With limited fossil fuel supply in the world and the growing problem of pollution, humans have to find environmentally friendly and renewable sources of energy. Alternative energy is any source of energy that is an alternative to using fossil fuels. Energy is an enormous factor in the production of wealth and is very important in economic development. “However, energy is defined as the maximum obtainable potential of work of an energy or energy flow in relation to the reference environment” (Midilli). With the population increasing and expected to double by the end of the 21st century, providing clean and affordable energy is a must. With the price of fossil fuels only to increase over the upcoming years, using alternative energy will …show more content…
Right now throughout the world, industrialized countries produce sixty five percent of the world’s electricity from fossil fuels (Sesto). “According to current estimates, if developing countries should have a substantial economic growth in the next few decades, as is hoped for, they would produce 50% of the world 's electric energy by 2030” (Sesto). If the world continued at the sixty five percent fossil fuel rate, those developing countries would soon contribute to the increasing problem of greenhouse gases and pollution emissions. This would have a direct effect on the prices of fossil fuels, as prices would most definitely increase heavily (Sesto). “Proposed strategies for the United States include increasing energy efficiency, displacing fossil fuels with energy sources that are potentially CO2-neutral, and carbon storage in forests and other ecosystems” (Cook). As fossil fuels remains a threat to global constancy and sustainability, it becomes worse with increasing world population, higher energy demand, and technological progress. With geothermal energy being inside Earth’s mantle and crust, it has been used by humans for decades to provide heat and electricity in both homes and industries. There are countless benefits of using geothermal energy to provide power and heat. The main advantage is that this renewable source can
These sources of energy have a great upside, but right now are incredibly inefficient compared with fossil fuels because of the lack of funding and worldly push (2009). If there isn’t a bigger investment in these alternative energies, fossil fuels are going to maintain their stranglehold on all the economies of the world (Lomborg, 2009).
Coal and natural gas are the United States’ main fossil fuels used as energy sources. These fossil fuels both contain mixtures of hydrocarbons, which is a chemical compound of carbon and hydrogen (Olah, 2005). Currently, fossil fuels provide eighty-five percent of commercial energy, such as businesses, worldwide and this eighty-five percent does not even account for residential use. Imagine if the residential energy use was accounted for in that eighty-five percent (Davison, 2007). According to Goodell (2006), “Between 1950 and 2000, the world population increased by 140 percent and fossil fuel consumption increased by 400 percent. By 2030, the world’s demand for energy is expected to more than double,” with most of the electricity
` The continuous use of fossil fuels is leading the Earth on a path to destruction. Generations of advancement and technological innovation being brought down to rubble. Natural disasters wreaking havoc on innocent people across the world. Temperatures soaring above 125℉ globally. These are the results of the excessive use of fossil fuels. A chief concern in the 21st century is global warming and climate change, and the continued use of fossil fuels for the technology and daily lives of humans is key to blame. Decades ago, these problems were much more daunting and seemingly unsolvable than they are today, with the use of alternative energy sources and new
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,
Volcanoes are wondrous formations on the earth. Humans are fascinated by them but are often very cautious about volcanoes. They see them as explosive, lava spewing mountains often causing natural disasters. These are just some of the effects of a volcano but plus side to it is that its energy can be harnessed. Energy that can be used from a volcano is Geothermal Energy. It is a clean, renewable energy which uses the steam produced from vents and hot springs near volcanoes. In this paper I am going to prove why Geothermal Energy is good for the environment and the society. Firstly I am going to discuss what geothermal energy is. Secondly, I will discuss the benefits of geothermal energy to the environment. Thirdly I am going to show how geothermal energy is beneficial to the society around its source. Lastly I will compare geothermal energy to other energy sources and show why geothermal energy is the way to go.
Geothermal energy is heat energy coming from the Earth. Geothermal energy is relatively cost effective, reliable, and friendly to the environment, but is limited to some specific areas. Recent technology development has greatly expanded the range and size of geothermal energy resources. Now the geothermal energy can be also used for applications such as home heating, which add use potential for the resource. Although, tapping geothermal energy will release some gas pollution which are originally trapped deep inside the earth, these emissions are much lower than those of fossil fuels. Therefore, geothermal energy is a kind of potential energy and may help to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions of the earth.
