Science Investigation

Grey Water Recycling and Impacts on the Water Cycle

Grey Water Recycling

Greywater is wastewater from non-toilet plumbing systems like sinks, washing machines, showers and baths. When produced, greywater can be reused in gardens. Don’t reuse from toilets or dirty nappies because they are not clean and may kill the plants in your garden.

Impacts on the Water Cycle

Pollution

The pollution affects the water by polluting it with plastic and toxic substances. It also decreases the quality of the water making it less healthy for us to drink. It affects the eco-system because for plants to grow they need water, and the plants feed animals and the animals drink water. Having polluted water does affect the eco-system. When pollution goes into the water the sun evaporates it, then rains it back down. This means when it rains back down it will pollute everywhere it rains. The pollution also gets evaporated into the atmosphere polluting the air in the atmosphere.

We can prevent this from happening by picking up rubbish and putting them in a rubbish bin. Also make sure if you are washing your car to clean it near a grassy area. This means that once your done, the dirty chemical water will go onto the grass instead of the streets  where it can go into the ocean.

Acid Rain

Acidic Rain is water that has acids in it and goes through the a water cycle with it. The water is acidic and not good for our eco-system. The water can kill lots of plants and animals. This means it will also affect all of the steps to the water cycle. Underground water will hold acids and affect lots of growth in our eco-system. When it goes through the water cycle it is raining down on all of earth and polluting it with bad chemicals. This is all because humans are polluting the water with rubbish. Fossil fuels also pollute the water a lot.

We can prevent acid rain by reducing the amount of fossil fuels we and use renewable, clean energy. This can be wind turbines and solar panels.

Renewable Energy Resources Compared to Non-renewable Energy Sources

Wind power compared to Coal power

Coal power is a more reliable source when it comes to how long it works and how much energy is produced in a certain amount of time. Wind power works about 35% of the time, while coal power works about 90%. This means that coal works and produces almost triple to amount more than wind power.

Although the comparison of efficiency has a clear winner, the cost is very different. Research has been done and coal power is much more expensive than wind. It is said that coal power costs more than wind and solar power added together. Wind power is in fact one of the cheapest energy sources.

Solar power compared to Coal power

Solar power is a reliable source when it comes to environmental safety. Although it only works when in direct contact with the sun and only during the day, it is much better for the environment. Coal power is more reliable when it comes to getting a lot of power in a short amount of time, it is not a renewable source. We will end up running out of coal eventually. Solar power is good for the environment but not as reliable as coal power.

Solar power is s lot cheaper than coal power. Coal power needs mining tools and hours and hours of work, but solar only needs the sun to be pointing directly to it to make power. Although family households would not get enough power from solar panels, it is still a good renewable energy source to get power.