Energy


 * Has energy made life better ? **



Energy is used daily by humans. To wake up an alarm is set, lights are turned on, and maybe a microwave is used to heat food. Most adults use a car for transportation and office workers are in front of a computer screen for hours. Apart from that there are cellphones, TV, radio, public transportation and many other things. Humans are dependent on all these things to survive yet many of them don’t even know where there energy comes from. One needs to find new ways to get energy that's more renewable and sustainable. The people of this earth need to find new ways to produce energy because the one that is being used now have is getting harder to attain and prices on these fuels are rising.



In 2010 92% of the US energy came from a nonrenewable resource. Meaning only around 8% of the energy was from a renewable source. Now it is understandable why nonrenewable sources are largely used. They’re cheap, usually safe to use and are abundant. Yet they do cause a few environmental issues. Some examples are the burning of petroleum oils release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Coal must be mined from the ground which can be dangerous to the miners, accidents have happened like the 2010 Chilean mine accident. Even though natural gas burns cleaner than the other fuels, it’s not easy to store. Also nuclear energy does not give off any CO2 into the atmosphere but it is extremely dangerous like the accident in 1986, Chernobyl ring any bells? It is clear humans need to rethink their energy sources for a better future. Renewable resources can potentially make a better future for humans. It would make the environment better and safer. Air pollution can get cleared up and a pause can be put on global warming. A great example of a renewable resource is solar power. Solar energy can be used for heat in most households. It also can generate electricity straight from the sunlight using the photovoltaic effect. Depending on the size of the photovoltaic cells is how much electricity is made. It can be stored for a while but much sunlight is still needed. Unfortunately solar power can’t be used all the time and it can’t be used everywhere. Also the Sun may be free but the technology used to make it into electricity isn’t. In fact it’s actually really costly at first because of the cost of the solar panels and having them installed but in the long run it is better. Another example is wind energy. Wind farms are being made where there is most wind. It can’t be stored though so if there’s no wind there is no power. Environmentally it has its pros and its cons. It doesn’t release any pollution into the air and isn’t dangerous to humans, sadly the same can’t be said for birds. The turbines need a lot of land but it can unite small town communities like the one in the movie students watched during Green Ambassadors. All these advances in energy can make the environment better which would give humans a better future. It would take a bit of work though. Humans need to perfect using renewable resources for energy. Also the dependency on fossil fuels needs to lessen or nothing is going to change. Prices are already high in these common fuels but why can’t people spend a little more so that there future can be better? Like the Tootsie Pop commercial says, “The world may never know”.