The impact of energy production on the environment

Energy is generated at power plants that convert some sort of raw material into power and system has its advantages and disadvantages but mainly posing environmental concerns.  All non-renewable fossil fuels release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere causing global warming.  These orthodox methods of energy production sunsequently result in hazards to the environment, to wildlife and to human health.

            Nuclear power poses the obvious dangers of radio activity released into the air, water and soil.  There are also concerns of unknown future risks from waste storage and old power stations.  Furthermore, unpredictable dangers from major accidents causing cancer to people exposed to low level radiation from nuclear waste.

            Oil-fired power causes atmospheric pollution and acidification by waste gases from furnaces.  Pollution from accidental oil spillages still continues causing mass destruction of marine life, from plankton to fish and birds.  Stored oils pose a risk of explosion as well.

            Coal-fired power results in dereliction of land by mining, especially with surface mines.  Besides causing atmospheric pollution and acidification from impurities, mining wastes poisons plant life as well as some risk to waterlife through waterbourne pollution.  The sulphur dioxide produced by emissions also poses as an indirect health hazard and there are considerable hazards during mining.

            Gas-fired power, although causing a minor degree of air pollution as a result of burning, habitats are being destroyed by pipelines and the risk of explosions persists.

            Hydroelectric power poses no pollution hazards but could cause loss of land through flooding and the risk of landslides.

            With all these risks considered, the amount of energy spent on heating and cooling add up to three quarters of domestic energy use.  The waste is colossal and reducing domestic heat consumption plays a significant part in reducing the pollution caused by burning fuel.

Electricity is not clean

The industry has dubbed its product as “clean power” as electricity does not choke whole neighbourhoods with sulphurous fumes and the streets and cities like London are not blackened by soot or omnipresent smoke clouds.  However, in the modern era of electric homes there is probably a power station pouring out smoke into the atmosphere.  This will be expected to happen day and night, all year round, in order to produce electricity for factories, offices and millions of fuel-hungry households as well as your own.

            Power station towers are up to 300 metres high as contemporary engineering assumed that they would disperse the fumes over a larger area, far above towns and cities. Although the fumes are dispersed they are by no means harmless.  These power stations are now spreading environmental havoc on a grand scale.

            Electricity generation from the combustion of fossil fuels contributes substantially to unhealthy air quality, acid rain  and global climate change.  A sharp, acrid gas pours out of all fossil fuel power stations and around 100 million tones of these emissions are released annually making sulphur dioxide the greatest of all man-made environmental hazards apart from radioactive  waste.

            Fumes are dispersed by these towers across land and sea transforming in close proximity as “dry deposition” but dissolves during its ominous journey in water vapour to produce sulphuric acid or more commonly known as acid rain.

            Political will, keen entrepreneurship and feasible technology will allow consumers to resort to alternatives.  Or prefer to remain subjected to more traditional ways of power production, no matter how dangerous, dirty or short-term these are.

A definition of clean technology

Clean technology is a diverse range of products, services and processes that harnesses renewable materials and energy sources that reduces the use of natural resources and eliminates or minimizes emissions and wastes.

Why companies should outsource their business processes

Companies that outsource any of their business processes overseas do so because of the competitive rates outsourcing companies can offer in comparison with the cost of retaining permanent staff to fulfill the same needs.  Organisations gain lower operating costs, improved information access and a reduced business risk, as well as an enhanced service for their customers.

The primary motive in outsourcing a business process is to allow the business to invest most of their time, financial and human resources into building effective, growth strategies.  Fixed costs are transformed into variable ones and the burden of managing a large workforce and provisions of company benefits are reduced. The variable cost structure helps companies to respond to changes in required capacity and does not require a company to invest in assets.  Flexibility in resource management is increased and response times to major environmental charges are reduced.  Companies can focus on core competencies without being burdened by the demands of bureaucratic restraints.  Key employees will subsequently be released from performing non-core or administrative processes and can invest more time and energy in building the organisation’s core business to create a competitive edge.  Furthermore, a company can maintain growth goals while avoiding standard business bottlenecks.

The business should thus focus on improving productivity while trimming down unnecessary costs.  Non-core business processes should effectively be outsourced as these tasks consume time, essential resources and energy realizing a more cost-efficient system.  These processes range from production to customer service to support functions.  Outsourcing these business processes should not be viewed as a waste of time and financial resources, but rather a rewarding strategy to be followed.

