MaureenAlthough U.S. energy demands rely heavily on fossil fuels, a green energy would cause a reduction in our environmental impact because they have less physical impact on the environment, they reduce the level of greenhouse gases produced, and are easily sustainable. Without a reliable, sustainable source of energy for the future mankind will face continued environmental destruction and continue to contribute to the growing problem of global warming. In order to stop the environmental damage that is being done we need to switch to an environmentally friendly energy production system.
Since early on in mankind’s time line, we have been using fossil fuels to supply our power needs. It started with the use of wood to fuel fires and drive steam powered machines. Over time as technology changed the fuel sources have changed. Mankind began to use coal, petroleum products and eventually nuclear products. Extracting energy from each of these fuel sources relies on the idea of breaking down the material in order to extract energy from it. Coal and petroleum products are burnt and even nuclear elements are broken down, these breakdown processes do however leave behind toxic residues and wasteful byproducts. The future lies with systems that eliminate these toxic and wasteful by products; only by switching to fully renewable energy systems will we completely eliminate these byproducts.
Current energy production facilities that rely on fossil fuels are responsible for contributing to our nation’s total output of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons and are responsible for trapping excess radiation from the sun in our atmosphere. By trapping this excess radiation our planet slowly begins to warm and our environment changes. Naturally these gases do appear in our environment, yet they appear in much lower concentrations than what we are seeing today. The increasing amounts of gases are coming from man-made sources and one of the largest contributors is our energy production facilities. These facilities are not only wasteful, they are expensive to operate and maintain. Each of these facilities requires constant attention and maintenance in order to continue operating. Our current power supplies are inefficient and wasteful; we need to invest in a smarter energy solution.
When looking at alternative energy sources one of the issues to consider is the overall environmental impact that they will have in comparison to traditional power plants. The first alternative source of energy to be examined is wind energy. Wind energy comes from wind turbines that are installed in areas with high volumes of wind passing through, or as some call them, wind tunnels. The environmental impact of a wind turbine is extremely low, they produce no greenhouse gases, and can be easily sustained for up to thirty years.
The limited environmental impacts from wind turbines come from three sources: the installation itself, bird/animal implications, and the noise factor. For a commercial grade wind turbine to be installed a concrete pad must be installed for the turbine to sit on. Once the pad has been installed the turbine can be erected and hooked to into the power grid. Wind energy does not require a constant fuel source like today’s traditional fossil fuel based power plants; a wind turbine relies on steady air streams in order to produce energy and because of this proper placement is essential.
Critics of wind turbine systems claim that these turbines are destructive to birds and animals due to hazards that they can present. The two arguments that critics bring to the table are the displacement of animals and the number of birds that are killed by wind turbines. While these are viable concerns they are largely negligible when compared to the benefits of the system. Consideration for these creatures is taken into account prior to the installation of these turbines. Turbines are located away from migratory bird routes and the limited number of animals displaced can easily relocate to nearby habitat. Since these turbines require less physical space, and don’t consume fossil fuel energy sources, their environmental impact is far less than the systems we have in place today.
ADD IN A SECTION ABOUT NOISE AND NOISE CONTROL
Wind turbine system generates zero emissions compared to their fuel guzzling opponents in place today. Since there is a zero total consumption of fossil fuels and their energy source is completely renewable they produce no greenhouse gases. Currently eighty-two percent of the U.S.’s carbon-dioxide production comes from fossil fuel energy sources (U.S. Energy Information Administration). By switching our energy production to a wind based system all energy related greenhouse gas emissions could be eliminated leaving us and our environment with a cleaner, healthier environment.
With current the technology of today and the ever expanding knowledge of tomorrow, wind turbines have a thirty year life span (Wind Turbine Technology). Each turbine requires constant supervision and occasional repair due to malfunction or incident, overall though the effort to run and maintain these turbines is exponentially lower than that of traditional power plants. When looking at the combined factors of low maintenance requirements, long life spans, and a renewable source of energy, wind is an essential alternative to fossil fuel based energy.
A second and wildly attractive green energy source is solar power. Solar power relies on the concept of harvesting the sun’s energy in the form of solar photons and transforming it into a useable source of energy such as electricity or heat (Solar Energy Conversion). Solar energy solutions have little to no environmental impact on their surroundings and once in place are rarely noticed. These make for an optimal solution in areas with little available room due to a high population density and lots of available sunlight. While solar technology is limited by the amount of sun an area receives there are many positive attributes that it brings to the table.
While solar energy solutions maintain a low level of environmental impact, that isn’t their only reason to brag. Solar energy solutions emit zero greenhouse gases, making them one of the few zero-emission energy technologies that we have today. Solar energy works in two different ways: the first is to use solar energy to heat water or other chemicals in order to heat buildings, the second is to capture the protons inside the solar radiation and change it into electricity. Neither process produces greenhouse gases, and once implemented, could reduce our national energy related greenhouse gas production down to zero. With a growing concern over global warming, technologies like solar energy can’t be ignored any longer.
Similar to wind technology solar energy solutions have a long, sustainable life expectancy. The aggregate life expectancy of a solar panel is twenty five to thirty years. When looking at a solar panel and a fossil fuel based power plant side by side and running the productivity vs construction/maintenance cost equation (# of kw/year produced = {(cost to build/total operating years of the facility) + (annual maintenance costs)}) you can see that the total cost per kw is much lower for solar panels than it is for the traditional fossil fuel based power plant. Once installed solar panels require little to no maintenance and there are no additional fees associated with operating them. Also, just like wind energy, solar energy is completely sustainable and produces zero physical byproduct.
Solar and wind technologies are the energy solutions of the future. While mankind has enjoyed the low cost of energy for many years it has come at a high price. Our environment is starting to rebel against us, fossil fuel sources are shrinking and mankind as a whole is slowly killing itself off. In order to shrink our environmental impact, reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, and maintain sustainable energy production, mankind as a whole needs to rid itself of its fossil fuel energy dependence. While wind and solar are not the only options available for sustainable energy solutions they are two of the most widely explored options. Support for alternative energy solutions needs to be increased in order to keep Earth a hospitable environment.
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