Renewable energy utilizes natural cycles and systems such as sunlight, wind, tides, and geothermal heat to harness natural energy. The need to mass produce a means of utilizing alternative energy sources is greater today than it has ever been in the history of mankind. We are right on the brink of destroying our planet and decisions must be made. If it was more affordable more people might jump on the bandwagon. All the elements to collect energy personally need to be mass produced in factories. Assembly lines changed the automobile industry. It could do the same for renewable energy. If windmills and solar panels were sold at Wal-Mart and were typical, the idea wouldn’t seem nearly as radical. There are several different simple energy options available to us. Solar Energy is captured directly from the sun through the use of photovoltaic panels. There are no emissions produced from or through this process. Wind power is captured on windy days through the use of windmills and they can be private or public. Hydroelectricity is captured through movement of water. If the dams are built with nature in mind, there is relatively no danger to the native creatures reproductive habits. Renewable energy has such potential for solving the future energy crisis.
The price of solar cells is expensive at the moment and would not be cost effective. But the price is coming down. Several companies are working on developing sheet thin solar cells. They would sell them for around 50 cents a watt. If I can quote Dan Shugar, president of PowerLight Corporation, "Automobiles were disruptive to the horse and buggy business. PCs were disruptive to the typewriter industry. We believe solar electric systems will be disruptive to the energy industry." Since solar energy is absorbed directly from the suns rays into the solar panel, it is emission free.(Parfit) The new 2010 Prius has a solar panel in it’s roof that controls the air conditioning inside the car. It prevents the car from heating up while parked, which significantly reduces the use of the air once the car is on. Both wind and solar can make power on a small scale near the user, called disrupted energy. If someone had their own private windmill in their front yard, or a solar panel, they could harness their own energy.(Parfit) Imagine how much money a person could save if they didn’t have to draw energy from a company.
Wind power works on cloudy days and is another way to collect solar energy. Wind is nothing but sun warmed air. With every turn of the blades there is more energy being captured by the windmill. Windmills are also emission free and pose no threat to nature. The coasts of Denmark are already lined with huge windmills. Sometimes they have such an energy surplus that they can power Germany as well as themselves. In the U.S. a windmill owner can put their unused energy back into the grid. The utility companies are required to pay for that. The private windmill owner could lower their monthly energy costs down to zero.(Parfit) Windmills can cause fluctuations in the power grid because of their unpredictability. If there is too much wind and it creates too much power for one area, you would need a strong interconnection with the grid closest to you to unload the power. On the opposite end, if there is a lull it may take several hours to get the thermal generators going again.(Kennedy) In theory if there was a grid in every major city and they were all interconnected the whole world could share energy. They could be separated by continent, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia. Anyone in North America would be attached to the North American power grid. If it was windy in Florida and not in Maryland, Florida could share it’s energy with Maryland.
Since the roman empire water has been used to create energy. It covers seventy percent of the planet’s surface so it only makes sense to make use of it. In hydroelectricity, kinetic energy is converted into electrical energy.(Bakis) In order to create hydroelectricity, the first thing needed is water in motion and a way to control the motion. A dam on a river can act as a control point. Water is released through a passageway when electricity is needed. There the energy is converted. New dams are being built with stair-step channels to allow spawning fish to make their way around the dam and continue upstream to new spawning grounds. Dams that had been built previously without the stair cases, are being rebuilt in order to be more environmentally friendly.(Childress)
All of these methods could be taken one step further. Imagine hundreds of square rafts out deep in the ocean all connected by ball joints. Each of these rafts have solar panels covering the foundation and wind mills standing on them as well. The movement of the ocean would move all these rafts, all the time. Within the ball joint are little motors that would be moved and capture energy. Energy would also be captured from the sun and the wind. You would need a means of getting the energy to land and a place to store it. But this could be a combination of all of these different ways to capture energy from natural sources.
The problem is that the economy would fail if these proposed changes all happened at once. Our economy depends so much on it’s main staples. If there was more wiggle room it would be easier to allow for change. But since there isn’t it makes changing things all the more difficult. Everyone would have to ease into it slowly. Mankind needs to wake up and realize that there might not be enough time left to allow for that. People have just gotten far too comfortable. Every living thing is connected. All of the decisions we make for our planet affect every inch of it. Maybe it’s time to show a little responsibility. Our world leaders need to get on the same page and make it happen in a realistic amount of time. If only the whole world agreed on the seriousness of this situation and then got on the same page. Imagine what could be accomplished if everyone worked together. The world could be saved.
The need to mass produce a means of utilizing alternative energy sources is greater today than it has ever been in the history of mankind. Solar, wind power, and hydroelectricity are just the three main forms of renewable energy. There are a ton more than those three that could be made use of. If there was a more efficient way to store the energy produced, these methods of collecting energy would be perfect. It is important to hit this problem head on. If consumers do not change their way of thinking soon we will have no natural resources left.
Works Cited:
Bakis, R. "The Current Status and Future Opportunities of Hydroelectricity." Energy Sources Part B: Economics, Planning & Policy 2.3 (2007): 259-266. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 6 Feb. 2010.
Childress, Vincent W. "Energy Perspective: Is Hydroelectricity Green? (Cover story)." Technology Teacher 68.4 (2008): 4-9. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 31 Jan. 2010.
Kennedy, Jason, Brendan Fox, and John Morrow. "Working with wind - wind power." Engineering & Technology (17509637) 3.3 (2008): 52-55. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 6 Feb. 2010.
Parfit, Michael. "FUTURE POWER. (Cover story)." National Geographic 208.2 (2005): 2-31. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 13 Jan. 2010.
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