Controversies of Renewable Energy

Brian Christnovich
11/4/2011

Renewable Energy

With the continuous increase of human population throughout the world, natural resources scientists must continue to invent new ideas and energy sources and not rely on exhaustible resources. The world will continue to grow and the resources that our society relies on so heavily will eventually be scares or extinct. Renewable energy is a topic in the natural resource field that is continuously debated, discussed, and studied. Renewable energy like most new inventions has many positives but also can have many negatives relative to the person discussing the topic. With the main focus to go “Green” in today’s society with regard to our environment and our plant as whole, I am quite surprised how much controversy renewable energy and the structures that go along with implementing these ideas receives. Without the invention of renewable energy where would our world and society be today?

The types of renewable energy most commonly found throughout the world are wind energy, water energy, solar power, and geothermal energy. These natural energy sources are present every single day and are finally being captured for the use of human society. Renewable energy is a necessity that is finally being realized throughout the world as our resources such as oil are becoming limited. For the sake of the human race we should all be thankful this technology is coming fourth now before these resources become any scarcer. Some of the pros that come along with the use of renewable energy include, none too little pollution to the environment, never run out of these energy sources, energy can be used for practical use such as heating and lighting, and continued technological improvement and development of ideas. These pros are only a few of the many pros discussed throughout the natural resource field. Some of the cons that can be found in regards to this topic are, aesthetic appeal is minimized, energy source can be intermittent (wind, solar), technology and buildings are very expensive to implement, can produce some pollutants, and the lack of interest by individuals not in the natural resource field. These are only some of the negatives that relate to the use of renewable energy as a source of our energy. These cons, which seem quite limited, are the main source of controversy between natural resource scientist and the human population in general. It is interesting to me with a topic that has so many positives and minimal negatives how controversial and debated renewable energy is.

In my opinion the pros discussed in the previous paragraph will suffice for me when we are considering the continuation of the human race and our society that we have grown accustom to. It’s a scary fact to think about but one day resources such as oil will be extinct if we continue the society we have created. With our wasteful habits and our ability to be so naive as humans we will one day rely solely on renewable energy as our main source of energy to light our homes and power our cars. When that day comes, all of this controversy over renewable energy such as the visual appeal of a windmill will be put to rest. Renewable energy is the future of our society that must continue to be investigated and studied in detail to refine and improve the techniques so our kids, children will have the abilities and opportunities to succeed like all of us do right now!