Clean Energy - Essay Example

Clean energy refers to the energy that is usually produced from renewable sources without forming an environmental debt. It is also referred to as renewable energy or green energy. Some of the basic forms associated with clean include those from the wind, solar (sun), or water. Many people believe that the use of clean energy to replace other sources of energy like oil helps in decreasing global warming. At the same time, it is hoped to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. It is generally argued that current production and use of different forms of energy expose the environment to global warming. Most of the industrialized countries have embarked on new policies and technologies which make the future energy sustainable. Their aim is to maintain the current economic growth and culture and at the same time provide environmental protection and energy security. Therefore the world is aiming at maintaining a sufficient supply of clean energy.

According to Dell, Anthony, and Rand (2004), clean energy also known as renewable energy is anticipated to expand rapidly. This will be due to the increasing need to counter the issue of global warming.  Combustion technology, such as agricultural and municipal solid waste is said to make an important contribution to the supply of energy. The only challenge to clean energy is low-cost fossil fuels, lack of resources, capital cost, or public opposition. Clean energy aims at the possibility of there being a reduction in pollution resulting from fossil fuels. It also sets the available renewable energies such as sun, wind, and waves in the current context of the production of energy.

Generally, nature has provided us with various forms of clean energy such as hydro energy, wave energy, and tidal energy. All these forms of energy are categorized under water as the source. There are other forms such as solar energy (sun), geothermal energy (ground), and biomass from waste products. Natural gas is also another form of clean energy since its means of distribution which is through pipeline have less impact on the environment. The major task is to use these various forms of clean energies sufficiently and economically to reduce environmental impact. The major objective of global energy sustainability is to ensure the replacement of fossil fuels with clean (renewable) energy sources around the globe.

There are different ways the world benefits from clean energy. The benefits range from initiating a business to investing in companies to clean energy market trading. There are lots of entrepreneurship opportunities in the industry of clean industry trading. The clean energy industry is a highly growing industry where business opportunities are not restricted to anyone. Sales and marketing individuals can also benefit from the clean energy industry. They can partner with service and product providers to launch the marketing of clean energy services and products.

There are also several employment opportunities in the clean energy industry. They include research jobs and consultant jobs. Capital investment has also ventured into the clean energy market and technological advancement.

There are several challenges facing the development of clean energies especially in developing countries. First, there are difficulties in eliminating carbon emissions. There are very few incentives capable of developing better technologies that reduce carbon emissions. The issue of mitigating climate change is yet another major issue. The main goal of both the public and the private sector is to reduce greenhouse gases. Therefore any attempt that solves this problem tends to draw a lot of attention from the public. This in turn leads to less attention on the technology of clean energy which does not completely solve this problem.

Due to the expense of the facilities required in producing clean energy, the process has to take a slow pace. The techniques required are also rare and hence costly. Failure to adequately serve the technological needs of third-world countries is yet another issue. Since the emission of greenhouse gases comes from all over the world, there is a need to reduce emissions in both developed and developing countries. However, not all technologies can be applied everywhere.

Furthermore, the extent to which research and development are done is usually affected by the weight of intellectual property rights protection. Strong intellectual property rights protection hinders the adoption and spread of new technologies such as the development of clean energy. National interest can hinder international collaboration on the development of clean energy technology. For instance, a country might not be on good terms with the country acting as the source of the needed technology.

In conclusion, clean energy might not be the complete solution to energy produced by non-renewable resources since it also has it problems. For example, wind farms capable of providing power can pose a negative effect on the population of local birds. However, supporters of clean energy have argued that it has a wide-reaching effect on saving the world from global warming. They also believe that solar energy and wind energy can lead to a more peaceful planet.