Drawbacks to Renewable Sources of Energy

January 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

In the public’s excitement about saving the environment, it is good to be well-educated about both the pros and cons of renewable sources of energy.

Unlike fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) which can only be used once, there are renewable sources of energy. These include energy we can get from the sun, wind, and water. Since these sources of energy are on-going, there is not the same fear of depleting these resources as there is with fossil fuels which come from decayed plants and animals after millions and millions of years.

There are some disadvantages though to producing energy from renewable sources. It is good to be aware of these factors when making decisions.

For example, when a hydro-electric dam is made to harness water-power in to making electricity, there are some drawbacks. Often people have to be relocated since they live too near the dam. Rich farm land and forests can be flooded and wasted above the dam as well. A dam often changes the physical characteristics of the river downstream.

Another example is solar power. To collect solar rays for energy requires large panels or mirrors, this can take up huge amounts of land which would displace people, animals, and plants. Also since accidents happen, it is important to be aware that the fluid that is necessary in solar thermal electric generation is extremely toxic and can very much hurt the environment. Also it is very costly to produce solar power as compared to power plants using fossil fuels. Some may wonder if it is worth the money.

Another drawback of producing energy from renewable sources, involves wind. We can create wind farms that house many windmills. This usually takes up about 17 acres of land, and even then it can only produce up to one mega watt of energy. This can power up to approximately 1,000 homes. It would require huge tracks of land though to power the millions of homes and businesses in America.

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Unconventional Fossil Fuel Boom in the United States

November 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The Athabasca Oil Sands in Alberta, Canada, ar...
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U.S. oil companies, Canadian pipelines companies and investors are spending a lot of money to open the next hydrocarbon frontier. Since the domestic supplies of fossil fuels is continually getting smaller, energy companies are turning to new sources located in reserves contained in the sands and shale of the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountain West and Canada.

Wyoming, Colorado and Utah contain enough shale to produce between 1.2 to 1.8 trillion barrels of oil; however, only one-half is recoverable. A region in Alberta Canada contains tar sands oil reserves estimated at 175 million barrels. Gas-bearing shale in the Great Plains, Great Lakes Northeast and Rocky Mountain West contains countless feet of natural gas. These reserves could power the United States for another 100 years.

However, mining for these unconventional energy sources can cause other problems for the environment.  There can be threats to waters supplies because of an increase amount of water needed to release these oil and gas containing shale and sands and an increase in CO2 emissions when compared to conventional drilling. It usually takes 4 times more water to produce one barrel of tar-sands oil; multiple numbers of large trucks carrying water must travel to these sometimes remote areas to provide the water for the extraction process.  Tar-sand oil creates three times as much carbon emissions as conventional drilling.

Some experts are concerned that exploring these options are sending the energy industry in the wrong direction by not spending resources on renewable energy sources. The oil industry feels that this exploration is improving national security; it is profitable for these companies as well. This drilling also has been creating an economic boom in these parts of the country but can be dangerous as well.

This practice will remain controversial and more investigation is ongoing.

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Our Environment

October 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Fossil Fuel Free lawn care business-2.jpg
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Our world runs on energy and most of this energy is provided by natural resources. We don’t even realize all the activities that we participated in everyday that is powered by the renewable energy originating from fossil fuels and the materials they evolve into. Fossil fuels are animal and plant remains that go through a hefty transformation that eventually allows us to be warm in our homes and offices, drive our cars, and take the trips to foreign locales that we call vacations.

The environment in which we live is unfortunately affected by the burning of these fuels as the production of oil, gas, and coal release toxins into our atmosphere causing irreparable damage. Debates have been long engaged in that discuss the direct effects of our overuse of fossil fuels to indulge in our customary way of life across the globe. The need for technological advances in environmentally-friendly fuel production has been a hot topic for a number of years.

We are taking seriously the idea that our resources are depleting and large corporation across the world are making initiatives to be conscious of this rapidly increasing depletions. But the average person who cares enough to read an article or take part in organized efforts to save our earth often don’t know how. However, we all have heard that most things in life should be used in moderation and this mantra is most applicable when it comes to fossil fuel consumption and usage.

We need to take responsibility for contributing to the overuse of fossil fuels. The truth is, we can protect our homes and businesses to maximize the effects of the heating conditions and operations that we pay for. It will no longer reduce our own bills, but disallow the release of heat and warmth that is generated by the burning of these fossil fuels. We can take part in the regulation of heat within the parameters of our control at home and even at work more than we think we can. Consciousness and self-awareness are the key components to the global practice of fossil fuel conservation.

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Your Environment

October 24, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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We won’t all work for Green Peace, nor are we approached on the city streets by a woman who looks us in the eye as we are about to walk past her and says, "Let’s talk about the environment." We all want to help because this is truly our environment and even if we don’t care about our own demise, we have an inherent capacity for caring about the generations ahead of us who will deal with our mistakes. But often we don’t take the time to realize the effects of our own actions on the environment in which we live.

If you grew up in the 1980s, the idea was to stay away from hairspray because it released toxins into the sky above and had a direct causal effect on smog and other evidence of our atmosphere becoming dirty. But there are a number of issues involved in trying to protect our environment. We are all affected by the consequences of our collective participation in fossil fuel usage. We don’t all drive the most friendly cars when it comes to conservation. We don’t all ride our bikes to work instead of driving or taking the train. The truth is, we all care but we don’t all have the monetary and practical resources and information to adapt our unique habitual living limitations to the conservation of our Earth’s resources.

Most of us find our fellow human beings as worthy of clean air and warmth as the next person, but we don’t have the tools to contribute holistically to the cause of preserving the fossil fuel consumption and its usage. We need to realize the power of the collective and begin with awareness that the power we use to energize our lives also takes away from the arsenal of energy for the world at-large, not only presently but in the future.

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A Refinance Car Loan and its Relation to Fossil Fuels

September 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Renewable Energy and Fossil Fuel. A wind pump ...
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There is a lot of talk these days about clean energy, renewable energy, and why it’s so important, but not a lot of understanding why. You are told to care about global warming, just like you are told how much a refinance car loan is useful, but you are not really told all the reasons you are supposed to care. So what is the problem with the world and its energy? Well, here’s a simple breakdown of the issue at hand.

Energy is used for power everyday. Most of the things we use, including our cars, run on power from one source or another. There is coal, oil, and gas.These things have been powering the world for decades and they are exactly what is wrong with our energy situation.

Oil is known as a fossil fuel. It is a precious resource in the earth and it makes a great source of energy. There are only two problems with fossil fuels being used. The first problem is that these fossil fuels do not recreate quickly. It takes millions of years for fossil fuels to come back. We are using far more than is being put back in and even if it was being put back in, it wouldn’t be seen in our lifetime or any not so distant generations.

The second problem is that when we burn fossil fuels they release carbon dioxide which is put into the earth’s atmosphere. This is not normally a problem because the earth takes in and absorbs the carbon dioxide, however, we are using so much that the earth can’t regulate the amount we are putting into the air and this means the rest is released into the ozone and contributes to the hole in the ozone layer. This is said to be the primary issue of global warming. One thing is clear: this issue is not going away.

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