During the last week, we had to face a daily power cut, it was what everyone was complaining of during the week and not a lot of people were happy about it. It interfered with television programme schedules, work time, and the lack of air-conditioning in the summer heat made it seem like the world [...]

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The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka

Want to help the environment? Its as easy as switching off a light

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During the last week, we had to face a daily power cut, it was what everyone was complaining of during the week and not a lot of people were happy about it. It interfered with television programme schedules, work time, and the lack of air-conditioning in the summer heat made it seem like the world would end for some. In summary, it interfered with our comfortable routine and lifestyle. On the other hand it did give, those of us who take energy for granted, a wakeup call and brought in to focus an impending concern for the future. Have you stopped to think of the sources of energy? Where does it come from? How much of resources are exploited so that we could cool off indoors while the sun swelters outside? Globally, the main producer of electricity is coal and fossil fuels while hydro-power and nuclear power make up a smaller percentage. The electricity derivation process, in summary, is as follows. The burning of fossil fuels in a furnace releases significant heat energy, this heat energy is used to increase the temperature of water. The water is heated to produce steam, the steam in turn induces a substantial pressure that successfully mobilises and rotates the turbines of the generators, by rotating amidst a magnetic coil produces electricity. The combustion of fossil fuels releases tonnes of gases in to the air, the major product being carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is know as a ‘green-house’ gas, working on terms similar to a green-house.

Carbon dioxide has the ability to trap heat. Globally, the excess carbon-dioxide forms a layer in the atmosphere and traps in more heat than required, resulting in a phenomenon we have all heard about ‘global warming’. Global warming, as the name describes, is when the global temperatures rise beyond the average. The temperature rise, aside from the obvious implications, also set off a domino effect of events such as sea-level rise, changes in air and sea currents, and changes in the climate that results in water shortages, and loss of many sensitive plants and animals. It is indeed hard to believe this complex chain reaction that occurs due to the excessive use of fossil fuels.

So the next time you switch on your light, or any electricity consuming appliance make sure it is switched off when it is no longer needed. To produce electricity we use up energy stored over millions of years, and the affect of using that energy can affect the world for years to come. So make sure that the energy used is used wisely. So think for a minute, do you want to take electricity for granted now and endure the results of it in the future. I don’t think so. Try to set your air-conditioner to a comfortable temperature of around twenty-four degrees. Increasing the air-conditioner temperature by just one degree reduces power consumption by ten-percent and halts two-hundred kilograms of carbon being released in to the atmosphere. Do the math, make a choice to go green.




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