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The Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Plant in Iceland is an example of renewable energy.

Renewable energy
Biofuel Biomass Geothermal Hydroelectricity Solar energy Tidal power Wave power Wind power
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A renewable resource is a natural resource with the ability to reproduce through biological or natural processes and replenished with the passage of time. Renewable resources are part of our natural environment and form our eco-system.

In 1962, within a report to the committee on natural resources which was forwarded to the President of the United States, Paul Weiss defined Renewable Resources as: "The total range of living organisms providing man with food, fibers, drugs, etc...".^[1]

Renewable resources are endangered by industrial developments and growth. They must be carefully managed to avoid exceeding the natural world's capacity to replenish them. A life cycle assessment provides a systematic means of evaluating renewability. This is a matter of sustainability in the natural environment.

Solar radiation, tides, winds, geothermal, biomass and other natural elements are renewable resources of energy now called renewable energies.

Gasoline, coal, natural gas, diesel and other commodities derived from fossil fuels, as well as minerals like copper and others, are non-renewable resources without a sustainable yield.

Renewable energy[link]

A wind farm in Spain.

In terms of abundance, Solar energy is the most easily available source of renewable-energy. The solar rays emitted by the sun are a non-quantifiable and available for use both directly and indirectly.The ideal tool to convert the intangible solar energy into a usable energy is the photovoltaic cell.Concentrated solar power (CSP), is another effective way to convert sunlight into electricity, this technique focuses on taking the sun’s rays and placing it into a liquid that heats up and produces steam that spins an electricty producing turbine. This process uses reflective dishes that direct the sun’s rays to get the maximum energy. ^[2] The Sun yearly delivers more than 10,000 times the energy that humans currently use.^[3]This energy if harnessed can be used for a number of other more simplistic uses. A number of activities that are part of the daily lives of almost everyone’s life can be altered to take advantage of the abundantly available solar energy. Of these, the most simplistic use would have to be solar cooking. Solar-cookers according to a research done in Costa Rica can play a crucial part in curbing deforestation as well as excess carbon emissions. Another innovative tool that takes advantage of the available solar energy are the solar heaters. Again, instead of relying on carbon-emitting non-renewable sources of energy, the solar heaters effectively and efficiently manage to use solar energy to heat up water for domestic as well as commercial uses. Such simple yet innovative techniques play an important part in the daily lives of those individuals that are deprived of the conventional sources of energies such as electricity.

Wind power is derived from uneven heating of the Earth's surface from the Sun and the warm core. Most modern wind power is generated in the form of electricity by converting the rotation of turbine blades into electrical currents by means of an electrical generator. In windmills (a much older technology) wind energy is used to turn mechanical machinery to do physical work, like crushing grain or pumping water.Dependent upon natural flow of winds, the intensity as well as the changes in direction tend to affect it’s efficiency. Ranked second to hydropower in terms of installed capacity, it has made a significant impact on energy generation in fast growing developing countries. However, it requires a vast area where wind can flow effortlessly and without much disturbances in its way. This hence makes it less practical for such vast spaces are not as abundantly available in an ever-evolving industrialized world them as it was before. Hence, its best usage has to be in combination with other sources of energy. The worldwide potential for wind energy is estimated to be 26000 TWh/yr of which only 9000TW/h is being utilized.

Hydropower is energy derived from the movement of water in rivers and oceans (or other energy differentials), and can likewise be used to generate electricity using turbines, or can be used mechanically to do useful work. It is a very common resource, taking credit of 19% of global electricity production. The whole concept of Hydroelectricity takes advantage of the ability to convert energy from one form to another. The potential energy of water is either naturally or artificially converted into kinetic energy via movement of its atoms. These atoms then transfer their kinetic energy onto a turbine that harnesses the energy to move. This harnessed energy is than transmitted to a generator that than converts it into electrical energy.

Geothermal power comes from the Greek words, "geo" meaning Earth and "thermal" meaning heat. Geothermal directly harnesses the natural flow of heat from the ground. The available energy from natural decay of radioactive elements in the Earth's crust and mantle is approximately equal to that of incoming solar energy.This hence marks as a potentially viable source that can bring forward a respectable flow of energy supplies.The first geothermal power station was built at Landrello, Italy. Other countries that have geothermal power stations are Japan, Iceland, the Philippines and the United States. In Iceland, geothermal energy is used for electricity and heat. ^[4]

Alcohol derived from corn, sugar cane, switchgrass, etc. is also a renewable source of energy. Similarly, oils from plants and seeds can be used as a substitute for non-renewable diesel. Methane is also considered as a renewable source of energy.

Renewable resources such as solar energy, wind, hydropower, and geothermal energy have many benefits. These resources can reduce carbon dioxide emission, water consumption, and waste. Clean air is vital on this planet because it can reduce human health problems such as asthma (children are at a higher risk) and lung disease. Renewable resources can also lead to environment sustainability because these resources will not be depleted and stimulate the economy by creating more job opportunities. ^[5]

Renewable materials[link]

Agricultural products[link]

Techniques in agriculture which allow for minimal or controlled environmental damage qualify as sustainable agriculture, and it is also known as sustainable farming. Products (foods, chemicals, biofuels, etc.) from this type of agriculture may be considered "sustainable" when processing, logistics, etc. also have sustainable characteristics.

Biomass[link]

Biomass comes from renewable organic materials such as residues from agriculture, like crops, animal waste and even human waste and industrial sectors of wood manufacture and food industries. Biomass is available everywhere, making its supply unlimited.It helps to sustain climate change, increase energy efficiency, and decrease greenhouse gas emission. ^[6]

Water[link]

Water can be considered a renewable material when carefully controlled usage, treatment, and release are followed. If not, it would become a non-renewable resource at that location. For example, groundwater is usually removed from an aquifer at a rate much greater than its very slow natural recharge, and so groundwater is considered non-renewable. Removal of water from the pore spaces may cause permanent compaction (subsidence) that cannot be renewed.

