Energy Sources For Alternative Energy

In the United States, major fossil-fuel-burning energy-producing industries dominate: they are more widely used, they produce more energy, and they severely harm the environment. I believe that the United States should move towards alternative energies that don’t burn fossil fuels to produce energy, such as solar, wind, geothermal, and hydroelectric power, because they, despite their currently high price point, provide large amounts of pollution free-energy, which will increase energy independence due to their ability to easily produce electricity within the nation and create amounts of electricity competitive to those of conventional energies.

World population growth results increase in energy demand, together with growing global consciousness about the scarcity of the earth’s natural resources, has turned the attention of researchers into alternative renewable energy sources. Traditional energy sources are characterized as exhaustible and some of them, especially fossil fuels, have substantial impacts on the natural environment and are the main culprit of climate change. As a global solution, renewable energies play a key and unique role, since they are obtained from natural, regenerative sources that do not deplete; and they also cause minimal to no environmental problems, such as climate change, radioactive waste, acid rain and air pollution. The sources of renewable energy that have reached full commercial maturity are: solar, wind, tides and waves, rivers, geothermal energy, organic waste and energy stored biomass (Okure et al, 2006).

Alternative energy sources are becoming more and more popular. The most important alternative energy sources are solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, ocean, and hydropower energies. Their main advantage lies in the resumption of energy resources. This paper will give information about each of sources as well as their advantages and disadvantages.

Alternative energy is imperative to the continuation and advancement of the world. There will come a time where the unsustainable resources we use to power every aspect of our lives will cease to exist, or become uneconomical. In the same way, the pollutants given off by using these energy materials are believed to be the leading cause of global warming; which has become more accepted both socially and scientifically in the last decade. This is an ever growing global economic issue. As fossil fuel reserves dwindle, and the looming threat of global

The world currently faces a major problem. This problem is the need for alternative energy sources which can be converted into electricity because the main energy source currently used is coal and the coal deposits will not last forever. The main alternative energy sources that many countries are currently researching are wind, solar, hydro and nuclear. But there is currently another source of energy that is heavily debated to see whether the pros outweigh the cons. This energy source is natural gas. The main reason for the heavy debate of natural gas is not because of the energy source, but rather the mining process of the energy source through the process of hydraulic fracturing. In this report the following topics will be discussed to get a better understanding of natural gas and the hydraulic fracturing process. An overview of natural gas will be discussed. A detail description of the hydraulic fracturing process will be provided. The advantages and disadvantages of hydraulic fracturing will also be compared. Finally the report will look at hydraulic fracturing in a South Africa context and weigh all the information before deciding if the hydraulic fracturing process is advantageous or disadvantageous for the country to use.

Up until a few years ago, we used to exploit fossil fuels for almost all of our needs (heating, transportation, etc.) without thinking if there are enough supplies or even about their negative effects their emissions cause to the environment. According to many scientific investigations our fossil fuel resources (oil, coal and gas) are running out, furthermore their emissions pollute the environment and contribute to the greenhouse effect. Undoubtedly, these situations as well as the fact that the demand for electricity is increasing more and more globally made us thinking about using alternatives sources of energy. Many possible fuels are being tested at the moment in order to find which one is the most suitable in terms of efficiency,

In today’s world of scarce resources energy efficiency and renewable energy become increasingly important. It is also well-known that the climate-change as a result of high CO2-emissions, among others, can only be stopped or at least slowed down by reducing these emissions. The general global trend therefore should move towards an increasing use of renewable energies while gradually stopping dependence on non-renewable energies, such as coal or oil. Despite trade-offs in terms of a possible rise in energy prices and impacts on security of energy supply, most developed countries have recognized the general need of a change. (Röpke, 2013)

Since the Industrial Revolution in 1760, the world has run on fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are critical to global energy infrastructure due to their inherent advantages and generate significant economic value as a result. However, the negative economic and environmental implications of fossil fuels demands a permanent transition towards alternative energy. The world will continue to investigate alternative energy sources and must commit to them to avoid long-term environmental degradation. Ultimately, fossil fuels are on the way out, but considerable work must be done before this forecast can be realized.

Today 's society uses enormous amounts of energy. *The shadow of our presence on this planet is a result of generations upon generations of production and utilization of energy*. New and alternative sources of energy are being developed to replace the declining accessibility of coal and fossil fuels. Use of renewable energy is a key component in combatting the climate change that has become a major issue in the 21st century. Reducing our impact on the climate as a result of greenhouse gas emissions will not only benefit our generation, but countless generations after us. This technology is not only affordable, but is within reach.

