Green Energy - Essay Example

Green Energy What is “green energy?” Give five (5) examples. Green energy is energy that can be harnessed and used with little adverse effects on the environment. These sources of energy generally have very little pollution effects on the environment and are commonly referred to as renewable energy. The use of green energy is the center of debate currently among environmentalists who argue that its use will see the world mitigate the effects of greenhouse gas emission derived from fossil fuels resulting in global warming.

World leaders except the US signed the Kyoto Protocol with the aim of promoting green energy and reducing greenhouse gaseous emissions. Apart from being less harmful to the environment, green energy is also more efficient compared to its carbon-based counterparts. There are quite a number of green sources of energy among them being wind power, solar energy harnessed from the sun, and nuclear energy. Others include geothermal, hydro and biomass (WiseGeek par. 1). 2. What is “carbon footprint?

” Give five (5) examples. Carbon footprint refers to the total greenhouse emissions that result from a given activity within a given period of time. It is therefore taken as a representation of consequences of human activities on the environments in relation of the quantity of carbon emission (Global Footprint Network par. 1). One of the main contributors of carbon footprint is a person’s travel needs. This includes traveling by bus, airplane, and cars. Second is personal use of electricity that involves the use of fossil fuels that releases greenhouse gases in the environment.

Thirdly is the production of plastic bags, which releases some carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The forth type is that which comes as a result of operating machines that releases some amount of greenhouse gases to the environments such as operating a posho mill. The last type is that which are generated from poor disposal of waste products, which results in production of some amount of carbon dioxide and its disposal in the atmosphere (Global Footprint Network Par. 3). 3. Provide political points of view The issue of climate change as caused by greenhouse gaseous emissions has been a controversial issue at both the state and international political arena. In the U.S.

for instance, it is evident that both sides of the political divides favor the application of renewable sources of energy as a measure to lower the effects of greenhouse gas emissions. Both Democrats and Republicans argue that the main solution to global warming is to adopt green energy as a substitute to carbon based fuels. This was evident during the powerful speech delivered by President Obama in Washington during the state of the Union press (Roberts Par. 2). 4. Provide ideological points of view.

Despite the fact that the Democrats and Republicans have some degree of unanimity, they appear to differ ideologically. The ideological differences are mainly evident with regard to strategies to adopt in order to secure green energy. For instance, democrats, led by President Obama feel that the U.S. needs to stop providing subsidies for oil companies and instead focus much of its resources on promoting projects aimed at expanding green energy in the U.S., an idea that Romney and the Republicans find to be inappropriate (Roberts Par 3).

Work Cited. Global Footprint Network. Carbon Footprint. 17 July 2012. Web. 12 Oct. 2012: http://www.footprintnetwork.org/pt/index.php/GFN/page/carbon_footprint/ Roberts, David. Clean Energy is a Wedge Issue that Favors Democrats. January 26, 2012, Web. 12 October 2012: http://grist.org/politics/clean-energy-is-a-wedge-issue-that-favors-democrats/ WiseGeek. What is Green Energy? 2012. Web. 12 Oct. 2012: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-green-energy.htm