See also[link]

	Renewable energy portal
	Environment portal
	Ecology portal
	Earth sciences portal
	Sustainable development portal
	Energy portal

• Conservation movement
• Ecology
• Environmentalism
• Environmental protection
• Exploitation of natural resources
• Global warming
• Habitat conservation
• Natural capital
• Natural resource
• Recycling
• Resource
• Seed tree
• Stewardship
• Sustainable development
• Scarcity
• Zero carbon city

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Panwar, N. L., Kaushik, S. C., & Kothari, S. (2011, April). Role of renewable energy sources in environmental protection: A review. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 15(3), 1513-1524. Retrieved April 7, 2012, from ScienceDirect.
• Masters, G. M. (2004). Renewable and Efficient Electric Power Systems. Hoboken, NJ:John Wiley & Sons.
• Sawin, Janet. "Charting a New Energy Future." State of the World 2003. By Lester R. Brown. Boston: W. W. Norton & Company, Incorporated, 2003.
• Krzeminska, Joanna, Are Support Schemes for Renewable Energies Compatible with Competition Objectives? An Assessment of National and Community Rules, Yearbook of European Environmental Law (Oxford University Press), Volume VII, Nov. 2007, p. 125

Look up auto, auto-, or Auto in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Auto, from Greek αὐτο- auto- "self, one's own", may refer to:

• An automobile
• An auto rickshaw
• Short for automatic
• Auto (art), a form of Portuguese dramatic play
• An automatic variable (which may be defined in the C programming language using the "auto" keyword)
• Out (novel), which in Japanese is called auto
• Auto (Mega Man), a character from Mega Man series of games
• AUTO, a fictional robot in and the villain of the 2008 film WALL-E

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History is a 1978 book by Michael H. Hart, reprinted in 1992 with revisions. It is a ranking of the 100 people who, according to Hart, most influenced human history.^[1]

The first person on Hart's list is the Prophet of Islam Muhammad.^[2] Hart asserted that Muhammad was "supremely successful" in both the religious and secular realms. He also believed that Muhammad's role in the development of Islam was far more influential than Jesus' collaboration in the development of Christianity. He attributes the development of Christianity to St. Paul, who played a pivotal role in its dissemination."^[3]

The 1992 revisions included the demotion of figures associated with Communism, such as Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong, and the introduction of Mikhail Gorbachev. Hart took sides in the Shakespearean authorship issue and substituted Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford for William Shakespeare. Hart also substituted Niels Bohr and Henri Becquerel with Ernest Rutherford, thus correcting an error in the first edition. Henry Ford was also promoted from the "Honorary Mentions" list, replacing Pablo Picasso. Finally, some of the rankings were re-ordered, although no one listed in the top ten changed position.

Hart wrote another book in 1999, entitled A View from the Year 3000,^[4] voiced in the perspective of a person from that future year and ranking the most influential people in history. Roughly half of those entries are fictional people from 2000–3000, but the remainder are actual people. These were taken mostly from the 1992 edition, with some re-ranking of order.

Hart's Top 10 (from the 1992 edition)[link]

Rank	Name	Time Frame	Image	Occupation	Influence
1	Muhammad	c. 570–632		Secular and religious leader	The central human figure of Islam, regarded by Muslims as a prophet of God and the last messenger. Active as a social reformer, diplomat, merchant, philosopher, orator, legislator, military leader, humanitarian, philanthropist.
2	Isaac Newton	1643–1727		Scientist	English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian. His law of universal gravitation and three laws of motion laid the groundwork for classical mechanics.
3	Jesus Christ	7–2 BC – 26–36 AD		Spiritual leader	The central figure of Christianity, revered by Christians as the Son of God and the incarnation of God.
4	Buddha	563–483 BC		Spiritual leader	Spiritual teacher and philosopher from ancient India. Founder of Buddhism and is also considered an Gautama Buddha in Hinduism.
5	Confucius	551–479 BC		Philosopher	Chinese thinker and social philosopher, whose teachings and philosophy have deeply influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese and Indonesian thought and life. Founded Confucianism, and influenced Neo-Confucianism and New Confucianism.
6	St. Paul	5–67 AD		Christian apostle	One of the most notable of early Christian missionaries, credited with proselytizing and spreading Christianity outside of Palestine (mainly to the Romans) and author of numerous letters of the New Testament of the Bible.
7	Cài Lún	50–121 AD		Political official in imperial China	Widely regarded as the inventor of paper and the papermaking process.
8	Johannes Gutenberg	1398–1468		Inventor	German printer who invented the mechanical printing press.
9	Christopher Columbus	1451–1506	70px	Explorer	Italian navigator, colonizer and explorer whose voyages led to general European awareness of the American continents.
10	Albert Einstein	1879–1955		Scientist	German theoretical physicist, best known for his theory of relativity and specifically mass–energy equivalence, expressed by the equation E = mc2.

See also[link]

• Time 100

References[link]

1. ^ Michael H. Hart The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History. first published in 1978, reprinted with minor revisions 1992. ISBN 978-0-8065-1068-2
2. ^ The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History^{[dead link]}
3. ^ Michael H. Hart, "The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History", Citadel Publishing, 2000, ISBN 978-0-8065-1350-8
4. ^ Michael H. Hart. A view from the year 3000: a ranking of the 100 most influential persons of all time; first published in 1999

External links[link]

• Religious Affiliation of History's 100 Most Influential People