A Comparison Of Alternative Energy Sources

The U.S obtains more than 84% of its energy from fossil fuels including oil, coal and natural gas. This is because people rely on it to heat their homes, power industries, run vehicles, manufacturing, and provision of electricity. It is apparent that the country’s transportation industry highly depends on conventional petroleum oil, which is responsible for global warming, thus threatening economic opulence and national security. Apart from that, increasing consumption of fossil fuels have elevated health problems in the state, destroyed wild places, and polluted the environment. After conducting Environmental Impact Assessment, projections showed that the world energy consumption would increase by more than 56% between 2010 and 2040. However, fossil fuels will cater for more than 80% of the total energy used in 2040. Sadly, it will be a trajectory to alter the world’s climate, as well as, weaken the global security environment. Importantly, the rate at which the US relies on fossil fuels needs to reduce since it has adverse effects on the planet’s supplies. The society needs to realize that fossil fuels are nonrenewable, thus taking millions of years to form (Huebner, 2003). Notably, the country can reduce dependency on fossil fuels by practicing energy conservation and efficiency,

The Alternative energy industry in the United States has been at a steady rate of growth for the past decade, however there is still controversy over the use of renewable energies, their impact on the economy, and their impact on the environment. As controversial as the topic is, the argument boils down to a moral need to support environmental regulations, and an economical need to sustain domestic growth in the Energy industry of the United States. Mainly, the question is can alternative energy effective replace fossil fuels? There are of course arguments for both sides of this question.

Now we mostly use fossil fuels and natural gas to produce energy. But these sources are running out. To save our planet we should use a new class of renewable energy sources, like wind turbines, solar panels, biofuels and hydrogen. Because our need for power is constantly increasing in the future we will have to produce more energy, which is associated, among other things, with greater emissions of CO2 and further pollution of the environment and global warming. Most likely oil is going to be the first one that’s not going to be sufficient enough to satisfy our needs in the future. To transition to alternative sources of energy would require a rapid expansion of those sources. Now alternative sources of energy playing a small percent of the world’s energy. To transition we would have to triple or quadruple that percentage.

Our energy use has dramatically improved our lives , but this energy is derived mostly from fossil fuels and has resulted in environmental change , and depletion of fossil fuels (Shahriar 181 ). This leads to continuing military conflict . This resulted in developing and using alternate resources for the increasing energy demand.

From the moment we wake up in the morning and turn our alarm clock off, to the moment we turn the lights off and fall asleep, we are using energy. Throughout the day an average person will use a cell phone, a computer, a television, an oven or microwave, and many will ride in a car or bus: all of this takes energy. Energy is even being used while we sleep to power the same alarm clock that wakes us up each morning. Individuals in first world countries are large consumers of energy, but where does it all come from? What powers most of our modern day conveniences? The United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that as much as eighty-two percent of the United State’s energy demand is met by using fossil fuels (Fossil Fuels), and in 2012, fossil fuels made up eighty-seven percent of the energy consumed worldwide (Gonzalez & Lucky, 2013). What are fossil fuels then?

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (2015) reports that the United States consumed approximately 19.4 million barrels of petroleum products daily, which calculated to an overall total of 7.08 billion barrels by the end of 2015 (para. 2). The United States population consumes a huge quantity of oil alone, in addition to all of the other fossil fuels that it also greatly depends on. Fossil fuels are a natural resource that is in limited supply, and they provide an efficient and consistent supply of power to communities all over the planet. Many people are pleased with the short-term advantages these

The world around us mostly runs on fossil fuels in order to produce electricity; however, there will be a period that comes where we will run out of those fossil fuels. We only have so much time before a crisis hits and we have nothing left to produce the energy we need. In order for our country to produce the energy and electricity we need, we must do something about it. As a country, we must figure out how we can make the switch to using more renewable energy before it is too late and we run out of fossil fuels.

Energy is the ability for something to do work, create heat, or emit light. By this definition, energy can be anything from a sandwich to uranium. However, for the sake of simplification, this essay will focus on the United States’ consumption of fossil fuels (oil, coal, and gas), which constitute eighty-six percent of American energy (Lehrman 2). That is a lot of energy, however it becomes an even larger amount when taken into consideration that even though America accounts for only five

The U.S. should replace fossil fuel with renewable energy. There are many reasons that the U.S. can use renewable energy to improve the economy. First of all, renewable energy can have a more stable price. Unlike fossil fuel, renewable energy is a continual source of energy that will not be as demanded, and will not cause inflation. Next, using renewable energy is a key to having a clean and green environment. It will not cause pollution to the environment and will keep cities clean. Finally, the United States can provide more efficient jobs for unemployed workers. People will have more opportunities for jobs like installing or building any source of renewable energy. Replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy can be more efficient because it will have a stable expense, it is a clean way to help the environment, and it can provide several jobs.

When most of us think about oil, we tend to think about heating oil for the furnace and about the gasoline and diesel fuel that keeps our cars and trucks on the road. What most of us don 't realize, however, is that oil does more than just fuel our vehicles and keep us warm in winter. It has become the foundation upon which our entire modern civilization has been built. Recently, that foundation has begun to develop some cracks and has become a little shakier than it used to be, as cheap oil and natural gas become harder to find and acquire. Even if we were to develop a new source of energy and a more fuel-efficient car today, without oil, modern civilization as we have come to know it is still in deep trouble.

Alternative sources of energy are essential because the oil has approximately a hundred years of oil consumption before it becomes extinct and the oil has more effects in the pollution of the environment (Efstathios 6). Other energy sources are not used because they have not made their way to the mainstream. According to Efstathios (2012) that alternative energy sources should be implemented as soon, or people will live on a borrowed time, and also to counter-balance the increasing demand of energy globally. The strongest point for alternative energy use is the extinction of oil, which should be replaced by other sources of energy. Extinction of oil can lead to severe effects (borrowed time) because many activities depend on oil availability. Geological and climate-specific alternative energy solutions are not as available, inexpensive, efficient and reliable like oil. Hydrogen is close to oil because it is also used by cars and has no side effects. The other energy sources depend on climate, hence making them unreliable (Thomas 939).

The most of global energy production produces from fossil fuel such as coal, oil and natural gas. The vast fossil fuels generate energy which use for many purposes for instant residential, transportation and industrial sectors. While the rate consumption of fossil fuel higher than their formation leads to oil price crisis. Another concern of fossil fuel combustion is the impact on the environment. Global warming is a significant problem which results in increasing concentrations of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. These problems drive researchers and societies to search alternative energy such as switching to renewable energy or carbon-free energy to replace fossil fuels. For example Nakata et al., (2011:465) show ‘low-carbon society’

Energy plays a vital role as a catalyst for economic growth and high standard of living. It is a fundamental input for all sectors, fuelling transport and providing electricity to industry, commerce, and agriculture. Yet access to energy remains an elusive goal for approximately 1.5 billion people worldwide (International Energy Agency, 2009). Given energy’s importance in promoting economic growth, governments tend to assist the energy industry through policies that support research and development, provide low interest loans, and deliver subsidies to producers and or consumers. The Global Subsidies Initiative estimated that global subsidies to fossil fuel producers were approximately $100 billion in 2009 (Global Subsidies Initiative, 2009). Coady et al. (2010) estimated that consumer subsidies for petroleum products amounted to $57 billion, globally, in 2003, $519 billion in 2008, and $136 billion in 2009.

As the most important type of energy, invented in the 1870s, the electricity has dominated the energy world for more than one hundred year. The invention and application of electricity contributed to the second peak of industrialization, which is undoubtedly one of the three science and technology revolutions within human history since the 18th century. Subsequently, technology has changed human’s life when the large scale power system emerged in the 20th century. As one of the most remarkable achievements in the history of science and human engineering, the large scale power system consists of power generation, transmission, substation, power distribution and utilization. These individual elements are combined together to form a vast, complicated and dynamic system which is competent to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity over a large geographical area (Padiyar 2008).

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.