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OCT-01-2013 09:37 FROM:PARADISE BUSINESSCTR 18089652122 TO:9618912 P.3'24 Tapping Earth's Geothermal Energy: "Green" Panacea Or Pandora's Box? Asante Riverwind l ime by nature is as a river,always in fluid transition.Did any who lived across these lands centuries ago wonder,as they enjoyed nature's beautiful bounty,at the changes yet to come?Could any then have foreseen changes as locally and globally dramatic as have come to be?*hat changes will emerge a century or more hence,if current societal growth and demands continue to rise?What unforeseen dramas hide amidst future's obscuring mists? Human population and demands upon Faith's natural resources continue tq grow exponentially. Our impacts are altering not only once natural open lands around us,but interwoven climatic and ecological systems worldwide. Scientific and societal concerns over resource depllrti9n and the early manifestations of global warming are rising.Desires for energy sources that allow.both continued growth and global ecological well-being have led to a quest for"green"energy solutions.Across the earth, people are searching for ecologically acceptable energy production sources to augment or replace today's reliance on harmful oil and coal fossil fuels. Proposed as a future source to meet the region's growing energy needs,geothermal production brings both potential energy and economic benefits as well as ecological and healtih harms.Geothermal energy is not a new phenomenon.It has been used where naturally existent,perhaps throughout the evolution of our species. From ancient empires to tribal peoples,geothermal hot sPirings have long been used for bathing,heating,and cooking.Not only humans but other species,including monkeys in Asia, use geothermal energy.Literally meaning"earth heat,"it is Ihund naturally in hot water and steam rising from magma heated rocks below earth's surface. localized use of naturally flowing hot springs and steam continues globally from Asia to Iceland to Oregon. Klamath Falls and 13reitenbush communities use geothermal fluids to beat homes,buildings, and greenhouses,as well as for rejuvenating spas.Circulating geothermal waters beneath the sidewalks of Klamath Falls melts snow and ice.On this scale,employing natural flows, geothermal's ecological impacts are benign or even beneficial. Tapping geothermal steam to produce electrical energy is reported to have first begun at Laredo. Italy in 1904,and continues there today.Since then geothermal electrical energy production has spread to 1 nations across the world_ US geothermal plants exist in California,Hawaii, Utah,and Nevada. I IS production capabilities range from a few hundred kilowatts to over 130 megawatts, with an estimated total capacity of 3,200 megawatts—which industry claims equals the production of three nuclear power plants. Geothermal energy production utilizes natural heating in the earth, most accessible along active fault lines, such as the Pacific Rim's volcanic earthquake-prone "Ring of l'ilrc," which includes the Cascade Mountains. Not dependent on natural surface springs, it employs wells drilled thousands of feet into the earth, tapping into hydrothermal fluids and reservoirs. Using pumps and closed loop system pipes, hydrothermal fluids are most often used to heat more efficient secondary liluids, such as flammable isohutane, which then spin turbines, producing electricity. Contained within} system pipes, cooling geothermal fluids are usually reinjected hack into the earth. Geothermal is glowingly touted by industry as a sustainable renewable energy source, with water replenished by r'a.in.falI and hat perpetually produced by the earth. Citing polluting emissions produced by fossil fuel plants, ominous dangers inherent in nuclear energy, and the ecologically harmful consequences of hydropower dam$, geothermal proponents claim by comparison that it is an ecologically responsible "green" energy source. 1{_owe ver, most genlherma.I advocates have vested financial interests that perhaps filter their vision, accounting .too