Alternative Energy

The future of humanity Is at stake due to the high consumption of energy sources that are used to get us through our everyday lives! Our most common methods of generating energy are polluting our beloved planet Earth and tearing up the ozone layer. Also, many of these methods we are currently abusing to generate energy are non-renewable. That's means we could run out any day now. This is a formula for complete disaster, but don't be scared. Like most things we can fix this situation we have put ourselves into with alternative energy sources. Sorry Captain Planet it looks like you will be sitting this one out.There are many different forms of clean and renewable alternative energy. Fortunately it look likes we may be headed down the right path to saving humanity. Some of these forms of alternative energy that can definitely help solve the problem are: wind energy; hydrogen; solar power; wave energy. Currently wind power only provides about 0. 15 percent of the worlds electricity but I t has become one of the fastest growing forms of clean, alternative energy. Gigantic windmills, also known as wind turbines are sprouting up all across the land and seas of the world.These towers can be a massive one hundred meters tall. One f these towers alone has the ability to produce 1,650 kilowatts of power. That Is enough electricity to adequately power roughly 350 European homes. Since 1992, more commercial wind farms have been installed in more countries than ever before. There are now 40,000 turbines in 40 countries, and the world's wind energy capacity is growing at nearly 27 per cent annually. In 1998, it topped 10,000 megawatts (MM), about the total energy producing capacity of a country like Denmark.The 1999 figures are not all in, but we know that 1998 was a boom year for the wind power Industry. Equipment sales topped $2 billion and there ere 35,000 Jobs In the sector worldwide. Growth Is expected to continue at about 25 per cent a year. (Madsen, Pa. 6) In Europe the re are plans to have forty thousand megawatts of wind power Installed by the end of 2010. Wind is one of the best sources sources of alternative energy due to the fact it is completely environmentally friendly and we will never run out of wind. Denmark, the wind energy pioneer, covers 10 per cent of its electricity consumption from wind power, delivered from an installed capacity of some 1,700 MM(Madsen, Pa. 8). † Not far behind are also Germany and Spain due to the terrain and steady flow of mind. While everything is working out great for wind power over in Europe things aren't going quite as well here in the U. S. A, unfortunately. Currently wind power only provides about 0. 1 percent of the continents electricity needs. This is due in large part to a congressional argument every couple of years about a tax break to help boost the wind power Industry. Wind turbines produce electricity in California for between 4. 5 cents and 4. 8 cents per K-H, roughly the same as the cost o f power from a coal-fired plant. Emory Loves of the Rocky Mountain Institute In Colorado lives that a new generation of sugarless wind turbines will improve efficiency and the U. S. A. Is not the only area slacking in the wind power industry. Asia, South America and Africa are even farther behind, in regards to wind power, than the U. S. A. Experts believe that twenty percent of the entire worlds energy needs could be supplied by wind power.There is enough wind to provide twice the expected global electricity demand for 2020. Even if only 10 percent of energy needs were met by wind power, the world would be spared about 10 billion tons of carbon emissions (out of a total of 60-70 billion tons). To achieve this goal, 120 times more wind capacity would have to be installed than there is would be very high, but operation and marginal. (Madsen, Pa. 12) today. The initial investment required maintenance costs would be As with every industry, the technology of wind turbines has improved g reatly over the years.The manufacturers have been building bigger and better turbines and as a result of this the price of wind power has been dropping by about twenty percent since 1999. This makes wind power not only a great environmental choice but also a great economical choice. In the long run wind power is much cheaper than rotational ways of generating energy like coal power plants. Once the turbines are installed they require very little maintenance and fuel does not need to be purchased or gathered to allow them to create the energy we need. As far back as Jules Verne, visionaries have predicted that society will someday be utterly transformed by energy based on hydrogen. â€Å"(Strip, Len. 1) We have more hydrogen in the universe than any other element. Hydrogen is extremely clean and produces mostly Just water vapor when it is burned. Fuel cells power by hydrogen will be able to solve many energy problems that we currently face. The technology is already in place and rea dy right now to allow to hydrogen to take over as the main resource for generating energy.It may take a while to be able to convert most everything we depend tog e through our daily lives, but for a cleaner more efficient future it is definitely the right path to take. The first step down the hydrogen path would be to outfit fuel stations for hydrogen powered vehicles, which there are a few that were recently put out on the market. Manufacturers being able to mass produce the hydrogen fuel cells will also be a big boost as it would greatly decrease the cost for the mass market. Around the industrialized world, the seeds of oil displacement are already visible.Next year, for instance, three major energy companies in Scandinavia plan to build a pilot plant to make hydrogen from wind power. While it's only a start, the implications are huge: Denmark, the world wind-power leader, already gets nearly 15% of its electricity from the wind. Use that electricity to produce hydrogen, and the Danes would have the energy equivalent of the Euro: an energy currency that can be efficiently swapped for heat or locomotion, or turned back into electricity. And