Happiness is only real when shared. I hope you're happy today.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Can recycle save the planet?

Generally speaking, recycle reduces garbage and reuse them to produce new products. Most people and scientists believe that recycle can help the planet, so do I.

In the ChemEng 2F04 class this morning, however, the professor told the class that recycle does not help the planet. He introduced second law of thermodynamics and this law says that heat transfer from high temperature to low temperature. It's easy for heat to transfer from high temperature to low temperature. However, to transfer heat from low temperature to high temperature requires external energy (heat).
Publish Post

In the recycling process, for example, cans, we must melt the cans before they can be reproduced. The heat used for melting is released to the atmosphere, thus increasing the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere.

So how does recycle help the planet? Yes, indeed we reduce garbage. But heat is continuosly being released to the atmosphere. Besides, concentration of carbon dioxide in the air dramatically increase since 1900s'. I think the ratio of 21% oxygen and 79 % nitrogen in the air is not true anymore.

Technologies of biofuels do not move advance as fast as the global temperature and concentration of greenhouse gases in the air. When year 2012 comes, will the earth be destroyed? Or will the earth destroy himself in 50 billion years when the energy of the Sun exhausted? I don't know, you don't know, no one knows.

In fact, when I was typing these words, I am killing the planet. Because computer produces carbon dioxide, although in a minute amount.

5 comments:

Linda Anuar said...

oh well, cavemen were always the best!

AJ said...

so to prevent it,u should stop using labtop now onward!^^haha

I AM A BLOGGER said...

actually, in energy sense, recycling might not be viable for all materials. That's why newspaper is the most popular for recycling because it is low cost compared to cans, glass and etc. Now, recycle saves the planet in other way. recycling reduces the use of natural resources and saves for the future. This is how recycling saves the future of the planet.

Calvin Lee said...

I can understand why recycling newspaper is most popular. However, I think that we should stop printing newspaper instead of making effort to recycle it. Besides, I think youngsters nowadays merely read newspaper. Paperless is a big trend in Canada now. I start using online banking last year. All transfers, debit and credit are doable online.

AJ said...

ehem ehem...I am young and I still like the feeling holding newspaper and read ^^ and I don'l like reading online....haha