| The Sources of Our Current Energy and Why We Need Alternatives |
| Written by Beverly Clarke | |
| Saturday, 25 April 2009 | |
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We flick a switch and the lights, television and microwave come on. But did you ever stop to think about where the energy to power these appliances comes from? Since you probably have never given it a thought, you are unaware that today's energy is being supplied by fossil fuels and coal, two sources of energy responsible for sending huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Scientists are becoming more and more alarmed with the impact these poisons are having on our environment and are beginning to make their growing concern known.
We flick a switch and the lights, television and microwave come on. But did you ever stop to think about where the energy to power these appliances comes from? Since you probably have never given it a thought, you are unaware that today's energy is being supplied by fossil fuels and coal, two sources of energy responsible for sending huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Scientists are becoming more and more alarmed with the impact these poisons are having on our environment and are beginning to make their growing concern known. Because people do not realize how their normal electrical usage can affect the climate in such a strong way, they are not as concerned about trying to find alternatives. However, the importance for finding clean, renewable, sustainable forms of energy has never been more important. Apart from the fact that the energy sources we use now could harm the atmosphere, the fact is that they are not renewable and eventually at the rate at which we are consuming the energy, we will soon run out. This is probably the most pressing reason behind our need to find alternative sources of energy. Right now energy companies have been exploring the options for using solar and wind energy on a wider basis than is currently being used. Dams are also a great source for hydro power but are only good in areas with lakes and rivers that can be confined and used as a source of energy. Likewise, wind energy can only be harnessed in areas where there are consistently moderate wind gusts, so a lot of areas which do not fall into this category might not have access to enough wind energy to sustain their power needs. These days globally, researchers are actively engaged in finding alternative energy forms. Because it does not send carbon dioxide into the air, the most common, though controversial, is nuclear power. However, concerns over the dangers of melt downs and contamination are the main points keeping nuclear power from being developed on a larger scale. Although nuclear energy is a clean form of energy, it has other downsides than the ones already mentioned. It produces nuclear waste which is harmful and takes milleniums to break down. These wastes must be stored and we have just so much land on which to do that. For now, since scientists have not come up with a way to reduce the current energy problems we are all facing, each one of us must lend a hand to the situation. Studies being done show that by consistently cutting back our energy usage like turning off lights that are not being used, we could cut down our overall consumption of energy by up to twenty five percent. The Article Author: Beverly Clarke is a Green Living Advocate who lives in South Florida. In order to contribute to the greening of our world, she has put forth the websitesGreenWindsofChange.comandRoad2Sustainability.com where you can get your free guide to living green. |
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