The world needs to start making alternative energy sources more of a priority for a number of reasons. “Alternative energy refers to energy sources that have no undesired consequences such for example fossil fuels or nuclear energy” (“Alternative Energy”). Alternative energy sources collectively only provide about seven percent of the total world energy supply (McLamb). Even though fossil fuels are cheap and plentiful, can help a country’s economy, and can be extracted relatively easily, they have many disastrous effects (“Activity 3 – Fossil Fuels – The pros and cons”).
Burning fossil fuels emits dangerous substances that harm our ecosystem. Carbon dioxide is emitted which is a major greenhouse gas (McLamb). Greenhouse gasses cause Global Warming to progress (McLamb). Effects of global warming include the melting of ice caps which causes sea levels to rise. This causes change to the surrounding water’s composition (McLamb). Also pollution from the burning of fossil fuels harms living plants and animals (McLamb). Fossil fuels will become more difficult to extract as time goes on (“Activity 3 – Fossil Fuels – The pros and cons”). Even though scientists have found a way to control pollution, it is very expensive (“Activity 3 – Fossil Fuels – The pros and cons”). It will also become harder and more dangerous to extract fossil fuels as companies like Exxon and Marathon are required to drill deeper for more oil (“Activity 3 – Fossil Fuels – The pros and cons”). This will cause fuel costs to rise (“Activity 3 – Fossil Fuels – The pros and cons”).
There are many alternatives to fossil fuels that can provide sustainable energy. Nuclear energy supplies six percent of the world’s energy (McLamb). Nuclear energy is gathered through a pr...
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...ting precious resources on cars and electricity when they are needed to make new materials, and to power equipment for medical research (“Activity 3 – Fossil Fuels – The pros and cons”). Humans need to start caring about Earth’s future and begin using renewable energy sources regularly.
Works Cited
“Activity 3 – Fossil Fuels – The pros and cons.” SEAI. The Sustainabel Energy Authority of Ireland, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
“Alternative Energy.” – Wind, Solar, Hydro, and other alt energy sources for home power. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
“Alternative Forms of Energy.” Benefits of Recycling. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
Karthik, Natayani. “Alternative Forms of Energy.” iBuzzle. N.p., 04 Oct. 2011. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
McLamb, Eric. “Fossil Fuels vs. Renewable Energy Resources.” Ecology Global Network. Ecology Communications Group, 06 Sep. 2011. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
Nuclear power has grown to be a big percentage of the world’s energy. As of January 18, 2013 in 31 countries 437 nuclear power plant units with an installed electric net capacity of about 372 GW are in operation and 68 plants with an installed capacity of 65 GW are in 15 countries under construction. As of end 2011 the total electricity production since 1951 amounts to 69,760 billion kWh. The cumulative operating experience amounted to 15, 15,080 years by end of 2012. (European Nuclear Society) The change that nuclear power has brought to the world has led to benefits in today’s energy’s usage.
Central Idea: Nuclear energy only contributes a small amount to the world’s electricity yet it has hazards and dangers that far out-way its benefits. There are many other alternative power producing sources that can produce energy more efficiently and more safely than nuclear power plants can.
Not only is nuclear power friendly to the environment, but it is almost always available, and many countries are starting to use it more. Renewable energy sources like solar and wind en...
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
Rotman, David. "Finding a Solar Solution." Technology Review 2 (2012): 48-51. Print. 22 November 2014.
The effects of using fossil fuels are starker than their timelines. Humans release approximately two billion metric tons of pollution annually, mostly from the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas; this pollution is destroying our environment and the ozone layer. Ozone and smog damage forests, crops, and other plant life, and reduces visibility. Other pollutants have the same
Burning and mining coal for fuel is harmful to the environment, but because of how cheap and easy it is to find, many people are unwilling to give it up as a fuel source. One of the problems with coal is that they are limited and are non-renewable, so once it has been used we won’t be able to use it again. When coal gets burned, they start to release harmful, dangerous toxins such as mercury, lead and arsenic that will then escape into the air. It also releases large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. These emissions increase the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere and lead to global warming.
These fuels include coal, oil products such as gasoline, and natural gas. Use of these fuels has a number of harmful health and environmental effects. According to the World Health Organization, outdoor air pollution, most of it from burning fossil fuels, especially coal kills at least 800,000 people each year and causes health problems for tens of millions of others. Technology is available to reduce such air pollution, but using it is costly and results in higher fuel
The three fossil fuels- coal, crude oil, and gas slowly formed over millions of years. These days, we use fossil fuels to power everything- homes, buildings, cars, computers, lights, etc. However, fossil fuels deposits will run out soon, which is a huge problem. Extracting, transporting, and burning fossil fuels are dangerous. There are also many negative biological and environmental impacts that result from the use of fossil fuels, such as ocean acidification, groundwater contamination, land subsidence, oil spills, and global warming. Therefore, we should be trying to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and explore alternative energy sources such as wind energy, hydroelectricity, and solar energy instead. Our world depends on fossil fuels, but they can also hurt us. Fossil fuels are both a blessing and a curse.
Delucchi, Mark A., and Mark Z. Jacobson. "Meeting the World's Energy Needs with Wind, Water, and Solar Power." Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (2013): 31-40. Web.
In chapter thirteen of our book, Environment by Raven and Berg, it shows us just how important renewable energy sources are. Currently the United States of America thrives on the use of fossil fuels and nuclear power. The main problems with these types of fuel are that they are both limited and can be extremely harmful to our environment. They cause global warming, air pollution, acid rain, and oil spills (Environment), and not only that, but in the grand scheme of things, these sources really aren’t even that cheap of a fuel source. There are many alternatives to these all but outdated fuel sources.
The greatest disadvantages of nuclear energy are the risks posed to mankind and the environment by radioactive materials. ‘On average a nuclear plant annually generates 20 metric tons of used nuclear fuel cla...
For years man has relied on energy in order to be successful in life. The industrial revolution relied on coal for the new inventions brought into the world. Life as has never been the same since then. However since that time, there has been little done to improve on energy efficiency and humans still primarily rely on fossil fuels for energy. For over a hundred years the Earth has become more polluted and dirtier than ever before. Now, with new, innovative technology there is an opportunity to change that and to rely on renewable, cleaner sources of energy. The main source of energy for the world should be alternative energy instead of energy from fossil fuels.
Fuels like coal, and oil that once were a fine innovation in creating energy are now rapidly deleting and one day will be gone forever; energy that won’t last is often referred to as non-renewable energy. Besides being set up to fail and become inefficient in the future, fossil fuel energy is not clean to use and poses several environmental complications. Coal, for instance is “the dirtiest of all fossil fuels. Coal combustion not only produces sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides that contribute to acid rain and snow, it generates millions of tons of particulates that cause asthma and other respiratory diseases.” As with all usage of fossil fuels, it creates enormous amounts of carbon dioxide, which contributes to greenhouse gas. Not only are fossil fuels dirty, they also pose as a security risk and unforgiving on the American wallet. (Saini)
Web. 07 Dec. 2011. . Alternative Energy - ProCon.org. Web.