Alternative energy sources: costs and benefits - Research Paper Example

Muscle power was produced through the muscles of animals and humans; this power was used in harvesting and other areas where muscles were needed. All these energy sources required solar energy or sun light in order to be able produce. The importance of solar energy can be recognized through the period when this form of energy was used for the production of crops, growing trees, and other various agricultural purposes. The best part about these sources of energy was that they could easily be renewed as there was infinite amount of air, water, and sunlight.

During the 1800s new ways of energy production were figured out: energy was produced through coal burning, and later in the 1900s the world started exploring the grounds for oil and fuel related resources (DeVito, 2000, p.51). By the 1950s the prior methods of producing energy of 1700s started losing their ground and were replaced with current methods in which fossil fuels were used to produce different sorts of energy (DeVito, 2000, p.51). Fossil fuels were produced with the aid of decayed remains of plants and animals.

They are also being created in current world, but the rate at which these fuels are produced is slower than the rate at which these fuels are burnt. . In recent years, the energy and the sources of energy produced during the 1700s started its production again, and the use of these sources of energy have increased drastically since new methods of producing energy are figured out day in and day out. The mankind has started to realize that fossil fuels and atomic energy cannot last forever and soon will be recognized as depleted resources; moreover, the use of such resources is having a negative impact on the environment of the world.

The cost of producing energy directly or indirectly through sunlight is quite low, and it even provides the mankind with unlimited supply of energy which can be used and renewed over and over. A renewable energy source is a term used to define the energy that can be produced as soon as it is utilized (Smith, 2008, p.24). Sunlight is the ultimate source of all sorts of energy which is renewable. Solar energy can be generated and used in direct or indirect form. Sunlight can be used to produce energy from solar systems; hydroelectric, wind and biomass power have the same renewable ability unlike traditional sources of energy that will become extinct if their use is at a higher rate than their production.

For example: England used to cut down trees and plants in the forests to produce energy before they moved on to start using coal as a source of energy. If these sources of energy are utilized in an effective and efficient manner, these sources of energy can last for an infinite period of time. Certain existing energy sources cannot be renewed but can be replaced by the current energy sources used by mankind. Such sources of energy are referred to as alternative means of energy,