Recommedations+for+Energy,+Communication+and+Transport

**RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ENERGY:**
1. **__HYDRO POWER__** - Hydro power is a form of power that utilizes water flow and converts it into energy. We have investigated the various types of hydropower, and have come up with a couple of recommendations of ones we believe would be appropriate for helping to supply the Island with energy.


 * __TIDAL ENERGY__ - Tidal energy uses Earth's oceanic tides and converts them into energy. There are a number of reasons why we believe this would be an appropriate form of energy for the Island. Firstly, the Island has a vast amount of ocean around it, which suggests this is a very viable form of energy for this location. Tidal energy is a form of renewable energy, and due to the nature of the tides, it is basically inexhaustible, something we feel would be very beneficial when setting up an energy source for a community. Also, tidal energy is far more predictable than other types of renewable energy, such as solar or wind energy. This is because you can predict what the tides are doing in advance. Although not yet widely used, there have been cases where tidal energy is used. And as technology and understanding of this type of renewable energy increases, the costs are decreasing.
 * __RUN OF THE RIVER__ - Run of the River energy is a type of hydro energy that requires only a small dam and is dependent on the flow of the river. Because it is mainly dependent on the naturally occurring rivers, impact on the environment and surrounding communities is minimized. This is something that we want to try and achieve when developing this new community and is one of the main reasons we have included run of the river energy in our recommendations. However, because this type of energy does not use large impoundments of water, there is practically no capacity for storing energy. Resulting in the making of energy being completely dependent on rain fall. But we feel that if this type of energy system was implemented in the areas of the Island where the rainfall is high, it could be a very feasible energy source.

2. **__SOLAR ENERGY__** - Solar energy is a type of renewable energy that is harnessed from the light and heat produced from the sun. We feel this type of energy would be perfect for the Island, as the weather conditions there are generally sunny. Solar energy is loosely divided into two groups, active solar or passive solar, depending on the way they capture, convert and distribute energy. One disadvantage of solar energy that we have noted is that it is not available at night time, and the Island therefore would need a way of storing it.

3. **__WIND ENERGY__** - This type of renewable energy converts wind energy into mechanical (useable) energy. Wind Turbines are used to convert wind into electricity and wind pumps are used for pumping water and drainage (which would be very beneficial to the Island for purposes such as drinking water and flushing toilets). The reports of the Island indicate that the East side is very windy, and would therefore make this area perfect for the set up of a wind farm (lots of wind turbines). While the wind turbines can have a negative visual impact, the land between them can still be used (e.g. for farming) so they don't actually take up too much useable space.

**RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TRANSPORT:**
1. **__ROAD AROUND THE ISLAND WITH ROADS LEADING UP TO INDIVIDUAL SETTLEMENTS__** - This type of transport is probably the most conventional, and could be used with a number of different transportation devices (e.g. cars, scooters, bicycles and horses). We have looked into and considered this type of transportation, as it is a type of transportation currently used in many other places around the world, including other Islands of similar size and shape. We believe this to be a very feasible idea as around the entire island there is a reasonably flat, clear area of at least 3km, which is a big enough space to build a small road. As well as a road that circled the entire island, we propose that there would be a number of other roads that would lead up to the individual settlements (coming of the main, circular road). This would allow movement between the four settlements, as people could drive down their road, around the island, and up the road of the settlement they wanted to visit/enter.

The benefits of this type of transport are that a number of different transportation vehicles could be used. It could be used with cars, scooters, bicycles and horses. Another way this could be used would be to build a small railway type contraption along the road, and have small carriages that transport people and goods within them.

As well as having benefits, there are also some negatives associated with this type of transport. Because the Island has quite a wide circumference (over 300km), traveling around it would take quite a long time, depending on the type of transport used. To overcome this problem, we have considered using a bullet type train, which travels at high speeds between the paths that lead up to the settlements, this would help to reduce the time it takes to travel around the island.

This type of infrastructure allows for the transportation of not only people, but also goods (e.g. food, timber, minerals). Tis would be very beneficial to the island as it would allow trading between the various settlements.

