Renewable Energy as the Best Alternative to Oil
Renewable Energy as the Best Alternative to Oil
Renewable energy comes from natural resources like the solar, wind power, and geothermal power. For decades, the world has relied on fossil fuels for energy. Examples of these fossil fuels include coal and oil. However, diminishing resources coupled with increasing prices of gasoline has led the world into considering alternative sources of energy. Fossil fuels are also responsible for increasing global warming due to pollution as a result of emission of carbon dioxide. Determining alternative means of energy will thus ensure that the environment is less polluted and that people can access fuels at cheaper costs. The best alternative to fossil fuel is renewable energy such as solar energy that can be used for heating and lighting.
This paper reviews the history of renewable energy with reads to the themes of human and the environment and the diverse ways of thinking. These two themes are the drivers of renewable energy and an explanation of the progress of renewable energy to date. Renewable energy is the way forward for the world as these forms of energy are non-polluting, and they can be used and re-used without risk of diminishing.
History of Renewable Energy
Since the ancient times, man has always looked for alternative ways of doing things. These alternative ways were to help him adapt to life with ease. One area of seeking alternative options refers to the emergence of renewable energy. Sometimes, referred to as alternative energy, the history of renewable energy is than two centuries old. During the historic time, man’s only source of energy was wood. He would light fires for lighting and cooking using wood. Later, he shifted to the use of coal. In the modern society today, alternative energy refers to renewable sources of energy. Nations over-dependence on oil for many decades had led to a significant decline in oil reserves across the world.
According to a special report to the New York Times , there was a need for nations to be concerned over the depletion of oil across the globe. The depletion was an indicator that the world would begin to experience serious shortages that would impede on development. The shift towards renewable energy can be tracked to the ancient times with the use of wind energy by the Egyptians to power boats across the seas. Recent recordings include the invention of windmills in nations such as Netherlands in the 15th century for purposes of moving water to lowlands. In 1830’a solar energy was discovered for the production of electricity. All cross the 19th century efforts were still under way to manufacture better standards of wind and solar power. In the 20th century, refined forms of wind and solar power were invented with America and Europe adopting these forms of energy in large scale. The 20th century saw increased efforts to create additional renewable forms of energy . First, geothermal energy, which utilizes home water and steam to generate heat and electricity, was discovered. Secondly, Hydrogen was discovered and used to activate airplanes, spaceships and vehicles. Other forms of renewable energy include use of bio-fuels which are derived from plants.
Uses of Renewable Energy
Renewable energy is gradually replacing the conventional fossil fuels in many companies and households. Renewable energy is utilized for the purposes of generation of power. Currently, renewable energy powers 19% of electricity worldwide. Specifically countries have adopted energy sources such as wind power to generate electricity. Countries such as USA and Germany are currently leading in utilization of wind power for electricity generation. Renewable energy is also used for the purposes of heating. Specifically heat from the sun is captured to become solar energy. Countries such as China rely heavily on solar energy with 70% utilization . Countries are able to access hot water to their household due to solar energy. Renewable energy has also led to a significant reduction of transportation of fossil fuels form one region to another. US, for instance, is heavily reliant on oil for the smooth running of different sectors. By 2009, however, there was a significant shift in the use of bio-fuels over use of oil with over 90 billion produced.
Renewable Energy Policies and Politics
The ability of a nation to embrace renewable form of energy depends on the administrative polices as well as the political stand with regards to renewable energy. During Obama’s administration, there was increased commitment to embrace renewable energy as reliable forms of energy other than oil.
In 2009, the government passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in an effort to expand the presence of US energy market. The renewable energy sector was awarded over $ 16billion to engage in renewable energy policies and renewable energy technologies that will offer the country alternative forms of energy. Mallon looks at how the struggle to embrace renewable energy over fossil energy is complicated. First fossil energy has been in existence for decades and has formed a well funded and powerful political influence. Fossil fuel is also cheap in terms of flexibility of existing infrastructure. Despite the strengths of fossil energy, renewable energy technologies will overcome technologies that rely on costly fuels as renewable energy utilizes free resources i.e. water, air and the sun. It is against this backdrop that nations such as US are determined to establish a strong renewable energy sector that will gradually take over the fossil fuel energy.
