Renewable Ressources
The Earth as we know it today is endangered. At the brink of a monumental shift in living conditions, caused by manmade global warming, mankind is scurrying towards averting this calamity that would forever change the Earth. Global warming is slowly progressing towards the point of no return, which will lead to mass extinction of fauna and flora all the while forcing humans to abandon coastal areas as the sea level rises. Having identified fossil fuels as the main catalyst for the calamity, mankind is treating the tragedy at its source, via the reduction in the use of non-renewable fossil fuels in favour of renewable sources clean energy. The Oxford Dictionary (2015) defines renewable resources, also known as clean energy, …show more content…
On the other hand there are those who believe that the issues relating to non-renewable resources are exaggerated and that global warming is just an elaborate myth. Thus, it is without the shadow of a doubt that renewable resources are the best alternative to fossil fuels.
The problem with non-renewable resources is that the use of such resources endangers the environment. There is a plethora of dangerous side effect to the use of fossil fuels which lead to global warming. The environment is at risk as dangerous by-products of fossil fuel combustion risk destroying ecosystems and the ozone. The United Kingdom Department for Transport (n.d.) explains that nitrous oxide, released from the incomplete combustion of petrol, builds up in the atmosphere, resulting in toxic smog, and acid rain, which are very dangerous for the environment, specifically the acid rain ruins fragile ecosystems and damages vegetation around the world (para. 4). Moreover, additional environmental consequences have been identified, in the form of rising ocean levels. Hanna, et.al. (2015) explain that the use of fossil fuels result in the build-up of dangerous gazes and particles in the Earth’s atmosphere, some of …show more content…
Consequently, such alternatives are a superior to fossil fuels, and should replace them in the generation of mankind’s energy needs As previously explained, such sources are virtually unlimited and come in many different forms but the two most notable and widespread are solar and wind power. In the case of solar energy, the energy production is achieved through the conversion of the sun’s rays into electrical energy through photovoltaic panels that transform the suns radiation into usable energy. This procedure does not deplete the resource used in order to provide energy, given the fact that the sun is a virtually unlimited resource. However there are some limitations to solar energy, which are inhibiting its widespread use. Destouni and Ambio (2010) explain that the reason why solar energy is being held back is due to the fact that in the current state of the technology, such renewable energy is not without its constraints, being that the steep initial set up costs and the fact that solar energy cannot be harnessed at night or in some cloudy conditions, a condition known as energy source intermittency (p. 19). Consequently solar energy, although virtually unlimited is being held back by its high initial costs and
The Earth as we know it today is endangered. At the brink of a monumental shift in living conditions, caused by manmade global warming, mankind is scurrying towards averting this calamity that would forever change the Earth. Global warming is slowly progressing towards the point of no return, which will lead to mass extinction of fauna and flora all the while forcing humans to abandon coastal areas as the sea level rises. Having identified fossil fuels as the main catalyst for the calamity, mankind is treating the tragedy at its source, via the reduction in the use of non-renewable fossil fuels in favour of renewable sources clean energy. The Oxford Dictionary (2015) defines renewable resources, also known as clean energy, …show more content…
On the other hand there are those who believe that the issues relating to non-renewable resources are exaggerated and that global warming is just an elaborate myth. Thus, it is without the shadow of a doubt that renewable resources are the best alternative to fossil fuels.
The problem with non-renewable resources is that the use of such resources endangers the environment. There is a plethora of dangerous side effect to the use of fossil fuels which lead to global warming. The environment is at risk as dangerous by-products of fossil fuel combustion risk destroying ecosystems and the ozone. The United Kingdom Department for Transport (n.d.) explains that nitrous oxide, released from the incomplete combustion of petrol, builds up in the atmosphere, resulting in toxic smog, and acid rain, which are very dangerous for the environment, specifically the acid rain ruins fragile ecosystems and damages vegetation around the world (para. 4). Moreover, additional environmental consequences have been identified, in the form of rising ocean levels. Hanna, et.al. (2015) explain that the use of fossil fuels result in the build-up of dangerous gazes and particles in the Earth’s atmosphere, some of …show more content…
Consequently, such alternatives are a superior to fossil fuels, and should replace them in the generation of mankind’s energy needs As previously explained, such sources are virtually unlimited and come in many different forms but the two most notable and widespread are solar and wind power. In the case of solar energy, the energy production is achieved through the conversion of the sun’s rays into electrical energy through photovoltaic panels that transform the suns radiation into usable energy. This procedure does not deplete the resource used in order to provide energy, given the fact that the sun is a virtually unlimited resource. However there are some limitations to solar energy, which are inhibiting its widespread use. Destouni and Ambio (2010) explain that the reason why solar energy is being held back is due to the fact that in the current state of the technology, such renewable energy is not without its constraints, being that the steep initial set up costs and the fact that solar energy cannot be harnessed at night or in some cloudy conditions, a condition known as energy source intermittency (p. 19). Consequently solar energy, although virtually unlimited is being held back by its high initial costs and