Introduction
Renewable energy utilizes the energy from regenerative natural resources. The use of renewable energy makes the availability of energy in the world secure. Energy security depends on the renewable energy available for the continuity of its supply to meet the prevailing demand.
Thesis statement
Renewable energy is a viable energy resource that needs to be sort after in the current world irrespective of the cost and technology implications. This means that we have to use modern technology and any extra cost to implement the viable energy resource.
Definition
Renewable energy is any source of energy that cannot be exhausted such as biomass, wind, and solar. There are also waves and tidal. Hydroelectric power is also one of the renewable energy and it’s strictly the natural one that has no connections with fossils and nuclear fuel. There are various examples of renewable sources of energy. They include biomass, wind energy which involves the utilization of wind to drive a windmill, solar energy which uses the natural sun, geothermal, and other hydroelectric power sources.
Discussion
Renewable energy is a viable alternative to coal and nuclear for the generation of electric power which is very essential to human beings. Environmental implications have indicated that renewable energy is the best to be utilized in households and industries. The households are responsible for great greenhouse gas emissions to the environment of over 7 tonnes. This makes it advisable to use renewable energy since its environmentally friendly. The most appropriate energy to use is renewable energy since it is more efficient to utilize and that it also conserves energy. The households will be able to save on their spending on their energy bills for utilizing renewable energy. This is one of the main reasons why it will ensure that renewable energy will overcome the utilization of coal and nuclear fuels. In most states, non-renewable energy is used as the major source of energy. In Australia, fossil power stations are used as the main source of electricity. This deeply indicates that renewable energy is viable.
Renewable energy does not require the utilization of coal-fired power stations or the use of large hydroelectric dams. It also does not produce greenhouse gases when it’s being used. It is therefore viable as compared to coal and nuclear fuels which have large greenhouse effects and require large dams and coal-fired power stations (Milne, 2007). There are some other non-renewable sources of energy that may be extracted from coal. Since coal contains a long chain of hydrocarbon it has to be broken down using high pressure and temperatures. In the process of all the reactions taking place, gas is produced which is purified before being utilized to manufacture other products. These energy sources have therefore been confirmed to have undesired consequences for both the environment and even human life. The most key effect of nonrenewable forms of energy is the greenhouse effect that the gases emitted have.
Extraction of coal is an unattractive and nonenvironmental friendly process. The burning of the substance allows the release of many tons of mercury into the air and water. These substances are toxic. Its burning leads to the production of carbon emissions. Though the use of coal produces great damage to the environment, the energy from coal has turned out to be the most preferred source of energy in most parts of the world. Half of the energy used in the U. S is 70% of that in China and one-third in China is extracted from coal. There has been a need therefore to introduce renewable sources of energy to replace the energy from coal to make (Ledford, 2006).
Scientists in various parts of the world have carried out various studies which are aiming at reducing the effects of greenhouse gas emissions. This is geared towards the attainment of the viable energy resource which is renewable energy. Some of the proposed solutions to this problem include the utilization of renewable sources of energy. These energy sources are referred to as free sources of energy as they release lesser carbon to the environment.
Petroleum products have been substituted with ethanol in Brazil to reduce the amounts of carbon being released when the cars burn this product. This energy as compared to the energy from ethanol products is seen to be environmentally friendly as compared to that from other petroleum products since the carbon released by burning of ethanol releases carbon that was in the atmosphere before being taken in by sugarcane and utilized in its manufacture of food. However, to utilize energy from ethanol to replace today’s energy consumption Brazil have to increase the production of ethanol by 40%.
The use of ethanol to replace other energy sources has generated a lot of spur in the world. To the environmentalists, the use of ethanol has reduced carbon emissions to the atmosphere by about 20%. It has also reduced the greenhouse effect by almost the same percentage hence its use is significant in the world. The use of ethanol has generated a lot of debate for environmentalists as the process of generating ethanol in itself is a complex process. The ethanol industry releases smoke which is a pollutant to the environment. The growth of sugarcane requires fertilizer and fuel to be used there are also the use of pesticides and impurities such as liquid waste and smoke that comes from the burning fields (Yeo, 2009).
Many groups of people including politicians, policymakers as well as environmentalists have supported the growth of renewable sources of energy as a solution to the damage that nonrenewable sources have on the environment. They, therefore, push for the need for an electric car fired by solar power or other forms of renewable energy. The electricity retailers have endorsed a green power alternative to increase the units of power. This choice of green power means supporting renewable sources of energy as a viable energy resource. Households can create their power using renewable energy sources. The renewable energy source may at the start appear to be expensive to set up but it has low operating costs and fewer impacts on the environment. Government funding is available to offset the preliminary costs (Marris, 2006).
Natural gas as a source of energy is less expensive to operate than electricity. It also releases fewer greenhouse gases, though it is nonrenewable. It has various purposes room heating and cooking. Wood on the other hand can be a renewable source of energy if gotten through well-managed sources. The policy of cutting one and planting two to replace should be applied in this case.
Conclusion
In conclusion, renewable energy is more viable than nuclear energy in the current environment. The use of renewable energy to replace coal and nuclear in the production of electricity is a workable solution to most environmental problems that are caused by the current petroleum products. This is because the process has proved to be cheap and it also ensures fewer greenhouse gases are released to the atmosphere.
References
Ledford, H., 2006. Making it up as you go along. Washington DC: Nature PublishingGroup.
Marris, E., 2006. Drink the best and drive the rest. Washington DC: Nature Publishing Group.
Milne, G., 2007. Energy Use. Washington DC: Nature PublishingGroup.
Yeo, T., 2009.Carbon capture and storage: ninth report of session 2007-08: report together with formal minutes, oral and written evidence. New York: The Stationery Office.