Renewable Energy and Diverse ways of Thinking
According to Golder, and Walker, renewable energy is the direction that nations should follow so as to reduce over reliance on fossil fuels. Renewable energy makes significant contributions in the society. Advancements in technology in the field of production of renewable energy are one of the ways to ensure that these forms of energy become viable in the society . The population in the world I increasing and with increasing population there is demand for more energy sources than before.
Currently, nations are facing severe energy shortages that have seen energy prices rise. The high rate of consumption coupled with a shortage of energy puts nations in a dire situation of findings alternative modes of energy. According to Pimentel, and Seidel, indicates that each American citizen uses 93,000 kilowatts-hours of energy. This is equivalent to 8000 liters of oil for purposes of heating, cooking or cooling their households or offices. This trend calls for diverse ways of thinking. Diverse ways of thinking refers to thinking beyond the present. It is obvious that the fossil energy is gradually getting diminished from the face of the earth. The only way out for the survival and continuity of man is by thinking of effective alternatives to generate energy.
Prior to the discovery of renewable energy man was in a dilemma over an alternative to consider. The first question was to determine an alternative energy source that would not diminish over time. Ensuring that there is a renewable energy source meant that the cost of fuel would reduce due to abundance and availability. Man was also challenged to find an alternative form of energy that would emit minimal environmental pollutants. This would minimize the effects of environmental degradation in fossil fuels.
The discovery of renewable energy sources was a successful accomplishment for the world. The first form of energy that man began to experiment with was solar energy. Solar energy presented an alternative that would eventually lead to the replacement of oil and a path towards escaping from the independency associated with oil . Technological advancement and the innovative nature of man saw the emergence of wind turbines too. Gradually more alternatives to oil were discovered. As technology advanced man became more creative leading to improved modes of tapping to renewable forms of energy.
The diversity of thinking in relation to the production of renewable energy as an alternative to oil was evident. The production of renewable energy began with solar power. Solar energy is readily available from the sun this was followed closely by wind power. The sun and wind are natural resources that are readily available to man. These resources are also non-polluting and readily available hence would serve as a better alternative to oil. With the emergence of solar and wind energy, the creative nature of man saw other forms of renewable energy also discovered . Geothermal energy, for instance, is a reliable source of renewable energy that utilizes natural heat in the earth’s crust. Man discovered that geothermal energy can be trapped through three means. The first is the hydrothermal system which relies on heat from boiling liquids underground .
The second form is geothermal which relies on geo-pressure while the third form of geothermal energy utilizes heat from hot dry rocks in the earth’s crust. Increased technology has further diversified man form of thinking though the introduction of bio-fuels. Bio-fuels are reliable and renewable and involve the production of gasses such as ethanol, methanol, and vegetable oil. Ethanol gas is manufactured through the use of corn, Methanol can be produced from a gasofier-pyrolysis reactor with the use of biomass as feedstock while vegetable oil processed from plants such as sun flower, soybeans and related oil pants can be used to run car engines . The use of bio-fuels is one of the latest advancements in man creative nature of determining renewable sources of energy. Though not quite popular across countries, technological advancement is bound to turn this alternative form of renewable energy into a reliable energy source. Other than the themes of diverse ways of thinking, the theme of humans and the environment also arises when discussing the contemporary issues of renewable energy.
Humans and the Environment
The need for environment conservation was one of the drivers of embracing an alternative form of energy. Environmental conservation protects the present and future generations as it ensures that the planet remains habitable and effective to sustain mankind. It was clear that the carbon dioxide emission from fossils fuels was causing environmental degradation at a high rate. One form of environment degradation was through the emission of carbon dioxide. High levels of carbon dioxide gradually wear out the O-zone layer exposing man to dangerous ultra violet rays. Environment pollution has also led to global warming that has changed the climatic conditions of different geographical areas.
