Is Wind Power Green - Research Paper Example

? Is Wind Power Green? and number 10 March Is wind power green? Wind power is one of the sources ofthe world’s power. The research centers on the description of what makes wind power green. The research includes differentiating the green power sources and the pollution generating power resources. The wind power has many green advantages over the fossil fuel power sources. Wind power is green. Green energy saves the environment from avoidable pollution and hazards. Trees are green. Grasses are green. Shrubs are green. Green represents life sustaining activities, not pollution-generating or hazard-producing acts. On the other hand, fossil oil is not green. Fossil oil produces carbon monoxide (the motor vehicles’ intoxicating exhaust fumes). Fossil oil pollutes the earth’s atmosphere. Fossil oil suffocates the lungs of city residents. Fossil oil destroys life. Green power comes from several sources. First, solar energy comes from maximizing the suns’ energy. Solar panels can convert the sun’s energy to electrical energy. Second, geothermal energy, comes from hot springs. Another source of geothermal energy is the volcanic heat escaping the earth’s internal areas. Third, Ethanol energy comes from grain alcohol. Ethanol is extracted from corn, barley, sugarcane another sugar-based feedstock. Fourth, wind energy comes from windmills and tall free standing turbines. Historically, windmills have been used in Holland for generate energy. Also, the use of green wind energy creates eliminates the hazards and pollution of fossil fuel-based energy. Sidney Borowitz (1999) emphasized “Fossil fuels are the remains of organic matter that, over hundreds of millions of years, have undergone substantial physical changes induced by pressure and chemical changes caused by the action of bacteria. The fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. They provide the United States with about 90 percent of the energy it uses. This energy was originally provided by the sun, which made it possible for the plants to grow.” In terms of wind energy, Borowitz (1999) reiterated “Fossil fuels are the remains of organic matter that, over hundreds of millions of years, have undergone substantial physical changes induced by pressure and chemical changes caused by the action of bacteria. The fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. They provide the United States with about 90 percent of the energy it uses. This energy was originally provided by the sun, which made it possible for the plants to grow”. Using coal will damage the earth’s environment. Borowitz (1999) insists coal is the most abundant fossil fuel on earth. Coal creates the biggest damage on the environment. Burning coal creates polluting smoke. The polluting smoke makes breathing difficult. The polluting smoke damages the Ozone layer. Wind energy reduces the air pollution trend in major cities of the United States. Judith Cherni (2002) states the concentration of industrial manufacturing plants’ exhausts immensely contributes to the atmosphere’s pollution. The air pollution significantly derails the average person’s health. Different air pollutant types exert different degrees of health damage to the people. The degree or concentration of the pollutants generates various effects on the average county resident. To reduce the current air pollution trends, the states’ air pollution policies must be effectively and deficiently revised and set into immediate motion. Likewise, a research conducted by Cornelis Van Kooten (2009) shows that the earth’s wind energy supplies potential research shows that the world’s wind energy supply potential influentially surpasses the world’s energy needs. However, only one percent of the world’s electricity need is presently supplied by the green wind power. The fact is true even though there is an almost fifty percent yearly growth in the wind producing capabilities over the past twenty five years. Almost 100 percent of the entire green wind energy had been firmly entrenched in the highly developed nations, including India and China. Further, there is an estimated available wind power that can fill thirty four percent of the global electricity demands when 2050 arrives. On the other hand, green wind power must continue to resolve impenetrable hurdles to its completely supplying all wind power needs. The hurdles include technical, financial, economic, market, institutional, and other realistic obstacles. To overcome the hurdles, several nations have implemented several programs such as tax incentives, capital subsidies, feed-in tariffs, energy certificates, minimum benchmarks, and grid access guarantees. Aside form these programs, the climate change mitigation initiatives precipitating from the Kyoto Protocol made important milestones in promoting the environment-friendly advantages of setting up the green power of the wind. The Kyoto Protocol came up with an agreement where all developed countries will reduce their CO2 gases. A research conducted by I. Rowlands (2002) focused on the study of the relationship between the energy users’ willingness to pay a premium for using green power and the users’ concept of the environmental influence of different energy resources. The countries implementing the use of green power can prefer to incorporate any green energy