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lternative_energy
Editor's Notes
Lester R. Brown has opened many people’s eyes in how to make the world a better place. Our world is going through many changes at this time and we are slowly losing control over it. Climate change, waterways disappearing and lack of essential items have led many to believe that there isn’t much time for the survival of the world. What we need is change, and according to Brown’s Plan B one way is through renewable energy.
Many of daily activities and use of products involve fossil fuels. By using products that give off high levels of CO2, we are not only putting lives in danger but the earth as well. By using fossil fuels we are setting ourselves up for potential oil spills, destruction of habitats, strip mining as well as a rise in air pollution. According to the Energy Information Administration, as of 2006 the primary sources of energy consisted of 36.8% petroleum, 26.6% coal, 22.9% gas, making fossil fuels 86% of the energy production in the world.
This graph points out the different sources of energy and what they are used for. As you can see most of the fossil fuels are used for transportation, mostly made from petroleum. Renewable energy only supplies 2% of our transportation. Reducing our need for gasoline and diesel would reduce our usage of fossil fuels.
Renewable energy is energy created from natural sources. This includes sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat. With global warming, such as climate change, concerns linked to high oil prices, the drive for more renewable energy is being lobbied by local governments. Not only would renewable energy help with the global warming concerns, but also may help turn around the recent economic crisis. This would mean less money spent on expensive fossil fuels and more focus on renewable energy sources.
This graph shows the role of renewable energy in the overall Nation’s energy supply. Currently biomass makes up the majority of our renewable energy. What we should be focusing on is solar energy, wind energy, and geothermal energy because they have less bad effects on the environment.
Over the years, the designs of solar collectors and photovoltaic panels have expanded due to the growing demand for clean energy sources. Solar collectors are normally mounted to a roof, angled towards the sun. The sunshine will provide water heating required for a typical household. This creates a cheaper and safer way of space and water heating, two of the largest consumers of today’s energy use. Photovoltaic production has doubled the past two years. Unlike solar collectors, photovoltaic panels don’t just have to be mounted to a roof, but can also me ground-mounted, being incorporated into farming and grazing.
Typically turbines are used for commercial production of electric power. They are built with three blades, painted white to blend in with the clouds and are pointed into the wind figured out by computer controlled motors. Wind turbines cause a wind increase of 20% creating a power output of 34%, that’s almost a tip speed of more than six times the actual wind speed. Using these turbines is a safe way of creating more renewable energy without causing harm to the earth. Wind turbines are great ways of converting wind power into electricity, though they are really only useful in windy locations.
By clicking on the black screen you will be able to play the video. The reason for choosing this video was that I felt that it was a great way to show statistics about the different fossil fuels being used and how we need to get everyone aboard to using more renewable energies in order to save our world from global warming.
According to Lester R. Brown, many countries have begun to set up goals in which they plan on converting over to renewable energy in the up in coming years. Europe has put together a plan to have residential electricity by 2020. Beijing plans on doubling the current 124 million square meters of solar collectors for heating water to 300 million by the year 2020. Even automobile manufactures have begun to make changes in the production of cars. Along with Toyota and other car manufactures, Chevrolet plans on introducing the Chevrolet Volt in 2010 as one of the many wind-powered plug-in hybrid cars set to be released onto the market in the future.
The more renewable energy we create the better off our world will be. The earth is in need of change and with the help of renewable energy we can find that change and create a better environment for everyone to live in. The future is now, so help change it for the better by using renewable energies!
