Alternative energy sources

Alternative Energy Sources

Outine

The Earth 's Energy status today

Economies rely on a stable and cheap source of energy

Reliance on Fossil Fuels as the source of energy

Rising demand from developing countries

Alternative Energy

Advantages of alternative energy

Renewable Energy Sources

Wind

Solar

Biomass

Biofuels

Hydrogen

Nuclear Energy as an alternative energy form

Low costs of nuclear energy

Advances in technology

Helium-3 Energy

Thesis statement

The move to alternative energy sources is inevitable for most of the modern

world . Reasons for the move include sheer economics , geopolitics and environmental protection

Through the years , the world has gotten used to using fossil fuels for their energy needs . Products derived from fossil fuels are used in transportation , in electricity generation , in petrochemicals and even in road construction . The primary reason for the move is the inadequacy of fossil fuels to meet future energy demands at an economically feasible price . Fossil fuels , due to their nature , are of finite supply . Even though no estimates show that the amount of fossil fuels in the Earth is not about to run out , economic forces will cut the fossil fuel supply even before it runs out . As the amount of fossil fuels extracted decreases , the greater the demand for it becomes , particularly because of rising economies . Economics will thus dictate that the price of fossil fuels go up due to shifts in global supply and demand . Sooner or later , the price of energy will rise to unsustainable prices - prices which can cripple economies and cause great financial problems for the common man due to inflation . Already , we have seen evidences of this scenario happening . The price of oil has risen continually over the years and has already sparked unrest in some countries

Alternative energy sources , especially renewable energy sources are clearly better in the long run . Renewable energy sources will not face the problems faced by rising oil prices today simply because these energy sources are not finite . Alternative energy sources like biomass wind , hydro and solar energy will always be replenished . Moreover , these energy sources are also less polluting than fossil fuel sources . The use of fossil fuels has been linked to the phenomenon of anthropogenic global warming . Carbon dioxide emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels are said to cause Earth 's temperature to rise abnormally - a situation which can have disastrous effects on a global scale if left unchecked . Renewable energy sources do not suffer from this drawback which makes them more attractive from an environmental perspective

Nuclear energy is also another alternative energy form . While it is not exactly renewable due to the finiteness of the Earth 's Uranium deposits the high yield of nuclear energy means that the accessible Uranium in the Earth can last us for centuries before running out . Nuclear energy is clean , already available and can supply energy at a large scale While there are concerns regarding its safety as well as what to do with spent nuclear waste , newer technologies have managed to reduce the...