Of all the available resources, non-renewable energy resources are the least abundant, and yet they are also the most widely used. In the last century, we have devastated the earth’s natural resources and put a tremendous strain on local and global economies. Environmental awareness has also been increasing, and this has led to deeper research into types of renewable energy. The use of renewable resources such as solar energy, wind energy, biomass, geothermal energy, and water, has been spreading.
Most of our renewable energy options come from the sun. Solar energy, or energy that is produced via the sun’s rays, is used for residential, industrial, and commercial purposes. Solar energy is used for heating water, cooling the air, and providing electricity to run lights and machines. While energy from solar resources is most widely used in areas with a great degree of exposure to the sun, it has applications in all parts of the world.
Wind energy, which comes from the sun’s heating effect on the air, can also be used for providing electricity. Energy from the wind is collected by wind turbines and then applied to agriculture, industry, and home uses. It is the reaction of sun and wind that causes water evaporation, which leads to precipitation of snow and rain. The water from rain and melting snow flows into our earth’s streams and rivers, where the energy can be turned into hydroelectric power.
Everybody knows that it is sun and rain that makes plants grow, but not all are aware that the organic matter that makes up those plants, or biomass, is also a tremendous energy resource. Energy from organic matter can be used for fuel, electricity, and needed chemicals. These are all referred to as bioenergy, which is energy from life itself.
All renewable energies do not come from solar resources. The energy we can get from heat inside the earth is called geothermal energy. Geothermal energy can provide the energy we need for electricity, as well as heating and cooling.
Our earth is made up of seven continents, which are surrounded by oceans, which provide two important sources of energy. Tides and wind create waves. Tidal energy is renewable, and wave energy is consistently renewable with wind, water, and tides. That is not all there is! The difference in temperature of ocean water from the icy cold depths to the shallower, warmer water that has been heated by the sun is also a source of energy.
The discovery of coal and oil as sources of energy helped to create the industrial and technical world we live in, but in order to continue to power a technologically-evolving earth, we must do further research into all different types of renewable energy. Oil and coal will not renew — at least not fast enough to keep up with a growing world that depends on electric power. Of all the choices we have, we continue to use non-renewable fuels that poison our water and pollute our air. We strip our forests fast and fail to plant with equal vigor. Renewable energy is our hope for the future of the planet.
Renewable energy can provide job security and put money back into local economies. This is because careers in renewable energy are built around maintaining an endless resource, rather than producing from energies that will run out. Money spent on renewable energy sources and investments in earth-friendly energy puts money into the local economy. Rather than boosting the economies of people across the world, we can lend a hand to our local economies.
Oil and coal will not last forever and if we continue to use those non-renewing resources, we will hit rock bottom one day, and that will mean we have caused irreparable damage to our world. If we are going to leave a sustainable and beautiful inheritance to the children of our children, we have to get serious about making renewable energy our only energy resource.
At dumpsterrentallafayettela.com our company is invested in environmentally friendly initiatives such as recycling as well as renewable energy wherever possible.