture has, at its basis, the development of the Internet and the computer.[7] Not all technology enhances culture in a creative way; technology can also help facilitate political oppression and war via tools such as guns. As a cultural activity, technology predates both science and engineering, each of which formalize some aspects of technological endeavor.

[edit] Science, engineering and technology

The distinction between science, engineering and technology is not always clear. Science is the reasoned investigation or study of phenomena, aimed at discovering enduring principles among elements of the phenomenal world by employing formal techniques such as the scientific method.[8] Technologies are not usually exclusively products of science, because they have to satisfy requirements such as utility, usability and safety.

Engineering is the goal-oriented process of designing and making tools and systems to exploit natural phenomena for practical human means, often (but not always) using results and techniques from science. The development of technology may draw upon many fields of knowledge, including scientific, engineering, mathematical, linguistic, and historical knowledge, to achieve some practical result.

Technology is often a consequence of science and engineering — although technology as a human activity precedes the two fields. For example, science might study the flow of electrons in electrical conductors, by using already-existing tools and knowledge. This new-found knowledge may then be used by engineers to create new tools and machines, such as semiconductors, computers, and other forms of advanced technology. In this sense, scientists and engineers may both be considered technologists; the three fields are often considered as one for the purposes of research and reference.[9]

[edit] Role in human history

    Main articles: History of technology and Timeline of invention

[edit] Paleolithic (2.5 million – 10,000 BCE)

The use of tools by early humans was partly a process of discovery, partly of evolution. Early humans evolved from a race of foraging hominids which were already bipedal,[10] with a brain mass approximately one third that of modern humans.[11] Tool use remained relatively unchanged for most of early human history, but approximately 50,000 years ago, a complex set of behaviors and tool use emerged, believed by many archaeologists to be connected to the emergence of fully-modern language.[12]

[edit] Stone tools

A primitive chopper

A primitive chopper

Hand axes from the Acheulian period

Hand axes from the Acheulian period

A Clovis point, made via pressure flaking

A Clovis point, made via pressure flaking

Human ancestors have been using stone and other tools since long before the emergence of Homo sapiens approximately 200,000 years ago.[13]