There is an interesting article in the 28th February New Scientist called “How clean is green?” which takes a look at climate change and our options for alternative sources of energy to fossil fuel. By considering the links between different sources of alternative energy and the heat they generate the article comes to the conclusion that harnessing solar energy is our best and only option.
The article explains that whenever we use or release energy most of it ends up as waste heat. When we use fossil fuels or nuclear energy we are releasing energy as heat which adds to the net heat of the planet. However, when we use solar energy which was going to fall on the planet anyway, to generate energy, there is no net heat gain.
The article also makes a good point about wind energy, that by extracting energy from the wind we could alter weather patterns, including levels of precipitation. Of course, if we could accurately predict these effects this might be an opportunity to adjust the weather in advantageous ways, although given the complexity of weather systems this might be an overly optimistic thought.
I like the suggestions in this article because to anyone with a basic understanding of how energy works it makes perfect sense – solar energy is our best option for sustainable energy production.