Nowadays, most daily activities of human beings rely on fossil fuels heavily such as transportation, lighting, heating and communication. However, many scientists forecast that fossil fuel will be running out in the next century. Therefore, before its exhaustion, it is necessary to develop an alternative energy. Among all renewable energies, we will discuss the pros and cons of nuclear energy, solar energy and wind energy.
To begin with, nuclear energy has several major advantages. Not only a large amount of energy can be produced with only a tiny amount of energy input to the power generator, but the maintenance cost is low also. Moreover, unlike fossil fuel, it will not cause serious air pollution.
However, after the two serious nuclear …show more content…
This is not a difficult question to answer. Using Nuclear energy is just like purchasing a high-return but a high-risk derivative in the stock market. However, do all of us really eager to take such risk? Certainly not! Most people are risk adverse. Therefore, nuclear energy should be eliminated when other alternative energy sources have been fully developed.
Another famous alternative energy is solar energy. As long as the sun exists, it is inexhaustible. Moreover, it is relatively clean and safe in that it will not cause air pollution during energy generation as fossil fuel does, or any catastrophic consequences as nuclear energy does.
However, it is not without drawbacks. When comparing with fossil fuel and nuclear energy, much larger area is required to build sufficient solar panels to generate the same amount of electricity, leading to a high initial construction and investment cost, which makes solar energy expensive. Furthermore, it is less reliable than fossil fuel and nuclear energy because it is highly vulnerable to weather changes. Therefore, it is only suitable for those areas having a relatively stable weather and long duration of sunshine. Another disadvantage is that a highly toxic by-product, called silicon tetrachloride, is produced during the manufacture process. This chemical will irritate the eyes, skin and respiratory tract once it meets wet air. Hence, there still exists a great room …show more content…
To start with, it does not require any fuels in operation. Besides, it is not only cleaner than fossil fuel but also solar energy in that absolutely no pollutants are produced. Moreover, it is far less risky than nuclear energy.
Nevertheless, someone may argue that it is again not reliable as the direction and intensity of wind are varying continuously. Furthermore, it will cause noise pollution and affect both the natural scenery and ecosystem.
Apparently, after weighing the pros and cons, wind energy does not look very appealing to us. Nonetheless, until recently, a new type of wind energy generator called airborne wind turbine is invented. It is such an epoch-making innovation that it addresses all the problems of the ground-based windmill.
This turbine, whose shroud is filled with helium, is a wind power generator floating in the sky. Its height can be as high as 4600m above the sea level. At higher altitude, wind is more persistent and its intensity is greater so more electricity can be generated stably. The electrical current is then carried to the base station through a conductive
To begin with, nuclear energy has several major advantages. Not only a large amount of energy can be produced with only a tiny amount of energy input to the power generator, but the maintenance cost is low also. Moreover, unlike fossil fuel, it will not cause serious air pollution.
However, after the two serious nuclear …show more content…
This is not a difficult question to answer. Using Nuclear energy is just like purchasing a high-return but a high-risk derivative in the stock market. However, do all of us really eager to take such risk? Certainly not! Most people are risk adverse. Therefore, nuclear energy should be eliminated when other alternative energy sources have been fully developed.
Another famous alternative energy is solar energy. As long as the sun exists, it is inexhaustible. Moreover, it is relatively clean and safe in that it will not cause air pollution during energy generation as fossil fuel does, or any catastrophic consequences as nuclear energy does.
However, it is not without drawbacks. When comparing with fossil fuel and nuclear energy, much larger area is required to build sufficient solar panels to generate the same amount of electricity, leading to a high initial construction and investment cost, which makes solar energy expensive. Furthermore, it is less reliable than fossil fuel and nuclear energy because it is highly vulnerable to weather changes. Therefore, it is only suitable for those areas having a relatively stable weather and long duration of sunshine. Another disadvantage is that a highly toxic by-product, called silicon tetrachloride, is produced during the manufacture process. This chemical will irritate the eyes, skin and respiratory tract once it meets wet air. Hence, there still exists a great room …show more content…
To start with, it does not require any fuels in operation. Besides, it is not only cleaner than fossil fuel but also solar energy in that absolutely no pollutants are produced. Moreover, it is far less risky than nuclear energy.
Nevertheless, someone may argue that it is again not reliable as the direction and intensity of wind are varying continuously. Furthermore, it will cause noise pollution and affect both the natural scenery and ecosystem.
Apparently, after weighing the pros and cons, wind energy does not look very appealing to us. Nonetheless, until recently, a new type of wind energy generator called airborne wind turbine is invented. It is such an epoch-making innovation that it addresses all the problems of the ground-based windmill.
This turbine, whose shroud is filled with helium, is a wind power generator floating in the sky. Its height can be as high as 4600m above the sea level. At higher altitude, wind is more persistent and its intensity is greater so more electricity can be generated stably. The electrical current is then carried to the base station through a conductive