This report studies the emergent need for renewable resources for future sustainability of life. It is estimated that the natural gas supply will run out within the next 35 years and within 70 years the world's current oil reserves will be gone(Mackay, 2008). Whereas renewable energy sources can be continually replenished; renewable energy are sources such as solar and solar thermal, wind, hydro and biofuel. Currently only less than 25% of the energy consumption is met by renewable resources; in theory this rate can be increased, and the total consumption of energy (100%), be solely delivered by renewable resources (UN Documents: Gathering a Body of Global Agreements, n.d). This report examines the key areas improvement in the utilization of renewable energy, specifying feasible solutions to counter-actions to the increasing crisis of the extinction of non-renewable resources.
As demands for resources of renewable nature are rising, alternate energy sources are being explored a further examination of this area helps in identifying a more cost effective and functional alternative source as an energy resource to provide for future energy needs. Due to the emerging emergency that is looming regarding the sustainability of fossil fuels, many researchers around the globe are working together in analysing the dilemma and are working to overcome it.
The main area of concern with renewable resources is the necessity and urgency it is needed in. A key area in which renewable energy is required in is, as a replacement of fossil fuels, While there are numerous negative influences of using fossil fuel based non-renewable energy sources two of the detrimental consequences of these are the impact it has on the biosphere and the its effe...
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...2084 and Vin13', ISRN Renewable Energy, 1-11. Retrieved from: http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn.renewable.energy/2013/107851/
Epa.gov 2014. Basic-Climate Change.US. Retrieved from: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/basics/ GreenEnergyChoice, 2014. ‘The effect of fossil fuels on the environment’ Green Guide. Retrieved from: http://www.greenenergychoice.com/green-guide/fossil-fuels.html Mackay,D 2008. Sustainable energy: without hot air. Retrieved from: http://www.withouthotair.com/c18/page_103.shtml
UN Documents: Gathering a Body of Global Agreements (n.d.) Our common future, chapter 7: Energy: Choices for environment and development, (V,) (73-79, 88). NGO Committee on Education. Retrieved from: http://www.un-documents.net/ocf-07.htm
U.S. Department of Transportation, 1994. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Transportation Statistics: Annual Report, p. 61.
...Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics. (2013). Table 1-11: Number of u.s. aircraft, vehicles, vessels, and other conveyances. Washington DC: Research and Innovative Technology Administration.
Our country is currently suffering energy-wise, we have been powering with inefficient sources for years now and the harm that it is doing to the country has started to become apparent. Renewable energy is the only way to stop, or at the very least set back the inevitable downfall of our ecosystem. I think that the next big breakthrough for renewable energy is implementing off-grid communities that use renewable sources as their main sources of power, so that we can potentially escape the energy rut that we got ourselves stuck in.
...lobal warming and innumerable animal fatalities worldwide. Workers in the fossil fuel industries undergo irrational risks of an inevitable explosion every day. Thousands of human lives have been taken in offshore oil rig explosions, coal mines and natural gas pipelines. In addition, fossil fuels are directly linked to rising global warming temperatures and drast changes in the environment. Likewise millions of avian fatalities were linked to fossil fuels plants, emitting greenhouse gases are responsible for acidic oceans that harm marine species, and thousands of animals are harmed by oil spills in the sea. Based on this research, fossil fuels are harming the Earth excessively. Renewable energy sources offer efficient and cleaner energy that will benefit the globe. Renewable energy is the definite solution to end human’s heavy dependence upon ancient fossil fuels.
No longer can the people of this world take a reliable source of energy for granted. The world community must plan ahead to ensure a smooth transition from oil power to some other source or face a total chaos and a drastic change of any world order that might exist. These changes must also have the support of a large number of the population for them to work. This energy crisis must be solved by all of us, not some of us…..for reasons stated earlier.
The search for a viable source of renewable energy is a centuries old affair. For the entirety of that time, the research has been met with opposition from both a political and economic standpoint. To present renowned scientific evidence of its existence and impact was to invite accusations of fabrication. To simply state, as former United States Vice President Al Gore famously put it, “[the] inconvenient truth” that a culture of consumption will have dire consequences for humanity’s future was heresy. For years, those in industry lobbies, and politicians in corporate pockets, have shot down legislative attempts at utilizing more conservative energy options. However, the urgent warnings
The year is 2200. The world is going through a fossil fuel shortage. Oil reserves are almost completely consumed and it is becoming impossible to find new fossil fuel sources. Not prepared for this event to occur, The United States, has no alternative options. As a result of the oil shortage, the standard of living deteriorates. Heat in homes, supermarkets full of food, and transportation, all basic necessities taken for granted, will be depleted because fossil fuels are used to power almost everything. The key to the prevention of this future is renewable energy. Unfortunately the support for the use of renewable energy is weak and ineffective. Unless the US puts forth effort to research and promote the use of renewable energy to consumers, conversion from fossil fuels to renewable energy will no longer be an option.
