Not to sound ignorant, but would geothermal energy be a beautiful way to help modernize an undeveloped continent?

so for school …. tomorrow i have to make a geothermal energy model and it has to be stat… like fast
any ideas?
or should i just burn a rock?

How would you grade this essay I wrote on nuclear power?
With growing numbers of people in the United States purchasing computers, televisions, appliances, and many other electricity-gobbling devices, the demand for electric power has been surging. Between 1991 and 2000, Americans’ electricity usage jumped more than 30 percent. Meanwhile, power plants became extremely difficult and expensive to build, requiring exhaustive and time-consuming scientific studies to determine how the plant would affect the surrounding environment. As a result, relatively few new plants were constructed.
In the summer of 2000, residents of California experienced a severe electricity shortage caused by a complex combination of factors, including a shortage of power-generating capability, skyrocketing prices for the natural gas used to fuel power plants, and exploding demand for electricity. By March 2001, the shortage became so serious that the state’s largest utility companies called for rolling blackouts–controlled, successive power outages in designated areas–to avoid even more widespread power outages. Although investigators learned in May 2002 that the crisis was caused in large part by questionable, and perhaps illegal, business practices by the Enron Corporation, an energy company in Houston, it still pointed up weaknesses in the power-generation system in the United States.
The crisis in California exposed the need for greater power-production capabilities throughout the country, forcing energy officials to begin an urgent effort to increase generating capacity. As they sought solutions to the problem, many energy experts said it was time to reconsider nuclear energy as an alternative to fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas).
One of the big advantages of nuclear power plants is that they do not generate greenhouse gases–gases, such as carbon dioxide, that slow the radiation of heat away from the Earth, thereby raising the planet’s surface temperature, and possibly contributing to global warming. Power plants that burn fossil fuels produce such gases in abundance, and they also contribute to air pollution. Although nuclear energy has its drawbacks, including the production of radioactive waste and the potential for dangerous accidents, it has been a part of the U.S. energy mix since the late 1950’s. In 2002, more than 100 nuclear reactors generated about 20 percent of the nation’s energy, second only to coal-fired plants. Plants that burn coal or other fossil fuels produce about 70 percent of U.S. electricity. Of the remaining 10 percent, nearly all is produced by hydroelectric power, electricity generated at dams. Various other energy sources, including windmills, solar-energy, geothermal energy (Earth’s internal heat), and waste-burning collectively generate about 1 percent.
In May 2001, U.S. President George W. Bush unveiled his national energy policy, which called for an expanded role for nuclear energy. One of the reasons for the reviving interest in nuclear energy is that it is a very cost-effective way to generate electricity. Nuclear reactions release millions of times more energy than the chemical reactions involved in the burning of fossil fuels. For example, a piece of uranium fuel weighing just 0.04 ounce (1 gram) can release as much energy as the burning of about 2.3 metric tons (2.5 tons) of coal. Moreover, the cost of nuclear power is relatively stable while the prices of fossil fuels are always in flux. To make nuclear energy an even more attractive source of energy, nuclear engineers have been working to develop simpler, safer nuclear power plants that are easier to maintain than the plants operating in 2002.
The two most common types of reactors are boiling-water reactors and pressurized-water reactors. These reactors are often called “light-water reactors” to distinguish them from reactors that use heavy water (deuterium oxide, a special type of water in which the hydrogen nuclei contain a neutron as well as a proton) as the coolant.
In a boiling-water reactor, the water surrounding the reactor core boils, creating steam directly in the reactor vessel. This slightly radioactive steam is sent through pipes to a turbine, which turns electric generators, creating electricity. The steam coming out of the turbine then cools and condenses into liquid water, which is returned to the reactor vessel to be used again.
In a pressurized-water reactor, which is the most common type of nuclear reactor, the water is under extremely high pressure, about 160 kilograms per square centimeter (2,000 pounds per square inch). That pressure enables the water to be heated to about 325 degrees C (620 degrees F), well above its normal boiling temperature of 100 degrees C (212 degrees F). The pressurized and slightly radioactive water from the reactor goes to a steam generator that contains a large number of small tubes through which the hot, pressurized water flows. Water from a separate system flow

