Alternative & Renewable Energy Sources:

Regardless of the mixed opinions surrounding the amount of easily obtained oil left on earth for our use, the effects of our dependence upon it are not so easily ignored. The basis of our economy, the well-being of our planet and every single aspect of our daily lives is linked to our use of fossil fuels. Its obvious exhaustibility and negative emission effects are just a couple of the numerous reasons as to why we should begin a rigorous search for alternative and sustainable methods of energy. As our main source of energy continues to diminish, our contributions to finding alternatives are not measuring up. There are however, definite and impressive leads that have been made in the sustainable energy field, that hopefully will guide us to our future energy sources.
First is the option of using biofuels. Liquid biofuels include both biodiesel and ethanol. One reason why this is perceived as a interesting option would be biofuels ability to “hold us over” until alternative energy technologies can be polished and commercialized, they also recycle carbon instead of emitting more into our atmosphere. Unfortunately, not all aspects of biofuels lead us to a perfect solution. In order to produce biofuels we must increase our crop production (particularly of soybeans), which is already under pressure. It must compete for space against food crop production and it will not eliminate greenhouse gas production, as chemicals and fertilizer would be used in the crop maintenance. More importantly, we would be cutting down more trees in order to make room for these new crops, forests that when left standing would be sequestering the carbon in our atmosphere.

Photovoltaic cells are proving to be one of the most optimistic view for our energy future. PV cells have the ability to convert the light from the sun directly into electricity. They can be placed in almost any location and therefore, can create energy exactly where it is needed. PV cells are highly flexible and are currently incorporated into shingles for homes, on the tops of parking decks and even on army tents to provide energy where there would be none. BP, interestingly enough, has incorporated solar energy into many of their branches across the world.

Another hot topic of energy conversation is harnessing the power of wind. Like the energy from the sun, it is also completely renewable. Wind turbines also generate electricity directly and come in many different sizes, those that are used for personal home use up to the commercial turbines. It is, in fact, the fastest growing form of alternative energy and has doubled in the past three years.

With climate change and the scarcity of fossil fuels becoming an ever-increasingly important issue, we must develop an innovative devotion towards finding new alternative and sustainable fuel sources. It is impossible to believe that our technology is not ready for this challenge, but realize that the problems lie within our dependence upon fossil fuels and lethargic initiative.