Erratic rainfall, flash flood, storms, hurricanes, and drought are common across different parts of the world. Different countries and organizational bodies, in an effort to conserve the environment decided to adopts activities that are environment friendly. Not to be left behind is the energy sectors with the unveiling of renewable energy sources. One of the effective ways of combating global warming and other problems associated with fossil fuels is by nations switching to renewable energy. The discovery of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy produced an alternative and environmental friendly source of energy . Solar and wind energy do not pollute the air or water, the process of production of these energies does not result to the release of toxic and hazardous substances and the energies also pose no threat to public safety. The production of wind and solar energy also require small fractions of land thus leaving the rest to be used for other purposes such as farming.
Other forms of renewable energy such as Biomass reduce the emission of green house gases the amount of carbon dioxide emitted during the burning process of biomass is almost equal to carbon dioxide required by plants for growth. The growing of energy crops also presents farmers with an opportunity to have alternative sources of income that can supplement their farm activities in off-peak seasons. Renewable energy offer immeasurable environmental benefits compared to the use of oil. Fossil fuels, the sources of coal, oil and natural gas are the greatest contributor of pollution. Burning of coal pollutes the air. Oil may sometimes leak and pollute water which in turn destroys plants and animal life. Fossils fuels are also found at the earth’s crust, thus the need to dig and disrupts the soil structure. This sometimes leaves the land irreversibly destroyed . Coal and oil also presents a situation of the presence of toxic wastes. Unfortunately, wastes from fossils fuel are non-biodegradable posing another pollution challenge. Nuclear energy is also reliable but the radioactive risk associated with its production is too high. Renewable energy is ideal due to the minimal harmful impact it has to the environment. The production of Biomass energy contributes to air pollution while hydro projects may interfere with the ecosystem. These negative effects to the environment are, however, minimal compared the environmental effects of fossil fuels. Negative environmental effects caused by renewable energy procedures can also be easily be controlled as they do not occur on a large scale.
Conclusion
Renewable energy is the best alternative to oil due to various reasons. First the environmental elements with regards to use of fossil fuels of renewable energy sources have pushed nations such as US to re-consider use of renewable energy. Fossil fuels are one of the leading environmental pollutants. Products such as coal and oil degrade the environment by polluting the air, the flora and fauna. Waste products from fossils fuels are no-biodegradable hence contribute to pollution. Renewable energy, on the other hand, relies on natural resources making these forms of energy cheaper and environmental friends. It is natural thinking ways of man that led to the discovery of renewable energy. Faced with stiff competition for strained resources and the fear of depletion of a commodity that societies heavily rely on, man thought of alternative ways of accessing energy. Use of renewable energy began during the prehistoric time and has progressed and development due to technological improvements. Government interventions in expanding the renewable energy sectors have seen the sector grow to become a reliable source of energy.
Reference
Esty, D. and Charnovitz, S. Green rules to drive innovation. Harvard Business review. Vol.90 (3); 2012; 120-123
Golder, D. and Ward, A. “Contribution of Renewable Energy Technologies to Future Energy Requirements.” Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Vol. 33. (1) (1984): 111-132.
Graedel, T. and Voet, E. Linkages of Sustainability. Bioscience. Vol. 61(4); 2011: 328-330
Hoffmann, P. Tomorrow’s energy: hydrogen, fuel cells, and the prospects for a cleaner planet. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 2001.
Mallon, K. Renewable energy policy and politics. London; Sterling, VA: Earthscan, 2006.
Nash, S. Decrypting bio-fuels scenarios. Vol. 57(6); 2007; 472-477
Pimentel, D. & Seidel, T. (2002). Renewable energy: potential and current tissues. Journal of Bioscience. Vol. 52(112): 1111-1118
Special to the New York Times. “Nation is Warned of Oil Depletion.” New York Times (1923-Current File), Mar 03, 1929
UN HABITAT, Planning sustainable cities: global report on human settlements 2009. London. Sterling, VA: Earth scan, 2009.
Is this your assignment or some part of it?
We can do it for you! Click to Order!
