Geo Thermal Energy - Extra Credit Assignment - Essay Example

The energy problems of the world are not new news. The demand for energy is increasing day by day. One of the basic reasons for this increase in demand is the increasing world population. Currently the world population is over six billion. This figure will increase to more than eight billion in the year 2050. This figure is a very conservative and a safe estimate. This also includes all the population control measures currently being taken. This demand of energy is not only because of increasing population.

There are many different factors which contribute to this demand. First of all more and more people are moving into the cities all around the world. This urban movement is bringing more and more people to the mechanized life. Moreover governments all around the world are introducing new technologies to less developed areas of their countries. These factors would increase the demand of energy many times over. The people living in village have a very low demand when it comes to energy. The mostly do all their work by hand or animal.

Their basic energy demands are fulfilled by burning firewood etc. By bring these people into cities or by taking technology to them the demand of energy would be increased as their life styles would be totally changes. Moreover the entire human race is becoming more technology dependent day by day. There was once a time when cars were considered to a luxury. Today however keeping a car has become a necessity. This shows how the number cars over the years have dramatically increased. Moreover the technology is becoming cheaper day by day.

Therefore more and more people can afford to buy and use it, thus increasing the demand for energy. The sources of energy on the other hand are totally limited. The main energy source currently being used by the world is fossil fuel. These fuels are expected to run out in a few decades. Therefore the discovery of alternative sources of energy is not a luxury but a necessity. Moreover non renewable resources create a lot of population which is very dangerous for the atmosphere. A solution to world energy problems is geothermal energy.

Geothermal as the word implies means the energy of the earth. There are many different sources of geothermal energy. The most common and powerful sources is using the energy stored up under the earth’s surface. The energy form radioactive decay of minerals and sun’s energy absorbed on the earth’s surface is also used as geothermal energy. Currently 10715 megawatts of geothermal power is being generated in almost 24 countries of the world. There are however many limitations when it comes to wide scale usage of geothermal energy.

The power generation from geothermal energy can only take place at edges of tectonic plates. Technological innovations are being made however to overcome this issue. The plants equipped with geothermal system usually emit far less pollution as compared to other energy sources such as fossil fuels and are therefore environment friendly.