The Alternative Energy Sources - Assignment Example

? Alternative Energy Sources Are Alternative Energy Sources The Answer To Ending Human Dependence On Oil? It is an undisputable fact that energy is one of the most fundamental parts of human life. Over the years, energy consumption across the world has increased as human beings seek to make their lives better and easier. Energy is used in nearly if not all aspects of life especially in modern days when technology is touching nearly all aspects of human life. Energy is used in lighting, to power automobiles, planes and trains, to cook, power factory machineries and tractors, and to power entertainment equipments among other uses (Twidell and Weir, 2005). There are numerous forms of energy such as geothermal, solar, fossil fuels, biomass, nuclear, and wind energy among others. Of all the forms of energy, human beings have tended to depend mostly on oil for their energy uses. Enerdata (2011) notes, oil is the most popular and dominant form of energy in recent times constituting over 60% when combined with coal. With the increasing energy consumption, dependency on oil increases. It is this increase that has raised concerns among environmental activists and other persons and institutions who are concerned with sustainable environment. Their concerns are informed by the fact that oil as a source of energy has limited capacity and cannot be relied upon to sustain the energy needs of the present and future generations. The other major concern is the fact that oil energy has adverse effects to the environment and has greatly contributed to the global warming phenomenon which is undermining the very existence of human life (Boyle, 2004). It is against this background that the need for alternative energy sources has heightened. Alternative energy sources are necessary in order to substitute oil energy as the major source of energy hence reducing dependency on it. Alternative energy sources will provide large amount of power which will be essential in meeting the energy needs of the world’s growing population. Alternative energy sources are the answer to ending human dependence on oil. Indeed, oil is the dominant energy source across the world presently. It is a non- renewable source of energy. It is a natural resource present in some parts of the world and has numerous applications. Despite having negative effects to the environment, oil is considered as one of the most efficient source of energy. However, due to immense consumption the resource is getting scarce. According to World Energy Outlook (2010), oil energy dominance as a source of energy cannot be disputed and has many uses in industries, automobiles, planes, and homes. Production of electricity in most instances relies on oil to run stream turbines. Cars, tractors, buses, and industrial machineries all depend on oil. Also, production of industrial products that are consumed by people is facilitated in great part by oil energy. In a nutshell, oil energy is intertwined to survival of the human race. However, this does not mean that oil energy has no substitutes (Tester et al, 2005). In order to understand oil energy and the importance of alternative to reduce dependency on it, it is important to understand the types of oil energy. They include; petrol, ethane, diesel, gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas, fuel oil, gasoline, kerosene, and fuel oil. Vital lubricants used in machineries and automobiles are also considered as oil products. All these types of oil and oil products play crucial role in making human life better and easier through increasing efficiency of machines and equipments. Despite the usefulness and many applications of oil energy in the world, it is agreeable especially among ‘environmental conscious’ persons that oil energy have immense adverse effects to the environment and there is need to substitute it with alternative energy sources in order to reduce dependency on it. Turk and Bensel (2011) argue that oil energy is contributing to environmental degradation in numerous ways. The combustion of oil produces huge smoke quantities in the air. The smoke released contains harmful gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen among others. Besides, oil is in most cases spilled into water bodies; oil is spilled into rivers from industries, and also in ocean from the ships that are containing oil. As a result, aquatic animals die in high numbers and in some instances water consumed by animals and human beings is contaminated. The release of gases into the air through industrial processes, planes, and cars have destroyed the upper oxygen layer of the earth which protects organisms on earth from ultra violet rays of sun (Kruger, 2006). The effects of environmental degradation caused by oil energy are threatening the healthy of human beings and their very survival. Another danger of depending mostly on oil energy is the fact that due to immense consumption, this resource is depleting at a worrying rate hence threatening the adequacy of energy to present and future generations. Therefore, alternative energy sources should be exploited and made available for human consumption in order to end dependency on oil as a main source of energy. Shlager and Weisblatt (2006) argue that alternative energy sources will not only provide the world