Description
We have come a long way in developing societies that have electricity and the power necessary to fuel vehicles and for the industry to be successful. All of these efforts though rely upon the use of energy source that comes from fossil fuels.
They are found in the ground and have to be processed in order for us to have that fuel and that electricity. They are known as coal, natural gas, and fuel. We rely on them way too much for our own good and that is why change is so important.
The problem though is that our dependence on it continues to grow. As more people are on the Earth than ever before we are using more every single day. People are living longer too due to advances in health care. We are certainly a society dependent upon our electronic gadgets as well.
While those are all good things for us to be happy about, the fact that we are depleting the fossil fuel available isn’t. This type of energy source isn’t one that we will be able to replace. When it is gone it is gone and that is the reality of the situation.
It won’t all disappear during our lifetimes, but it is going to pose a problem for future generations. While efforts can be made to converse fossil fuels, eliminating enough of the use in order to really make a difference isn’t going to occur unless we take a close look at some alternative methods.
Society isn’t going to go back to using horses and carriages for transportation. They also aren’t going to go back to lighting their homes with candles at night. With the computer used around us in homes and for business it isn’t even practical to suggest we stop using the electricity that is necessary to allow them to operate.
We can often take for granted just turning the key and our car starts, turning on the thermostat to have heating or cooling in our home, and flipping a switch to give us the lighting we need in any room. Some people are also selfish as they don’t care what is going to happen for future generations as long as they have what they need right now.
Luckily, the majority of the population doesn’t think that way. They aren’t out to use everything they can without looking back. The problem though is that they often don’t realize what they are using could be a problem down the road. Even if they do, they may not realize that they have some other options they can try to implement.
Learning about the various types of renewable energy is a great way to get a person thinking about changes they can implement. There have been some significant efforts made in this area but there is still much more than needs to be taking place. Instead of being afraid of what is unknown to you, do your best to learn the basics of all the renewable energy sources possible.
The government of the United States has gotten involved in promoting renewable energy sources as well. They offer some great financial incentives for homes and businesses to you them. Even so, there is sometimes a high overhead to get everything in place. This can prevent many people from being a part of saving our natural resources even when they really would like to.
It is estimated that about 13% of our current energy is the result of renewable energy. With the money to cover the expenses, advanced technology, and a desire by society to continue using them we can see that percentage significantly increase. There are plenty of benefits to renewable energy too such as not harming the environment with pollutants.
If you are asking yourself why we don’t just turn to them now the answer isn’t that simple. In a nutshell, there is still a great deal of research that needs to be completed. There is also the high cost to contend with as well as various disadvantages with each of the types of renewable energy.
If you keep on reading though you will get to this information as well. Then it will make sense as far as the big picture of what we currently get from renewable energy, what the limitations are, and what we can expect in the future. This will help you to understand the benefits as well as the drawbacks of the situation more clearly.
Chapter 2
What is Renewable Energy?
Fossil fuels are used to make the energy we use, but once they are gone we will never get more of them. Coal, oil, and natural gas all fall into this category. They are used all over the place in high amounts so you may not realize that they are in limited supply.
These forms of energy have been used mainly because they are affordable and they don’t take up very much room to incorporate. They can be transported anywhere they are needed as well. With natural resources, there have to be certain elements in place in order to take advantage of them.