Energy is the basic necessity of daily life. Nowadays, dependence on fossil fuels for energy needs becoming lower in numerous countries due to the potential of renewable energy to supply sustainable energy to the huge populations in many developing countries who are short of clean and continues energy. Generally, renewable energy can be defined as energy that is derived from natural resources which are constantly replenished and theoretically inexhaustible. Fossil fuels on the other hand can be described as energy that cannot be renewed and will eventually diminish. Thus, in many developing countries renewable energy is the alternative energy to replace non-renewable energy or commonly known as fossil fuels. In addition, according to Sorensen (2004), there is a greater demand for renewable energy sources nowadays due to the uncertainty of fuel price rise in living expenses. Commonly, there are many types of renewable energy available in our world such as wind power, biomass energy, solar energy, hydroelectric power and geothermal energy. However, the main three example of renewable energy are hydroelectric power, solar and biomass energy (Refer to Figure 1 in Appendix 1).
The Earth captures around 342 W/m2 of energy from the sun. This energy is in the form of solar radiation, which the atmosphere reflects about 77 W/m2 and will absorb around 68 W/m2 of solar radiation annually. Therefore, the Earth’s surface is receiving, on average, about 197 W/m2 of solar radiation annually. This amount of energy received is roughly more than 10,000 times the amount of all energy humans consume per year. This energy can be used to produce electricity or heat. This energy source is not being used to it’s potential considering how much effort would come into effect to store and transport this energy.
Energy can be put into two broad categories Renewable energy and none renewable energy. Renewable energy sources can be reused continually as they are abundantly found in nature. All of them are non-polluting but devices used to collect the energy may impact the environment adversely. They are free but producing storage equipment or converting them into another form of energy may be costly.
The wind is an incredibly valuable renewable energy source and is in the forefront of renewable energy developments. It is used to convert wind energy into energy that can be harnessed and used via a variety of methods, including; wind turbines, windmills, sails and windpumps. For a renewable energy source, however, it is wind turbines that are used to generate electricity (see figure 1). Wind power has been used for this since the end of the nineteenth century, after Professor James Blyth of the Royal College of Science and Technology first attempted it (Boyle, 2012). However, It wasn’t until the 1980s that using wind power technology was sufficient enough to experience a rapid growth of the technology.
In the search for alternatives to fossil fuels, scientists and policy makers have focused on three options: nuclear power, energy from biomass; and a combination of wind, water, and solar power. Nuclear power, however, is much more costly and runs the risk of having it fall into the wrong hands where it could be turned into a weapon of mass destruction. The third option entails wind turbines, photovoltaic power plants and rooftop systems, concentrated solar thermal power plants,...
Global warming is an extremely important and troubling aspect of the world’s current situation. This is due to the fact that the majority of the world’s energy production is from non-renewable energy sources, which are energy sources that either can not be naturally replenished or require thousands of years to be restored. Based on our current energy usage growth rates, there are an estimated 100 years left before our natural resource reserves are exhausted. (Non Renewable Natural Resources: How Much Is Left, Environmental Thinker) China alone consumes nearly as much coal as the combined usage of coal from the rest of the world. (US Energy Information Administration, China Consumes Nearly as Much Coal as the Rest of the World Combined) There is visible evidence of this happening with the increasing pollution levels. Carbon Dioxide and Methane pollution levels in the world reached a record high in 2012 and are 260% higher than the pre-industrial levels. (UN: CO2 Pollution Levels at a Record High, John Heilprin) Converting our world into a more renewable energy dependent society is the most advantageous and likely method for preserving our dwindling fossil fuel supply while also protecting the world that we call home.
Using fossil fuels such as coal and oil is inefficient, dangerous, and otherwise a process that is known to eventually fail as a long lasting energy source. Yet, there is hope for the future of energy, this new hope has many shapes and forms, but requires a chance to be fully implemented in our everyday life. Such energy sources like solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, and hydro power are the key to our future. These energy sources are proven to be long lasting, safe, more reliable, and the next innovation. In short, all Americans should switch to renewable energy, resulting in a safer and more efficient world.
Harrison R. M. And Hester R. E., (2003), Issues in Rnvironment Science and Technology, No 19, Sustainability and Environment Impact of Renewable Energy Sources, (by) The Royal of Chemistry.
Environmental science refers to the study of the effects that occur through natural and unnatural processes. The study involves the interactions of the Earth’s physical components that take place on the environment. Notably, the natural environment consists of all existing and non-existing things that exist on the planet. Full ecological systems that operate as natural practices without requiring the intervention of human beings are also included in the environment. Furthermore, physical units such as animals, vegetation, rocks, microorganisms, natural phenomena, and atmosphere usually occur within the boundaries of the environment (Altman and Wohlwill 113). Although the environment embraces natural resources and physical phenomena that need clear limits, it is worth noting that renewable and non-renewable energy resource is an environmental science topic that should receive top priority next year due to various reasons.