while electricity is hard to store n large quantities, hydrogen is easy.The Scandinavians plan to use it in fuel- cell that equipped buildings and vehicles–such as the hydrogen-powered buses Demolisher's expects to roll out in Europe next year. (Strip, Pa. 8) Another great thing about hydrogen power is that it can be used to drive other produce hydrogen. That benefits everyone in two ways. First, producing hydrogen while harnessing the power of the wind or the sun does not produce and harmful emissions that can damage the ozone layer. Secondly, electricity is hard to store but hydrogen is very easy.Today, 20 percent of all units sold to heat pools are solar. The potential value of the technology is shown in Israel, where solar hot water heaters displace 6 percent of the country's total electricity consumption. (Ham mer, Pa. 9) Not only is solar energy heir savings. It is estimated that by 2020 there will be over 1 50,000 Americans employed in the photovoltaic industry. (Hammer, Pa. 9) â€Å"Wave energy has been hailed as the most promising renewable source for maritime countries. It does no environmental damage and is inexhaustible?the waves go on for ever.It is invariably popular with the public, which has a sentimental love of the sea. â€Å"(Ross, Pa. 1) Getting energy from the wave of the ocean is probably one of the oldest and best ideas for alternative energy. The first patent for wave energy was filed by a father and son during the time of the French Revolution. Ross, Pa. 2) Unfortunately, there was was little progress in converting this great resource into usable energy until the last quarter century due to little knowledge of what a wave really is and how it worked(Ross, Pa. 3).Harnessing the massive of power of waves to generate energy has been a daunting task so far because of the harsh conditions the equipment must be able to endure. There has been success though. Yogis Massed, from Japan, invented the oscillating water column (OCW)? effectively a chimney which stands on the seabed and admits the waves through its base. As they rise and fall in the open sea outside, the n opening near to height of the column of water inside rises and falls too. As the water level rises, air is forced up and out through a turbine which spins and drives the generator.As it falls again, air is sucked back in from the atmosphere to fill the resulting vacuum and once again the turbo-generator is activated. Professor Alan Wells of Queen's University, Belfast, greatly improved the efficiency of the invention by devising a turbine which spins in the same direction regardless of whether the air is being pushed out or sucked back into the chimney. (Ross, Pa. 6-7) This is Just one of the many ways of of generating power room waves that is currently in use or under development by resea rchers around the world.One of the more interesting methods that is currently under going testing and development is the Salver's Duck, invented by Professor Stephen Salter of Edinburgh University. His invention consists of cones called ducks that are built around a spine that is connected to a central generator. As the ducks bob up and down while they are they on the waves they drive the generator(Ross, Pa. 9). The biggest hurdle that wave power faces now is not the lack of knowledge to put the technology into use but the lack of financial backing. Like most new developing cosmologies it is very expensive to get going at first because the fact that it is new.Wave power however is a great investment because it has the potential to produce incredible amounts of electricity without harming the environment. The well being of our planet should come first. It's pretty hard to argue against the fact that something needs to be done help the planet we live on get back to a healthy state. Th e way we produce energy to get through or daily lives, not Just in America but the whole world, needs a face lift to rival that of Joan Rivers. Yes, it is true that face lifts are are not cheap and may not fix al the problems we currently have with how we create energy.But, everyone knows that something needs to be done. There is a chance that many of these ideas for alternative energy may end being in the rough that could turn out to be the next Brett Fare of the alternative energy industry. We need to take a chance on some of these unproven technologies for the future of the human race and our planet Earth. Not only will these new sources of energy help the planet but the economy as well. Thousands of new and exciting Jobs will be created. In conclusion, alternative energy sources can be the true savior of the human race. Alternative Energy Continuously coughing while driving down the road, Maggie, a seventy-year-old woman presently living in Bend, Oregon makes her way towards the physician. Twice a month she has to drive just three blocks down the street to the doctor's office to pick up her medication. Maggie has to use the medication to ease her breathing problems caused by the devastating pollution in the big city. Only fifty years ago, Bend was a beautiful, small city with clear skies and thousands of lush, green trees. In the winter, hundreds of tourists would flock to the town for winter sports at Mount Bachelor. Now, Bend is a terribly polluted mass of buildings, streets, and people. Instead of tourists visiting in the winter for skiing and snowboarding, they come for the warm temperatures and a fresh tan. Over the years, the pollution build up from nuclear power plants and the carbon dioxide from automobiles caused the city to have hideous smog problems. The constant exhaust protruding from the tail pipes of millions of cars across the globe caused the year-round temperatures to shoot up unstoppably. If the human race does not change the current lifestyle, this sad tale could one day be a reality. To prevent this from happening alternative energy sources should be used more frequently throughout the world. Alternative energy sources are underutilized resources that need to be embraced and used before too much harm is done to the earth, and it is too late to reverse the effects. Although many people think