resource, including wind power. The research focused on 480 citizens of the Waterloo community, located in Ontario, Canada. The research used the Chi-square test and the analysis of variance statistical tools. The research findings indicated there are significant differences between the energy users’ eagerness to pay a large premium for the implementation of green power and the energy users’ willingness to pay a small or zero premium for the use of green power. The research respondents were given green power choices that included hydropower and natural gas. The research findings indicated green power is very popular among the most environmentally-activated area of the energy use market as general surveys had hypothesized. Several management inferences are drawn from the research findings. Consequently, the researchers recommended further research must be conducted to affirm or negate the current researchers’ findings on green power. In addition, Mir Hessami’s (2006) research findings indicates the purpose of the research was to make a blueprint of a hybrid solar and wind power supply system to supply the power needs of the rural residential building occupants. The system included the hot water service, space heating service, and other electricity and storage system power needs. The optimum green power design had been achieved by implementing a cost-benefit analysis for each alternative system. The monthly average weekly energy needs of the building occupants could reach 252 kWh. The electricity supply design was grounded on the buildings’ average power demand, which during summer was 91 kWh per week and during winter declined to only 63 kWh per week. The power design had been drawn to compose five 80 W photovoltaic (PV) modules and a 2.5 kW output wind power turbine. Further, Amory Loving’s (2012) research indicated an estimated 90 percent of the global economy is powered by gathering fuel from fossil fuel fields. With superior skills, the world’s industries used the power of oil, gas, and coal to churn out electricity power. In turn, electricity power generated financial power, helped build the skyscrapers and other infrastructures, and make some of the people billionaires and millionaires. However, the increasing cost of using fossil fuel to generate electricity power forces the electricity clients to undercut their security and financial blessings. In fact, the United States pays an average daily amount of $2 billion to purchase oil. In addition, the American nation is losing $ 4 billion to the payment of the economic cost of buying the fossil fuels. The microeconomic expenses includes allocation of scarce financial resources for the unstable oil prices and paying for the military defense of the Persian Gulf, ensuring a steady supply of imported fossil fuel reaches American shores. In the United States, 17 percent of the nation’s gross domestic production revenues is pegged to pay for fossil fuel (oil). However, the cost does not include any damage to America’s foreign policy, public health, worldwide stability, and environment. Assuming that the fossil fuel prices are not erratic, America has to resolve the issues of fuel insecurity and dependence, illnesses triggered by fuel oil pollution, and the cost of wars to ensure a steady supply of food and water, geophysical tensions and climate change. The issues make the purchase of fossil fuel as America’s major power source is very discouraging. Weaning the United States from being dependent on fossil fuel requires resovling two major issues, oil and electricity. An estimated 50 percent of electricity is produced by coal. Saving oil and electricity is centered on making buildings and other facilities more efficient. Using another related research, Razzeeya Jaffer (2011) shows that fossil fuel need continue to increase in many parts of the world. From 1990 to 2007, El Salvador’s fossil fuel need increased by a significant 10 percent. Likewise, Senegal’s fossil fuel needs increased by the same percent. In a bleaker scenario, the fossil fuel needs of both Senegal and Philippines increased by 12 percent during the same time period. Sri Lanka’s fossil fuel needs generated a 21 percent increase. The bleakest situation indicates Vietnam’s fossil fuel need increased by 31 percent. In Sri Lanka alone, the environmental health and pollution increased in parallel manner. Furthermore, Charles Chemel (2011) insists the power generation sector remains to be the major contributor to the global air pollution, despite the 1990s agreement to reduce global fossil fuel emission levels. The pollutants discharged by the fossil fuel-based power stations include sulfur dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen Oxides (N0x). Specifically, the power generation sector contributes an estimated 50 percent, 25 percent, and 10 percent of the United Kingdom’s emissions of the SO2, NOx and other pollutants, in 2007 alone. These pollutants wreak hazardous effects on the human residents of the community, especially respiratory or breathing health issues). In addition, the pollutants continue to destroy the already environmentally damaged global environment. The Sulfur and nitrogen pollutants increase the acidity levels of the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. In terms of analysis, Charles Chemel (2011) clearly shows that