New and original sources of energy for the Statue of Liberty

Hey guys, 

today we first worked on commenting on this video with Holly. I'm sure you thought it was dumbfounding... who wouldn't be surprised at seeing such a thing. But you finally admitted that it was probably not a good solution to power the torch of the Statue of Liberty even though you could see some advantages.

You can watch the video again below:

Then you continued talking about your personal sources of energy (the ones you designed and the ones you selected to answer in your essay). Here are some of the ideas that emerged from the discussion (my favourite is definitely the electricity produced by the cyclist who use the cycle-hire system...):

Quentin:

Design a machine that willtransform air pollution into electricity

PROs:

• it will solve two problems at once = (to) kill two birds with one stone.

CONs:

• it will take a long time of research and is probably not feasible.

Ornella:

Use hydroelectric power

PROs:

• inexpensive over time even though it may cost a lot to build the installation (dam and turbines) at first

• renewable

• no green house gases emissions

Shanice / Kay:

Burn waste

PROs:

• it will solve two problems at once (NY also has a recycling problem)

• not green but renewable supply.

CONs:

• might create air pollution

Harmonie:

“The Speaking Energy” = Install boxes with sound detectors in the street, offices and homes. Voices and sounds will produce energy.

PROs:

• people speak a lot

• renewable

• created by people and for people

• really inexpensive (apart from the cost of the equipment at the beginning)

• would be possible to use on the street to have a constant supply

CONs:

• it will take a long time of research and is probably not feasible.

Rémi:

Banana skins

Use a machine to produce energy out of banana peals. A turbine would be activated and produce electricity.

PROs: …. ?

CONs:

• it will take a long time of research and is probably not feasible.

Maïlys (and others):

Use the cycle-hire system to produce electricity:

• extract the energy from a generator connected to the bike

• force all evil step mothers to pedal in a cellar

• pay people to cycle

  OR

  Use tourists who want to go the statue; get them a free entrance for every 10 minutes of cycling for example

PROs:

• energy is free and it encourages people to have a positive impact on the city

• It’s a fun way to create electricity and will attract more tourists

• It will help solve lots of problems including obesity if a campaign is created that would combine 3 aspects:

  - Reduce power consumption

  - Use renewable green energy

  - Make people more active

HW: pour jeudi, rendre l'argumentation complète (env. 250 mots) sur le sujet "20 years from now, how should the torch of the Statue of Liberty be powered?" -- vous devrez corriger votre brouillon et me rendre un essay propre + le soumettre au site sur la page du concours ici: