Alternate Energy Sources

Alternate Energy Sources

Over the past two decades the United States has been searching for an alternate energy source. We need a new safer form renewable energy, but why do we need a new form of energy? Simply because the fossil fuels we use every day (e.g. Petroleum/crude oil, gas, coal, and even nuclear fuels). Another reason we need to find a new source of energy is because the use of fossil fuels has been proven to cause harm to the earth and its environment. At the moment ninety-eight percent of the U.S.’s energy consumption is fueled by fossil fuels. In addition, with safer and cleaner energy sources we will be able to ensure a cleaner planet for future generations to come.

What exactly are non-renewable resources? Non-renewable resources are something that can be used up over a period of time. They took millions of years to be formed once they have been used up they are gone for good. In 2009 scientist did a study showing how long we have until we run out of fossil fuels. They estimated we have forty-six years of oil, sixty-three years of natural gas, and one-hundred-nineteen years of coal left. In addition NEA (Nuclear Energy Agency) has estimated with the world’s current uranium consumption that nuclear power plants could run for around the next two-hundred years.

How does burning fossil fuels harm the earth and its environment? Over the past couple of years we have heard scientist talking about how global warming, climate change, pollution, and ozone depletion have caused major problems with the earth’s environment. The common root problem between these and other problems we have is fossil fuels. We are all guilty of these problems. At the moment approximately ninety-eight percent of the power we use today is com...

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... burning wood for warmth and power, while wood is not the cleanest source of energy it is still not as harmful as coal, gas, and nuclear power. Another form of biomass we see occasionally are Flex Fuel. Flex Fuel is basically Ethanol, ethanol is made from sugar cane and corn. The fact that ethanol does not contribute to greenhouse gases makes it a popular alternative to gasoline. On a side note people who own vehicles that run on flex fuel get a tax credit similar to the one someone with solar panels on their house gets.

In conclusion we still have plenty of fossil fuels to last us for a while, but are the costs of them worth their continuous use? Simply, no they are not, we have to make a change to ensure that this planet is safe and clean for future generations to come. As Arnold Schwarzenegger said “The future is green energy, sustainability, renewable energy.”