Alternative energy sources Essay Example for Free

Alternative zippo sources Es advanceThe age old question of how entrust we spot our homes and lives in general moving forward when all the inunct runs out, and unmatched day it allow. The world of neces baby-sity to move in a direction that get out lead to nix independence however businesses and companionship is slow to move because we rouse non see the impacts until it hits home in that all of sacred places, our wallets. Changes need to be do but can we afford it or can we afford non to engage the move that will ensure our future for generations to make. Fist let us look at why we chose fogy fuels. The fogy fuels we largely depend on today be coal, petroleum and natural gas. They are called non-renewable energy sources. That translation is actually an some other way of saying we use them faster than they form. Over 100,000 times faster to be exactSo how did we ever decide this would be the primary energy resource to fountain globe development and progress? It all goes back to human mastery of fire to provide warmth, light and a means of preparing more palatable and easily digestible foods. To the early man, fire was the equivalent of having a minor sun with them wherever they needed or penuryed to go. With this energy available at anytime and anyplace, humans could start to spread about the world and thrive, regardless of the climate or amount of sunlight available. It provided the world power for humans to begin their mastery of Earth as a species, less vulnerable to extinction than all other animal species, yet with a greater ability to bring about diversify for good or bad.There are many selection energy sources that we can see and put our hands on but they all have pros and cons. Some are both too expensive or non viable as a long term source of energy in comparison to embrocate. Our base is built around coal and oil dating back to the industrial revolution. From our cars to the power that runs the microwave in the kitch en fossil fuels are a part of our lives but they are running out, cleanup position the environment in more ways than one and becoming more and more expensive to produce due every war or scarcity. Then when we complain about the price or the consequences of drilling or suntan fossil fuels the best our governments can bankrupt us is talk with little action because those inpower are more about money which comes from the companies and people who go past money on their campaigns to get re-elected. When one thinks of alternative energies the start-off thing that springs to mind is solar energy and why not, we the sun is not deprivation anywhere any time soon(at least we hope not) and there are very few places that get intot get sun for most of the 24 hours in a day.So why do we not all have a solar panel on our roofs and cars? One reason is because it is not embody effective and cannot produce seemly energy for most people to gravel it worthwhile. Our mind find out is always d ivergence to be one of why should we invest in something that does not do what oil and gas can? With the economies of the world in jeopardy and more and more people out of work, intercommunicate them to do their part to help the environment is yet not realistic. Until science and business can make solar power more viable we as average citizens will not make the change while we have oil and gas still. Unless we either just run out or we can no longer afford fossil fuels we as a society will not make our lives any harder by switching to an alternative energy source that is still not viable nor is it cost effective. Another disadvantage to continuing with fossil fuels is the go along and escalating tension in the Middle East. The cost completely of defending the oil that we use and take for granted is astronomical not to mention the loss of life-time which cannot be measured.The thought that we as a society have not moved past killing one another for an inanimate objects is shame ful. That we have no evolved morally past the point of killing for energy is a discredit to how far we have come as a race. If we would take the money that we spend on defense and guarding oil rigs and clean ups when things go wrong and put it toward improving solar and thermonuclear fusion reaction nuclear power we might find yourself energy independence sooner rather than later. Wind is the beside source of alternative energy that has people all a buzz with excitement but is it sincerely viable? This alternative can seem very attractive but again is the cost of a wind turbine and the land needed to build wind farms is substantial to produce enough energy. So whence the question is just want with solar energy, we need so much space to make enough energy that it just cannot compete with fossil fuels no matter what the environmental impact. Alternative energy just does not have enough clout with governments to push their clean energy agendas that it just is not a short term sol ution.The main problem that we all can see is thatalternative energies cannot do what oil and gas do now. Wind will not let us drive 400 miles to where we want to go when we want to. Solar or battery power is unreliable because it takes time to recharge a battery with solar energy and no one has been able to come up with to date a viable mass producible car that uses solar power. Even hybrids and battery power cars just can give us the flexibility with which gas driven cars can. When something cant make what we already have give and at an equil or lesser cost to us will not gain ground. We are a visual society and unless someone comes up to us and says that the earth is handout to end in 50 years unless we all drive hybrids were not going to do it. It is not in our nature and so it wont make any difference what innovations businesses and science come up with. As for oil itself it is going to take something like nuclear fusion or a more advanced solar cell to move us away from oil .Nuclear power has always been taboo or in simpler terms a Not in my back yard energy source. Nuclear fission is a source of energy that is viable and being used to day however the need to increase nuclear fission sites has the environmental community in an uproar. It is a well-known fact that these types of reactions produce waste products that are extremely dangerous not to mention a nuclear fission plant can either be attached or have an issue that would cause an environmental catastrophe which makes the idea of building newer, rock-steadyr plants an unrealistic idea. The consequences of nuclear fission just do not out way the ramifications of environmental issues that could come of a disaster like Chernobyl. Nuclear fusion is a far more environmentally safe way to produce nuclear power and produces no waste products unlike fission and if an issue were to summon the reaction of fusion just stops and no radiation is not leaked nor is there an explosion of any kind. The problem again with nuclear fusion is at the moment costly and cannot produce enough power to out way the cost and energy it takes to produce power.This like solar power is where we need to be placing our faith in the future of power in our country and around the world because oil will run out or it will become too costly to produce or something is going to happen that will be so catastrophic that we as a race will say enough is enough but until that time comes were not going to change our ways. Despite nuclear energys role as a significant power supply source, it is highly unlikely it will survive past the 21st century, especially since the recent Japanesedisaster. Many people are against it, remembering of its highly radioactive wastes is difficult and costly. There are not enough ores available to maintain continued production of nuclear energy, and most of todays nuclear plants will reach the end of their life span within the next 50 years. McLamb, Eric(2010). Just another reason for mo ving towards fusion and putt the money that we might use to build new fission plants which could again like the Japanese reactor disaster fusion will not have that problem.There are many other forms of alternative energies such as geothermal and hydro power as well but again just like all the other sources, it is not producing as much power as fossil fuels and we are not spending our time and resource to improve these more available and attainable but again we sit with oil still. At the end of the day something dramatic is going to need to occur to push humanity towards a different source of energy but until we can see positive results on a massive scale we are never going to change our ways. As stated before if our major planet were to end tomorrow I still dont think we would change how we do things because we as a people are selfish and only care about what goes on in our homes as opposed to what is going on around the world. willing alternative energy source replace fossil fuels and clean up the environment. The answer is yes but what is it going to take to push us over the edge. Will it be a major environmental disaster, a global shortage of oil, or a scientific advancement that will revolutionize our way of life in a way that oil did when we first started to use it for our day to day to day lives. We can only hope but we are going to have to do something because we cannot continue down this path of ruining our resources and our planet.ReferencesBerger, A.A (2008). Seeing is believing (J. Wetherington, Ed. 3rd ed), capital of Massachusetts McGraw-Hill Mc,Lamb, Eric(2010). The Secret World of Energy(http//www.ecology.com/2010/09/15/secret world-energy//)