Sustainable sources of energy have received a lot of support from many people because they do not pollute the environment. High levels of toxic emissions and environmental degradation have encouraged many countries to look for alternative sources of energy to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels such as petroleum, coal and natural gas. Consequently, some countries are using renewable sources of energy such as solar, wind, biogas, geothermal and hydropower to serve their domestic as well as industrial needs. Many governments, industrial firms and individuals are committed to environmental conservation to guarantee future generations a cleaner and safer planet. This paper takes the view that a sustainable energy future is possible and it will discuss different arguments that validate this statement.
In the past, political and social unrest in Iraq, Libya, Iran and other parts of the Middle East destabilized the global economy. As a result, more countries are looking for cheaper alternatives to petroleum to cushion themselves from volatile international oil prices. Additionally, some countries have encouraged the use of hybrid cars that run on both petroleum and hydrogen gas to reduce harmful emissions. In future, more innovative energy solutions will be discovered and this will reduce the amount of petroleum consumed globally.
For instance, China which is one of the world’s largest consumers of coal and petroleum is looking for new energy solutions to serve its huge domestic and industrial demand. High levels of air pollution in major industrial cities in China due to an increase in coal consumption have forced the government to look for sustainable solutions to these environmental challenges.
Several city authorities across the globe have formulated new environmental management policies by reducing waste disposal on landfills. More importantly, new waste management processes have been developed which focus on recycling and converting waste to energy. This approach has proven successful in several towns in Sweden. Local government authorities have partnered with private sector firms to produce clean electric energy from waste which is connected to the country’s power grid. In Africa, countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia are reducing their overdependence on hydroelectric power by building new geothermal power stations to increase their electricity reserve capacity.
After the completion of these projects, these countries will be able to provide their citizens with affordable electricity obtained from sustainable renewable energy sources that are less toxic. Additionally, the Brazilian and U.S. governments have encouraged the use of biofuels in motoring and other industrial processes to reduce their economies’ overdependence on petroleum energy products.
In conclusion, even though fossil fuels such as petroleum, natural gas and coal are used in many countries across the world, they emit large quantities of greenhouse gases which contribute to global warming. Alternative sources of energy such as wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric power and biofuels will continue to grow in popularity because more people understand the importance of environmental conservation. Therefore, a decrease in the amount of fossil fuels used will guarantee current and future generations a cleaner, healthier and safer environment. In addition to that, more governmental authorities will recycle waste to generate more electricity to serve their domestic and industrial needs.
Lastly, geothermal power will enable some countries to generate high amounts of electricity while the development of biofuels will reduce petroleum usage in the transport sector.