First assignment of group n° 085
Resources used by the team[modifier | modifier le wikicode]
First description of our project[modifier | modifier le wikicode]
First description of our project's idea
Title of your project
1. What Problem do you want to solve ?
With the advent of technology, developing countries all over the world consumed energy at an unprecedented rate. We are aptly called the Fossil Fuel Age. 200 years ago, Our activities relied mostly on our own energy. We performed tasks using our own power. But with the industrial boom and the invention of machinery, we now rely more on Fossil Fuels to run things. A yearly increase by 2% leads to a doubling of the energy consumption every 35 years. This means the world-wide energy consumption is predicted to be twice as high in the year 2040 compared to today (2007). Global human population growth amounts to around 75 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to 7 billion in 2012. It is expected to keep growing, where estimates have put the total population at 8.4 billion by mid-2030, and 9.6 billion by mid-2050. These figures speak for themselves and show us that we all need to feel concern about it. That is why we need to think about a way to use and transform this global population into energy. The actual resources cannot follow our energy consumption so why human beings could not be a source of energy themselves? And how?
2. Why does this problem exist?
The energy needs per person increase because the world population increases. One of the main reasons is the increase of the mobility. More and more people possess a car, more and more people travel by plane. Not only people, but also the goods and marchandise which are carried on great distances. The global economy burns a huge a quantity of energy. The largest part of this energy comes from fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal). The experts of the International Energy Agency haven't big hope for changes for the next decades. But there are two big problems: - > the resources decrease and the prices increase - > greenhouse gases uttered by fossil fuels modify the world climate If the world politics and the current consumer behaviours do not change in a drastic way, we can expect that in 2030 some more of fossil fuels will be burned. It is a threat for the climatic system. It is also a threat for our living conditions which will be influenced by the increase of the rates of greenhouse gases and by the global warming. Finally, the global economy is going to depend more and more on some unstable regions, where are situated the big reserves of oil and gas.
3. What breakthrough are you commited to creating?
Our project aims to develop and promote a new concept in the field of renewable energy. While solar energy, wind energy and biomass are the most developed in this area. However, a source of energy has not been used: it is the human movement. Indeed, the human creates energy as soon as it moves. Of course, this energy is small on the scale of a man, but if we manage to capture the energy of a whole crowd, it could afford to get a large amount of energy.
Potential experts already identified
Please mention the potential experts (name, affiliation, likelihood to convince him/her to join the final panel)
