Alternative Energy

Wind energy is clean and renewable. The wind is never going to stop blowing; therefore, there will always be enough to keep the turbines going. While some areas may have more wind than others, there is always wind. Wind turbines do not produce any pollution or waste, making them one of the cleanest energy sources on the planet. However, environmentalists are concerned that with the increase of wind turbines, bird populations with decrease because they are getting hit by the wind turbines and dying. Because of the huge poles in the ground, turbines can cause erosion and disrupt wildlife habitats. Wind turbines are also huge; at 30 meters (100 feet) above the ground, with large spinning blades, they can be a bit of an eyesore. They are also loud and have a deep buffeting sound. But the idea is that the large wind farms will be located in the middle of nowhere so they don’t cause an issue in suburban areas. Small wind turbines may be located in backyards to feed houses directly, but these would be so small that they wouldn’t bother any

One faction would say, yes, of course alternative energies can effectively replace our current use of fossil fuels. One such supporter on this stance is

Another alternative to oil being used is solar energy. Everyone knows that the sun is the most important source of energy to our

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.

In contrast to the United States becoming 100 percent self sufficient in oil we need to invest in the foundations of technologies that could completely wean us off of oil, and other natural gases. While a self-sufficiency in oil is great because it decreases our dependency on other nations as well as helping to stabilize an otherwise erratic economy, it can only last for so long. Oil, a natural gas, cannot be created

For the past several decades we have been relying on oil as our major source of energy. It is oil that driven the industrial revolution and turn the global economy into what it is right now. However, the increasing rate of our reliance and hunger for oil has been causing us devastating problems so awful that we can’t afford to ignore it anymore. It is a fact that the global oil reserve won’t run dry in either today or tomorrow but we are running out of supply. I believe that oil should not be the only major source of energy because of the following reasons, first, the

Modern society will remain dependent on crude oil, even with the development of alternative forms of energy. Oil consumption is vital because many heavy machineries, factories, ships, aircrafts, and automobiles are reliant on crude oil. It is true that efforts are being made (especially within the U.S.) to develop and employ other forms of energy, but, I think that sustainability of such efforts would be a major drawback.

Green energy stands for the energy sources as well as technologies that give the maximum benefits to the environment that we live in. These are sources that produce electricity yet have an environmental profile that is graded higher than the conventional technologies for power production and does not emit any anthropogenic greenhouse gases. It is worth noting that some green energy sources however have some impact on the environment, albeit very insignificant impacts for instance the building of a dam for hydroelectric plant could dismally affect the immediate surrounding at the dam as well as fisheries down the river.

One other environmental factor regarding wind turbines, especially the wind farms, is that “erecting and maintaining wind turbines can also necessitate clearing land: ridgeline installations often require a fair amount of deforestation, and then there's the associated clearing for access roads, maintenance facilities, and the like”. (7) Although we are trying to help the environment by creating a safer and cleaner source of energy, the actions of clearing our forests, and whatever ecosystem that lived in that forest, in order to save the environment appears to be an oxymoron. “But there are also now a great many turbines situated on farmland, where the fields around their bases are still actively farmed”. (8)

Every day the world burns more that 80 million barrels of oil. By 2016, estimates believe that oil consumption will rise to around 100 millions barrels a day. (Oil Facts) The United States was responsible for 25% of the world oil consumption in 2002, and those numbers are rising. (Oil Demand) As demands increase and the supplies of oil continue a rapid depletion, large political powers in the US struggle to keep their heads afloat.

The human race has relied on finite resources as a source of energy since their beginning as a race on the Earth. While humans have used resources such as food in order to provide their bodies with the essential energy they need in order to survive, these sources are relatively much less finite than that of other human resources. This is because human beings are able to grow and produce their own food as they please. Sources of energy such as water on the other hand, which are relatively less finite resource, must be carefully regulated with respect to human use as they may be over expendable and may run out eventually. Water may be produced on Earth naturally, but one such resource which does not get produced in such a way is oil. Arguably, oil is being expended more than water is in the hands of the human race; this is causing the end of conventional oil to grow closer and closer to the present day. According to the statistics recorded on the website Worldometers.info, there are approximately 13,513 days (roughly 37 years) until the end of conventional oil. With this inescapable reality approaching very quickly for the human race, engineers must begin to harness more reusable and cleaner sources of energy to substitute for this dying resource. Without reasonable replacements for such a popular resource the future of mankind will surely suffer and many people will perish. Not only do more replacements have to be created to supplement the loss of this resource, but the

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).

Biofuel is Fuel produced from renewable resources, especially plant biomass, vegetable oils, and treated municipal and industrial wastes. Every time we drive in a vehicle we are using nonrenewable resources that are bad for the environment. Using gasoline or diesel release chemicals called green house gasses into the environment. Because of theses harmful chemicals people have started to use biofuels. There are two types of biofuels, ethanol and biodiesel. Biofuel is Fuel produced from renewable resources, especially plant biomass, vegetable oils, and treated municipal and industrial wastes.

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.

In the United States, we consume more energy from oil than from any other energy source. In 2014 the total amount of petroleum consumed in the United States was about 19 million barrels per day. As we look into making the world a more eco friendly environment, I ask the question; what are some alternatives of oil and the effects of the alternative.