The Importance of Alternative Energy Sources
One of the biggest challenges the human race faces today is finding and using alternative energy sources. The push for means of generating electricity has been around for over 100 years, but when oil and coal-fired generators produced power inexpensively, the world put the search for alternative energy sources on the back burner for a number of years.
We cannot procrastinate any longer, however, as many of the earth's natural resources, such as oil, are depleting.
A Short History Lesson on Alternative Energy Sources
The need for an alternate energy source was rekindled in the 1970's with the oil shortage that created lines at gas stations and produced critical shortages throughout the United States. The search for alternate power generation is not limited to finding new ways of powering vehicles, as supplying cheap power for homes and industries is a continuous endeavor. There have been many advances in the search for alternative energy sources, but the price of the power produced still remains too high.
Wind, water and sun are touted as renewable energy resources with claims that once the technology is perfected, making it more cost effective, they can replace the need for oil and natural gas to turn turbines in the generation process. Even geothermal power production is one of the alternate energy sources being researched.
The Source Of The Energy Depends on The Location
For many people the switch to alternative energy sources is a matter of finding the type of alternative power that works the best in their particular geographical location. Persons who live in areas that have limited exposure to the sun for example, may not be too excited about using solar panels to supply power. When the sun goes down for an extended number of days, the town can go dark.
In some of those areas, wind is not a problem as it seems to blow nearly every day. Using wind power to turn turbines to generate electricity can work there, but may not work in other areas that experience less windy conditions. Another of the alternative energy sources, hydropower uses the power of rivers to turn generators, but the cost of the infrastructure to get power to the people from the generator may still be high for long range use.
With the three major alternative energy sources continuing to be researched and advanced, the need for an answer to out problem becomes more evident every time a person receives their electric bill, or fills their car with gas.
The resources that we have left on the planet are running out. Do your part to keep educated on the latest changes in technology and any up to date with the issues at hand to learn what you can do to help solve the energy crisis.
Madison Greene
http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/the-importance-of-alternative-energy-sources-246959.html
Filed under: Gas Generators
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why don't more people see the value of some alternative energy sources and the worthlessness in others?
like biofuels. when it first started, the price of corn skyrocketed. and not that many ppl even use it…let alone have heard of it. think of what will happen when it becomes fully integrated into transportation technology.
now, solar power, wind power. that is the good stuff. we have so much of it. i think it may become big in the future. hopefully, if ppl start doing more research into it………..
why don’t ppl understand? my business teacher told us this when the topic of hummers in a business article came up. when she was in college, there was this huge gasoline shortage. you could only get gas based on ur license plate number. the last number on it.
these hummers are such gas-guzzlers.. it’s insane.
she said, now people r at it again. they just don’t learn the importance of conserving gas.
on to my point, ppl say that gasoline is a more viable energy source. what happens when it’s gone? how will we do research into newer energy sources and implement it across the world so quickly? we will all DIE.
well here’s the thing. there are certain actions that affect everybody. buying a hummer is a personal choice but filling it up with gas affects everyone. it just uses too much
I think most people simply don’t understand or know enough about alternative or renewable energy. I mean what percentage of ordinary have seriously thought about installing a solar energy system in their homes. Less than one no doubt. Getting one installed is going to cost you thousands but you can actually make one yourself. Ok it wont’ be just a Saturday afternoon in the garage but it can be done for just a few hundred bucks and maybe take a month of weekends to do. http://www.homeenergydiyreview.com has brief, factual reports on various download renewable energy kits. These include solar, wind powered systems and magnetic generators.
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A lot of people are of the belief that they can’t be used on large enough scales. If you show them that they are they ignore it and continue stating their arguments and personal beliefs. Granted some areas of the world aren’t suitable for renewable energy resources but they are a drop in a bucket compared to the areas that can make use of renewable energy.
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Because people are afraid of change. Solar and wind power are great but expensive. Diesel fuel is great and there is plenty to go around.Gas is slowly disappearing so make you chose. And maybe get a diesel /electric car or maybe even a smart cart.
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Because people have differing priorities, needs and desires. These three things will dictate the value they place on anything on earth.
As far as alternative energy sources, each has their positive and negative values. Solar power requires batteries, which have toxic properties, and doesn’t work at all at night, and in limited capacity in cloudy weather. Wind energy requires enormous capital, and is very inefficient. On a larger scale, there’s a gamble as to whether or not a windmill will pay for itself before it breaks or has to be dismantled at the end of its’ service life. Nuclear power requires capital, oversight and infrastructural investment, which will all require massive public support.
We aren’t all going to die because of energy issues. The cheapest forms of fuel will just become more expensive, and the alternatives will become more economical.
Plus, if someone has the money and the desire for a big car, who should be able to say they can’t have what they want? Being wasteful is expensive, but some people can afford it. Of course people are dumb, and some can’t see more than a week, or a year in advance. That’s always been the way.
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Thing is though, renewable sources are very useful to use but we still use biofuels in order to make the machines to use the renewable energy sources.. and yeah their still working on it
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Science lesson
The costs associated with energy is not born by the ultimate users. The cost we pay for a gallon of gas does not include the cost of the pollution we cause nor the cost of military (hardware and lives) that it requires. If all the costs associated with defending our ability to import oil were taken off our income tax and put on our energy tax, people would be much more thoughtful about the energy we use. As it, the market has been distorted by government subsidies for energy, funded instead by taxes on our income. Get these externalities straightened-out and the free market will guide us to much smarter choices.
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People don’t find the importance of to much of anything unless it benefits them directly . Im running my entire home on solar panels that i built and small wind generators that i also designed and built but trust me i wasn’t thinking about the world when i built them i was thinking about my utility saving and they have well paid off . Thing is if you don’t know how to build your own system it is really expensive and most people just cant afford it . As far as people filling up there hummers well they just don’t give a crap about anything .
There is people working on alternatives . This is what im waiting for . http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6228923n . Would love to just get my hands on the two boxes he is holding in his hands.
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People won’t change until it personally hurts enough that they feel they must, for the most part. Like, if gasoline goes to $5.00 per gallon, a lot more people will become interested in alternative fuel vehicles. We got tired of paying for gas when it hit $3.50 a gallon back in 2007 and we researched some alternatives and found cars that ran on natural gas, which was 65 cents a gallon at the time! Now we are paying a whopping 93 cents per gallon, but look at gasoline prices in comparison. We have saved gobs of money by having these cars instead of regular gasoline cars, and wish they would catch on. We have noticed a lot of our neighbors still won’t switch even though they know about our cars and see that they work as well as theirs. They find every excuse to not change, even though it’s not a big deal at all. It’s very annoying.
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http://www.cngPrices.com
http://www.NGVamerica.org
why don’t you understand complex financial issues and the psychology of every person on earth? Or the science behind all the technologies
You have made broad sweeping, mostly psychological based with some very simplistic data.
What if the wind doesn’t blow where you live? What if the clouds block the sun 50% of the time?
Is it better to send $1,000,000 today to a power company for all your power you’ll ever need, or send the power company $100/month for 20 years?
buying a hammer affects the poor, the iron in that hammer could have been a plow that could feed 1000 people. You are confusing your personal beliefs with moral issues. If you really believe your hammer comparison, you’d shutdown the computer and allow others to use that power, you are wasting it playing this game on Yahoo answers.
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As I see it, the number one deterrent factor why don’t seriously consider the use of solar panels for their power requirement is the initial cost. People can easily be convinced of the effectiveness and reliability of solar panels but we can easily convince them to install one for their homes because of the initial cost
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