that it is too costly to convert to an alternative energy source, such as solar power, the money that is spent to switch from one source to another is eventually regained due to lower electrical bills. A couple living in Pennsylvania has a solar photovoltaic system mounted on their roof, which generates the power needed to live. The generator then sends any extra power back to a main electrical grid causing the electric meter to spin backward, thus saving the couple hundreds of dollars. In one year, the couple generated almost five hundred more kilowatt-hours of electrical power than they needed. Having the extra electricity meant virtually no electrical bills for the entire year; the two only had to pay sixty-one dollars of customer-service fees in 2001, rather than 560 dollars of electrical bills in 1993 (Heavens). If one couple's electric bill were that high in 1993, imagine how much higher it would be now. With solar power as a main source of energy, hundreds of dollars a year can be saved on electricity, eventually saving vast amounts of money for users. Some people may agree that using an alternative energy source, such as solar power, will save money, but do not want to convert because forms of alternative energy are not very widely and readily available. While it is true that there are not large amounts of various forms of alternative energy available, it is also true that more are defiantly needed. Recent blackouts have shown that there are too many people and not enough energy. According to a national trade group for utilities, the Edison Electric Institute, â€Å"[t]housands of small neighborhood blackouts occur each year in the USA, lasting from a few seconds to a few hours† (Iwata 3b). Along with those small blackouts, there were also 324 large and midsize blackouts and more than a dozen super-blackouts from 1984 to 2000. All of these blackouts are still occurring, even though the North American grid is regarded as the most advanced in the world (Iwata 3b). If there could be more energy available, then there would not be as many blackouts across the nation and people would not have to deal with going without power. While many alternative energy sources can help reduce blackouts, they can also help people maintain a healthier lifestyle by cutting down on smog problems. While driving in a car, more fuel-efficient driving habits can help a great deal in reducing pollution and smog in the city. For every one-liter of fuel that is saved, almost two and a half kilograms of carbon dioxide are kept from entering the atmosphere. Keeping the carbon dioxide from entering the air prevents smog problems, and with less smog problems numerous health problems can be reduced in the population. Many people suffer from asthma and respiratory illnesses because of so many automobiles across the globe, and, 5,000 people in Canada alone die a year from smog in the city (â€Å"Breathe† 16). If Canada has 5,000 deaths per year from smog, then thousands more people die across the world just from the pollution-causing exhaust fumes trailing out of vehicles around the planet. If more people use alternative fuel cars or hybrid electric cars, hundreds of people can be kept healthier because of less pollution. Along with being healthier for people, alternative energy sources help save the ozone layer, preventing more damage to the earth from occurring. According to estimates, the overall global temperature has increased five to nine degrees Fahrenheit since the last ice age (Stevens 60). This temperature fluctuation does not seem like a big deal, but with another one to six-degree raise in temperature expected by the year 2100 (Stevens 59), ocean levels could raise destroying wildlife habitats, ocean ecosystems, and seaside cities. Also, tropical storms could become more severe, destroying any lasting cities along the coastal regions of the earth (Stevens 60). When using alternative energy sources, people can help to save the ozone layer from too much damage, helping the entire planet. Not only do alternative energy sources help to save the ozone layer, but they also help to prevent nuclear wastes from harming the earth. Nuclear power plants use radioactive materials to create energy, and after they are done with the materials, they are buried in the ground. The radioactive material that is buried in the ground, depending on the type, can cause death to many organisms by slowing killing all the cells due to radiation. For the organisms that do not die, they can either get cancer, or some sort of mutation in their reproductive cells causing damage to future generations (Weber 22). Some of the wastes from nuclear power plants can be harmful for three to five hundred years and other can be up in the millions (Weber 26). If the waste is harmful for hundreds or even millions of years, than we not only have to worry about health risks for current generations, but also the future generations across the globe. For the future generations, if the waste is harmful for so many years, the less populated areas that are now used for disposing of these wastes may one day be extremely populous regions around the country. When using nuclear power there are large amounts of harmful wastes to worry about, but with an alternative energy source, there are no harmful wastes that put risks to people's health and environmental health. There are many different forms of alternative energy sources, all of which need to be more widely embraced and applied to current methods, otherwise too much irreversible damage could be done to the earth. The environment and the health of the human population both need protection from pollution, otherwise cities which are currently relatively small and still have clear skies and green trees, may one day end up with little amounts of trees, overgrown populations and terrible pollution problems. The global climate will rise and land destroyed by nuclear wastes could still be harmful if humans have too much contact with the area. If the human race does not discover better, less destructive ways of creating energy, then who knows what the world may one day look like?