Renewable Fuels And The Energy Issue

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.

With the rise of nonrenewable fuels prices and the estimated decline of availability in the not so distant future it is very clear that the only answer to this problem is to implement the use of renewable resources. Renewable resources are very versatile and can reduce pollution of the environment and can in the long

Everyone uses a lot of power for lighting, heating, machines, movements, and so much more. All of that energy has to come from an energy supply. Some energy resources are renewable, while others are non-renewable. Energy has various forms and is a very essential part of our everyday lives.

Capellan-Perez, Indigo; Mediavilla, Margarita: de Castro, Carlos: Carpintero, Oscar; Miguel, Luis Javier, Arto, Inaki, Frechoso. The transition towards renewable energies: Physical and temporal conditions. Energy Policy. 52, p297-311.

Today, many people are talking about energy production and all the new and old ways to go about it. There are many different modes of energy production that is available or is becoming available to us in the future. The constant debate about what energy production is best for the environment and which is not. In my essay, I will be describing the advantages and disadvantages of coal, oil, and Solar energy.

Fossil fuel plays leading role in upsetting environmental, economical and climate protection. Our earth is at catastrophic risk by the exploitation of fossil fuels. Therefore, pressure is on to find viable alternatives for energy to bring a stable, safe and clean revolution. In that case, bio-fuels make an attractive alternative for energy than fossil fuels. Various provocative questions need discussion that what are the attractive differences between both the fuels? Why fossil fuel dependence is to be actually minimized? What is the scope of bio-fuel for a safer world? How will bio-fuel benefit economically? Above all, It will be conferred that why bio-fuels are better than fossil fuels.

For over forty years now, scientists and researchers have been tirelessly searching for an alternative to fossil fuels. Biofuels have become an interesting contender in the search for the replacement of the non-renewable energy source. Biofuels have been used throughout history for over thousands of years. There is a large debate over biofuels and its true impact on the environment. Those involved in the discussion debating whether biofuels have any real overwhelming benefits compared to fossil fuels could argue for its usage. According to recent research performed by the University of Michigan, biofuels may not be the best alternative for fossil fuels. Regardless of its impact on the environment, biofuels are becoming more popular particularly when the price of oil rises.

An important similarity between production of biodiesel and production of ethanol is that at some point during processing both systems require an input of either fossil, hydro, electric, solar, or wind energy. Thus, in order to determine if the use of biofuels for mobile transportation purposes is more efficient than using fossil fuels, net energy analyses must be considered (Malca and Freire, 2006).

Today, humans rely on variety of energy resources to heat homes, propel transportation vehicles, and produce goods for shelter, food health care, and entertainment. Some of those sources are renewable like biomass and solar energy, and others are non-renewable like fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas). as we know most of our electricity comes from fossil fuels which are non-renewable however, burning fossil fuels produce

Fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and natural gas provide the U.S. with over 80 percent of its energy supply (McNerney & Cheek, 2012). Fossil fuels, formed from organic materials over the course of many centuries, have fueled the global and U.S. economic development for the past two centuries. Nonetheless, fossil fuels are finite resources that cause irreversible harm to the environment. Scientists consider them nonrenewable forms of energy since they take hundreds of years to form. According to Rand (2010), fossil fuels were responsible for 79 percent of the greenhouse emissions in 2010. Poor efficiency practices and higher energy demands have increased the usage of fossil fuels, and it is now important to find substitute means of generating

One utilitarian approach used to determine which act is most ethical, is cost-benefit analysis. This analysis compares the potential benefits against the costs (financial, physical risks etc.) of possible decisions. For choosing which energy source the public should invest money in and engineers should invest research in, the criterion detailed above are compared. For cost-benefit analysis, shown in Table 1, the effect on future generations is incorporated at the same value as the effect on current generations. For the cost criterion, renewable energy is currently the least beneficial in regards to price to the public, cost of updating current technologies, researching new technologies, and implementing new infrastructure. Natural gas has lower costs related to infrastructure and technology changes than renewable energy, but when compared to coal, it has higher public cost as well as higher implementation costs. Consequently, for the greatest amount of happiness for people, which is related to lower costs, coal is the best energy source. Furthermore, natural gas has a much higher efficiency than renewables and coal, which have similar efficiencies. Human fulfilment, coming from happiness in the utilitarian theory, relates to the best/most effective use of resources, i.e. people do not like to waste time or money. Therefore, natural gas, with

Unlike gasoline or diesel, biofuels release little pollution. It can also be used to produce electricity by heating water using biofuels and using the steam produced to rotate a turbine. Another method is to allow the biofuel to decay and produce methane. Methane is commonly used as fuel for car, heating, cooking, and producing electricity.

This essay focuses on two renewable energy resources. First of all, biofuel is now accepted as alternative energy in worldwide. The figures continue upward trend in the biofuel production. ‘An annual growth rate of 6.8% from 2006 to 2030 is expected for total biofuels consumption in the transport sector’ (International Energy Agency: 2008 cited in Zhou, et al., 2009:S11). Significant leaders of the biofuel market are Brazil, the United States and the European Union. The results of research indicated that 92% of the world’s ethanol is produced by Brazil and US together, while 90% of the world’s biodiesel manufactured by the EU. In addition, several developing countries in Asia such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines have an enormous potential for biofuel production. Now these countries are

Finding energy sources is an issue that polarizes scientists, politicians and citizens alike. The most critical points of this debate are at fossil fuels and renewable energy. Energy efficiency is arguably the most dire concern facing the planet, because it significantly impacts all areas of everyday life. Common ground can be found in this controversy because both parties do agree that humans have a responsibility to future generations. That responsibility is to preserve the resources of the Earth, while offering this generation energy that is affordable and accessible.

Increasing demand for renewable fuels has researchers investigating the feasibility of alternative feedstocks, including microalgae. Inherent advantages of microalgae include high potential yield, use of non-arable land, and integration with waste streams. Large-scale production of biofuel from microalgae will require the integration of growth platforms with point source carbon dioxide such as coal derived flue gas. The introduction of this waste stream into the growth system will inevitably introduce trace heavy metals which have a high affinity to bind to microalgal cells, could be toxic to the cells, and if transferred to the microalgae could impact the end use of the derived products. heavy metals As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni,