Renewable Energy VS Fossil Fuel - Research Paper Example

?CheeLok Enoch Tsui White-Mellish English 104 June11 Renewable Energy VS Fossil Fuel In recent times, there have been worries in the energy sector over the possibility of clean energy instead of using the type of conventional fuel that pollutes the environment and has been affecting it negatively, one of the notable negative impact of fossil fuels is increase in the global warming. There has also been question over the possibility of depletion of current fossil fuel reserves, fossil fuels are those that are not renewable, one they are exploited, they cannot be replenished. In this regard, there has been a concern to opt for other sources of energy that are renewable and can be used over and again without depletion. It is then construable that renewable sources of energy can provide a solution to the myriad of problems that comes with the fossil fuels and should be fast tracked to check on the challenges occasioned by overreliance on one source of fuels-fossil fuel The need to consider other sources of energy is even accentuated by the fact that fossil fuels that are not only non-renewable, they are also scarcely distributed and this brings more competition on the resource leading to the increase in the cost of using such sources of fuels. This move to opt for other sources of energy comes at a time when other countries fully depends on the production of the fossil fuels to drive there economy. Notwithstanding, the move to consider alternative sources of fuel is aimed at easing the pressure that is mounted on the use of fossil fuel so that prices can be moderated while at the same time the environment is kept clean (Singh and Steven 21). As indicated in the first paragraph, fuels can be classified into renewable and non-renewable, fossil fuels fall under the category of non-renewable sources of fuels. There is a clear distinction between the sources of energy that one is able to identify and classify them owing to the nature of their formation. Different types of fuel that fall under either fossil or renewable, and each has its own distinct characteristics setting it apart from the other. Fossil fuels are those that emanate from changes in the atmosphere from the carboniferous era, they consist of Coal, Petroleum, and Natural gas, fossil fuels are made from the process of anaerobic decomposition of the organism that were buried long time. The dead buried organism will have to be subjected to intense heat and pressure which then results into the formation of the fossils fuels. It has to noted that for the organisms to turn into fossils fuels, the take millions of years underground, for instance, there are those that takes up to about 650 million years for the organisms to give fossil fuels. One of the characteristics of the fossil fuels that is notable is high percentage of carbon content, though the percentage of the carbon in the fuels to differ from one compound to the next. There content of carbon is the facilitating factor for the environmental pollution; on the other hand, renewable energy is that which originates from materials that receive continued replenishment from nature and include sunlight, tides among others. The fact that, renewable source of energy are spread in almost all the geographical regions makes it suitable for the production of sufficient energy to drive the economy unlike that of fossil fuels that is only skewed to selected geographical areas. This make renewable source of energy to be a better alternative of reducing cost of the fuels, controlling pollution, and providing enough energy that can sustain the high demand that is in the offing. Given the nature of the renewable sources of energy, there is only modification and development of the sites for them to be harnessed, for example, in a river with a waterfall, the only development expected for the energy to be harnessed is fixation of the turbines and construction of the hydropower station. Advantages of the Fossil Fuel Fossil fuels that include coal, petroleum, and natural gas presents a plethora of advantages even though they are used as sources of energy. Since there discovery in the late 1800, fossil fuels have been consistently used throughout. Fossil fuels are deemed easily available to any interested party that would like to use them, where they occur in huge quantities. As such, they have been used for many years, and in modern times with improved technology, there are attempts to find out more reserves of these fuels. In addition, technology has improved how these fuels can be harvested for use and processed for better use in relation to efficiency and quantity, where it is because of technology that fossil fuels are available in abundant amounts for use by all. Another advantage of fossil fuels lies for energy that they produce in relation to the amount of fuel burnt or consumed to produce energy. Little amounts of fossil fuels are required to produce large amount of energy to power large equipment and machinery that makes life easier. Fossil fuels, by having a composition of carbon and hydrogen molecules, have high stability, such that they are not explosive under normal environmental conditions. This further makes them easy to store as they do not even form other compounds when left in storage for extended periods, which makes them easy to transport (Srivastava). One of the biggest advantages of fossil fuels is the ease with which they are extracted from their sources, which makes them inexpensive as they are harvested and processed at a relatively low cost, and is then transferred to consumers. It is therefore imminent that fossil fuels present advantages almost in all areas, from extraction, to transportation, storage, and