The Impact Renewable Energy Could Have Us

Alternate energy sources can do A LOT for America, the economy, and environment. We use petroleum for everything and are only now beginning to realize that an alternate energy source would be far more economical and environmental friendly. Due to our reliance on oil we are becoming dependant on foreign countries and are spending copious amounts of money to quench our ever growing need for petroleum. America must realize that we are spending the same amount of money yearly on petroleum purchases as we would spending it to try and use alternate energy sources. In the long run though we would actually save money and the environment if we pushed more towards alternate energy rather than continue to be reliant on petroleum. The biggest problem is that people have become so used to how easy petroleum and gas power is to use that the extra effort needed to use alternate energy is something people shy away from. The 4 major types of alternate energy that Americans could use are Biodiesel, Hydropower, Wind power, and Solar power. Many economists are looking mostly into the use of biodiesel, while environmentalists would rather look into hydropower, wind, and solar power. All 4 alternate energy sources will take time, money, and dedication, but this is something that America is starting to consider as petroleum sources are dwindling and our reliance on foreign oil continues to grow.

Renewable energy is something that we should be pushing more and more towards for our future. The amazing part of alternate energy is that you can never run out of it! The different types of renewable or alternative energy that you hear about are hydropower, wind power, solar power, biomass, nuclear power, geothermal power, and a few others. America is never going to run out of wind or water or sun, and I know that sounds corny but it’s true. Those resources are renewable and that is why alternate energy sources are so important because petroleum can run out, and oil is starting to be something that is hard to find because we use so much of it. Another amazing thing about alternate energy is that it is clean and produces little to no fossil fuels. “The United States has 1.6% of the world’s oil but it uses 24% of the world’s oil production”(2009). That might not seem like a large amount, but on a world scale that is one of the largest percents of oil use. The sad thing about fossil fuels is that it takes millions of years to reform, and that is why alternate energy is such a big thing. In the long run those sources of energy are easy to make and have a much shorter creation time are compared to fossil fuels like petroleum. A major problem that America is having is the depletion of petroleum, and this is mostly due to our overuse of the energy source and also the length of time that it takes to reform it naturally. “The US consumes approximately 320 billion gallons of oil per year. 70% of it used in transportation”(2009). With that number alone, simply multiple it into however many years we have been using that amount of oil and the result will be in the billions, and trillions of gallons of oil; and this is only in the United States. Despite these staggering numbers there is no serious drive to using alternate energy sources like biodiesel for fuel because we are still using gallons of petroleum every day. Incredibly enough those numbers are mostly for petroleum, but we also use natural gases for energy as well, which doesn’t help decrease our use of fossils fuels either.

One of those most talked about alternate energy sources is biodiesel because it’s similar to petroleum but not as harmful to the environment and less expensive as well. The great thing about biodiesel is that instead of taking millions of years to reform, biodiesel can be made from extracted animal fat, and vegetable oils. Also, biodiesel can be made out of left over restaurant oils and greases which is much less expensive and economically friendly. Another great thing about biodiesel it that it is biodegradable and completely free of fossil fuels that can harm the atmosphere and environment, and also has a 60% less carbon dioxide and hydrocarbon emission when burned. Biodiesel in a nut shell is, “made through a chemical process called "transesterification" whereby the glycerin is separated from the fat or vegetable oil. The process leaves behind two products -- methyl esters (the chemical name for biodiesel) and glycerin (a valuable byproduct usually sold to be used in soaps and other products)”(2007). Although this seems to be a semi-complex process of converting oils into a fuel source, biodiesel is, in the long run, far cheaper and environmentally friendly as compared to petroleum. Biodiesel seems to be a leader in the alternate energy race because it requires little to no effort to create or use due to its similarity to petroleum. A big contender in the biodiesel category of alternate energy sources is bio-fuel such as ethanol. Being a close relative to biodiesel, ethanol is made from corn and is the most common of the biodiesel family. A simple process of grinding corn and fermenting it ultimately creates an alcoholic substance called ethanol, which is then mixed with gasoline. So ethanol is not totally an alternate source, it’s more of a way to reduce the use of petroleum; sort of like watering down your iced tea to stretch the amount out for a few more days. But this bio-fuel is a lot less energy efficient then biodiesel, at the same time bio-fuel like ethanol is simple and cheap to make.

Yet another alternate energy source that is becoming more prominent is solar power. There are pros and cons to solar power because the sun does set and is not shinning 24/7. Despite that, the sun’s temperature of more than 5,700 degree Celsius insures America that if solar power were to be used we would have a lot of it. Even though solar power is considered secondary as compared to other alternate energy sources, people can use solar power for cooking, heating, lighting, and many other things. Solar power is mostly thought of as an alternative to electricity and that sort of energy, where as biodiesel is more or a transportation alternate energy source. “1 KW solar energy unit is approximately equal to that same amount of energy produced by 170 pounds of coal”(2010). The amazing thing about that information is the realization that solar energy is much cleaner than coal and yet it produces a pretty large amount of energy when compared to coal. The only bad thing about solar power is that it is very expensive, and the solar paneling alone is costing Americans thousands of dollars, but it is worth it in the long run definitely because it is cleaner for the environment and an economically friendly investment. Many other sources of energy are being looked into more and more as time goes on. Alternate energy like wind power, and water power are also “go green” ways of helping the environment and helping Americans pocket books as time goes on. The great thing about alternate energy sources is that it takes America’s dependence on foreign countries out of the equation, and that way we would be saving hundreds of thousands of dollars. But wind wind power also has its pros and cons because some places are windier then others, and sometimes there is no wind at all. Wind power as an alternate energy source is entirely subject to the weather, which is why many economists and environmentalists put this power sources towards the bottom of the lists. Although in saying that, wind power as an energy source that is growing in places where wind is a regular day occurrence and can be harvested at a steady rate. Water power is another great alternate energy source because almost all water is constantly running, and the good thing about that is it can be a reliable energy source in the long run. Another great thing is that hydropower emits NO fossil fuels, and anywhere where there is water it can be converted into energy. But, hydropower does impact the ecosystem because dams are required to harness the energy source so it is both positively and sometimes negatively effects the environment. So there are both pros and cons to most alternate energy sources which is why America seems to be taking a long time to get these sources “up and running”.

There is good news and bad news when it comes to alternate energy sources; but mostly good news. The good news is that the energy sources such as biodiesel, water, wind, and solar power when be much better for the environment and the economy. The bad news is America is taking its dear sweet time in pushing harder for alternate energy sources to take the place of petroleum and other energy sources that we use today. This is mostly due to the tweaks that environmentalists and trying to work on because both water and wind power directly effects the environment. While as solar and bio-fuels affect the economists’ pocketbooks. When it comes to biodiesel though, “the market is expected to grow from a couple hundred million gallons per years today to over one billion gallons per year by 2010”(2007). Good news about solar power as well because, “The largest solar power plant is in California. Located in the Mojave desert, the solar energy generating system produces ample energy to meet the electrical needs of half a million people…”(2010). So America is taking steps to start pushing more towards alternate energy sources, but it will be an over time merge because we are so dependent on petroleum and other energy sources. As for wind power, “Wind is the fastest growing energy source worldwide, and has been for over a decade with an annual growth rate of 30%”(n.d.). There is growth in the attempts to replace alternate energy sources with our old energy sources so that we become less dependent on other countries and help our environment as well. In the long run, alternate energy will be clean, cheaper, and overall better for America and the world because there are so many different kinds of energy out there, we just have to tap into them and use them.

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