ENGINEERS, WHAT IS WRONG WITH
THIS PICTURE?
Heron in Barataria Bay, Louisiana.
Photo credit: Gerald Hebert
Source: [Link]
WHAT HAPPENED HERE?
Photo credit: Charlie Riedel
Source: [Link]
Photo credit: Charlie Riedel
Source: [Link]
DO YOU REMEMBER THE 2010 OIL
SPILL IN THE GULF OF MEXICO?
Photo credit: US Coast Guard
Source: [Link]
WHAT HAPPENED?
An oil rig named Deepwater Horizon exploded
in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010.
Eleven people working there died.
The explosion caused oil to begin leaking out.
It leaked for 87 days.
WHAT ARE OIL RIGS?
An oil rig is a structure built in the ocean to support
pipes and drills used to remove oil from underground
wells. There are many gas and oil rigs in the Gulf of
Mexico. How many?
3858 – 1 (the one that exploded)
= 3857
Image credit: Caroline Higgins
Image credit: NOAA Source: [Link]
Source: [Link]
HOW MUCH OIL LEAKED?
160 of these PER DAY
A total of 800,000 gallons of oil
PER DAY
In total, it leaked an
estimated 94,000,000
to 184,000,000 gallons.
That is the equivalent of 35,000 swimming pools.
WHERE WAS THE LEAK EXACTLY?
The explosion and leak occurred 40 miles from the
Louisiana coast and 1 mile underwater.
Located here
Image credit:
Source: [Link]
[Link]
This image shows where
in the Gulf the oil leaked.
Source: [Link]
[Link]
WHY DO WE NEED OIL?
To power all of this…
MORE SPECIFICALLY, WE USE IT TO
POWER THE COMBUSTION ENGINE.
HOW DOES OIL MAKE AN ENGINE RUN?
So, we use oil for transportation …
Is this the only way for us to get
the energy we need?
WHAT ABOUT GETTING ENERGY FROM
THE SUN? AN ENDLESS SOURCE OF
CLEAN ENERGY?
Solar energy can only
power small vehicles,
though.
RIGHT?!
WRONG!
This is a solar bus in Australia called Tindo. It is
currently being used for mass transportation!
But, it can’t go very fast. Right?
Wrong!
This is a train
engineers are
proposing to use in
Arizona. It will be
powered by solar
cells and will cut a
trip through the
desert that usually
takes 2.5 hours down
to a 30 minute zip!
It will be called “The
Bullet.”
WHAT ABOUT WATER TRAVEL?
NO PROBLEM!
In Australia, they
are currently
using this fully
solar powered
ferry!
WHAT DO AUSTRALIA AND ARIZONA
HAVE IN COMMON?
Very little cloud cover. That makes them great
candidates for solar technology.
What about the rest of the world? Can
you still get energy from the sun with
clouds in the sky?
YES!
In Belgium, which has a climate very similar
to Canada, engineers have designed 2 miles of
solar panels. With this, they can power 4000
trains!
SUMMARY:
If we change the way we get the energy we need to move
people and things… to a clean energy source, such as
solar energy, we can keep this…
…from ever
happening
again.
Photo credit: Charlie Riedel
Source: [Link]
SO ENGINEERS, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO
