Alternative energy has been a major focus of many countries for a few decades now in order to reduce our carbon footprint and carbon emissions to stop global warming and lessen it’s impact on the earth. In Canada, Indigenous communities are the ones most affected by the use of fossil fuels.
Most reserves are dependant on diesel fuel, which is hazardous to the health of communities. In addition to this, the Alberta tar sand, where much of our fossil fuel is taken from, runs through indigenous land or gets into water supplies for the reserves. In order to combat this and in turn reduce global warming emissions and improve the health of communities, indigenous or not, many groups of indigenous people have started or invest in clean energy
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Companies that are first nation owned also employ local individuals to install and run alternative energy sources, which provides communities with income and reduces energy bills.4 “You have to bring
down that footprint — but at the same time you're building capacity, you're creating jobs, you're creating education and outreach.”5
However, there are also some challenges to alternative energy. One being that they can cause serious health hazard to those who work on the construction of these renewable energy sources, especially solar panels. Workers can inhale silicon dust and work with hazardous chemicals like hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, etc,. that are used for cleaning.6 In addition
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.
Evidence: The other sources for energy are not as sufficient because of the high cost. The technology is not advanced enough to have the opportunity cost equal the demand.
The objective of this paper is twofold. First, we introduce the modern condition of Canada’s energy consumption and the economic benefits. Second, we define and analyze the projections of Canada’s future with respect to the renewable energy frontier. The demand for Energy across the globe has drastically increased since the Industrial revolution. From coal to steam, all the way to electricity and nuclear energy, modern economies and industries rely on sustainable sources of energy to produce their desired output levels (Zelby 2002). Ontario, and Canada in general are on the frontier of energy production and sustainability with regards to smart grid technologies and so forth (Ontario Energy Plan). Canada specializes in many of the
One of these concerns is that the cost transitioning to clean energy would be too expensive. It is true that shifting to green energy would have notable start-up costs; however, generating energy from these
They are used the most because Hydro-Electric energy comes from the Great Lakes, and the large amount of waterfalls in Canada like Niagara Falls. Coal is used because of the great supply of coal mines in Canada. (Center for Energy)
Most source of energy such as coal, nuclear, oil, and natural gas do substantially more harm to our environment than good. As it mentioned in the film, these harmful energy source causes pollution, health problems, shortage of water, shortage of land, and causes global warming. Nevertheless, we could avoid or minimize these disasters by using green energy sources such as wind and solar power. Harnessing energy from solar and wind is the cleanest and most effective ways to generate electrical energy. In addition, it is cheap and produces no toxic pollution. Yet, there are some negative consequences of using these energies. For example, land use, habitat loss, and shortage of resources are some of the main effects of using these
Canada’s energy sector is probably one of the most important to Canada, and possibly the most important to the world. In 1846, Abraham Gesner produced kerosene from coal in Nova Scotia. He was the first man of his time to do this in Canada. In 1870, the government of the United Kingdom handed over control of the land used by the Hudson Bay Company to Canada. Canadian’s did not realize that the land they had been given, mainly Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba was extremely rich in minerals, mostly fossil fuels. Canada is a major player in energy imports and exports. Canada produces 6% of the worlds energy. In fact, only Saudi Arabia, USA, Russia and China produce more energy than Canada. Canada produces 33% of the worlds Uranium, and 13% of the worlds hydro-electricity, making it the largest producer of these two forms of energy in the world. Canada is also a major supplier of coal, petroleum and natural gas. Alberta is the home of most of Canada’s oil and coal fields.
The topic of alternative energy is important because it gives us more options to provide sustainable, clean energy for our growing population today. With more people inhabiting the earth, there will be more of a need for energy, but the energy has to be clean and renewable so that humans and animals will not be harmed by their environment.
Environmentalists believe a reduction in CO₂ will slow down the global warming process and improve our overall health. Global warming is an overall increase in temperature to the earth's atmosphere caused by greenhouse gases, which traps the Earth’s core heat. However, global warming is not a new issue, the rise in temperature was first discovered in the late 1800s. As of 2015, the Earth's atmosphere has risen 2 degrees higher than the average temperature. Temperatures are said to raise another 15 degrees, over the next 100 years. Global warming alters wildlife, weather, heath, and the ocean. Thousands of people are affected every year, Environmentalists want to stop the effects of global warming which can be altered by an increase use renewable
Our insatiable need for oil has lead us down an unsavory pathway looking for it. The Alberta Tar Sands, an economic boom and an environmental disaster, is just one of those places. Once thought of as too intrusive and destructive on the land, has made way for one of the largest tar sands reserves of this century. Harvesting the tar sands will fuel our thirst for oil for many years. Canada and America will both reap the benefits and the consequences of that oil.
Mainly because of global warming and the effects it has on our climate today. Alternative energy could provide the solution to this because it could eliminate or at least minimize the amounts of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. Scientists have found that CO2 is a direct contributor to global warming and alternative energy could save the planet. The two alternative energy sources, nuclear and solar, could help with this issue. They would be most effective in Denver, Colorado because it is a desert area that gets very little rainfall and it allows for isolation. Both nuclear and solar would help because both of these sources do not emit any carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. They also benefit from each other in areas like cost, efficiency, waste and many others. Climate change is not going to stop anytime soon unless something changes for the better. The only way to save the planet is by changing the way we generate our energy. Global warming was a problem caused by the most recent generation and it is now the next generation’s job to fix it. Be a part of the
Alternative energies, “energy sources which are not based on the burning of fossil fuels or the splitting of atoms,” (qtd. in “What Are Alternative”) are a controversial issue in the United States today. Because of their cost and existence that goes against normal American energy standards, efficient forms of alternative energy generation, like solar, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal energy generation have faced a bit of a social stigma in the past, where people associate those who use alternative energies to be either hippies or hipsters. Because of their general unpopularity, alternative energies have seen little use in America, with the country heavily relying on more
Wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, and biomass provide so much benefit for our climate, health and our economy. As many reliable energy’s rise on demand and expense like oil, coal, natural gas and nonrenewable fossil fuel that draw on limited resources which will eventually diminish. Looking at all the power plants and the millions of cars that exist in the streets today and many more technologies and industries that are polluting the air it is safe to say we may be going the wrong way into saving the world our kids will grow into. People and many utilities need to focus on the positive outcome of renewable energy. Like the good it brings on stable energy price, improvements on public health as well as the prevention of global warming discharge, jobs and other economic benefits.
One of the main determining factors behind America and their decision to either continue supporting the oil industry, or moving towards renewable energy sources is the ability to evaluate the validity of alternative energy sources at hand. There are a number of alternative energy sources available including; solar, tidal, wind, and biofuels to just name a few. The growing trend in the twenty-first century is to be environmentally cautious of the impact from
Air pollution, resulting from the burning of fossil fuels, amounts for about 7 million deaths each year. On average, 1 in 8 deaths are caused by some type of air pollution. Fossil fuels are burned every day to keep the world functioning but are accompanied by tremendous amounts of pollution. The world needs energy sources that are as effective as fossil fuels but that come with less harmful pollutants than fossil fuels do. An effort must be made to pull away from harmful fossil fuels and to switch over to cleaner energy sources such as solar power, wind power, and geothermal power. Switching over to cleaner energy is very important because of the eminent threat of global warming that lurks just around the corner. If humans are not careful, they will damage the environment and the atmosphere to a point beyond repair. Major factories and cities can begin to convert to cleaner energy sources and cut back on pollution tremendously. They can do this by harnessing energy from the sun, utilizing frequent gusts of wind, and by tapping into the heat of the Earth’s core.