Fossil Fuel And Alternative Sources Of Energy

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,

Over millions of years the fossilized remains of plants and animals have decayed and been stored in the form of petroleum, natural gas, or coal underground for our later extraction. This stored energy can then be burned to use as fuel (DOE 2008). Because these fuels take millions of years to form, the available supply is limited for our ever-progressing industrial society. Our usage is causing a lot of concern among the energy conscious all over the world due to the fact that many developed nations could not function without fossil fuels. The main solution to this problem goes by the name of “alternative”, “renewable”, or “clean” energy. This energy comes from sources apart from fossil fuels, this includes wind, solar, and geothermal among others (Utah 2013). These

Fossil fuels and other power generates are slowly changing the world. Alternative power sources are slowly becoming more popular in everyday life while the technology progresses. Using these power sources that don’t pollute the atmosphere could be the change in the world that completely changes the way the world uses energy. Engineers and technicians have been producing these alternative ways for years and years. A few, but not limited to consist of: Solar panels, Wind turbines, Wave tech and much more.

Although fossil fuels are the main source of energy on Earth, there are several other forms of energy that are gaining in popularity. Alternative energy, or renewable energy, is a more environmentally and economically friendly source of energy. There are four main forms of alternative energy; solar, wind, nuclear, and hydroelectric. Each source has several different advantages over fossil fuels as well as disadvantages of use and durability. Using these renewable sources as the main provider of energy is starting to become more realistic than relying on fossil fuels. Although it may cost more to construct the technology for these sources, in the long run, they end up saving the consumer more money than fossil fuels do. These sources are starting to become more and more used throughout the planet and pretty soon, they may be the only source of energy that people have.

Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, from the time we are born until the time we die we are consuming energy. Currently the majority of this energy comes from fossil fuels (i.e. coal, natural gas, and oil). Fossil fuels made up eighty-seven percent of the energy consumed worldwide in 2012 (Gonzalez & Lucky). There are many people who do not believe there is an energy crisis, or that there is anything wrong with depending on fossil fuels, however fossil fuels are non-renewable, which means once they are gone we are unable to create more. In addition, the carbon that is located in fossil fuels and released from when used for energy, contributes to the rising global temperature (Maehlum, 2013). This is not the only detrimental effect of fossil fuels, but is perhaps the most serious.

Alternative energy is defined as “energy generated in ways that do not deplete natural resources or harm the environment, especially by avoiding the use of fossil fuels and nuclear power.” It is one of the most commonly debated topics of this century. We are now coming to a time where energy can be created without harming the environment. There are many examples of ways we can get energy without harming the environment. Ways such as solar energy, wind energy, biomass electricity, hydroelectric energy and ocean energy, and geothermal energy. There are many pros and cons to alternative energy. Although it can take years for it to be something that the world can rely on, as a whole, altogether we can do it.

Alternative energies are the future of power. They will be the power that will sustain human life until the end. This is why the United States government should invests more towards the research and use of alternative energies. Alternative energies are any energy that will replace fossil fuels. Some common alternative energies are solar, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, hydrogen, and biofuels. The U.S. should use those alternative energies over fossil fuels, Petroleum (oil), coal, and natural gas. We currently have ways to store and use these types of energies but the ways we have are not the most effective. That is why the U.S. should fund the research of better ways to harvest and use these alternative energies.

America should pursue alternative energy sources because “With only 5 percent of the worlds population, the United States consumes almost one-quarter (22.5%) of global energy”. (((Josef Bram, 15))) With such a small percentage of the world’s population and still one of the largest consumers of energy the U.S should be looking for new and better ways to generate energy. Currently The U.S’s energy is supplied using traditional sources. According to Canadian scientist and policy analyst Vaclav Smil “Todays energy 29% from coal, 33% from oil and gas, and 33% from soft-energy (alternative sources)” (((Smil, 47))) Most of the energy we use on a daily basis is not produced using clean methods. Some alternative energy sources that are already in place within the United Stats are wind, solar, and hydraulic.

The United States relies heavily on fossil fuels as its main source of energy and with the limited supply, we 'll have to develop and utilize alternative sources for clean, renewable, cheap and effective energy to power this country and the world into the future. It will be important for the health of our planet to utilize renewable resources that have no greenhouse gas emission. Out of necessity the world will eventually need to stop using fossil fuels for energy.

In this day and age, we have new energy sources that could be used to power our homes and transportation. Wind and solar power are used all over the world, but are still used far less than fossil fuels. Most would say it’s not reliable or it doesn’t make any profit. While both statements are true, it doesn’t mean we can’t make a better future using renewable energy. In fact, the only reason we don’t use renewables for everything is that we don’t want to change. The hard truth is we need to change. Fossil fuels are great right now, but if we run out, humanity must have another source of energy.

Everyday in U.S., immense amount of fossil fuel is burned. Fossil fuels are fuel formed by natural processes, such as decomposition of buried dead organisms. Fossil fuel release carbon dioxide when they are burned which adds to the greenhouse effect and increases global warming. The way we can help the environment and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide is by replaying fossil fuels with solar and wind sources for electric power generations in the U.S.

Generating and supplying more green energy in the US can have a big impact in the environment and in our economy. With more green energy resources a big amount disasters that affect our environment can be reduced. Such disasters include oil spills, nuclear leaks and the emission of harmful pollutants. Electric power plants are one of the biggest contributors to pollution in the country due to the amount of carbon and sulfur dioxides that are released into the air. Carbon dioxide emitted into the air is confirmed to contribute to global warming and sulfur dioxide causes acid rain, which can kill plants and animals in lakes and rivers. In comparison, green energy is generated in much more natural and harmless methods that don’t affect our environment. Renewable energy wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, and biomass provides substantial benefits for our climate, and our health.

Alternative or clean energy is the way of the future. Every day we wait to implementing changes in the way we generate energy, is a lost opportunity to prevent further damage to the environment. As Kevin Begos (2016) points out in his article “The Solar Energy Controversies” by implementing solar technologies we can help the environment by reduce our dependency on fossil fuels (p. 387).

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.

Fossil fuels are an important part of life. When you turn on the lights, watch TV, or take a shower, the electricity that you are using is being generated by fossil fuels. The three types of fossil fuels are coal, crude oil, and natural gas. They all take millions of years to form, so they are considered to be “non-renewable”- eventually, the fossil fuels will all be used up. One dangerous biological effect of using fossil fuels is ocean acidification. Extracting and transporting fossil fuels can also be very dangerous. Environmentally damaging accidents such as groundwater contamination, land subsidence, and oil spills occur frequently. Global warming is another possible environmental effect. Fossil fuels have a crucial role in modern