What is geothermal energy? In what ways can we use geothermal energy, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of the use of geothermal energy?
What will be an ideal response?
Geothermal energy involves the heat energy from Earth's interior, left over from the planet's formation and also created by the radioactive decay of elements deep in Earth. The generated heat rises toward the surface through magma and through fissures and cracks, heating groundwater. Geothermal electrical plants use the heat energy of the water to generate electricity, and the hot water can be pumped from the ground and directly used to heat buildings. In many areas, where the temperature just below ground remains fairly constant year-round, people can install household geothermal heat pumps, which can be used to heat homes in the winter and cool them in the summer.
Advantages: Like other renewable sources, geothermal power produces far less air pollution and greenhouse gases than does fossil fuel combustion. Furthermore, there is a great deal of geothermal energy available underground, and geothermal technologies (especially geothermal heat pumps) create far less environmental impact than energy use from fossil fuels.
Disadvantages: Geothermal power plants draw up metals and salts that must be disposed of, although these impacts are relatively small compared with the contaminants produced during fossil fuel use. Some major concerns with geothermal electricity production are related to the withdrawal and reinjection of groundwater, which can result in earthquakes and land subsidence. Other drawbacks of using geothermal energy include the prohibitive start-up costs for purchasing and installing a household geothermal heat pump, plus the fact that geothermally active locations that are appropriate for building geothermal plants are few and far between, and remote from areas that need the electricity or would directly use the hot water. Like solar and wind power, geothermal power involves substantial development costs but low operations costs compared to fossil?fuel?fired processes, and adopting the technology will likely save money in the long run.
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What this figure does not tell you is ________.
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