Energy

I believe that our earth is being destroyed by fossil fuels, which are non-renewable resources. The earth has a greater risk of coming to an end if the over use of coal, oil, and natural gas continues. It is a fact that fossil fuels are not our only source of energy. Instead we should be working toward using more environmentally friendly energy sources. These sources can include nuclear energy, solar energy, geothermal energy, hydroelectric power, and wind power. Coal is a solid fossil fuel formed in the absence of oxygen from swamp plants. These swamp plants were buried for a long time under heavy layers of rock. The stages of the formation of coal are characterized by the removal of impurities and moisture. These stages that make up the formation of coal are Peat, Lignite, Bituminous, and Anthracite. Coal has advantages but also disadvantages. These advantages include its plentiful supply and that it burns with great heat. Some of the disadvantages include that it produces physical and chemical pollution such as acid rain, CO2, and smog. The next fossil fuel is thick, black liquid called petroleum, also known as oil. This fossil fuel is a flammable hydrocarbon formed from the decay of marine organisms. The formation of oil has four stages. Oil can be separated into various compounds such as propane, butane, ethane, gasoline, jet fuel, lubricants, waxes, and asphalt. There are advantages and disadvantages for oil as well. Oil’s advantages are its easy transportation, it is cleaner than coal, and it produces greater heat. Some of the disadvantages include its limited supply, it is more expensive than coal, and it is a major chemical pollutant. The third fossil fuel is natural gas, which is a mixture of methane and other gases. It can be compressed into a liquid and stored in tanks from trucks and buses just as oil. Natural gas has several advantages such as it produces large amounts of energy, it is easy to transport, and is less expensive then coal and oil. On the other hand, there are many disadvantages of natural gas. It has a limited supply and is highly flammable. The alternative energy sources include nuclear energy, wind power, solar energy, geothermal energy, hydroelectric power, and biomass. These energy sources will hopefully one day be the only uses of energy to fill the absence of fossil fuels. There are two types of nuclear energy, fission and fusion. Fission is the splitting of atomic nuclei resulting in the release of large amounts of energy. Fusion is the union of atomic nuclei to form heavier nuclei resulting in release of large amounts of energy. Also for nuclear energy there is an advantage and some disadvantages. The advantage of nuclear energy is that it produces great amounts of energy with small amounts of material. The disadvantages include the safety hazards due to radioactivity, the problem of waste storage 600 to 1000 years until it is not harmful, and thermal pollution, or temperature pollution. Another source of energy is called wind power. In wind power, winds can be used to turn a turbine and generate electricity. In this energy source wind power plants, or “wind farm”, consists of many windmills. With wind power there are advantages and also disadvantages. The advantages of wind power include that it is 1% of world’s electricity, it is the fastest growing source and it is free, which means that it does not create any pollution in any area. The disadvantages include that they must be located in a windy area and windmills can get very expensive. There are two types of solar energy. The two types are passive and active. A passive solar system converts sunlight into thermal energy without using pumps or fans. An active solar system captures the sun’s energy, and then uses fans and pumps to distribute the heat. In this energy source there is something called a solar cell. A solar cell is made of silicon and small amounts of arsenic and boron and produces an electric current as sunlight strikes electrons loose from top layers. Solar energy is an excellent source of energy in the entire South. The advantages of solar energy include its free supply and it is non-polluting. The disadvantages of solar energy are its direct and constant use is not available in some areas, some methods are expensive, and there is a storage problem during a cloudy day. The next source of energy is geothermal energy, which is energy supplied from deposits of heat in the earth. Dry steam is steam piped up from wells to turbines which run generators to produce electricity. Its unlimited supply and environmental friendly quality are considered geothermal energy’s advantages. While having advantages, this energy source has disadvantages. Its disadvantages include it is expensive and is not available all over the world. Then there is hydroelectric power which is produced by flowing water and it is the most widely used source of renewable energy. The water stored behind dams fall through large pieces in the dam to a powerhouse where it moves turbines to run the generator. The advantages of hydroelectric power include the power source is free and it is a self-renewing resource. The disadvantages include the dams getting very expensive, it has limited locations, and there are environmental concerns such as lakes behind minerals, scenic areas, and alters ecosystem. Biomass is in parts of plants or things made of plants that can be used for energy. There are many uses for biomass; it can be burned directly for heat energy, it can be converted to fuels, and when biomass is rotted in a closed container without air it produces methane. Biomass containing sugar or starch, with the addition of yeast, produces alcohol also; this alcohol can be mixed with gasoline to produce gasohol. Even though biomass is used for many reasons, it is not widely used today. The advantage of biomass is that it is an inexpensive power source in most cases. There are also disadvantages for biomass; it could never be sole supply and practical aspects are being researched. Each day our planet is becoming weaker with every source of fossil fuel we use. The most common fossil fuel used in our world is petroleum, or oil. Oil is used every day by the owners of any kind of vehicle. For the other fossil fuels, they are not used as often but are frequently used by many people. The time for our planet is beginning to run out and using these sources is wasting many minutes. This is the time for major decision making and we must be thinking of ways to avoid wasting time and gaining it by cutting back on our use of fossil fuels. We need choose the alternative fuels that give us the same, maybe even more, amounts of energy. The decisions we are making now will affect the future generations to come. We must think of those future generations and we must change for the better. In past years, our beautiful sceneries such as glaciers and mountains and Alps have become just ordinary parts of the world. The glaciers are melting and are falling apart by the minute. As we have seen in many countries, there has been an extraordinary amount of storms, in particular hurricanes. These places such as Japan and Haiti and many others who have been hit by these storms have had their homes and lives ruined. They have lost many personal possessions and most importantly their lost loved ones. Also another storm that occurred in India in 1963 to 2005 was a flood that measured to be 37 inches. I believe that the best alternative energy source to use in the absence of fossil fuels is wind power. Wind power does not create any pollution and is free. Even though you must be located in an area that produces a great amount of wind, it is the best way to stop a partial amount of pollution on earth. Like I mentioned before, these occurrences of extreme storms must come to an end and we must change.