Hydroelectricity provides a vital percentage of electrical generating
capacity in the United States. To date, almost all good opportunities for
large-scale hydroelectric production have been developed, although
Canada still has some excellent potential sites for future development.
There is also considerable potential for the development of small-scale
hydroelectric development in the United States. The generating capacity
of most sites would, however, be quite limited.
The fact that hydroelectric plants can be taken off-line and brought
on-line quickly is a great advantage. If the flow of the river is not strong,
utilities will often let the water build up behind their hydroelectric dams
all night long, to run generators only during the working day, when they
are needed to meet maximum load capacity. This technique has proven so
effective at meeting the peak load demand of some utilities that they have
invested in hydroelectric power plants designed only to meet the peak
demand. These peaking plants can actually consume more electricity than
they generate, but they are still economical. Peaking plants pump water
Chapter 5
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Language Arts: Hybrid Etymology
Language is always changing and evolving. In order to better understand where our
words come from, it is useful to examine the word’s etymology. Etymology is the study of a
word’s history by tracing its origin, the earliest known use, and analyzing the meaning of its
components to create a definition. Often, the historic definitions of a word can be combined
to form and explain its modern definition.
As we become increasingly aware of the for fuel-efficient vehicles, the word hybrid has
entered into our everyday vocabulary. The engine on a hybrid vehicle is unique in that it
pairs an internal combustion engine with one or more electric motors—it runs on both gas
and electricity. This makes the vehicle more fuel efficient, making it better for the environ-
ment and your wallet. But where did the term “hybrid” come from? By examining its
etymology, it becomes clear that the term was not chosen randomly to express this new
technology.
The term hybrid is first thought to have been used around 1600. Sprung from the Latin
word hybridia, it was used to describe the offspring of two genetically dissimilar parents. In
this case, it specifically describes the baby of a female domestic pig and a male wild boar—
much like a mule is the offspring of a female horse and a male donkey. Often, a hybrid is
created through human intervention in breeding in an attempt to produce the best attributes
of either parent in their young.
In that sense, hybrid vehicles have been created to capitalize on the best qualities of
internal combustion engines and electrically powered vehicles. Running on gasoline, the
hybrid vehicles can travel greater distances than a vehicle that is purely electric.
Comparatively, the electric motor helps to reduce the amount of emissions created while
also providing extra power. While an internal combustion engine and electric motor are two
different technologies, they combine to create a hybrid that meshes their respective qualities
into something new and different.