The power of electricity is available to anyone with a simple click of a button. The methods of obtaining the energy used to develop that electricity are commonly debated topics. One of those methods is using geothermal energy, or the Earth’s naturally produced heat.
Energy is a fundamental factor to the existence of humans on this planet; without it, modern society would be unsustainable. Consequently, the sourcing and production of energy is a critical global issue that must be addressed. Currently, the most common energy sources are fossil fuels: oil, coal, and natural gas. The consumption of fossil fuels is not sustainable in the long run as the resources are not infinite, and as energy consumption increases, the earth’s natural resources (fossil fuels) are depleted. The belief that conventional energy sources are unsustainable prompted the development and use of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric. The sustainability of energy is such a demanding issue that Germany
People are inflicting major damage to the Earth's environment, and if we don't do anything to stop the destruction soon, the results could be devastating. Most people know about global warming and think it may be a serious problem in the future. What most people don't understand is that global warming is happening now, and we are already feeling some of its destructive power. Because of the dangerous effects of global warming, alternative energy sources need to be aggressively pursued. Finding and utilizing alternative energy sources may be the only way to combat the increase of global warming.
Bilen et al., (2008:1531) predicted that global energy consumption will account for around 85% of the increase in world primary demand over 2002– 2030. The increasing of global energy demand happens the global stock of fossil fuel resources may be adequate for short term period, thus requiring the development of renewable energy sources, which would not decrease the stock of fossil fuel resources available for future generation. There is an increasing interest in the development of renewable energies such as biofuel and wind power, which have a great potential energy to produce enough power for the world’s population demand.
Moreover, the author continues citing the benefits of geothermal energy. An evident point mentioned in the article is that geothermal energy is a clean, renewable, and dependable energy that can run 24 hours a day, all year round. The author moves forward to mention other real life examples of countries that adopted the usage of geothermal energy. Countries such as the United States, New Zealand, Italy, Iceland, japan, Mexico,and Indonesia are using this kind of energy right now which is so important to prove his argument as real usage applications are
In today’s society fossil fuels are the primary source of energy for most of the industrialized world. Utilizing fossil fuels has been very important to the industrialization development throughout the world. Industrialization in many parts of the world, energy has been needed at a much higher density then before and fossil fuels have fulfilled that need. Coal, gas, and oil are the three major sources of fossil fuels in the world. Despite other means of energy such as wind power, hydroelectric power etc., fossil fuels are still the main source of energy across the continent. Fossils fuels are critical to the function of society. “Fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas) are the dominant source of energy today and will be for decades to come.” (Everett, B. October).
Over the past several years the realization of a limited amount of renewable resources has pushed for a more environmentally friendly form of utilities. This realization has shifted the mindset of the consumer to prefer a more green and economical utility free home using sustainable energy sources. The scientists at Whole Life Energy are analyzing the use of geothermal energy to meet the requirements of our consumers and environment. This report covers what geothermal energy is, different types of geothermal energy, and geothermal energy advantages.
Geothermal energy is one of the cleanest sources of renewable energy, unlike some other sources of renewable energy, geothermal energy is contained within a relatively small area, and doesn’t affect local wildlife, it also doesn’t produce large amounts of toxic waste, and is nowhere near as controversial as nuclear power. Unfortunately geothermal energy isn’t used nearly as much as many of the other types of renewable energy, in fact, there are only 12 operating geothermal power plants in the US, a relatively small number compared to the 557 coal power plants that currently supply the United States with its second largest source of power. Yet while the fields of solar and wind power seem to be growing exponentially, geothermal energy remains relatively small.
Fossil resources support about 86% of our energy and 96% of our organic chemicals needs and are responsible for about three quarters of the anthropogenic emission of carbon dioxide [1][2][3]. Moreover, with the world economy expanding unprecedentedly and industrialization happening all over the planet, the enormous demand for fuels is potentially overwhelming. Fuel prices increased by 462% and reached $3.89/gallon between January 2003 and July 2008, and has been growing steadily except for times of world economic crisis [4].