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!
5 comments:
Yes, it is apparent that we as a human race need to move on and advance in our energy production. A couple problems that I have heard with this, especially with capturing wind energy, is it can interfere with migration patterns of birds, as well as interfere with feeding habits of bats. Also, I have heard that windmills take quite a bit of a beating when they are run, leading to a lot of maintenance and have a short life span.
I agree that we need to move on to alternate energy production and consumption, but I think that it is still a young technology that needs a lot of work and research. Do you know of any big advancements that have been made in recent years to counter some of the negative aspects of renewable energy?
Using renewable resources to supplement and replace the current non-renewable power sources needs to happen. This topic gives me mixed emotions, it makes me happy and proud that people come up with new ways to tap into natural and seemingly unlimited sources however then these ideas seem to stay just that, an idea. In order for us to continue living the lifestyle that we currently are these new forms of power need to be actually implemented and helped along by government agencies and funding otherwise it probably won't happen.
Good topic, and thoughtful comments. I hope your generation can be a creative force for new technologies, along with helping overcome the negative issues you've noted.
In responce to Austins comments I agree that we do need to move on and advance in our energy production. I also feel that we can continue to modify our techniques to help solve problems such as interfereing with migratory birds and other animals. There is a very long way to go in accomplishing better technology to improving the methods of using renewable energy as the main source of our energy. We are making good steps but still have a ways to go.
In responce to Dales comments I agree that we need to replace our energy sources with non renewable power. I feel it is important to move forward with our technology and the implementation of renewable energy sources. I also agree that funding will have to take place in order to get these sources in place and the government will have a big part in that funding. I feel that this will be implemented sooner than later.
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