Renewable Energy

RENEWABLE ENERGY

In economics almost every law can be contradicted, there is always another side of the coin presented by another school of thought, but there is one which we can say forms the basis of economics and cannot be contradicted; Scarcity. Scarcity actually led to invention of economics. Earth has limited resources but unlimited wants hence being economic is necessary to fulfill demand with limited supply.

Same case applies to our energy sources. Our main source of energy has been fossil fuels for centuries, which are used to drive almost everything we today consider a necessity like cars, trains, electricity etc. But the problem is that fossil fuels like everything else are limited and sources are depleting rapidly and the world is energy hungry and this hunger continues to escalate with exponentially increasing population. Fossil fuels are expected to last for approximately another 50 years. A serious question is what will this energy-famished world do after 50 years?

As the cliché goes where there is a will there is a way. If seen from a hindsight view we can say that up until now sources of energy were being searched under our feet but the answer to this problem lies above the surface of the earth. In Hinduism Sun is considered a God, ignore the religious part Sun although not God but is unquestionably an infinite source of energy same goes for the wind no matter how many walls you put up wind will still be there in totality. These are the purest form of nature and thanks to the clever thinking of engineers we can now derive energy from these infinite sources. This form of energy is not limited to time and will continue to strive as far as this planet is alive. An added advantage of these energy sources, appropriate term is Renewable energy, is that it has no harmful by-product like fossil fuels have in the form for carbon dioxide, greenhouse gases etc. hence we also term it as Green Energy. Renewable energy related to sun is called Solar Energy. It basically uses sunlight to create electricity. Wind Energy, as the name suggests, uses wind to drive huge turbines which consequently produce Electricity. Other renewable energy forms include geothermal, hydroelectric energy.

One might ask why should as an individual should you use renewable energy. Let us assume that a billionaire has vast amount of fossil fuels at his disposal why should he opt for renewable energy. Logical answer would be that his fossil fuel won’t last forever but again we assume that he says they will last till he dies then the answer would be that Renewable energy is a clean source of energy with minimum environmental effect we now assume that he is an idiot and says he does not care about environment then the next and best answers which he will have no rebuttal to is that renewable energy is cheaper than any other form of energy. Yes Hydroelectricity is cheaper compared to the energy produced through fossil fuel burning (with the exception of Nuclear Energy but don’t want to promote that for obvious reasons, just remember the Hiroshima Nagasaki episode).

Jokes apart renewable energy is the best solution to the problem created from fossil fuel scarcity. And as an individual and responsible global citizen one should try to use solar energy or small windmills to run their houses and not only drastically cut your expenses on utility bills but also cut the greenhouse gases which you are indirectly producing by using electricity generated by burning fossil fuels. 

On a larger scale using renewable energy will help our country become self sufficient and reduce our dependency on other nations for import of oil and gas to be used as a source of energy. 

Summarizing the concept of renewable energy, its importance will continue to take a wider portion on the paper in the upcoming years. We must all remember and acknowledge that eventually the world will have to shift to renewable sources of energy but we should try to preserve our non-renewable energy sources. With the scientists and big powers now taking responsibility on energy matters, it is a good sign for everyone.

DiCaprio: In a Few Decades, Renewable Energy Could Supply 100% of Our ... - Huffington Post

Green World Rising, one episode of a four-part documentary series produced in collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio, is a clarion call to save our species.
U.N. delegates and the world's leading scientists are meeting in Copenhagen this week before releasing another frightening report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The report will warn governments around the world that persistent burning of greenhouse gasses is, "increasing the likelihood of severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems."
This is just the latest in a string of climate reports by intergovernmental bodies, universities, and research teams trying to pin down what planet Earth will look like if it continues its trajectory toward a two to three degree Celsius increase in global temperatures and beyond. The picture is grim, but there still is hope to saving our species and world from the most devastating effects of rapid climate change.
It begins by recognizing the problem. As Leonardo DiCaprio states right off the top in the documentary, "Climate change is happening now and is caused by human activity." That means we must fundamentally change human activity: from how we generate energy to how we transport goods and ourselves from place to place to how we grow our food.
In Green World Rising, we're introduced to new solar, wind, and geothermal industries on the cutting edge of a green world. Like Mosaic, Inc., which is "banking on the sun" by deploying solar panels on residential rooftops giving individuals energy freedom from dirty coal fired power plants as well as a financial kick-back when that excess solar energy is spread around the grid to others.
This form of "decentralization" is crucial in the development of alternative energies. To beat back the worst effects of climate change, we have to replace our 19th and 20th century modes of energy and food production and transportation.
No longer tethered to centralized fossil fuel depots, electric cars and trains and eventually planes will be able to move us around the planet in a clean, efficient manner while also reducing our global carbon emission by one-third.
And the giant centralized factory farms that have come to dominate the food industry with their pesticides and disregard for the soil, can be replaced by small, organic, bio-diverse farms focused on local food production.
The threat of climate change is real. But, as DiCaprio states, "We have the solutions. Human ingenuity working alongside Earth's natural systems is building a new world that is sustainable and self-reliant."
This can be done within our lifetimes. Green World Rising shows us how. It's an important film that's part of a crucially important film series that comes at a time when our place on this planet is in peril.
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