IMPACT
Investigating the Relationship Between Power Plant Type and Regional Climate
Document Type
Presentation
Type
Information Motivating Public Activism (IMPACT)
UN Sustainable Development Goal
UNSDG #13: Climate Action
Start Date
28-4-2021 9:40 AM
End Date
28-4-2021 10:00 AM
Abstract
Climate change (UNSDG Goal 13) is one of the most pressing issues of our lifetime. Though recent years have given the world hope for the Earth’s future, we still rely on fossil fuels to produce a vast majority of our energy. Power plants, the “creator” of said energy, are found around the world, everywhere from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. However, there are multiple types of power plants each of which leave different effects on the environment. At the same time, the world has wildly different climates. The cold winters of Northern Canada could not be more different than the tropical island climate of Indonesia. Since the weather is different, the power plant that can produce energy with the most efficiency could be affected. This raises the following question: Does the most common type of powerplant vary by region? We will investigate this, digging into each country’s primary power source and analyzing its similarity to its neighboring nations. If a relationship between these two variables is proven, a myriad of sub-questions become apparent. Is there a relationship between the general approach to clean energy and the most common type of power plant? Does this general trend correlate across different continents? If a relationship is not proven, questions about which variables affect the frequency of the power plant types will be raised. Once we have a better understanding of the frequency of power plants around the world, we as a collective can work to make all power plants both environmentally-friendly and efficient.
Creative Commons License
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Investigating the Relationship Between Power Plant Type and Regional Climate
Climate change (UNSDG Goal 13) is one of the most pressing issues of our lifetime. Though recent years have given the world hope for the Earth’s future, we still rely on fossil fuels to produce a vast majority of our energy. Power plants, the “creator” of said energy, are found around the world, everywhere from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. However, there are multiple types of power plants each of which leave different effects on the environment. At the same time, the world has wildly different climates. The cold winters of Northern Canada could not be more different than the tropical island climate of Indonesia. Since the weather is different, the power plant that can produce energy with the most efficiency could be affected. This raises the following question: Does the most common type of powerplant vary by region? We will investigate this, digging into each country’s primary power source and analyzing its similarity to its neighboring nations. If a relationship between these two variables is proven, a myriad of sub-questions become apparent. Is there a relationship between the general approach to clean energy and the most common type of power plant? Does this general trend correlate across different continents? If a relationship is not proven, questions about which variables affect the frequency of the power plant types will be raised. Once we have a better understanding of the frequency of power plants around the world, we as a collective can work to make all power plants both environmentally-friendly and efficient.