Powerpoint Readings
Renewable vs non
Renewable energy is the energy which is generated from natural sources. Wind,
rain, the sun, and even tides can be generated again and again, mainly because
they are an ever-present and cyclical event found in nature. These things as
forms of energy sources are ever-abundant; if we harness their use as an energy
power, we can create sustainable sources for energy. These forms are found in
nature, and if we work with them, we will be able to create unlimited energy that
will actually work in harmony with the environment.
Non-Renewable energy is the opposite, and when used can lead to trouble for
the population. These sources have limited resources, and will eventually run
out. Using non-renewable forms of energy to fuel long term processes is very
dangerous for our future and the well-being of the environment. This is because
as we continue to use these non-renewable sources as if they were unlimited,
they begin to very quickly diminish and interfere with the natural supply provided
by the earth. These sources of energy are a very bad idea to be used as an
energy source, due to the fact that there is a finite amount. The most well known
example of non-renewable energy that the world uses at a large scale are fossil
fuels, such as coal, oil, and gasoline. The world has harnessed their power as an
energy source and continues to exploit it as if there was an infinite supply, using
it as a form of energy for too many things in daily life. Very soon there will be no
more of this energy to use as fuel, and we will be forced to transition to the use of
renewable resources.
Solar Energy
By simply looking at nature, it is easily recognizable that the sun may be the most
major source of energy for our earth. Without it, life could not exist on our planet.
Plants shift towards it and use it to generate their own food. Animals need the plants
to survive, and also depend on the sun for warmth and balancing the environment,
among other natural cues.
Solar energy is simply using the sun’s power as it is used in nature - capturing the
sunlight and somehow converting it into a form of useable energy, with the help of
developed technology.
Humans began to harness the sun’s energy as early as the 1900’s, specifically in
solar water heaters. Heat from the sun warmed the water inside our buildings and
homes. This was before the use of gas to heat water.
Solar mirrors have been invented to capture the sunlight to heat pipes. The water
in the pipes gets hot enough to boil into steam, which can then be used to turn a
turbine to make electricity. Solar power plants are full of these solar mirror systems,
and large ones can make electricity for 100,000 to 200,000 homes.
Granted, solar energy is only available to use when the sun is actually shining, but
that is much better than using a non-renewable resource that will eventually
disappear completely.
Solar cells or photovoltaic cells were first developed in the 1950s, and are made of
silicon. Sunlight causes the electrons in the cells to move rapidly, therefore creating
electricity when joined by a positive-to-negative connection. The cells convert
sunlight directly into energy and can be used to fuel many things; electricity for lights
and appliances, batteries, even electric motors on experimental cars.
Wind Energy
Wind has also been harnessed for years as an energy source. The earliest
technologies to capture this energy were windmills, which were used to pump
water for farms.
Now, technology such as wind turbines use this renewable resource to create
electricity. The turbine is attached to a shaft that turns a generator as wind
moves the turbine. Once electricity is made by the turbine, the electricity from the
entire wind farm is collected together and sent through a transformer. There the
voltage is increase to send it long distances over high power lines. A singular
small turbine makes enough energy to power a house. Imagine how much
energy an entire turbine farm is capable of producing.
Wind has to travel at 12-14 mph to turn the turbines fast enough to generate
electricity. There are many windy places on earth that make this manageable,
although it is not windy all the time. But, if used alongside other renewable
energy sources, wind energy can be a vital source of energy for many systems in
our world.
Transportation Energy
The majority of vehicles in our world run on non-renewable fossil fuels. It is
widely known now that the gas emissions from these fuels are a serious harm to
our environment. Some innovative thinking has led to the discovery of cleanburning fuels to use in vehicles, such as gasses like methanol, ethanol, propane,
compressed natural gas, biodiesel, hydrogen, and even pure electricity. Although
it is a small amount, there are vehicles that can actually run on these alternative
fuels.
Electric vehicles are simply that - vehicles that are fueled by electric power, found
in batteries. The cars are plugged in to charge the batteries, and then useable for
about 100 miles. This is a very sustainable form of transportation energy that can
be charged by other renewable forms of energy, and there are better batteries
being created to last longer.
