Introduction
Green energy as an alternative source of power has been the point of focus in the 21st century. The media has played a great role in advancing the sensitization of green Energy. Through numerous forums, the media has been able to focus on the progress been made on green energy projects around the globe. Earth & Industry fro example is a new media company that publishes websites that deal with matters of environment, energy, and sustainable living.
The media can be credited for its role in educating and informing the public about the hazards of the environmental population through traditional energy production. For instance, the Cable News Network has been reporting CNN, through its Global watch segment on the developments in several industrialization processes one of them is generating green energy. The public has become more tolerant of the new alternative of power generation because the information given by the media through their various mediums has been convincing.
Energy is simply defined as the capacity of a physical system to perform work (Cartlidge, 2011). Energy exists in several forms and they include, heat, kinetic, mechanical energy, light, electrical, or potential energy (Cartlidge, 2011). The world has come to agree on the need to conserve energy and political willingness has been expressed by several nations in pursuit of the same. Looking at energy in general, it suffices to categorize its sources into two categories ‘tradition and green sources of energy. In the USA, energy is produced from conventional power sources like coal and Gas (Cartlidge, 2011). The gas emissions from these plants have caused the country to research and turn to environmentally friendly alternatives.
Issue Perspectives
Globalization and Its Effect on Green Energy
Globalization has brought the entire world together in the sense of a global village. The close relationship between nations has enabled and enhanced the sharing of technology and information. The entire world on many occasions has had forums to discuss alternative sources of energy and some of these forums have proven to be very successful (Turcotte & Schubert, 2002). It is through globalization that new trends in energy generation have been presented and recommended. Global organizations like the World Bank and the United Nations have been at the forefront leading the campaigns for new sources of energy.
This has been influenced by the growing global demand for energy and the increasing global population. The energy use per household today is very high compared to the last two decades (Turcotte & Schubert, 2002). Globalization has influenced and enhanced research globally. More people have benefited from the energy forums that have been happening all over the world. Sensitization has been enhanced in most countries and the need to explore green energy sources is hastily becoming a norm. Nonetheless, emission and environmental pollution are the greatest concerns when it comes to energy production.
The world is currently experiencing drastic climatic changes due to pollution. Renewable sources of energy require many power plants to be erected in different regions. Globalization has enhanced the search for new sources of energy through sensitization of the looming environmental dangers posed by the traditional sources of energy. Global commitments and treaties to shut down some of the world’s biggest nuclear reactors have been a signed-in response to calls for global responsibility. Countries have merged their efforts together to build up environmentally friendly sources of energy. This could not have been achieved by a single country’s effort since when emissions are released they do not affect the parent country alone.
Economic Perspective
Global warming is a situation that affects most of the economic activities all over the world (Turcotte & Schubert, 2002). It has been proven that renewable sources of energy can generate and increase income for the power plants significantly. With increased income, companies are able to employ more people consequently enhancing specialization. With a specialized workforce, the quality of work improves hence creating good economic precedence for other industries to grow. Environmentalists were the first people to advocate for renewable energy. However, even corporations and governments have joined in the struggle to achieve the most ambitious goal of the century.
It is imperative to mention that renewable sources of energy are sustainable, unlike fossils fuels that are feared to be depleting. For the growth of an economy, sustainability is vital. Whenever a plant is put up, the people living around that region will be employed. This is a way of creating jobs for locals hence increasing their economic strength (Jacobson & Delucchi, 2011). Green energy power plants sometimes act as sceneries that attract tourists hence creating revenue collection. Many indirect economic gains can be realized through exploiting green energy.
Other than creating jobs, green energy has recently become one of the most lucrative businesses globally. Countries endowed with a natural resource that can harness and generate energy are greatly advantaged. African countries are naturally endowed with conditions that are good for solar and geothermal power generation. In some countries, natural features such as dessert and coastlines are lying underutilized.
These features can be used to produce energy and even sell the surplus to other regions. Green energy is not only beneficial to producers but also to consumers as well. When the production of electricity and other forms of energy is cheap, even the price for the same will be reduced. This will consequently benefit the consumers who have to pay a lot of money to access energy in the current state.
