Energy Flow Systems :: essays research papers

Energy Flow SystemsRichard Whites Organic Machine, and William Cronons Changes in theLand, both(prenominal) examine environments as postcode flow systems. The slide fastener flow exemplarwas utilized by the authors to explain relationships within ecosystems.Richard Whites thesis is to examine the river as an organic machine, asan energy system that, although modified by tender intervention, maintains itsnatural, its unmade qualities. White emphasizes on energy because it is auseful conception that can be easily understood. He says, the flow of the riveris energy, so is the electrical energy that comes from the dams that block that flow.Human labor is energy so ar the calories that are stored as fat by salmon fortheir journey upstream. White notes that energy is as concrete as salmon,human bodies, and the Grand Coulee Dam. White wants his readers to recall aboutnature and its relationship with humanity.White explains how the river is energy. The capital of South Carolina Rive r works asgravity pulls it to the Pacific Ocean. The capital of South Carolina is continuously cuttinginto the terrain that it flows through. Over millions of historic period pee rushedthrough the Columbia Basin to form the Columbia River. Water carries soil, silt,and debris downstream. The constant movement of material in the river cuts andshapes the river lavatory into the land. This movement is a slow and inefficientuse of energy. According to White, scarce two percent of waters potential energyresults in the work of erosion. The another(prenominal) ninety-eight percent of waters energywas lost as water molecules gravel against themselves, the river bed, and the riverbanks. This energy was released as heat into the river.Often the energy of flowing water was not recognized. There areoccasions when rivers do show their magnate is destructive ways. Power wasusually demonstrated through floods, and more so in flash floods. Thousands of years ago, an ice dam in the Columbia Ri ver, holding the glacial lake Missoula,broke and created the largest known freshwater flood in earths history. Theflood rushed into the Columbia Channel and created the Grand Coulee and other vibrate channels that would have taken the Mississippi River three hundred years atfull flood to create.Salmon are also a part of the Colombian energy model. As the riverworks its way downward to the Pacific Ocean, the salmon work their way up theColumbia to spawn. The energy in salmon can be measured by their tree trunk fat andcaloric value. Salmon start their run upstream brisk for the long hard run.Their bodies have stored fat and oil after a year worth of feeding at sea.