When people think about electricity, different things come to mind. One person may think about household appliances, another might find himself wondering about lightning, and electricity could conjure up thoughts of Thomas Edison, or his famous invention, the electric light, in yet another person. Yet all agree that electricity has become an essential, irreplaceable part of all our lives and its discovery is one of the most important breakthroughs of modern man. It seems that almost everything that we use in our daily lives runs on electricity, including mom’s stove and oven, dad’s laptop computer and wristwatch, and your cell phone and video games. Even some of our most advanced technology, including supercomputers, satellites, and the latest spy technology, have at least one basic need – electricity. Without it, modern civilization cannot function. Communication over long distances, which is vital to our lives, would be paralyzed, and the comforts of our present environment would be rendered unfeasible. Man himself would be virtually helpless without electricity.
Electricity is used in all kinds of diverse ways and is produced from numerous sources. Some sources of electricity are fossil fuels. In a power plant, fossil fuels (mainly coal) are burned. The heat is used to heat water and create steam to turn turbines to generate the electricity. Coal produces about 40% of the electricity used on earth. Another source is water. The electricity, called hydroelectric power, is generated by turbines. Water behind a dam flows into a channel in the dam called a penstock and turns the turbine, which generates electricity. 25% of the electric energy on earth used by humans is hydroelectric. About 16% of the energy in the world is nuclear power. Uranium or plutonium atoms split in the core of a nuclear reactor, producing intense heat. Water, under high pressure, is pumped into the reactor and comes out extremely hot. The water heats more water in a tank, producing steam to turn turbines. Other minor sources of electric energy include the sun (solar energy), wind (wind power) heat from the earth’s interior (geothermal energy), and biomass (energy release by bacteria in cow manure). Batteries also supply electricity. Unfortunately, renewable sources still account for only 12% of the United States’s supply of electricity.
Humans have been trying to harness the great powers of electricity for a long time. The ancients wondered what lightning was, and attributed different gods to thunder and lightning. Thales, a Greek philosopher, noted that rubbing a piece of amber caused bits of straw to stick to it. (This phenomenon is known today as static electricity). By performing his famous experiment with a silk kite and a metal key, Benjamin Franklin proved that lightning was indeed electricity in 1750, two millennia later. 21 years later, in 1771, Luigi Galvani made an interesting discovery when he found that a dead frog would twitch if touched by two pieces of metal, copper and iron. An electric charge traveled through the animal, which caused the movement. This occurrence would be called galvanism, after Galvani. His associate, Alessandro Volta, used this information to develop the voltaic pile, a forerunner of the battery that produced a steady electric current. The volt, a unit of measurement used to measure electric power, was named after him. Finally, Sir Humphrey David connected some voltaic piles and invented the first battery. Modern batteries are similar to this design.
Modern life is helplessly dependent on electricity. Production of electricity has become an indispensable piece our daily lives as we hope to find more renewable and efficient ways to produce it for its many significant purposes.

It could turn a generator and send current via wire to the surface.
The surrounding pressure (atmosphere) is huge so should have lots of power
The steam could come from an undersea vent (geothermal)
The ocean provides a big heat dump to cool the chamber.

What I’m asking is would you support the building of a power plant that produces more than one form of energy to provide base-load generation. What do you make of a nuclear power plant with solar heliostats and wind turbines? Not to mention geothermal heating pumps and a biomass generator? How would you feel if it was located on a coastline with wave and tidal generators? Those are seven forms of energy I just mentioned. Six of them are renewable. And if they recycled 96 percent of the nuclear power like they do in France, that would be perfect. What do you make of that?

I’m not just talking about solar panels, geothermal heating pumps, wind turbines, and rainwater collection. Though I am an avid fan of earthships and other sustainable houses, I adore green rooftops. I just read an issue in this month’s issue of National Geographic about rooftops with gardens, lawns, flowers, grass, and plants. What do you think of that? I saw a picture of a building in England adorned with ivy. Would you support a municipal law requiring all flat rooftops to be green? Would you advocate a tax incentive to make other rooftops having vegetation as well?

Here is what I would do
1. I would enforce strict zoning laws (something Houston clearly does not have.)
2. I would enforce building codes requiring all buildings to have solar panels, wind turbines, caulking, thermal windows, passive ventilation, geothermal heating pumps, methane digester toilets, and passive ventilation.
3. I would pass a law requiring mandatory recycling and composting. I would fine anybody who doesn’t abide by this law.
4. I would place an aggressive emissions law on all the oil and petrochemical companies.
5. I would require all automobiles to have smog filters.
6. I would start a Robin Hood plan like the one in Austin requiring all public schools to receive equal revenue.
7. I would ensure there would be less urban sprawl and continue more development in the inner city. Smart growth is better than cheap growth. That’s how they acquired their names.
8. I would break-up lower income housing projects. Dense poverty causes a deluged of socioeconomic problems. We may not practice de jure segregation anymore, but we do practice de facto segregation still.
9. I would charge all the local churches property taxes. If Joel Osteen wants to make millions feeding off people’s insecurities, he can give something back to the community.
10. I would legalize gambling, prostitution, and pot and tax the living daylights out of them. The Astrodome would become a casino under my watch.
I’ll have to think of other things in the meantime. What would you do if you were the mayor of Houston?

I have no objections towards self-sustaining buildings that more ecologically and environmentally friendly. Fewer things would thrill me more than to see the entire world go green. I support the enforcement of building codes that consist of the following.
solar panels
wind generators
passive ventilation
rainwater collection
super glass
geothermal heating pumps
solar water heating
green roofs with eaves
compact florescent bulbs
grass and trees
I think they should even require compost toilets with potable water that’s recycled and returned through a septic tank and incubator. They have building codes requiring bathrooms. You can no longer have an outhouse in your backyard. There was lots of social clamor when that happen, too. Further buildings are required to have fire exits, fire extinguishers, and sprinklers. Many of them are even required to have lightning rods. So if all these are included in building codes, I don’t see why my ideas should be excluded. Any thoughts on that?

House 1:
it Has 20 rooms if you don’t include the 8 bathrooms and all are heated by natural gas. It has a pool and a pool house plus and extra guest house. It consumes more energy in one month than the average American house does in a full year. The average electric bill is 2400.00 per month. In natural gas (which is fossil fuel) it comsumes more than 20 time the national average for an American home. This home is not in the snow belt or the desert.
House 2:
This house is 4000 square feet (4 bedrooms).A closet in the house holds geothermal heat pumps which draw ground water through pipes that are sunken 300 feet in the ground. The water heats the house in the winter and cools it in the summer. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas and it consumes 25% of the electricity of a conventional heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a 25,000 and waste water is collected,purified , and used for irrigation of the landscaping.