Non-renewable resources are a contributing factor climate change, extinction, and pollution. Fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and oil are considered non-natural resources that can’t be replaced upon consumption (“Nonrenewable Energy Explained”). Coal, natural gas, and fuel are heated up to create energy to provide electricity, run cars, and heats and cools buildings. The heated resources release large amounts of carbon dioxide. Then the carbon dioxide becomes trapped in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide absorbed radiation from the sun, thus keeping heat in. Therefore, the overall global temperature increases. The increase in temperature caused by air pollution leads to extreme storms, including thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. …show more content…
Consequently, renewable energy companies lack support to produce clean energy. Some states, such as Washington and Oregon, tax carbon, such as gas used for vehicles, to promote clean energy such as wind energy (“States”). On the other hand, many other states encourage the oil industry. The battle for dominance between wind energy companies and fossil fuel companies are ongoing as climate change becomes worse.
Body 3 - Pros
The most important aspect of wind energy is that is it a clean, renewable energy. Wind energy does not release any damaging products that contribute to climate change, unlike fossil fuels (Bernard). The production of wind turbines, maintenance, and harnessing the energy provides many opportunities and jobs for people who desperately need it. Wind energy also provides income for those with no experience in the field. Property owners can rent a piece of their land to wind energy companies in exchange for money, while individuals who own their own wind turbines can sell extra energy harvested by their turbines to electrical companies for money. The cost in wind turbines is at an all-time low and is steadily decreasing since, so the investment in wind energy is worthwhile (“Low Cost of Solar Power…”).
Body 4 - Cons
Although wind energy is more ecofriendly than fossil fuels, it does cause a negative effect on the environment. Birds and other flying animals have been known to fly into
Although wind energy is one of the most expensive ways of producing energy, its benefits are far greater than its alternative energy production sources. Wind energy is a growing business mainly in the Midwest and
Unlike its sister energy supply, fossil fuels, wind power is a clean resource. Wind turbines don’t pollute the air like power plants, which rely on the burning of coal or natural gas. They’re free from producing atmospheric emissions that cause acid rain or greenhouse gases.
The wind occurs naturally in nature and it can be harmful or helpful. We use it as another source of clean energy, and like solar energy it will never run out. Windmill farms have been produced to help harness the ability of producing electricity through the use of turbines. The cost is low and no gases are released into the atmosphere to destroy the earth’s protective barrier known as the ozone.
Wind energy is a form of solar energy. It is a process using wind to generate electricity. We are powering wind turbines that can easily transfer it to something useful. Pros: 1. Renewable 2. Abundant 3. Good Availability Cons: 1. Expensive 2. Associated with Pollution 3. Requires Space
People all around the world believe that wind power would be more efficient than burning fossil fuels, however; it causes more problems than what most people know. As H. Sterling Burnett begins in his article Wind Power Puffery, he states, "But is tis assertion correct? No, the truth is wind power's environmental benefits are usually overstated, while its significant environmental harms are often ignored" (Burnett 247). Having wind power may have little benefits, however; people fail to realize that they are not as great as the seem. Often throughout the article Burnett would talk about the wind turbines and how they were a problem for not only migrating birds and bats but the amount of land they consume as well. At night the bats fail to see
One of the great parts about wind energy is that it has a large amount of positives to the environment and hardly any negative effects. Because wind energy uses the wind for the energy there is no emissions generated from the energy produced. It is estimated that the use of one million kWh of wind power can save around 600 tons of carbon dioxide emissions (Saidur, Rahim, Islam, & Solangi, 2011). Therefore, it is easy to see that the widespread use of wind power can help mitigate climate change. This is critical to help stop climate change and the United States is uniquely positioned to be the leader in curbing climate. When the United States starts heavily investing in alternative energy sources other countries will likely follow suit, which will be key to reducing global emissions.
