I have had a idea breakthrough. Okay so almost everyone in the whole world knows by now that fossil fuels are bad for the enviroment and the world is running out of them right? Well, for a long time I've thought that wind power and hydroelectricty was one of the greatest renewable energy sources of all time, and it is. But there are downsides and enviromental issues with hydroelectricity because usually you will have a dam with generators inside that use the water to create electricity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroelectricity#Small for more information on how the turbines and generators work click here). The enviromental issues are mainly these three things:
1. Loss of land
2. Salmon
3. Water temperture
When you build a dam, the river now has restricted flow. The river isn't a free flowing as it used to be. So it creates a resivior behind the dam. This floods areas around the river and can cause problems if people live there or for the aninmals that live right next to the river.
Salmon during breeding season swim upstream every year to the breeding grounds. When a dam is built they can no longer get up stream. New measures have been put into place to help though. They're "stairs". Imagine a set of stairs on each side of a dam. Then take away the railings, replace the wood with stone and let water rush by on it and there you go. Salmon stairs! (hehe!) cool huh? okay okay anyways...
Water temperture is another major problem. When the water exits the dam, it can be a few degress warmer. This might not seem like a problem but it results in a MAJOR problem. If the water on the other side of the dam becomes warmer than the water in the resivior, than it is warmer than what the ecosystem is used to. It might become too warm for various plants and fish that are sensitive to the water temperture. And therefore can even kill the fish and plants. The warmer water can even let other invasive plants thrive where they usually can't, killing even the plants that can tolerate the warmer water.
So as you can see, dams can create major issues. But hydroelectricity is effiecient. When i learned of these issues after watching a modern marvels, i've always thought "If only there was a way to take the dam OUT of the equation, and go back to the old water wheel thing to spin the generators" AND YOU CAN!!! I found out, reading that article that developing countries have small communities that have mircro and pico generators that generate small amounts of electricity for the small communities. Now you may say looking at the numbers of how much it generates in the article, "Yeah but it doesn't generate enough electricity!!!" OOOOO but it COULD!!! Look at the pictures and then look at the pictures of the generators in the dam! The developing countries don't have the resources and the big rivers and all of the scientists and engineers!!! BUT WE DO!!! I bet with some research and engeneering we COULD ACTUALLY do this on larger scales!!! And it would be better because you don't have to have a HUGE dam that cost thousands of dollars (and probably more than that) along with generators that cost alot to. It would just be more generators!!! You could spend the same amount of money and build more generators instead of a dam to house only 5 generators! Since you don't dam up the river, you could have multiple generators on each side of the river with pipes to them (and ofcourse filters so unsuspecting fish and plants don't get sucked into pipe of course :D)!!!! Be could build huge hydroelectric power plants! Instead of hydroelectric dams!!! AREN"T A BRILLIANT!!! I just hope that somebody doesn't have the same idea and has already built one. Well sorta, because if they have then that means that they're being more enviromently friendly and already have done it. But i sorta wish that's not true so that I can be the brilliant mind behind it but you know :D
Your BRILLAINT blogger,
~Kenster
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