Essay Renewable Resources
Renewable resources are also known as alternative energy sources. Alternative Energy is any source of energy that can be renewed (Issit). Renewable Energies include hydrogen fuel, biomass fuel, hydropower, solar power, geothermic energy, and nuclear power. Hydrogen fuel is an amalgamation of hydrogen and oxygen which is used to produce electricity (Issit). Biomass fuel is made from materials which have already been used, such as compost, and can be used to generate electricity (Issit). Hydropower can be created through moving water or wind to generate electricity (Issit). Using sunlight to produce electricity is called solar power (Issit). Geothermic energy is energy made by the heat under the earth's mantle (Issit). Nuclear power is...show more content...
The Constitution states that it is designed, "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries" (The Constitution). Simplified, this means that the government has the responsibility to promote the progress of science, such as discoveries about energy sources and preserving the environment. There are Supreme Court cases discussing whaling and emissions that are very similar to the topic of eliminating the use of fossil fuels. In a whaling case in late 2008, for example, the final ruling was that navy submarines can continue using sonar waves underwater, despite the harm these waves bring to underwater mammals (Top US Court). Environmentalists fought hard to make a law preventing these ships from using these harmful signals but were overruled by the "needs of the Navy to respond to threats" (Top US Court). This case is similar to energy sources because the harmful waves, like fossil fuels which are also damaging, are being permitted, just like fossil fuels are allowed today. Another case regarding concerns similar to renewable resources is the case on car emissions and whether they should be legal or not. Previously, the Environmental Protection Agency decided that regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from cars was not needed (US Supreme Court). However, in 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that this decision was "not in accordance with the law" (US
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Every day the United States uses massive amounts of energy. Only about 8% of the United States' energy needs are met by renewable energy sources. That means that eventually 92% of the nation's energy resources will run out. Recently this problem has been brought into the public's eye and the American people's attention has shifted to renewable and "green" energy resources. President Jimmy Carter (1977) said that "[w]ith the exception of preventing war, this (the energy crisis) is the greatest challenge our country will face during our life time" (p. 418). There are many proposed solutions to this problem and wind and solar energy are just two renewable energy sources that could be used. North and South Dakota along with Texas have...show more content...
Both wind and solar energy technologies are extremely environmentally friendly. There are sometimes freak accidents in which birds or bats are killed by the rotating blades on a wind turbine but for the most part the only "pollution" one could complain about would be that the farms are not aesthetically pleasing. Compared to non–renewable fuels the emissions and waste produced from wind and solar energy is practically nonexistent. These new energy sources can reduce carbon dioxide emissions and provide energy that can be renewed. Some could argue that the price is high for a reason; the wind turbines could be inefficient, prone to breaking, or have some other hidden malady. The main problem with wind turbines is the fact that it needs to be windy for them to work. But looking at solar cells quickly reveals the same type of problem; they are useless without the sun. So the question becomes what is there naturally more of– wind or sun? The answer depends on location. Certain areas are known for being windy and certain areas are known to be dry and hot. Most of the time sunny and windy conditions do not exist together. If an area has little sun, it is windy, if it is hot and sunny all the time, it usually does not have a lot of wind. In the United States the best places for solar panels are in the desert states like California, Arizona, and New Mexico. As for turbines, the flatter Midwest states produce the highest wind speeds. There is also the problem of Get more content
Renewable Energy Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be transformed: the first law of conservation of energy. Since the earliest days of human history, man have always been looking forward to control energy. But it wasn't until the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that humanity finally learned to harness the high concentration of energy existent in fossil fuels. (''Why Sustainable Energy Matters,''Learning Space). Even though humans achieved to apply the first law of conservation of energy/matter, they failed to understand the principle. That is that energy /matter cannot be created or destroyed. Missing this premise and walking society towards modernization, humanity has been destroying the environment with contamination...show more content...
Second, renewable energy systems make use of organic wastes, producing energy as well as cleaning the environment. For example, bio–diesel from unwanted cooking oil has saved approximately 1 billion of US gallons of petrol–diesel while helping thousands of local restaurant owners get rid of their wastes. (''Renewable Energy,''American Green). Clearly, the use of the waste in the environment keeps both the carbon dioxide pollution and the organic wasted shedding under control. Finally, renewable energy is pro–environmental because is does not represent a hazard to the Earth. In the contrary, renewable energy resolves all menaces that could degrade the environment. (''Solar Energy,''Renewable Energy for America). As an illustration, nuclear energy plants have solved the pollution problem efficiently, but they yield to a similar problem–radiation while renewable energy facilities give rise no further complications. Also, renewable energy is the most suitable of the energy resources because it is economical. Primarily, renewable energy generators take advantage of the free energy in the environment. (''Solar Energy,''Renewable Energy for America). Furthermore, they make use of the surplus of energy in the environment. For instance, solar panels are the perfect form of renewable energy generation by making use of the solar energy the planet does not need. Second, renewable energy generators are economic to operate and maintain. Once
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What would happen to our world if our energy unexpectedly disappeared? Fossil fuels are very important to our world because they provide an overwhelming majority of our world energy. So, what happens when they run out? This research paper confronts this question with a balanced view attempting to address the issue of what sources might provide energy in the future and come to an objective conclusion. As the world enters a new century, new sources of energy such as wind, solar, and hydrogen power need to be developed to help the world keep running on all cylinders. With the development of these new energy sources, our world would become a cleaner place and the energy crisis would straighten itself out. Global Energy: Facts and Figures...show more content...
These figures convert into the fact that the United States contains only 5 percent of the global population, but consumes 25 percent of the world's energy. The amount of energy used in the United States alone poses a problem when looking at alternative energy sources. "Renewable energy sources will have to be successful and as plentiful as petroleum to provide the amount of energy needed around the world" (Mathewson, 1999, p. 279–80). Renewable Energy: Is It Necessary? Petroleum is at the heart of almost all the energy currently produced. While it is easy to transport and use, many people forget the hazards of using fossil fuels. Over the last century, many environmental problems have been caused by the production and transportation of fossil fuels. Such problems include oil spills that kill animals, pollute the ocean, and make economies crash. An example of this would be the Deepwater Horizon spill in Alaska in the early 90's and most recently the Gulf spill. Other problems on land have caused massive environmental disasters. Such disasters include large–scale erosion from strip mining and deforestation by mining organizations in search of new deposits of fossil fuels. "Problems caused by the burning of fossil fuels include acid rain that damages forests and contaminates soil, hazardous air pollution, and the suspected global warming effect"(Mathewson, 1999, p. 281). Over the last twenty years, many scientists and Get
When the new Southeast Polk High School opened they added many new energy saving products. This included installing geothermal heating under the high school cutting back on the cost of heating such a large building. Many new windows help save on energy used to light the building along with automatic lights that turn off after several minutes without movement. The new high school shows how easy it is to save money and help the environment. Renewable energy is good for all aspects of the U.S, providing jobs, economical growth, environmental cleanliness, and new research for improving energy efficiency. Therefore the United States should use renewable energy to benefit the economy and environment. The main way the environment is...show more content...
Some may believe that renewable energy is not beneficial.
In contrast, some believe that renewable energy is a key factor involved in helping the economy to grow. Many jobs are created in the manufacturing and running of renewable energy plants. The renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies created 8.5 million new jobs and $970 billion in revenue in the year 2006 (Langwith, "Renewable Energy is Economically"). The American Solar Energy Society says by 2030 it could generate up to $4.5 trillion in revenue for the U.S and create 40 million new jobs. This would represent one in every four jobs (Langwith, "Renewable Energy is Economically"). This shows how vital it is to get renewable energy companies in the U.S. It is important to build a stable economy again and do it all while helping the environment. 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
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As these days global warming, pollutions and fuel shortages are getting more and more serious through time, renewable and clean energy is increasingly the ideal solution to energy related problems we have to solve one way or another. Biofuel is currently one of the mainstream and highly supported solutions, an idea to make renewable fuel by living organisms such as fiber, corn, vegetable oil or sugarcane. Biofuels, unlike nonrenewable fossil fuels over extracted by people, contains the potential to tackle most of the problems people encounter when using fossil fuels. This makes renewable fuels making it a cleaner source of energy, and a better option than fossil fuels that will ran out shortly sooner or later. The two main categories in...show more content...
The second part of the essay will discuss some of the weaknesses in applying the fuel into practical usage. For example, corn ethanol is currently encountering technical limitations serving it as a standalone fuel, meaning that corn ethanol can only function by combining it with a certain amount of gasoline, while gasoline is a kind of fossil fuel. Finally, this essay will conduct a comparison with other renewable resources in the world, including solar power, other biofuels, and hydrogen fuel. The most noticeable advantage of corn fuel as an enhancement of fossil fuels is also the biggest advantage of ethanol energy a renewable fuel. Gasoline as a fuel is extracted from petroleum, and what makes petroleum an unreliable source of energy is that petroleum is nonrenewable, meaning it would run out some day in the future. Contrary, corn ethanol is a renewable source of energy, meaning if corns are replanted and remade into fuel, corn ethanol can be a long–term, sustainable energy source (gracelinks.org). Corn ethanol has the potential to produce a perfect solution of the energy crisis that will happen sooner or later, as experts predicted petroleum will run out in around fifty years (Gupta,p15). Another main benefit of corn fuel as the future fuel is that the
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