Just in 2008 wind power provided 15,000 megawatts of power, the equivalent of powering 3 million houses. Every megawatt produced by wind reduces 1,220 pounds of CO2 emissions. If the US had 20% of power produced by wind it would be the same as taking 71 million cars off the road and planting 104 million trees. These huge wind turbines don’t build themselves, it would generate millions of consistent jobs for americans. Wind-generating capacity in the United States grew 39 percent per year from 2004 to 2009, and is expected to grow more rapidly as demand for renewable energy increases. As the wind energy industry continues to grow, it will provide many opportunities for workers in search of new careers. Wind energy careers extend beyond the windfarm to the offices and factories which they are
In recent years, China has surpassed the United States for wind energy production. Due to this, many believe that at this rate, it seems that they will dominate and revolutionize the future of the wind energy industry. In the past couple of years, the United States has been the leader in wind energy production. However, in 2011, China surpassed the United States, and is expected to dominate wind energy in the future due to its many positive aspects and various benefits. Although many people support the idea of wind energy in China, they often question to which category this form of energy belongs to, and what it actually is. Wind falls under the category of green energy, which is usually defined as energy that can be produced in a way that protects the natural environment. Wind energy has many reasons that makes it an ideal source of energy because they are clean, efficient, and endless forms of energy. However, some are against this form of energy because the turbines can be a threat to wildlife, and can disrupt neighboring communities. Even though people may think that wind power has a bad influence on communities and habitats, it is beneficial because it creates less pollution, produces a large amount of energy, and helps create various business and political opportunities.
Just as there are positive benefits from utilizing this renewable source, there are also some key disadvantages associated with wind energy generation which should be considered. Firstly, the effect of visual impacts depends not only upon the outward appearance of the turbines, but also the individual's personal attitudes to their presence (G.M Shafiullah, 2012). Similarly, a study conducted by Gourlay (2008) showed that the majority of the UK population (approximately 70%) had displayed a positive outlook
In “Wind Power is Now Cheaper Than Nuclear - the Energy Revolution is Happening”, John Sauven analyzes the benefits of offshore wind energy. Alongside bringing in more investments from external nations, switching to offshore wind power will establish more jobs. Sauven compares the cost of nuclear power to the cost of offshore wind power; wind power naturally being cheaper and better for the environment. Sauven articulates that many nations and organisms will benefit from the offshore wind power finance.
“A wind turbine is a machine for converting the kinetic energy in wind into mechanical energy”. (1) The inventor of the first electric wind turbine was Clevelander Charles Brush, who ran his entire Euclid Avenue mansion off of one for 20 years, which later made the cover of Scientific American in 1888. (2) Although the use of alternate energy didn't rise a great deal afterward, this event did open the eyes for many environmentalists. Wind power is only one of our several “energy source[s] whose ‘fuel’ is free and will never be exhausted” (3) with the pros and cons not completely weighed out as to whether it will be truly beneficial or not. The two main issues regarding wind turbines are the environmental effects that they have and the
Wind Energy is a viable industry that has become a valuable energy source. The energy generated from wind is clean and efficient. The wind energy industry helps to ensure that electric demands are met, wildlife impact is minimal, the environment is not devastated, as well as creates new jobs during the construction of wind farms, daily operations, manufacturing components, and exporting components to foreign countries.
Fossil fuels are having great impacts toward nature such as global warming and greenhouse effect. Plus, the depletion of it contributes to the rising price of petroleum. Therefore, wind power rise as it is a source of clean, non-polluting renewable energy (Nash, 2008). This type of energy generation provides us with loads of benefits environmentally and economically.
While wind power is currently more expensive per unit of energy (the initial cost of construction is spread across a turbine’s lifetime, generally around 20-30 years) than alternatives such as coal; wind power lacks the negative externalities that other energy
Have you ever wondered what life would be like without energy? I’m going to go out on a limb and say you haven’t thought about it, but you probably should because energy is way more important than you think. Energy is a primary input for almost all activities, which means it is vital for improvement in every area of life. The use of energy is evident in certain sectors such as transport, commerce, industry, telecommunication, household and agricultural service. With such high demands in these sectors, it has forced us focus on achieving continuous supply without harming the environment. These problems just did come out of nowhere. The have been around for thousands of year, maybe more. The most recent problem has been the use of nonrenewable resources, which is harmful to the environment. Society today is facing the peak of oil and gas. As well as, fossil fuel still being the main source of energy, which may be exhausted in a few hundred year. We need change in our sources of energy, which is why renewable energy has been occurring in recent years, and the three main renewable energy sources are heat energy, solar energy, and wind energy.