with cheaper energy sources but also with safer energy sources that will enhance human survival rather than threaten it as it is the case with oil energy. Alternative energy sources will also ensure that the world’s growing population’s energy needs will be met. Since oil energy has proved unsustainable in the long-run and has detrimental environmental, social, and health impacts to the universe, alternative energy sources importance to replace oil energy cannot be disputed. Kruger (2006) defines alternative energy sources as the sources of energy that are not based on the splitting of atoms or burning of fossil fuels. Shlager and Weisblatt (2006) explain alternative energy sources as those energy sources that have better or comparable performance as oil energy but do not emit harmful gases such as carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide. Alternative energy sources are considered less damaging and harmful to the environment compared to oil energy because they have lower carbon emissions. According to Enerdata (2011), the current energy production and consumption statistics indicate that oil energy is still the most dominant compared to other energy sources. However, due to its negative consequences alternative energy sources provide answer to dependency on oil energy. Most of the alternative energy sources are renewable, that is, they are naturally replenished unlike oil energy sources which are non- renewable. Whereas oil energy requires demanding and complex processes of producing and consuming it, alternative energy sources demand natural basic processes and equipment (MacKay, 2009). Alternative energy sources are ecologically friendly. World Energy Outlook (2010) prospects that over a third of world’s energy in 2050 will need to come from alternative sources. This need will be necessitated by the impacts of climate change, fossil fuel depletion, and population growth. The use of alternative energy sources will be essential for the survival of man in the 21st century and beyond. In addition, ending dependency on oil energy through use of alternative sources will facilitate self- sufficiency and sustainable development among different societies in the world (Tester et al, 2005). It is no doubt that alternative energy sources will play critical role in development across the world. However, man will face immense challenge if he continues to depend on oil energy as the main source of energy. Therefore, it is necessary that he harness alternative energy sources and use it in constructive ways so as to survive and meet the energy needs adequately and safely (Boyle, 2004). There are several types of alternative energy sources; it is therefore imperative to highlight the main types in order to understand what they are and how they can end dependency on oil energy. The major types include the following: Geothermal energy, solar energy, biomass energy, wind energy, hydrogen energy, and hydroelectric energy (Twidell and Weir, 2005). Geothermal energy is an alternative energy source that is stored in the earth. It is a thermal energy that originates from radioactive decay of materials. Since projected heat extraction is usually small compared to the content of earth’s heat, geothermal energy source is considered safe. The other type of alternative energy source is solar energy which provides humans with ability to generate electricity from heat from the sun and radiant heat. Solar architecture, solar photovoltaic, solar heating, and solar thermal electricity are some of the solar energy technologies that aid in electricity generation. Enerdata (2011) describes solar energy as clean and inexhaustible which reduces pollution, lowers energy costs, promotes sustainability and reduces the contribution to global warming. In addition, biomass energy is another type of alternative energy source. Biomass energy is a renewable energy that is generated from living organisms or from organisms that were recently living. Biomass energy is one of the environmental friendly energies in the sense that it can be recycled and then be reused (Kruger, 2006). Biomass energy can be used directly or its products such as ethanol can be used in special- made cars machineries and cars that use alcohol fuel rather than gasoline. Such uses reduce the dependency on oil. Also, wind energy is a type of alternative energy source. Electricity is generated from wind; use of wind energy will help in ending dependency on oil in addition to enhancing sustainable energy efforts that is geared towards reducing harmful gas emissions that have contribute to environmental degradation (Boyle, 2004). Hydrogen energy is another type of alternative energy where hydrogen is used to produce energy that can be used in engines and produces no pollution. Hydrogen is used as clean fuel for vehicles, spaceships, and aeroplanes. Lastly, hydroelectric energy is a type of alternative energy source that uses kinetic energy of moving water in order to generate electricity. This type of energy is used in most countries across the world to generate electricity in large- scale. Once the energy- generating complex has been constructed, it does not produce direct waste and it produces relatively lower amount of harmful gases compared to fossil fuels. According to statistics, hydroelectric energy accounts for 21% of alternative energy sources in the world presently (Enerdata, 2011). Alternative energy sources are indeed the best way of ending dependence on oil and the negative consequences of such dependencies. However, these sources have disadvantages and flipsides which may prove counterproductive in mankind’s quest to clean and sufficient energy that is not guaranteed by oil energy. Zehner (2011) argues that one of the alternative energy sources’ disadvantages is storage hence compromising their reliability; unlike oil energy, most of the alternative energy sources cannot be stored. For instance, if there is no wind for two weeks depending on wind energy may prove difficult. The second disadvantage is that alternative energy sources are not cost competitive; there is need for more research to be done in regard to cost- competitiveness of alternative energy in order to be at par or beyond oil energy. Despite the negative environmental effects, oil is still efficient and cost competitive compared to most of renewable energy sources (MacKay, 2009). Moreover, implementing alternative energy sources in the already established infrastructure can prove to be expensive. There is inadequate alternative energy sources across the world compared to that of oil energy. Tester et al (2005) observe that the resources of alternative energy available currently need different or improvised infrastructure systems. Setting up these systems requires enormous resources which most of the nations, corporate, and individuals are not willing to sacrifice. Another disadvantage that faces alternative energy sources and may hamper their ability to end dependency on oil is the fact that fossil fuels are readily available and easy to use. This is because oil can be transported to any location and there are numerous plants and infrastructure that makes oil less expensive than transformation of alternative energy sources. In the light of the above, it is important to point out that despite challenges that may be experienced in setting up and using alternative energy sources, alternative energy sources have extreme advantages compared to oil energy particularly from the ecological perspective. Unlike oil, these sources have near if not negligible carbon emissions. On the other hand, oil emits harmful gases that contribute to adverse climate change effects. Also, unlike oil, renewable energy sources cannot be depleted (Shlager and Weisblatt, 2006). Therefore, the ability of oil in satisfying future energy needs of the world population is questionable especially considering that energy demands and population are always increasing. The need of alternative energy sources is now paramount than ever before. However, as noted, there are various challenges that face alternative energy sources, which if not well tackled may compromise the quest of alternative energy sources ending dependency on oil. Turk and Bensel (2011) advise that the fact that alternative energy sources should be harnessed is undisputable especially when the necessity of conserving the environment is considered. Therefore, mankind should do all within their means to overcome challenges facing alternative energy sources. They advise that more resources should be invested in harnessing renewable energy sources. Additionally, technological developments should be made that aim at overcoming challenges such as storage and transportation. In conclusion, indeed, alternative energy sources are the answer to ending human dependence on oil. As has been noted in the discussion, oil energy is useful and has many applications in human life in addition to being efficient and convenient to its users. However, it has both adverse and severe short and long term effects especially in regard to environmental degradation and satisfying world’s energy needs in the future. It is for this reason that harnessing of alternative should no longer be an option but a priority. There are challenges that may hamper harnessing and use of alternative energy sources. Therefore, it is imperative that governments, corporations, non- governmental organizations, and individual persons make efforts towards harnessing these sources of energy. In doing this, the world will be guaranteed of sustainable development, clean environment, and definitely dependency on oil will end. References Boyle, G. (2004). Renewable Energy: Power for a Sustainable Future. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Enerdata. (2011). Word Energy Consumption in 2010. Retrieved January 6, 2012 from www.yearbook.enerdata.net. Kruger, P. (2006). Alternative Energy Resources: The Quest for Sustainable Energy. New York, NY: Wiley. MacKay, D. (2009). Sustainable Energy- Without the Hot Air. Cambridge, MA: UIT Cambridge Ltd. Shlager, N and Weisblatt, J. (2006). Alternative Energy. Detroit: UXL. Tester, J et al. (2005). Sustainable Energy: Choosing Among Options. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Turk, J., & Bensel, T. (2011). Contemporary environmental issues. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Twidell, J and Weir, T. (2005). Renewable Energy Resources. London: Taylor & Francis. World Energy Outlook. (2010). International Energy Agency. Retrieved January 6, 2012 from www.worldenergyoutlook.org. Zehner, O. (2011). Unintended Consequences of Green Technologies. London: Sage Publications. Read More