Todays Rising Gas Prices Essay -- essays research papers

Today's Rising Gas Prices At some point in everyone’s lives, we are affected by the rising gas prices in today’s economy. Natural gas is not a renewable resource, since there is a fixed amount of it trapped in the Earth. However, many people carry the misconception that there is a very limited amount of natural gas, and that we may use all of it up. This isn’t true. The gas shortages of the 1970's were prompted by the government’s lack of faith in the industry’s ability to discover and develop new reserves, not by lack of gas supply. The unfortunate impression left by the shortages of gas in the 1970's caused the people to believe that there was a small amount of gas left. On the contrary, the gas resource base is vast, and probably even larger than currently estimated. People are often confused by the difference in "proved reserves", those that could be economically produced with the current technology, and the total natural gas resource base. Before the 70’s, oil from the Middle East was very cheap, and in North America, it was about $4 a barrel. But then, the leaders of the Middle East discovered that everyone needed their oil, so they formed OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries). Practically overnight, they jacked up the prices of oil by limiting the supply. This was the first oil crisis. It lasted for a while, but then they got greedy, and started supplying more oil, in hopes to make more money. But then there was more supply than demand, so t...

Environmental Benefits of Solar Panels Essay

Environmental Benefits of Solar Solar Panels Produce Electricity with Zero Emissions Solar energy generated via solar panels (also known as Photovoltaic Solar or PV solar) is one of the most sustainable ways we have of generating energy and electricity today. First and foremost solar panels produce electricity without emissions of any kind. The majority of electricity we use in the United States today is generated from burning coal. Recently there has been a lot excitement around the idea of clean coal, but it is important to remember that this technology only exists as a concept and many experts doubt it will ever be commercially feasible. Solar panels are a proven, time tested, highly evolved technology and are ready for use now, and as the industry expands solar panels are becoming increasingly effective and cost efficient. Other Alternative Energy Technologies have Serious Environmental IssuesOther alternative energy technologies like nuclear reactors and hydroelectric dams pose both policy challenges and unfortunate environmental consequences when compared to PV solar. Nuclear reactors create hazardous waste that is piling up at power plants across the nation, and by the time the first nuclear waste storage facility might be finished, all of its available storage space will already be spoken for. In comparison, generating electricity with hydroelectric dams doesn’t result in the emission of greenhouse gases, but it does have disastrous effects on the ecosystem in and around the river it interrupts. Go Solar and Reduce Your Carbon Emissions by 23,000 pounds! The average American home uses more than 11,000kWh of electricity every year, resulting in the emission of 23,122lbs per year of CO2 from burning coal. By comparison, the average automobile in the United States is responsible for emitting approximately 14,600lbs of CO2 into the atmosphere in a given year. This means that for every American home that converts to solar energy and PV solar, the resulting reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is equivalent to taking about 1. cars off the road. If the state of California were to harness solar power to satisfy just its residential energy needs, the impact would be the same as taking almost 20 million cars off the road. By installing solar panels on your home or business you can make a major contributions to the fight against global warming while also insulating yourself from the inevitable price increases from power companies tied to diminishing fuel sources. Solar Energy is an Infinite ResourceAnd not only is electric power from solar panels free from greenhouse gas emissions, it’s also an infinite resource. The fact is there are only so many gallons of oil, trainloads of coal, and cubic feet of natural gas in our planet, and they will run out. Our daily lives rely on huge amounts of energy and while there is a fair amount of discussion and disagreement about how long these fuels will last, there is strong consensus that we use these resources faster than they are replenished and sooner or later they will run out. During a single day more energy in the form of sunlight finds its way to earth than we could ever hope to use. The sooner we begin to harness this energy through the deployment of solar panels (PV solar), solar water heaters, and other solar energy technologies, the sooner we will see the effects of anthropogenic climate change slow and reverse, and the sooner we will see our economy thrive without the limits of expensive and finite sources of energy.

The History of Rubiks Cube and Inventor Erno Rubik

There is only one correct answer—and 43 quintillion wrong ones—for the Rubiks Cube. Gods algorithm is the answer that solves the puzzle in the least number of moves. One-eighth of the worlds population has laid hands on The Cube, the most popular puzzle in history and the colorful brainchild of Erno Rubik. Erno Rubiks Early Life Erno Rubik was born in Budapest, Hungary during World War II. His mother was a poet, his father an aircraft engineer who started a company to build gliders. Rubik studied sculpture in college, but after graduating, he went back to learn architecture at a small college called the Academy of Applied Arts and Design. He remained there after his studies to teach interior design. The Cube Rubiks initial attraction to inventing the Cube was not in producing the best selling toy puzzle in history. The structural design problem interested Rubik; he asked, How could the blocks move independently without falling apart? In Rubiks Cube, twenty-six individual little cubes or cubies make up the big Cube. Each layer of nine cubies can twist and the layers can overlap. Any three squares in a row, except diagonally, can join a new layer. Rubiks initial attempt to use elastic bands failed, his solution was to have the blocks hold themselves together by their shape. Rubiks hand carved and assembled the little cubies together. He marked each side of the big Cube with adhesive paper of a different color and started twisting. An Inventor Dreams The Cube became a puzzle  in the spring of 1974 when the twenty-nine-year-old Rubik discovered it was not so easy to realign the colors to match on all six sides. Of this experience, he said: It was wonderful, to see how, after only a few turns, the colors became mixed, apparently in random fashion. It was tremendously satisfying to watch this color parade. Like after a nice walk when you have seen many lovely sights you decide to go home, after a while I decided it was time to go home, let us put the cubes back in order. And it was at that moment that I came face to face with the Big Challenge: What is the way home? He was not sure he would ever be able to return his invention to its original position. He theorized that by randomly twisting the Cube he would never be able to fix it in a lifetime, which later turns out to be more than correct. He began working out a solution, starting with aligning the eight corner cubies. He discovered certain sequences of moves for rearranging just a few cubies at a time. Within a month, he had the puzzle solved and an amazing journey lay ahead. First Patent Rubik applied for his Hungarian patent in January 1975 and left his invention with a small toy making cooperative in Budapest. The patent approval finally came in early 1977 and the first Cubes appeared at the end of 1977. By this time, Erno Rubik was married. Two other people applied for similar patents at about the same time as Rubik. Terutoshi Ishige applied a year after Rubik, for a Japanese patent on a very similar cube. An American, Larry Nichols, patented a cube before Rubik, held together with magnets. Nichols toy was rejected by all toy companies, including the Ideal Toy Corporation, which later bought the rights to Rubiks Cube. Sales of the Rubiks Cube were sluggish until Hungarian businessman Tibor Laczi discovered the Cube. While having a coffee, he spied a waiter playing with the toy. Laczi an amateur mathematician was impressed. The next day he went to the state trading company, Konsumex, and asked permission to sell the Cube in the West. Tibor Laczi had this to say on first meeting Erno Rubik: When Rubik first walked into the room I felt like giving him some money, he says. He looked like a beggar. He was terribly dressed, and he had a cheap Hungarian cigarette hanging out of his mouth. But I knew I had a genius on my hands. I told him we could sell millions. Nuremberg Toy Fair Laczi proceeded to demonstrate the Cube at the Nuremberg toy fair, but not as an official exhibitor. Laczi walked around the fair playing with a Cube and managed to meet British toy expert Tom Kremer. Kremer thought Rubiks Cube was the wonder of the world. He later arranged an order for a million Cubes with Ideal Toy. Whats in a Name? Rubiks Cube was first called the Magic Cube (Buvuos Kocka) in Hungary. The puzzle had not been patented internationally within a year of the original patent.  Patent law  then prevented the possibility of an international patent. Ideal Toy wanted at least a recognizable name to copyright; of course, that arrangement put Rubik in the spotlight because the Magic Cube was renamed after its inventor. The First Red Millionaire Erno Rubik became the first self-made millionaire from the communist block. The eighties and Rubiks Cube went well together. Cubic Rubes (the name of cube fans) formed clubs to play and study solutions. A sixteen-year-old Vietnamese high school student from Los Angeles, Minh Thai won the world championship in Budapest (June 1982) by unscrambling a Cube in 22.95 seconds. The unofficial speed records may be ten seconds or less. Human experts now solve the puzzle in 24-28 moves on a regular basis. Erno Rubik  established a foundation to help promising inventors in Hungary. He also runs the Rubik Studio, which employs a dozen people to design furniture and toys. Rubik has produced several other toys, including Rubiks Snake. He has plans to start designing computer games and continues to develop his theories on geometric structures. Seven Towns Ltd. currently holds the rights to Rubiks Cube.