changing the community’s power needs from wind fossil fuel to wind power is a major change. The community must allocate large sums of cash to purchase the wind power turbines. In addition, the community has to discard the community’s current fossil fuel power plants. The community has hire experts in the field of wind power turbine technology. The experts will install the wind power turbines. The experts will monitor, maintain, and fixed the wind power turbines whenever the need arises. In addition, Robert Malmsheimer (2011) proposes the United States needs many forests. The forests will reduce the green house gases. The greenhouse gases are the byproducts of fossil fuel use. Another method that can be used to reduce greenhouse gas is to store the greenhouse gases in carbon storage pools other than the earth’s ozone layer. The trees take in the carbon dioxide from the air. Forests and the global climate are closely linked in the areas of carbon storage and releases, the water fluxes from the soil to the Ozone layer, and solar energy pull. However, forest fires contribute to the pollution content of the Ozone layer. William Schlesinger (2011) insists “Atmospheric physicists show us that rising concentrations of certain greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere should raise the temperature of the planet at rates, times, and places that are consistent with recent observations of ongoing climate change-that is, global warming. The unfolding impacts of this climate change will affect human habitation, health, and economics, and the persistence of various species in natural ecosystems during the course of this century. Much debate stems from what to do about these impacts, focusing on the cost of changing our energy infrastructure that is now dominated by fossil fuels.” Schlesinger correctly shows that the time to reverse the ill effects of the greenhouse gases is now, not in the next five or ten years. The greenhouse gases cover the earth. The greenhouse gases prevent the escape of the suns’ damaging rays, including the ultraviolet rays, from escaping the earth’s atmosphere. Consequently, the earth’s atmosphere’s heat continues to rise. This is the one of the major adverse effects of the greenhouse gases, global warming. Global warming affects the weather. The weather change and temperature change affects the growth and extinction of the animals on land and the fishes and other marine animals within the world’s watery depth. Likewise, green wind power will eliminate the environmental risk factors. Denise Mauzerall (2010) states environmental risk factors, especially air pollution and water pollution, contribute to the morbidity and mortality among China’s communities. Biomass fuel and coal is used as fuel for cooking food. The same fuel types are used to heat China’s home during the cold winter months. Air quality in China’s major cities is step with the worst air pollution levels of industrialized nations, including the United States. In addition, the emission levels of the climate-warming greenhouse gases from energy are fast increasing. The greenhouse gases contribute to the global warming side effects. The side effects include changes in the weather patterns, including hurricanes, fires, and floods. Other side effects of the polluted environment include the increase in morbidity and mortality rates. Using fossil fuel for indoor cooking pollutes the indoor normally precipitates to severe indoor pollution. Consequently, indoor pollution can create health issues like asthma, emphysema, and other health issues. The burning of fossil fuel can pollute the pristine rivers of the community. The people will have health problems from drinking the polluted river water. Based on the above discussion, wind power is one of the major sources of the world’s power, including electricity. The wind power’ green-based power does not pollute the environment. The wind’s green power does not wreak havoc on the community’s health. The wind power reduces the ozone damaging effects of the fossil fuels. Indeed, the wind power has many green advantages over the fossil fuel power sources, including protecting the community’s health and protecting the environment. References: Borowitz, S. (1999). Farewell Fossil Fuels: Reviewing America's Energy Policy. New York: Plenum Trade Press. Chemel, C. (2011). Protecting the Environment. Journal of the Air & Waste Managemet , 61 (11), 1236-1235. Cherni, J. (2002). Economic Growth Versus the Environment: The Politics of Wealth, Health, and Air Pollution. New York: Palgrave Press. Hessami, M. (2006). Designing a Hybrid Wind and Solar Energy Supply System for a Rural Residential Building. International Journal of Low Carbon Technologies. , 1 (2), 112-126. Jaffeer, R. (2011). Environmental Performance and Sustainable Development. Journal of Sustainable Development , 4 (6), 171-188. Kooten, C. (2009, November ). Wind Power Development. Research Working Papers , 1-34. Lovins, A. (2012). A Farewell to Fossil Fuels: Answering the Energy Challenge. Foreign Affairs , 91 (1), 134-147. Mauzerall, D. (2010). Environmental Health in China. The Lancet , 375 (9720), 1110-1119. Rowlands, I. (2002). Consumer Perceptions of "Green Power". Journal of Consumer Marketing , 19 (2), 112-129. Schlesinger, W. (2011). Climate Change. Interpretation , 65 (4), 378-390. Read More