Post #1: The Problem We're Looking to Tackle.

The effects of fossil fuels and some other sources of energy have been controversial for a long time, because of effects on the environment such as pollution or the hotly debated topic of global warming. As a result, there have been many efforts to research renewable energy sources or at least cleaner sources. Figure 1 below shows how much the world relies on finite and combustible resources, and Figure 2 shows the sharp increase in carbon dioxide levels that contribute towards global warming. The accumulation of too many greenhouse gases at once, such as carbon dioxide, leads to a possible increase in global temperature and difficulties such as rising sea levels.

Figure 1: Energy consumption types comparison in 2019.

Source: Energy. (n.d.). Retrieved September 10, 2020, from https://ihsmarkit.com/products

/energy-chemical-economics-handbook.html

Figure 2: Estimated atmospheric carbon dioxide levels over time.

Source: Climate Change Evidence: How Do We Know? (2020, May 27). Retrieved September

10, 2020, from https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/

Our team is hoping to create something that re-purposes the mechanical energy expended through the use of a common daily object, in order to encourage less reliance on sources such as fossil fuels in our activities, and possibly slow down the negative effects on the environment.

The major challenges we have are making sure whatever project we select will generate enough energy through its common use to justify our design choice, making sure the object's intended use isn't invalidated by our need to generate energy from it, and the financials. So far, we are considering harnessing the energy from children based on their interactions with play structures, such as the energy used when sliding down slides, but a major concern when working with play structures would be safety for children.