Green Technology Covers Numerous Fields

When the green discussion comes up most people instantly think about alternative energy sources such as solar power, wind power, and hydroelectric power. However, there are other areas of green technology that can be included since, when it comes to being environmentally friendly, there is not more than one shade of green.

Advances in other areas of existing power generation should also be considered, such as nuclear power generation. This technology has been around for generations and for the most part is considered safe. However, small scale nuclear plants are being engineered in which all of the different functions of the plant are in one sealed container, instead of being spread out across the land. Developers claims this technology is much safer than the older models of nuclear power plants and offer more safeguards since there are less area that can break down and cause a disaster.

There are also industries working on technologies to turn waste into electricity with government incentives to develop methods of electric generation while reducing the amount of waste filling up landfills.

Other technologies growing the green industries include the use of alternative fuels. Biofuels, largely dependent on corn is also considering wheat grass as a source of fuel to replace, or at least supplement the supply of gasoline. Algae are also being considered as a fuel due to its availability. It can grow in many locations where other vegetation cannot, and it's cheaper to harvest, making it a viable alternative that hasn't even begun to take its place on the biofuel stage.

Developing new wells for natural gas through fracking is a new technology trying to reach underground reserves of natural gas. Deep wells are drilled down, and then liquid and other chemicals are pumped into the well, fracking, or cracking shale stone as far as two miles underground, releasing the pockets of natural gas.

Still a new drilling technology, environmentalists are concerned about the quality of the water adjacent to the wells after brine and other liquids from the drilling process are pumped back into the well and left underground.

Government incentives, such as tax breaks, have worked to convince companies to develop new technologies to find, upgrade and produce alternative energy sources. They have also worked at convincing companies to use their technology to better existing sources and to preserve and mitigate the loss of current resources.