Keeping track of all the new ecofriendly words being thrown around nowadays can be a daunting task that can easily make you feel left out of the loop.  Our Lexicon will attempt to make you hip to the new “green” word on the street.  This volume deals with renewable energy and defines the top sources available for use.

Wind Energy
Wind is the movement of air that occurs when warm air rises and cooler air rushes in to replace it. Wind energy has been used for centuries to sail ships and drive windmills for a variety of reason. Today, wind energy is captured by wind turbines and used to generate electricity.

Solar Energy
The sun is the most powerful source of renewable energy. It is good for heating, lighting, cooling homes and other buildings, generating electricity, water heating, and other industrial processes. The sun fuels most forms of renewable energy: heat from the sun causes the wind to blow which contributes to the growth of trees and other plants that are used for biomass energy, and plays an essential role in the cycle of evaporation and precipitation that makes hydropower possible.

Hydropower
Water flowing is a strong force and is a renewable resource that is constantly recharged by the global cycle of evaporation and precipitation. The heat of the sun causes water in lakes and oceans to evaporate and form clouds. The water then falls back to Earth as rain or snow, and drains into rivers and streams that flow back to the ocean. Flowing water can be used to power water any number of industrial/mechanical processes.  When captured by turbines and generators the energy from flowing water can be used to generate electricity.

Biomass Energy
Biomass energy has been an important source ever since people began to burn wood to cook their food or heat themselves.  Renewable organic materials, such as wood, agricultural crops or wastes, and municipal wastes, especially can be used as a source of fuel or energy. Biomass can be burned directly or processed into biofuels.

Geothermal Energy
The heat from inside the Earth produces steam and hot water that can be used to power generators and produce electricity for home use or for other industrial purposes.  Geothermal energy can be drawn from deep underground reservoirs by drilling, or from other geothermal reservoirs closer to the surface.

That’s it for this edition.  There are many more renewable energy sources such as Ocean Energy and Hydrogen but the technology is not there to make them viable as yet.  But we’re sure that will change soon enough and when it does, we’ll include them in our Lexicon.

If you have any eco friendly words to share or suggestions for future volumes, please feel to pass your comments along.