Business processes that are typically outsourced are: Customer Relationship Management; Tele-servicing and Product Support; Finance/Accounting/Billing; Logistics; Supply Chain Management; Back Office Operators; Legal Database Maintenance; Information technology and Web Design/Development/Maintenance.

Business process outsourcing also poses as an opportunity to get a foothold in any new country by making new clients, setting up new business offices understanding the domestic market etc.  In the midst of a pending recession, US companies would do well to outsource their non-core business processes to reduce their fixed running costs and maintain their focus on organizational goals.

Corporate responsibility in Third World regions

The goal of corporate responsibility, or CSR, of global brands is to embrace responsibility for the company’s actions and encourage a positive impact on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere.  CSR focused brands should proactively promote the public interest (PI) by encouraging community growth and development and eliminating practices that harm the public sphere.  It also serves as brand insurance against changing social expectations, affluence and globalization.  Corporate actions or lack thereof that violate societal expectations damage, even destroy, brand image among affluent stakeholders.  Public interest will subsequently be deliberately included into corporate decision making and the honouring of a triple bottom line: people, plane, profit.  Unfortunately, this merely results in window-dressing, or in an attempt to forestall the role of governments as a watchdog over these powerful multinational corporations.

Microsoft’s mission is to assist people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential.  However, many Africans, for instance, do not see the benefits of the brand to their immediate environment if no meaningful investment is made that alleviates poverty or simple solutions that lowers the dependency on fossil fuel usage.  Bearing in mind Bill Gates’ keen interest in breakthrough solutions to reduce carbon emissions in the environment the brand has an ideal opportunity to show more commitment to good corporate citizenship in order to realize their vision of strengthening economies.

Walmart’s history, on the other hand, has been tainted by scandal from discrimination against women to harmful labour practices to racism.  Walmart has bought Africa’s Massmart clearing the way for expansion into a fourth continent.  Investment have, however, been made in wind energy recently yet no commitment has been made to the niche market facing a plethora of socio-economic challenges.

South Africa offers attractive opportunities for prospective investors and Africa will probably see a modest rise in foreign capital inflows.  Yet high levels of poverty, poor infrastructure, bureaucratic red tape, corruption and fears of political instability have led most investors to steer clear from the African situation. The subsequent challenge remains two-fold though as foreign governments are not marketing Africa to investors oblivious to this unexplored market.

Benefits of a wood burner energy solution

Green energy production is expected to be a multi-billion dollar industry by 2013 and the general outlook of the future appears to be green due to pressure by lobby groups and investors would do well to invest wisely in this trend.

Wood burners, in particular, can lower dependency on conventional energy installations as the cheapest form of biofuel is notably wood which costs less.   Wood logs are most commonly used but pellets and chips are also available. The “zone heating” of these burners also allows users to heat an area and let the rest of the house be cooler.  In effect, you don’t waste energy heating areas you are not using.

The manufacturers of wood burners spend huge amounts of resources on designers and that engineers to ensure that they get maximum heating efficiency, as well as maintaining particle emissions at all-time lows.  Many households with heating systems are aware that even though the thermostats say we are supposed to be comfortable, the contrary is proven to be true.  The radiant heat of a wood burner warms in a way that hot air systems cannot emulate.

The green aspect is self explanatory.  Wood is a renewable and easily obtainable source for burning.  Wood is carbon neutral.  It absorbs as much carbon dioxide in its growth as it releases when its burnt.  Medical Research by the Solid Fuel Association have demonstrated that people living in houses with solid fuel heating are significantly less likely to suffer from asthma and hay fever compared to those living in houses with other forms of heating.

Wood burning water heaters can be incredibly energy efficient as well.  It is estimated that traditional electric of gas heaters devour 25 – 50% of an average home’s energy consumption.  The water tank capacity allows less water to be processed through the unit at any given time.  While conventional geysers store up and heat large quantities of water, a wood burning option creates less hot water and lessens the need for a higher amount of conventional energy.  The heated water produced by the wood burner typically runs hotter than more standard varieties.  Since the tank is usually fairly small, it does not take a long time to heat and a constant stream of wood is not necessary to maintain the temperature.  Furthermore, wood burners can be installed as a primary or secondary heat source for a home.  Now if only this basic technology be functional with the minimal use of wood.