Alternative Energy Essay - 1084 Words

Modern society is characterized by convenience; convenience supplied by oil. Whether it be to fuel cars, to make plastic for hair dryers, or to paint a wall, most everything found in use today depends on this black gold. Although petroleum ’s variety of uses has made life convenient, this convenience has lead to an extreme use of oil, and it is now leading to its depletion. Although billions of barrels of oil remain in worldwide reserves, the United States needs to invest in replacing petroleum with alternative energy sources because readily available oil reserves are running out and other sources are more difficult to access and use . Oil remains plentiful in the world, as new reserves are constantly being discovered, and technology†¦show more content†¦Conventional sources of oil, which are easily accessed and readily available reservoirs, currently supply nearly all of the world’s oil. As these reservoirs are drained and are found less and less often, h owever, people turn to different sources to acquire oil. In the past, these conventional sources have been found close to the Earth’s surface, where drilling is cheap, and the raw material gained is easily processed. To be able to continue producing oil, some are looking below thousands of feet of water, which makes pumping both risky and costly, with relatively petroleum little produced. The disastrous effects of using drilling for such reservoirs have been seen in the Gulf of Mexico, where the sheer depth of the drilling prevented a huge oil leak from being contained for months. Conventional oil production is on its decline, simply due to that fact that it is running out or difficult to access . As these readily available, conventional sources run out, some hope to turn to unconventional sources, but these are incapable of replacing conventional sources of oil and have major environmental impacts. Unlike conventional oil sources, unconventional oil is not so convenien t. Unconventional oil sources encompass sources such as tar sands and oil shale, where almost all of the remaining trillions of barrels of oil are. These are easy to access, but are difficult to process. In both cases, shale or tar sand, the amount of the usable parts of the oil, which areShow MoreRelatedAlternative Energy1688 Words   |  7 PagesAre alternative energy sources the answer to ending human dependence on oil? September 24, 2012 Are alternative energy sources the answer to ending human dependence on oil? Right now there is no one substitute for oil because we use it for a variety of things. We can use alternative sources in areas to preserve or conserve our usage of oil. We use to use wood for fires and light. Then in the industrial revolution we began to use coal. â€Å"Coal can provide much more energy over longer periods thanRead More Hydropower as an Alternative Energy Source Essay841 Words   |  4 PagesHydropower as an Alternative Energy Source Water provides a very valuable resource. We use dams built to run water through turbines and produce electricity. There are many advantages and disadvantages to hydropower, though there are more advantages. It is reasonable inexpensive to maintain, and is a clean source. There are issues with dams blocking fish swimming in the river, but there are ways to help them. Hydropower is well balanced between the electricity needs and the needs of the environmentRead MoreAlternative Energy And Renewable Energy1668 Words   |  7 PagesThroughout the 20th and 21st century, our knowledge about the environment and energy has steadily grown, as well as our dependence on them. Nowadays, power and electricity are in every facet of our daily lives. Due to this, we overlook several negative effects our traditional use of fossil fuels have caused. Fossil fuels are fuel deposits that were formed hundreds of millions of years ago, which is where the term fossil fuels come from. The two most common fos sil fuels currently in use are coal andRead MoreAlternative Energy : Renewable Energy1785 Words   |  8 Pagescurrent energy usage, which is fossil fuels, is not sustainable and carries negative effects to the environment. However nothing is perfect, even renewable energy has its fair share of disadvantages. Can alternative (reusable) energy sources such as nuclear, hydrogen, biofuels or solar energy meet the energy demands needed by humans to carry out their everyday tasks such as electricity, commuting, and so on better than fossil fuels such as coal and oil which creates a mast amount of energy today.Read MoreAlternative Energy : Alternative Fuels2099 Words   |  9 PagesAlternative Energy If America makes the change to renewable fuels, it could take hundreds of years to undo the indirect damage that will be triggered. The amount of pollution that would be emitted by harvesting new fuels is as devastating as not switching at all (Grunwald). The processes for acquiring these alternatives create pollution that will destroy our environment. It is counterproductive to use renewable energy, if it does not enhance the current situation. Many people are supportive ofRead MoreAlternative Energy: Solar Energy1323 Words   |  5 PagesIn the world today, alternative energy source which is an alternative to fossil fuel and nuclear energy is becoming more and more of a necessity. Right now, the world’s population growth has caused an increase in the energy demand. Rosenberg (2009) pointed out that the world’s current growth rate is about 1.14%, representing a doubling time of 61 years. OECDs International Energy Agency[IEA] (2014) found that from 2011 to 2035 th e world energy demand is likely to rise by more than two-thirds. ThoughRead MoreAlternative Energy Essay1333 Words   |  6 PagesModern alternative energy generation methods are limited by several factors including efficiency, inability to respond to sudden changes in power demand, and susceptibility to environmental events. In 2010 the leading renewable energy sources were hydro-electric, wind, bioenergy, geothermal, and solar Photo Voltaic (PV)[1]. Of these, hydroelectric made up 82% of the renewable resource energy generation, while the other means all contributed about equally. These relationships can be seen clearly inRead MoreNew And Alternative Sources Of Energy1311 Words   |  6 Pages Today s society uses enormous amounts of energy. *The shadow of our presence on this planet is a result of generations upon generations of production and utilization of energy*. New and alternative sources of energy are being developed to replace the declining accessibility of coal and fossil fuels. Use of renewable energy is a key component in combatting the climate change that has become a major issue in the 21st century. Reducing our impact on the climate as a result of greenhouse gas emissionsRead MoreAlternative Energy : Renewable Energy966 Words   |  4 PagesAlternative Energy. What is it? Alternative energy: energy generated in ways that do not deplete natural resources or harm the environment, avoiding the use of fossil fuels and nuclear power (Google Definition). ALternative energy is the way to go: it is cleaner than Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Power, it works with the environment, and is benefitial to the community. First off, the majority of the world, 80% of the United States uses Nuclear power or Fossil Fuels as a source of energy and electricityRead MoreImplementation Of Geothermal Energy As An Alternative Energy1459 Words   |  6 PagesTitle : Implementation Of Geothermal Energy As An Alternative Energy AHMAD HAFIZUDDIN BIN ISMAIL (EC15132) FIRDAUS BIN MAT SHUKRI (EC15133) MUHAMMAD SUHAIMI BIN MOKHTAH (EC) AMAR FAISSAL BIN KAMARUDDIN (EC15134) Faculty of Electrical and Electronic Engineering UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA PAHANG (UMP), 26600 PEKAN, PAHANG, MALAYSIA Abstract This report presents an alternative energy is any energy source that from fossil fuel. We need to turn to alternative energy in general. Firstly, we were in danger