hw help

1. Using the article referenced in the footnote (citation listed towards the back of the book), explain why hydropower can be a worse emitter of CO2 than a coal plant for the first 50-100 years. What else do find interesting in the article?

(Note that you can use Google Scholar to find the article, and have access to it through ASU either when you are on campus or using a VPN connection if off campus. Ask us if you need help figuring out how to access the article.)

2. What are the daily and seasonal limitation of solar and wind power?

3. The book states that the best solar panels convert <25% of the "fuel" energy (in this case, the sun) into power, and this percentage is referred to as the efficiency. Search the internet to find how efficient the electricity sources below are. Be sure to include your references.

a. Coal

b. Nuclear

c. Wind

d. Hydro

3. Check out the electrical power grid model at science.breakthroughenergy.org

What is the graph showing and what do you find interesting about the graph?

How might the existing US power grid as shown in the figure exacerbated the February 2021 power outages in Texas?

4. What is Gates's one-sentence argument for nuclear power?

5. Refer to the figure "Is nuclear power dangerous?" on page 87. What story is the graph telling? What makes this a strong graph, and what makes this a weak graph? (I question something about how they group their data, but you may come to a different conclusion.)

6. Explain how fuel cells can be used to make solar power a more viable energy option.

7. Carbon dioxide capture after it is released to the environment (referred to by Gates as direct air capture or DAC). What are some of the limitations of DAC?