Abstract
The lack of movement towards cleaner more efficient energy sources due to financial and political interests of the greedy few has prompted actions to be taken to accelerate the shift to greener energy sources. There is an urgent need to educate America on the need to stop global warming through alternative energy sources that contribute less to global warming. Due to a lack of alternative fuel sources that will deliver the same energy supply with dually a cheaper cost and that will meet our pollution limitations, we as a country need to move forward to keep searching for novel technologies that will revolutionize the way we think about energy. Bloom energy offers the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions to the atmosphere and is less costly. The advent of the Bloom Box offers many solutions. The Bloom Energy Server is a refrigerator-sized personal power plant that creates energy efficiently and at a lower cost. The Bloom Box is a collection of fuel cells that uses oxygen and fuel to create electricity with no emissions. Bloom box is the creation of Bloom Energy, which is a California-based company that plans to revolutionize energy. We are collegiate of group officials and experts in the field of energy conservation and global warming wish to help educate America about the importance of stopping global warming through this great alternative technology of Bloom Energy. Our group of renowned scientist and public speakers drawn from Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the private sector and the public are working to travel across America to convince universities and major companies to consider the implementation of bloom box in their energy policies and programs. As a group we require funding to facilitate travelling around America and further research in the Bloom box energy research. Financial experts at Bloom box energy estimate that they plan to install bloom boxes in every home in America by the year 2020 and hence further research on the energy would play a key role in identifying the efficiencies and deficiencies offered by this new technology. The creation of awareness about this great technology would be a great step towards putting an end to the global warming menace.
List of project participants
Bettina Teng, MD/Ph.D./musician from Harvard University
Donald John Capi Ph.D./theoretical physicist/aerospace engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
K.R. Sridhar the founder and CEO of Bloom Energy
William Ernest "Bill" McKibben Environmentalist, Author and journalist with extensive work on global warming.
Curbing Global Warming in America Using Bloom box Energy Technology
Proposal narrative
Bloom box created by the California based company Bloom energy offers many solutions and can be used as an alternative source of energy to curb global warming emitted by fossil fuel. The need to replace fossil fuels as means of energy is an issue of great concern given that fossil fuels are on a decline (Nersesian, 2007). It is believed that Bloom box has the ability to change the entire electricity grid, hence showing how efficient it can be in carbon reduction emissions.
Intellectual merits
This research aims at creating awareness about the potential bloom box energy to significantly reduce carbon emissions to the atmosphere. It will focus on universities and major companies in America, creating awareness about bloom box technology and the potential it has in saving on costs and cutting down on carbon emissions that lead to global warming. The project will mainly focus on universities and major companies simply because they can conduct further research on this technology and implement it. They are also key in disseminating information about this latest form of alternative energy to the broader public. To be able to carry out this project, sample bloom boxes would be provided for demonstration and training purposes. These bloom boxes would be provided by Bloom Energy Company based in California. The presence of K.R Sridhar, the CEO and founder of Bloom energy, would be an important factor in obtaining these samples. Various researches on the alternative sources of energy with low energy emissions have been carried out but most of them usually fall out as a result of lack of finances.
Broader impacts
People would embrace a given technology based on their perceptions and information is important in changing people’s perceptions (Doeden, 2010). The need to provide Americans with information related to alternative energy uses, prompted us to come up with this project with regards to bloom box technology. This project would serve as reference material on how creation of awareness can play an important role in making people lead sustainable lives through the use of clean or green energy sources. At the end of the program, it is expected that the project would lead to more people embracing bloom box technology as an alternative source of energy to fossil fuels in America.
Project description
Problem statement
The need for alternative sources of energy that contribute less to global warming has been more pressing than ever (Sweet, 2006). The electricity used in America mostly comes from the non-renewable fossil fuels. The use of electricity in electricity production has resulted in the release of large amounts carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. The high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere result in an increase in global temperatures which is detrimental to the environment. Reductions in carbon dioxide emissions would be of great benefit to the climate, and thus the need to explore alternative sources of energy.
Objectives
The primary objective of this project is to make universities and major companies in America to shift to sustainable sources of energy which are cheaper and release low carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. The project aims at creating awareness in universities and major companies of the need to embrace bloom box energy technology which is sustainable. It also aims at conducting further research on bloom box energy technology which will become common in America in the coming years.
Rationale
With global warming’s effects being felt all over the world, there is the urgent need of embracing sustainable sources of energy. Sustainable energy sources offer a solution to this global menace. Bloom box offers the potential of greatly curbing global warming with its wide range of benefits. Many organizations and government bodies are working hard to ensure that people do not over-rely on fossil fuels but use sustainable energy sources to stop global warming; hence this is a project that will greatly contribute in the movement to cleaner energies.
Description of project activities
Our group members will carry out the training and lecture to the students and management of the large corporations. This is expected to commence in April 2014.A broader part of our project would be holding interactive forums with our target groups where we will hold discussions train them on Bloom box energy solution and also give them a talk on global warming trends. This would involve the communicating between us and our audience prior before the talks and booking of appointments. K. R Srindrar being the founder and CEO of Bloom energy will give a talk on Bloom boxes, how less costly they are and their effectiveness. Having a background in Bloom box technology, he would be best suited to tackle that issue. Bettina Teng and Donald John Capi are to give talks on how effective new energy technologies have been found out to reduce the carbon emissions to the atmosphere and how more technologies can be improved to curb global warming. William Mckibben, an environmentalist, will handle the environment and global warming topic: giving the causes, the current trends and the potential solutions. To cover this universities and major companies, it is estimated that the project would span five years given the number of universities and the costs associated with travelling and other miscellaneous expenses. Materials to be used for this program would include but not limited to: books on alternative sources of energy, global warming and climate change and books by Bloom energy. Some of this material may be obtained from university libraries or other online sources. The target individuals in this program would be university students and their tutors, communities around university and top management of companies.
Results
At the end of the project we expect that people around the university community we would be visiting would be aware of switching Bloom box as an alternative source of energy to fossil fuels. We expect the major companies to incorporate Bloom box in their policies and programs. We further expect that at the end of the project, a large population of people would be aware on the need of embracing sustainable sources of fuel as a way of dealing with global warming. Measurement would include participant surveys, forums and discussions and the implementation of the proposed bloom boxes.
Total project cost
The funding request is $65, 710 with a total program cost of $76,010. More institutions will chip in in funding us and they include the Harvard University and MIT. Some of the other funds will be obtained through by individual members.
Budget $
Transport - 45, 710
Telephone- 5000
Resources- 10000
Insurance- 2465
Accommodation- 8000
Medical services- 4835
Total Sum $76,010
References
Barras, C. (2010, February 26). Innovation: bloom didn't start a fuel-cell revolution. Retrieved from http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18584-innovation-bloom-didnt-start-a-fuelcell-
revolution.html
Bloom Energy. (2010). Understanding California's electricity prices. Sunnyvale, CA: Bloom Energy. Retrieved August 25, 2010, fromhttp://www.bloomenergy.com/products/resources/
Doeden, M. (2010). Green energy: Crucial gains or economic strains?. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books.
Miami International Conference on Alternative Energy Sources, Veziroğlu, T. N., University of Miami., & International Association for Hydrogen Energy. (1989). Alternative energy sources VIII. New York: Hemisphere Pub. Corp.
Nersesian, R. L. (2010). Energy for the 21st century: A comprehensive guide to conventional and alternative sources. Armonk, N.Y: M.E. Sharpe.
Sweet, W. (2006). Kicking the carbon habit: Global warming and the case for renewable and nuclear energy. New York: Columbia University Press.
