The Power of the Earth

We’ve already told you about the power that comes from the wind and the sun, but did you know that you can get power from the Earth too? This form of renewable energy is called Geothermal and it’s awesome to the core!

The word “geothermal” comes from Greek and translates to “the Earth” (geo) and “heat” (thermal), meaning heat that’s stored in the Earth.

Things are heating up!

The Earth’s core is VERY hot, reaching temperatures of almost 6,000 degrees Celsius at the centre – that’s 133 times hotter than the hottest day ever recorded in Canada! This heat spreads through the layers of the planet, all the way up to the rocks and water close to the Earth’s surface. With the help of special machines, we can access this stored heat and turn it into electricity to power our homes. We can also use this heat to warm homes or buildings.

But what happens if you don’t have those special machines? Well, you can still take advantage of this type of energy! People have been using geothermal energy for thousands of years to do their cooking and bathing. In some countries, you can dig just a few feet deep, and it gets hot enough to boil water and even roast marshmallows! But you won’t be able to do that here in Canada because these areas are usually close to volcanoes. What you will find in Canada, though, are people lounging and bathing in naturally occurring hot springs. Hot springs, geysers and volcanoes are some of the signs that there is lots geothermal energy available.

Geothermal energy is very good for the environment because it creates little to no pollution. At Earth Rangers, we think that this type of energy rocks!

Check out other types of renewable energy!

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Sources:
https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange//kids/solutions/technologies/geothermal.html
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/geothermal-energy/