In spacecrafts, the expanding gasses from the combination of liquid hydrogen
and liquid oxygen produce energy to propel the machine. The exhaust from this
is mainly just water! Similar to this process, fuel cell vehicles are energized by
liquid or compressed hydrogen. Fuel cell vehicles are therefore zero emission
vehicles. The only problem is that it is a mildly complicated process to transform
hydrogen into the form it needs to be in so it can be useable in vehicles. There
are very few actual fuel cell vehicles because of the cost and effort of this
process.
Hybrid vehicles use a combination of multiple forms of clean-burning and
renewable energy in combination with gasoline. This way much less fossil fuel is
necessary to power the vehicle, because it has electrical support. If every vehicle
were hybrid, there would be a drastic decrease in the total amount of exploited
fossil fuels worldwide.
Natural Impact
The use of Fossil Fuels is well known to have extremely negative environmental impacts. For
starters, the emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are to blame for more than a quarter of the
nation's total global warming emissions. They are burned and used in things like cars and power
plants, releasing fumes into our environment constantly. Each year, 3.2 billion tons of carbon
dioxide is produced and trapped in our atmosphere due to the greenhouse effect, destroying the
ozone layer. Coal, Oil, and Natural Gasses all emit CO2 when burned, along with each
contributing their fair share of toxins into our atmosphere. The largest problem that is causing
widespread panic is the very real fact that these resources are NON-RENEWABLE and running
out fast. There is not a regrowing supply of these fuels, and we are digging into every corner of
the planet to find every last drop. The more we take from the earth, the more we destroy.
Our country uses almost all of the coal we mine to generate electricity. The burning of coal
specifically releasing huge amounts of dangerous toxins into our atmosphere, including CO2.
Mercury contamination, ozone pollution and acid rain also stem from the firing of coal. Plus the
mining of coal is an expensive process that requires excessive effort, as well as destroys the
surrounding earth.
Because of the lower levels of CO2 emissions, natural gasses are seen as a good alternative to
Oil and Coal. We use natural gasses to heat our homes and to make many products. But, this
fossil fuel is no better than the other two; emissions from natural gas contribute largely to global
warming. A large controversy surrounding natural gasses is hydraulic fracking, which severely
contaminates the water and actually harms everyone involved with the process.
Oil is a key source for energy in our current world, and is leaving behind a trail of destruction on
our planet. mining for oil requires extreme effort, not to mention the use of toxic chemicals which
are released into our environment and the air that we breathe. Oil refining also destroys natural
habitats and poses dangers to natural life. Oil spills severely affect wildlife, killing and
endangering species across the planet.
Natural Alternatives
Natural alternatives to the use of fossil fuels is truly switching to generating energy using
renewable forms. These renewable energy alternatives would take some effort in popularizing to
the point that the use of fossil fuels ceases, so we need to create alternatives that prove to be a
sufficient substitute for our many uses of coal, oil, and natural gas. Fortunately, there are many
intelligent and innovative minds working to invent alternatives to fossil fuels while using
renewable energy resources.
Harnessing energy through the use of solar power has been around since the 1970’s, and is
slowly increasing. The use of solar panels is increasingly present worldwide, even at the smaller
scale of generating power for individual houses. The cost of equipment and installation is not
cheap, but is a fair price to pay in exchange for the conservation of our planet. Solar powered
vehicles are also a great alternative in the making, as well as cars fueled by biodiesel. Biodiesel
is created from vegetable oils or animal fats.
Wind turbines mentioned earlier are also becoming popular, and can be seen in use across the
country. Hydroelectric power is a similar alternative, which uses water to turn the turbines. Neither
produce emissions and can produce large scale energy when used together in bigger numbers.
Many countries have began to use this alternative, including Norway, Russia, China, Canada, the
United States, and Brazil.
A very significant discovery is the possibility of using hydrogen as a substitute to fossil fuels in a
very large percentage of their current uses. Hydrogen is cheap and comes from renewable fuels.
Not only is it a zero-emission form of energy, but hydrogen fuel cells can be used at both small
and large scales - homes and businesses alike. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles would be a huge help
in lowering the amount of fossil fuels used as fuel for cars. Unfortunately, hydrogen technology
costs more than existing power sources.
Other forms include ocean energy, which uses the energy from the flow of tides in a plant and
channels it into useable energy. This alternative is not as common, due to the cost of tidal power
plants.