even the energy that they produce per unit. This make the source of energy not only a convenient source of energy but also that which is economical given the fact that is can be used in little amount to produce large quantities of energy. Disadvantages of the Fossil Fuels Disadvantages of these fuels lie in their makeup, where they release too much heat and toxic gases when combusted, such as carbon dioxide, which is a danger to the environment by causing global warming. Global warming is caused by the accumulation of excess carbon in the air, this forms a blanket zone that prevents total exit of the sun’s radiation, and they are reflected back leading to increase in the temperature of the atmosphere. In addition to pollution, methods used to curb and control pollution around the globe consume much of the resources; this then negates the advantages of the source of fuel- controlling global warming makes countries to incur unnecessary expenditure that could be used for other economic activities. Another major demerit of the use of fossil fuels is oil spills that occur from time to time in the extraction of petroleum from sea beds and leaks in oil tankers, the phenomenon has resulted into destruction of aquatic life through depriving them of oxygen. It has also resulted into eutrophication following the death of the aquatic life, the water is made to have high content of organic material and becomes more turbid (Haugen 45). Renewable Energy Renewable energy comprises wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, hydropower, and biofuels, which are advantageous, but are little used in the world currently despite being the best form of alternative energy. Being drawn from the natural phenomenon, it is obvious then that these sources of energy are there in plenty and the only limiting factor is either technology or resources to fully exploit there availability. The only impediment is the construction of harnessing structure that is different for every phenomenon, the construction of a hydroelectric power and that of wind energy are different, it therefore requires advancement in technological knowhow and a little of the resource input for alternative sources of energy to be put into place. As such, wind, solar, and water as sources of energy can never be depleted as the sun keeps shining, and cannot be exhausted through harnessing. Due to their ease of replenishment, they need little maintenance, as a one-time installation is enough with periodic checks to ensure that they are still in working order, and there are not many variables to affect functionality negatively. In addition, they are clean, which is the best part when compared to fossil fuels, as they do not produce carbon dioxide to pollute the environment to cause global warming. Factoring in their ease of use and maintenance, they are beneficial in that they can be installed in any place that suits the bill such as buildings for solar, hills for wind, and across rivers for hydro (Hicks 66). Comparisons between the two types of fuels reveal that there are opinions as to why renewable energy cannot replace fossil fuels, owing to the unreliable nature of renewable energy, where it needs to be available as is the case of wind and solar energy, as well as hydro and geothermal. With this, opinions are that these are intermittent sources of energy, meaning that they cannot be used on an industrial scale (Parker 28). In addition, they cite that energy produced by renewable sources cannot meet the energy requirements of fossil fuels as amounts required to produce energy are more than those the fossil fuel will require. Consequently, this makes it a huge disadvantage, for renewable fuels in replacing fossil fuels. In spite of quoting their nature in being clean, inefficiency is cited as the main disadvantage, even if the renewable sources were working at 100% capacity, where fossil fuels at a fraction of that produce more energy. In addition, there is citing of instability of renewable sources of energy, which brings in nuclear power, where little amounts of disturbance can cause disaster. This is as seen in the case of Japan, where an earthquake caused a nuclear meltdown and led to leaks of radiation (Holley 33). This caused evacuation of the area around it and caused scandals of suspicion, where Japan sought to create plutonium as a source of virtually unlimited energy to replace fossil fuels. There are a few disadvantages of using this type of energy, just as was the case with fossil fuels, only that renewable energy has fewer demerits in comparison. Their major challenge lies for space consumed in their installation, when done in conventional spaces such as land, especially for solar and wind power, where they take up large tracts of land (“Wind Power - Discovery Channel”). In addition, they suffer a significant amount of inefficiency due to lack of technological advancement, but they are still better than fossil fuels. In addition, there are disadvantages of using renewable energy as can be seen in the application nuclear power in Japan, with the issue of suspicion and cost of generation, as well as the amount of funds used in its production. It is because of this that it is viewed as risky due to the instability of the elements used in the production of nuclear energy (Boyle 37). In addition, there is mention of the high cost of production of renewable energy, where in spite of the presence of these fuels in abundance, the cost of renewable energy is higher than that of fossil fuels, which makes it prohibitive to use. Despite mention of renewable energy being clean, it is not entirely clean because conversion of certain materials to energy releases toxins to the environment affecting it adversely (Katz 2). Reliance on oil and other fossil fuels stands to ruin the environment on an overall scale, where pollution will not be a thing of the past but progressive. As such, water will face severe contamination from leaks where certain countries continue to export their fossil fuel resources such as oil and petroleum, this leads to adverse consequences on the environment with it losing life,and even the aesthetic value deteriorates. Studies on the use of fossil fuels indicate that countries that apply fossil fuels increase carbon dioxide emissions as they seek to develop electricity, which leads to global warming (Hans-Holger 186). If there are no alternatives to nuclear power, on the other hand, there is risk of radiation pollution, such as the one that occurred in Japan, when even to date researchers say that people living around nuclear plants could be affected by radiation and their agricultural products face a similar fate (Holley 47). In relation to energy crises, they remain a major source of headache for the world pollution, owing to the difficulty that researchers are facing in creating new technology to eliminate the use of fossil fuels and embrace renewable energy such as wind, solar, hydro, and biomass. This further leads to disputes amongst countries that produce energy as seen in those that produce fossil fuel, where they only seek to prospect more sources of fossil fuel. This is with other countries contradicting the dominance of fossil fuel producers by those taking the challenge to move towards renewable sources of energy (“Fossil Fuels vs the Development…”). This is the case with Venezuela and Germany, where Germany is taking the challenge to shift towards renewable energy sources, while Venezuela only focuses on satisfying global demand for fossil fuels. The Future of Fossil Fuels Energy There are mixed reaction on the future of fossil fuel according to the opinion of the experts, notwithstanding, if the renewable energy can be properly instituted and proves to be reliable, cheap, and safe, then there is no doubt the demand of the fossil fuel will significantly drop as many will opt for the renewable source. Fossil fuels will only be used in those circumstances that demand their use only, for example, the use of petroleum and diesel in motor vehicles. Based on the campaign that is currently going on against the use of fossil fuel, it is possible that, there will be a dwindling future for the fossil fuel and this will have to hit some of the economies that fully rely on it for economic growth. The economic part of fossil fuel to countries that produces it has been controversial as they do not want an alternative source of energy, as it will influence on their economies negatively. The Future of Renewable Sources of Energy and their Sustainability Fossil fuels have been considered environmentally unfriendly, and there is need to provide an efficient and reliable source of energy that can be used as an alternative. Renewable source of energy have been touted as one such replacement that can be used to meet the requirement of the society- safe source of energy that is reliable and cheap. In this regard, there are concerns about the future of the renewable energy and most importantly, there sustainability, true, the future of renewable energy looks bright, there are every concerns form the government to enhance the percentage use of the renewable source of energy by investing in the technology that will see the energy tapped. There have been tax-free cuts in most countries that have decided to go the renewable energy way, this coupled with other incentives will increase the reliance capacity of the energy source. It is estimated that will proper appeal for the use of renewable energy, in the next decade, the percentage that will opt for this king of energy will be about 70% except for those other energy requirement that must use the fossils fuel. In terms of sustainability, renewable energy has the potential to sustain itself in good standing to support the enormous energy demand that is currently experienced. With efficient systems developed, there is every indication that renewable energy will be in a position to sustain itself throughout without any hitch. Since renewable energy is not as reliable as fossil fuel, it cannot replace fossil at this moment, this is due to the diverse potential of fossil fuels as opposed to the developmental level of renewable energy. However, there should be no giving up in search for a proper source of energy that can serve the people while at the same time not posing other threats to the environment and the people at large. The need to replace fossil fuel is not a wake and a see event; this is an organized purpose that should be carefully executed having looked at all possibilities of neglecting the source. It is obvious that change always takes time because it is met with pessimism and unwillingness but with the right results from the renewable sources of energy, it will not be a problem others embracing it given the results demonstrated. To avert, the environmental pollution that is occasioned by the use of fossil fuels, renewable sources should be given a chance. Works Cited "Fossil Fuels Vs. the Development of Renewable Energy." Wall Street Journal (Online): n/a. Dec 25 2012. "Wind Power - Discovery Channel."Wind Power - Discovery Channel. Discovery Channel.n.d. Television. Hans-Holger Rogner, Deepak Sharma, and Irej Jalal Ahmed. "Nuclear Power Versus Fossil-Fuel Power with CO2 Capture and Storage: A Comparative Analysis." International Journal of Energy Sector Management 2.2 (2008): 181-96. Hick, Matthew. "Advantages and Disadvantages of Renewable Energy."Alternative Energy - ProCon.org.Renewable Energy Today, n.d. Web. 27 May 2013. Read More