Green World

Hello, Today we're talking about coal and how it's used as an energy source. As you've probably already noticed we're not really big fans of coal. So this post is going to be looking into the pros and cons of coal as an energy source. General facts Coal is a black sedimentary rock, made of carbon and hydrocarbons, that is found underground. It is formed by the remains of prehistoric plants and animals being buried deep in the earth under the right pressure. Coal, therefore, takes millions of years to form. Pros There are quite a few pros to using coal as an energy source. Firstly, it's cheap with a low cost per energy unit. It is also reliable as it can be burned at all times of day, during any weather and at any time of year. This is a big advantage because a lot of renewables are weather-dependent ( solar , wind , ...). There is also currently an abundance of coal, enough to last a few hundred years. It is also e...

Welcome back to Green World Today we're exploring the Mexican gulf and a rather unknown whale species called the rice's whale (Balaenoptera ricei). The name doesn't have anything to do with cooking rice, instead, it's been named after Dale W. Rice, a cetologist. Rice's whales are found in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. They were originally considered to be Bryde's whales, due to their almost identical appearance until genetic analysis in 2021 determined that they are their own species. They are still often known as Gulf of Mexico Bryde's whales. In April 2019 they were listed as endangered by the NMFS under that name before it was officially changed in August 2021. They live in waters about 100-500m deep off the coast of Florida and although their diet is unknown, suspected food contains lanternfish and hatchet fish. They do not migrate and remain in the same waters all year round. Due to being such a recently confirme...

Hi everyone, Today we are going to be looking into the life of an alcon blue butterfly (Phengaris alcon). After mating, the females lay their eggs on marsh gentian, a blue-coloured wildflower. The eggs can only be laid on these flowers, as this is what the newly hatched caterpillars will eat. Although in some alp regions, they can also be found on willow gentians, a close relative of the marsh gentian. Once the caterpillars have hatched from the eggs, their main predator and danger are the ants that swarm below. But high on their plant homes, the caterpillars are safe. However, this isn't where the alcon blue caterpillars are going to stay forever. Eventually, they drop down to the ground using silk strings. With no protection, they are soon dragged off by the ants. The most amazing part is, the alcon blue caterpillars give off the same scent and chemicals as the ant larvae. So the ants take the caterpillars back to their brood chamber, wher...

Hi everyone Today we have another quiz for you. This time it's about rainforests. Questions How much of the earth's surface is covered by rainforests?  a) 3%  b) 6% c) 12% What percentage of our oxygen do rainforests create? a) 20% b) 30% c) 50% True or False? The Amazon Basin stores 1/5 of the world's freshwater? How many plants used in cancer treatment can only be found in rainforests? a) 40% b) 50% c) 70% True or False? A raindrop can take 10 minutes to fall from the tree tops to the ground in tropical rainforests? If the Amazon rainforest were a country, it would be the a) ...largest country in the world b) ... 9th largest country in the world c) 10th largest country in the world How many of the flowers in the Austrailian rainforests are only found there? a) 70% b) 80% c) 90% True or False? ...

Hi Everyone! The previous post in this series really blew up, so thank you so much for your support on that one. In this article, I wanted to discuss why people are not switching to electric cars, and why the transport industry still has a way to go in terms of reaching net zero. If you missed the first part of this post, then  click here to read it! ! I talked in the post linked above, about why people should switch to electric cars, while also taking into account the potential issues with them, and coming to a conclusion about should everyone switch to electric cars. In this post, I wanted to delve further into the topic of why people don't switch to electric cars. The cost is one of the main issues at the moment. To own an electric car, you need a reliable electricity supply, which is not readily available for everyone in the developing world, let alone the cost of buying the vehicle in the first place. The cost of the vehicle coul...

Hi Everyone! Thank you so much for joining me today, as I hop on the blog to discuss whether everyone switching to electric cars would really help the environment. In other words, should everyone switch to electric cars? This is the first part of a two-part series, discussing electric cars, so stay tuned for part two!! I would like to start this post by stating that I am by no means an expert. This is knowledge I have from my own experience, and from research I have done. If anything is incorrect please take it as it is and accept that this is a discussion and I am taking on board all opinions from reliable sources on this complex topic. Electric cars are a huge topic when it comes to sustainability and "saving our planet". There is no debating the fact that electric cars are better for the environment than diesel or petrol once they are on the road. But the production of them is often very polluting, with one study show...

Hi everyone, Today I'm looking into the first on a long list of energy sources: solar (PV) panels. Are they actually sustainable and could they become our main energy source in the near future? After all, enough energy from the sun reaches the earth in 90 minutes to cover the entire world's energy consumption for a whole year! How they work There are a couple of ways to transform energy from the sun into electricity. The one we are looking at today is solar panels also known as solar photovoltaic technology. Photovoltaic (PV) technology is the key to solar panels. A solar panel is made of many PV cells. A single PV cell will produce 1-2 watts of power. They are very thin and are normally protected by glass and/or plastics. This is the best explanation I could find (click here for the source): When the semiconductor is exposed to light, it absorbs the light’s energy and transfers it to negatively charged particles in the material calle...