2. **__UNDERGROUND TUNNEL__** - An underground tunnel system is similar to the road around island in that a number of different transportation modes could utilize it (e.g. trains, carriages, cars). However, we believe it could be more effective than the road around the island as it would take less time to travel between destinations. This is because instead of having to be built around the island, avoiding the various obstacles (e.g. mountains and harsh terrain), an underground tunnel could go directly to and from the desired destinations.

This type of transportation has been used in various places across the world, and there are many benefits associated with it. These include isolation from the outside weather (would be useful for travel particularly in the west), stability and it is not affected by other, above ground structures and land conditions. However, the costs of this type of infrastructure can be large and if the rock is hard and strong, slow, expensive drill and blast techniques are required to build the tunnels.

There are a number of different tunneling techniques available, such as soft ground tunnels, rock tunnels, cut and cover tunnels, jacked tunnels, etc. And before we are able to determine what type of tunneling would be appropriate and if it is even feasible for this island, we need to find out what type of conditions the islands deep soil are (a questions of Task Force!).

3. __**TREE TOP FLYING FOX**__ - This is an idea our team has briefly looked into/considered, but it is one we believe to be both original and sustainable. This type of transport would consist of some form of wire running between trees and acting as a travel mode between destinations. Obviously there would need to be strong/tall trees to attach the flying fox too, otherwise some solid structure would need to be built (a relatively easy task). The mechanics of this system would be simple when running from a high elevation to a lower elevation. In this situation a person or thing would be attached to the wire, via some type of harness, and then the downward force would take them to the bottom destination. However, for travel from a low elevation to higher elevation, some type of pulley system would need to be put in place. One which possibly requires the use of energy.

With a little more investigation, we believe this could be a very effective and sustainable way to transport small loads from one side of the island to the other.

**RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COMMUNICATION:**
1. **__PHONE (AND INTERNET)__** - This is one of the most common appliances in the developed world today, and allows point-to-point communication between people separated by distance. Although we do not want this to be our main or only form of communication, we believe it will be necessary for the Island, particularly for communication with the outside world (other countries). Obviously the Island would need to have satellite access and energy would be required to run this type of communication tool.

2. **__BIRD POST__** - There are a number of different species on the Island such as Boobies, Gulls, Fruit Doves and Lorikeets. These birds are reported to be in abundance around many areas of the Island. Our idea is to train one of these species (we would need to research into which would be the most appropriate/easily trainable) to be able to carry messages between the various settlements. Due to it being reliant on birds, there is no energy or excess waste produced so we feel it would be a sustainable option for communication. A few of the considerations for this type of communication would be that the messages would need to be rather small (given the size of birds) and the fact that we can't guarantee the birds/message would always make it.

3. **__DRUMS__** - This would be a type of communication that sends echoes across the Island to alert people of big events and important messages. The messages that are sent would need to be prearranged, so that everyone knew what the beats meant. This means that not anything can be relayed, only those messages that had been pre-determined. However, we still fell this could be a very feasible type of communication as it requires no power/energy and is therefore much more sustainable then other communication options.

4. **__FLYING FOX__** - This way of communication would run on the same system as the transport flying fox. And because messages are relatively light weight (generally on a piece of paper) the movement of them up hill (an issue for transporting people and larger items) would be much more easier to manage. This could be done either through a manual pulley system or a small amount of electricity. In areas where there are no tall trees to set up flying fox, structures could be built.

Bellis, M. (2011). //How tidal power plants work.// Retrieved 29th July 2011 at 1.12pm from http://inventors.about.com/od/tstartinventions/a/tidal_power.htm
 * __REFERENCES:__**

McGarry, F. (1968). Underground Tunnels for Transport Systems. Proceedings of the IEEE Journal. 56(4), pp. 535 - 544

U.S Department of Energy. (2011). Wind and Water Power Program: //How wind turbines work.// Retrieved July 31st 2011 at 12.34pm from []