Technology
Technological advancement has improved and this has enabled the creation of mechanical equipment that can utilize natural energy resources. One of the very popular pieces of equipment is the solar panel. This technology has been incorporated in varied ways to harness solar energy and transform it into power. Watches and television sets among other electric gadgets have been created to harness solar energy. Technology has incorporated such natural energy sources to make it easier and cheaper for consumers to access and use electric gadgets.
Renewable resources have provided the new age technology with an alternative. Today development of electric gadgets that run on solar energy has been the order of the day. While rural electrification has proven to be a nightmare in many countries, solar energy has been a remedy to this problem. Owing to technology, people in rural areas have stopped using kerosene for lighting since the introduction of solar-powered lanterns. Green energy has enabled technology to get to the rural areas if solar-powered laptops and phones are anything to go by (Jacobson & Delucchi, 2011).
The ability to use solar energy to run electric appliances has enabled innovations that have greatly benefited the most remote areas in the world. It seems in the near future petroleum gas will be outdated if the electric engines project for vehicles will be realized. This will be greatly enhanced by green energy to power vehicles in the remotest areas. Green energy is generated by the use of local and available materials hence making it affordable to all especially people living in rural settings.
What Others Are Saying
Many people agree that energy sources have provided the alternatives of energy sources with the least environmental pollution (Demirbas, 2009). For instance, wind, solar and geothermal power sources do not have emissions. In the case of biomass, which emits nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide, the amounts emitted are considered negligible since it emits very low amounts (Walls-Thumma, 2014). Several people said the greatest advantage of using green energy sources is that they are renewable and they never deplete. In addition, it has low maintenance requirements hence reducing the cost of power generation.
Many feel Green energy is highly effective when it comes to air pollution and the emission of harmful gases. Most of the green energy sources do not produce emissions and those that do, the emissions are negligible therefore of no great impact on the environment. A green power plant on the other hand requires less labor compared to a coal-fired power plant. This means that generating energy is more economical while using green energy than it is from traditional sources. Most people say that green energy is providing better indirect benefits compared to the already existing sources of energy even in terms of accessibility and mobility.
Most people are raising concerns about the sustainability of green energy sources. Apart from wind and water sources, all other sources are in some way not very sustainable. Take biomass, for instance, people fear that trees and plantations will be destroyed to provide the raw material for the creation of power (Jones, 2014). That way, it will be like jumping from the frying pan into the fire. However, most people are optimistic that green energy will play a better role than fossil fuels.
Conclusion
The key findings in this research paper include the fact that green energy is a permanent solution to global climatic restoration. This paper has found out that the emissions released into the atmosphere by the traditional power plants are slowly destroying the environment. Apart from providing energy alternatives, green energy also is an economic activity that can enhance economic growth in an economy.
In the research findings, it has been established that technological advancement is a vital process in the development of green energy. This research has established how globalization has had an impact on the development of green energy. The paper argues that through globalization, countries have been able to come together to discuss and deliberate on the process of providing safe energy production.
In the paper, how green energy is being used to improve the lives of people living in rural areas has been discussed at length. Evidently, globalization, economic factors, and technology had had a great impact on the development of green energy. Nonetheless, green energy on the other hand has also facilitated the expansion of technology, especially in rural areas. It has also enhanced economic growth in various parts of the world by creating jobs for the locals. Green energy has also brought the world together as a way of uniting to find a solution to the global energy problems.
References
Cartlidge, E. (2011). Saving for a rainy day. Science, 1(334), 922-924.
Demirbas, A. (2009). Political, economic, and environmental impacts of biofuels: A review. Applied Energy, 2(86), 108-S117.
Jacobson, M. Z., & Delucchi, M. A. (2011). Providing all global energy with wind, water, and solar power, Part I: Technologies, energy resources, quantities, and areas of infrastructure, and materials. Energy Policy, 3(39), 1154.
Jones, A.Z. (2014). Energy. Web.
Turcotte, D. L. & Schubert, G. (2002). Geodynamics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Walls-Thumma, W. (2014). Traditional Energy Sources vs. Green Power Sources. Web.