Viable Alternative Energy to Replace Fossil Fuels
Nauman Syed Zia
University of Houston
Nearly all of the United States ' production of energy comes from non-renewable sources, also known as fossil fuels. However, the problem with using fossil fuels to satisfy the United States ' ever-growing demand for power is that they are a limited resource and their production and usage cause a myriad of harmful environmental effects. There are other sources of energy available that do not run out and are much more environmentally friendly such as wind, solar and hydro power. The government should take further action into transitioning from environmentally damaging non-renewable fossil fuels to cleaner and more permanent alternative
…show more content…
Based of the origins of these fossil fuels, it is easy to see how incredibly slow the fossil fuel process is. In fact, the process is so slow that regeneration is negligible. Continued use of these fossil fuels will cause them to rapidly run out. Basically, when these fuels run out, they are gone forever. Its simply a matter of time until the United States will need other sources of power, and it is a smart move to act now on creating sustainable methods of energy rather than wait until the nation is forced to switch. The attractive feature of using alternative energy such as wind, solar, and hydro power is the assurance of renewability. There will always be naturally occurring winds, moving water, and radiation from the sun that can be converted to energy. The United States ' government should invest its time and resources into implementing these energy sources in order to secure sustainable energy. These alternative energy sources are more environmentally appealing as they do not cause nearly as much environmental damage that fossil fuels do. Aside from fossil fuel 's long-term non-sustainability, the United States should shift to renewable resources because of the detrimental effects fossil fuels pose to the environment and people. The use of fossil fuels lead to an increase in air pollution, water pollution, land pollution, and even global warming. During fossil fuel combustion, pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides,
“Pollution is the biggest drawback to burning fossil fuels.” (Fossil Fuel Power pg. 22). Smog, acid rain, and unhealthy chemicals are all effects from fossil fuels and can be quite detrimental to the environment. “Ninety percent of the energy used in the United States comes from fossil fuels” (Energy Crisis the future of fossil fuels pg. 12). This arises questions concerning global warming. Chemical gasses trapped in a confined space (as in the earth) cause global warming. Fossil fuels will certainly exacerbate this theory.
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,
Thomas Edison once said, “I have not failed 10,000 times. I have succeeded in proving that those 10,000 ways will not work,” he said of his method of experimentation. “When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the ways that will work.” Up until the late 1830’s electricity was derived from many non-renewable sources such as coal, oil, and natural gases. These are also known as fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are the major energy sources that are being used in the world today. The production of fossil fuels account for more than one-third of U.S global emissions, which trap heat, steadily drive up the plant’s temperature, and create harmful impacts on our health, our environment, and our climate. Their sources are limited and depleting at a faster
The United States is the second largest producer of greenhouse gases in the world, and yet is doing very little to fix this startling statistic (Dennis). The US’ reliance upon outdated energy sources continues to harm both the environment and the economy by producing millions of tonnes of pollution every year and costing the government billions of dollars (“Fact Sheet: Clean Power Plan”). Fossil fuels have been the main energy sources in America since the industrial revolution, and it is time to make a change. Renewable energy is energy harnessed from sources like the sun, wind, or water, and has little to no negative effects on the environment (“Renewable Energy Technology Basics”). The United States needs to integrate and increase the use of these types of energy across the country, as well as implement positive environmental policies, to prevent further pollution of the earth and combat the effects of climate change.
As the planet’s population continues to grow, so will the energy needs. Even with fast advancement of technology, humans are only able to extract so much oil in a given period. Relying solely on fossil fuels and pushing off the inevitable does not make sense. If all of the United States oil supply and every other non-renewable energy source had suddenly disappeared from the face of North America, Americans would have no choice but to rely on renewable energy resources and that would not be a problem. As more solar panels, windmills, and hydroelectric turbines were built and placed in their respective environments, the United States would be back on its feet within no time. This would eventually lead to lower energy costs and a much greener and environmentally friendly nation overall. In the long run, investing and focusing on renewable energy resources provides the United States with a fail-safe solution which would also provide citizens with the energy they need to power their everyday
The U.S. is using non-renewable resources affecting the environment and the resource itself negatively. This is a problem because the fossil fuels are creating a tremendous amount of Carbon Dioxide and the Carbon Dioxide is polluting the air. This is bad for the environment because of the amount of pollution and because of the way you obtain fossil fuels. This resource is not renewable, this means that the resource will run out over time. In this day and age, the demand for this resource is increasing rapidly due to overpopulation and the demand for more cars. If we could come up with a renewable resource to replace fossil fuels, then we wouldn't have to rely on a non-renewable resource any longer. This is where hydropower comes in. hydropower should replace fossil fuels and the U.S. a better place.
The U.S. energy policy is not sustainable in that a vast majority of the energy consumed comes from finite resources like oil, coal, and natural gas. While the continued use of these sources pollutes and contributes to global warming an even larger issue is emerging for the future generations of the earth, what to do when all fossil fuels have run out or come to the point where their extraction and development is economically unfeasible? There is no doubt that renewable energy will have to become the primary source of power for the U.S. and the world at some point in the future and increased research, development, and use of these technologies now will
Today we rely on a majority of fossil fuels with a small percentage of solar or wind energy generation to power our comfortable living. With fossil fuels being our primary source of energy, we are releasing things such as lead into the atmosphere to be inhaled; coal has to be mined causing deforestation and additionally causes water contamination from mining water runoff, the same to be said with fracking.
The environment is negatively affected be the burning of fossil fuels. The affects of the gases contribute to global warming, along with acid rain and polluted air. This pollution cuts short an estimated 30,000 American lives according to the Clean Air Task Force (Rich). The United States must stop using fossil fuels because the gases produce harm the environment we live causing harm to come all the citizens. “The future of energy production will
Fossil fuels have been essential in the development of most industrial nations, there are a few realities of using them that these societies needs to come to terms with and they are most importantly the fact that these fossil fuels are finite and that they are detrimental to the health of our planet. With the growing need for our planet to steer away from the burning of fossil fuels, it has become inherent that we are very reliant on the burning of them to supply our energy demand, so much that it has become a daunting task to steer away from these fossil fuels and transforming to more environmentally friendly renewable energy sources.
Over the past several years, scientists have researched the impact fossil fuels currently have on our world today. These sources of energy have an irreversible and devastating consequence on our environment. Fossil fuels are disliked due to being non-renewable and unsustainable. As more technological advancements have occurred, more efforts have arisen related to replacing fossil fuels with renewable sources of energy. Due to the integration of existing technology the public has become reluctant to adopt new energy technologies. Renewable energy brings many desirable health, environmental, and economic benefits. These renewable methods may ultimately provide a brighter future for generations to come.
The world around us mostly runs on fossil fuels in order to produce electricity; however, there will be a period that comes where we will run out of those fossil fuels. We only have so much time before a crisis hits and we have nothing left to produce the energy we need. In order for our country to produce the energy and electricity we need, we must do something about it. As a country, we must figure out how we can make the switch to using more renewable energy before it is too late and we run out of fossil fuels.
As the world population rises, we are using more and more energy and it is depleting faster than ever. Our fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) will not last forever and at some point we will have to switch over completely to renewable energy sources. While most of the world still uses non-renewable energy sources, the future will rely on renewable energy and its applications. Right now, over 90% of the world still uses fossil fuels and developing countries even burn wood to generate energy. At the rate we are using our fossil fuels, they will not last us far into the 22nd century. Additionally, big consumers of fossil fuels like China, U.S., Russia, and India are creating large amounts of pollution and it is only increasing. For instance, India has major issues with pollution because of heavy traffic (which releases more fuel emissions into the air), the burning of biomass (wood and other organic matter), and runoff into lakes and rivers. Right now, our biggest goal should be to figure out how to implement more forms of renewable energy in our own society. We should start using renewable energy in America because: it is more environmentally friendly, opens up the job market, and improves the health of the public.
The U.S. should replace fossil fuel with renewable energy. There are many reasons that the U.S. can use renewable energy to improve the economy. First of all, renewable energy can have a more stable price. Unlike fossil fuel, renewable energy is a continual source of energy that will not be as demanded, and will not cause inflation. Next, using renewable energy is a key to having a clean and green environment. It will not cause pollution to the environment and will keep cities clean. Finally, the United States can provide more efficient jobs for unemployed workers. People will have more opportunities for jobs like installing or building any source of renewable energy. Replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy can be more efficient because it will have a stable expense, it is a clean way to help the environment, and it can provide several jobs.
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