333745 Alternative Energy “If we put all our energy and resources into continued fossil fuel extraction, we will have lost an opportunity to have invested in renewable energy.” ( David Suzuki ) The past few decades, alternative energy has increasingly replaced the utilization of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are composed from decayed plants and animals that are converted to crude oil, coal, and natural gas. As a source of energy fossil fuels are finite and have many negative side-effects, some of which include: incremented levels of carbon dioxide, output of toxic substances, heat-trapping gases that cause global warming, and by-products that pollute water-supply. Controversy exists over the best alternative to fossil fuels. However, …show more content…
It produces virtually no air pollutants or by-products. According to Lisa Daniels, an American television correspondent for NBC News, “ Turbines produce no particulate emissions that contribute to mercury contamination in our lakes and streams. The sources of most of our power, coal and natural gas, produce large quantities of greenhouse gases. Wind power produces none ” (1). Some people argue that wind power engenders emissions during the construction phase. However, these emissions are so minimal that they would be offset after a short amount of time by the use of …show more content…
Contrary to this notion, however, turbines are mostly built in a large open land with little human activity. For example, the third largest wind farm in the world - Roscoe Wind Farm- is located on farmland 45 miles southwest of Abilene Texas. This means that most wind farms cause virtually no disturbances to humans from both the transportation and construction. In addition, even if the construction of the turbines causes a disturbance, the benefits of the energy source itself would outweigh this minor inconvenience. Furthermore, wind energy is cost-effective. According to Energy.gov, a website devoted to all rules, regulations, and news about energy, “ Wind energy is one of the lowest-priced renewable energy technologies available today, costing between four and five cents per kilowatt-hour, depending upon the wind resource and the particular project’s financing ” (2). Moreover, wind provides the blades with the energy to spin. There is no need for any alternative power supply to power any part of the wind turbine
With concern over global warming growing, people are starting to turn a more serious eye toward cleaner sources of energy. Instead of solar power making a comeback as the ideal form, we are seeing a growth in the use of wind power. Wind farms are beginning to crop up all around the country. This new trend has gathered significant attention. Questions are being raised concerning the effects wind farms may have, from critics and supporters alike. Michelle Nijhuis, in the article “Selling the Wind” discusses the arguments on behalf of and in opposition to the increasing use of wind power, addressing what the consequences may be on the United States.
Fossil fuels are the basis of the world economy, providing electricity and transportation for many. It is undeniable that fossil fuels have raised the standard of living and uplifted impoverished communities by providing clean water and electricity. However, it is also a known fact that burning fossil fuels endangers the health of the public, contributes to climate change, and creates unsafe habitants for marine and wildlife. Burning fossil fuels introduces more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, warming the earth, melting glaciers and the polar ice caps, acidifying the oceans, and finally raising the sea levels. This dominos affect from burning fossil fuels will create an inhabitable earth. By subsidizing fossil fuel companies it allows for
Wind works. Over the past four decades, wind has provided an increasing amount of the energy we use. Today, wind farms generate about 50,000 megawatts of clean, renewable energy -- the equivalent of the energy produced by 12 Hoover Dams.
Wind power is another form of solar power. Wind isn’t only a clean fuel source, but it is one of the most inexpensive e alternative sources of energy. Just as long wind continues to blow and the sun shines then wind power can produce energy to send to many different areas. There aren’t many locations that have continuous wind. And because of that the widespread development of wind power isn’t as great as it could be. Although there are more advantages than disadvantages when it comes to this energy source, the disadvantages should be taken just as seriously. Wind power can harm animals, there was a study that stated birds were coming in contact with turbines and dying. For many people the noise from the turbines is unbearable, and that’s something else that should be taken into
“Last year, China became the largest provider of wind energy in the world, with 41,800 megawatts of electricity capacity. The United States, with about 40,000 megawatts, fell to second.” China has been known for trying to use all renewable energies instead of non-renewable energies. United states being second is great but 40,000 megawatts aren’t very much considering how many people there is in the United States. “Local officials in Wisconsin, as in many other states, have the authority to determine how close a wind turbine may be built to a house or property line. This has led to a conflicting set of rules, with residents worried that wind farms are encroaching on farms and subdivisions.” If you think about it, waking up every day and seeing big turbines in your backyard and may be blocking your view, that would suck and you would probably be upset. They made regulations for how far away turbines should be from people’s
From the home to factories, families and industries are reliant on the use of nonrenewable fossil fuels to feed the needs of the everyday human. Fossil fuels are the main source of energy over clean, renewable sources such as the use of wind, solar energy, and water to power our homes, schools, and industries. In fact, about 85% of energy use comes from fossils fuels. The main reason being that using fossil fuels is cheaper than wind and solar energy. “For nearly two centuries, fossil fuels have been the cheapest source of energy” and widely abundant (Marburger, A global framework: international aspects of climate change). However, overtime fossil fuels will disappear due to the lack of time to replenish itself with the human races rapid use of it. Despite its current status of availability, there are many controversial issue in using fossil fuels; the most prominent issue being that it is the cause of rapid climate
Overall wind energy is a renewable energy resource that is natural occurring with unlimited supply. Wind energy has very little adverse effects on the environment. As technologies increase, the cost of wind energy will continue to decrease. There are many advantages and disadvantages to wind power. In the near future, hopefully the many disadvantages will become obsolete and wind energy will become more popular.
Wind energy is a current source for alternative energy. Current applications of wind energy are giant wind turbines that are placed in the country on wide open farm lands. Also Great Britain and Denmark have had off shore wind turbines since the nineteen nineties (Galbrith), this shows that wind energy not only has potential but is already proving successful. However wind energy has a long way to go before we can expect to power our world off of it. Research is being conducted to trim the costs of wind power and quadruple the amount of energy output. According to Mr. Fredette of American Superconductor, turbines are going to double in size to six megawatts (Galbrith). Which means that one turbine will soon be able to do as much work as two accomplish today. A company in Virginia conducted a study on wind power and found that if they got started on a project to make two hundred tall wind turbines that in two years they could be making twenty percent of the state’s electricity (Walker). This study shows that a significant amount of electricity could be produced from wind turbines, which in turn could go along way towards saving our planet and lowering green house gas emissions. Another positive point about wind energy is the abundance of jobs that are brought up with it. Research in Kan...
Wind energy has been utilized for hundreds of years. Such a simple technology and source of energy has always been around, and has been used slightly, but never to its full potential. Only recently have people been discovering and engineering ways to utilize the great, natural, free source of energy that the universe gives us. Renewable, safer, more efficient, and environmentally friendly sources of energy are becoming more and more important in such an, already, physically damaged world that we live in. It is becoming a household debate, and a debate in which many world leaders are taking notice and action towards. There is plenty of upside in investing in renewable energy, but people and countries are so reluctant because of how cheap non-renewable
During the last century, due to the rapid development of the power system, the use of wind energy experienced several stages. Firstly, the period of infancy, in the 1930s and 1940s, hundreds of thousands of electricity producing wind turbines were built in the U.S. These wind turbines provided electricity to farms beyond the reach of power lines and were typically used to charge storage batteries, operate radio receivers and power a light bulb or two [1].
Wind energy is one of the oldest forms of obtained energy on the planet. Wind energy is used for many things, but more recently has been used for wind power, and has become one of the most cost effective sources of electricity in the new electric generation. Wind power takes wind energy and transforms it into mechanical energy, and then to electricity. People started using wind power centuries ago with the invention of the windmill in about 500- 900 A.D by the Persians. The manufacturing of windmills however is a more recent idea which started in 1854 by Daniel Halladay. Wind being a renewable element of the earth, means that if it is harnessed as energy it could help sustain the people of the planet, and with a resource that is readily available at anytime, it could help advance the human race, as it is doing on a daily basis.
Each one of us has their own opinion about what wind turbines do and not what they are actually meant for. Wind turbines are meant to be an energy saving method that can be used ...
Wind energy is a spotless, sustainable power source and offers many points of interest, which clarifies why it's one of the quickest developing energy sources on the planet. Research is gone for enhancing innovation, bringing down expenses, and tending to the difficulties to more noteworthy utilization of wind vitality. Read on to take in more about the advantages of wind power and a portion of the difficulties the business is attempting to overcome.
First and foremost, unlike power plants that rely on combustion of fossil fuels, wind turbines do not produce atmospheric emissions. Strangely enough, wind is a form of solar energy. Winds are caused by the irregular heating of the atmosphere by the sun, the variations of the earth 's surface, and rotation of the earth. This wind flow, or kinetic energy, when "harvested" by modern wind turbines, can be used to generate electricity. There is an abundance of wind to meet our needs, “the potential of [the total] wind power [in the world] is… 20 times more than what the entire human population needs” (Maehlum). Currently, wind power is one of the lowest-priced renewable energy technologies available, costing between four and six cents per kilowatt-hour, depending upon the wind
Wind is a form of solar energy. The term wind energy describes the process by which the wind is used to generate electricity or mechanical power. Wind turbines convert mechanical energy from the wind into electrical power. Wind turbines usually have three main parts. There are blades that connect to a central hub, a box behind the blades that contains the generator, and a long stem that connects to the ground. The way how it works is that the wind turns the blades, which spins a shaft that connects to a generator making electricity. After the electricity is produced it is sent through transmission lines to a substation that is sent to business and homes. For the sake of our planet, we must promote a renewable energy economy. Wind power can be a foundation of that sustainable energy future because it provides jobs in states that are building wind turbines, is a renewable energy source, and does not damage our environment. The environment will not be damaged by the pollution, the natural resources will not be used up, and there won’t be generating of hazardous wastes. Welcoming wind energy today will lay the foundation for a healthy tomorrow that will affect everyone in the United States. There are obstacles and challenges that will make it more difficult, but the environmental impact is well worth it to invest more money into wind energy.