For many years the world has depended on one form of energy for transportation, and that is fossil fuels. This means as our demand for these fossil fuels increases our supply will decrease dramatically. As supply dwindles and costs rise, nations will be forced to utilize alternative energy sources. Coal, both non-renewable and environmentally destructive, is the most likely near-term candidate for replacing oil as a primary energy source. In order to achieve a secure and stable energy supply that does not cause environmental damage, renewable energy sources must be explored and promising technologies should be developed. Biodiesel derived from green algae biomass has the potential for high volume, cost effective production. It can be carbon neutral and produced intensively on relatively small areas of marginal land. The quality of the fuel product is comparable to petroleum diesel and can be incorporated with minimal change into the existing fuel infrastructure. Innovative techniques, including the use of industrial and domestic waste as fertilizer, could be applied to further increase biodiesel productivity. There is now research going into renewable resources to replace these harmful fossil fuels. One of the newest and most innovative of these resources is algal biofuel. (Olds, 2006). Also known as algae biofuel, and oilgae, “the majority of algae are photosynthetic so water, carbon-dioxide, light, and minerals are necessary for growth (Olds, 2006).”

Since fossil fuels have become such a concern for our environment, alternative energy has become a source of energy that is an alternative to the problem that these fossil fuels have caused our Earth. Alternative energy are renewable and is considered to be free energy sources (Alternative Energy). All alternative energy sources have lower carbon emissions when being compared to conventional energy sources. These sources include Biomass Energy, Wind, Solar, Geothermal, and Hydroelectric Energy (Alternative Energy). With the use of recycling, the clean alternative energies such as the use of solar power systems will benefit in the survival of these energy resources beyond the 21st century (Alternative Energy). Alternative resources

Alternative energy resources have the advantage of being available very often with no risk of depletion. Nuclear, Solar, Wind, and Hydroelectric energy sources are considered to be the four major resources that can replace fossil fuels. “There are currently approximately 7 billion people in the world and given current trends, the population is expected to be around 9 billion in 2050, and over 10 billion by 2100” (Fred Magdoff 2013). Alternative energy sources are termed renewable because they can be continually replenished throughout time (The National Atlas of the United States of America, 2013). The world 's modern day energy demands are still met largely from fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Regarding total energy demand, the share of fossil-fuel derived energy is around 80%. The remainder is supplied by nuclear and renewable energy of around 20% (Rahim, M., Yoshino, J., & Yasuda, T. (2012, September 1). If these resources are expected to replace our current energy sources they will be expected to produce the same amount of energy if not more.

Are alternative energy sources the answer to ending human dependence on oil? Right now there is no one substitute for oil because we use it for a variety of things. We can use alternative sources in areas to preserve or conserve our usage of oil. We use to use wood for fires and light. Then in the industrial revolution we began to use coal. “Coal can provide much more energy over longer periods than wood or any other biomass product. Forests were also diminishing in many regions because they were being consumed for fuel.” (Eric McLamb). Edwin L. Drake drilled the world’s first oil well in 1859 and launched the petroleum industry. Bach then

Alternate energy resources are being developed to compete against the fossil fuel power stations. Fossil fuel such as coal and oil are drilled and shoveled out of the ground and then processed to be turned into electricity. Problems with fossil fuels are that they produce hazardous air emissions and give off by-products that will harm the area. Some well-known alternate renewable energy resources are wind, solar, and hydro power. These are all sources that are in abundance and will be around for billions of years. Hydropower provides substantial amounts of electricity to the world by exploiting water, it totals about one fifth of the electricity worldwide (Renewable). While hydropower has its flaws, some environmentalists disclaim that hydropower is a widespread renewable energy source. However, this is a misconception because water is renewed in the water cycle, dams are environmentally sustainable to the ecosystem, and the only discharge from hydropower is unpolluted water.

As the world delves deeper into the 21st century and as more and more countries develop into industrialized or post-industrialized nations, global society is dependent on reliable and steady sources of energy now more than ever. This reliance on energy will most certainly continue into the future as the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) has projected the world’s energy consumption to increase by 56% by the year 2040 (“EIA Projects World Energy Consumption”). Such a substantial surge in demand of energy in what is a relatively short period of time has disquieting implications. According to the British Petroleum Statistical Review, oil, natural gas, and coal consumption accounted for approximately 86% of the energy market in 2015 (“Statistical Review of World Energy”). With current oil prices being at record lows, a booming natural gas “renaissance” in the process of going on, and political pressures in the United States calling for an increase in “clean coal” output, nonrenewable fossil fuels may be the primary options for our society to fuel its future (Sontakke). However, these options come with adverse drawbacks such as dependency on dubious foreign petro-states and various forms of ecological degradation, which includes climate change. Due to these factors, as well as burgeoning cost-competitiveness, the renewable energy industry is poised to gain a sizable share of the energy market.