The distinction between a source of energy as either renewable or non-renewable, lies in the ability of the source of energy to be used. Renewable sources of energy are sources of energy that can be renewed or used again, whereas Non-renewable sources are sources of energy that run out in due course of being used. During the recent past, the emphasis of the global adaptation of renewable sources of energy as primary sources of energy has attracted international attention (Thomas, 2007). Different scholars have adopted various reforms and initiatives that focus on the transition process from using non-renewable sources to using renewable sources. Regardless of the emphasis of adapting to renewable sources, the overall development process has exhibited some challenging factors.
The paper focuses on exploring the effects of the sources of energy used in the community today. The paper should entail the sources of power in the community, and the consequences that these sources have in the community. By identifying the current cost of the source of power, the writer is expected to go further and identify what it would take for the community to adapt to more healthier and renewable sources of energy. Conclusively the paper should suggest a suitable power supply to power the community, and describe the perception of the community towards this mode of change.
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Discussion
The American community is powered by three primary sources of energy. These sources may include; nuclear power, fossil energy, and natural gas. From the stated natural elements, the community can develop high levels of energy utilized in the process of production. Nuclear power uses a sustained nuclear fission to generate massive amounts of energy; alternatively, Fossil energy sources include Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas. Fossil energy is believed to be naturally developed by the plants and animals that die and were buried by layers of rock during the prehistoric period. The availability of Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas has provided a constant source of energy for the American community. These sources of energy can provide power in the community, facilitating the functioning of different firms, households, and institutions.
Fossil energy is the most readily used form of energy in many families in the community. In the modern day, fossil energy processing industries mine these natural forms of energy and burn them to produce electricity (Jefferson, 2016). The burning of fossil products to generate electricity is a common practice in the American community, in a statistical evaluation of the energy department, maintains that 70% of American households get electrical power as a result of burnt fossils. It would be accurate to argue that, most households in America get their power from fossil energy. Regardless of its efficiency in providing power, fossil energy is non-renewable form energy. Moreover, the burning of fossil energy sources has resulted in catastrophic emissions that have increased the rate of global warming in the society.
When fossil energy sources are burnt, they tend to emit gasses that contribute to the ozone layer, hence more global warming in the environment of the community. Global warming is the increase in temperature in the earth’s atmosphere. Due to the formation of different gasses around the world, radiation from can only come through to Earth but cannot leave the earth’s atmosphere. The burning of fossil products such as coal and oil in the means of energy production has influenced a change in climate due to global warming. As a result of global warming, the community experiences extreme levels of climate change as well as other harmful shifts in the environment. The community uses nuclear sources of energy on the scale of manufacture; currently, nuclear waste in America is stored at either of 121 nuclear consuming plants. However, since the 1980’s there has been the notion of directing America’s spent nuclear fuel and other radioactive wastes, to the central repository under Yuka Mountain in the Nevada Desert. Located 80 miles from Las Vegas, the depository site has remained un-established due to the opposition of Nevadans.
Since time immemorial America has utilized these forms of energy sources to facilitate power in households and in producing firms. However, it is accurate to suggest that these energy sources have had an adverse impact on the various elements that make up the environment. For instance, nuclear disposals have a corrupting effect on the fertility of the soil (Shahan, 2013). Furthermore, nuclear waste that is directed to water bodies’ causes the death of marine life and contaminates the water making it unsafe for drinking. Moreover, contaminated water negatively affects an abnormal growth of plants, resulting in mutated plants that may have an impact on the health of an individual. On the other hand, fossil energy is a primary source of energy in the community. As discussed, the burning of fossil energy sources results in the omission of gasses that contribute to the degradation of the environment. Combustion of fuels produced by machinery in the households and the community, make up as a significant pollutant of air. The burning of fossils produces poisonous gasses that when released into the air they may cause respiratory issues in the community. According to the statistics of public health, it would be accurate to point out that the cases of respiratory health problems have increased immensely. As a result air pollution from energy sources. Burning of fossil energy sources emits high percentages of Carbon (IV) oxide, which goes further to effect the percentage of oxygen in the earth’s atmosphere.
The burning of fossil energy sources leads to the emission of nitrogen gasses that combine with hydrogen in the atmosphere to produce acid rain. Acid rain causes the decay of plants as well as the decay of house roofing’s and significantly alters the farmer’s calendar. These energy sources have set back the environment, promoting for the need of better and safer sources of energy. As research would term it, primary sources of energy in the community set back the well-being of the community and its environment (Shahan, 2013). The community should be able to come up with a better source of energy that is both safe without effects and more renewable than existing sources of energy in the community. In the process of developing a better source of energy, the community should be able to understand the amount of energy that will be sufficient to facilitate power in each and every household in America. Different homes have different power consumption rates, for instance, houses that include a swimming pool, connection to gas; various electronics among other demands for power may require a high level of energy.
An ordinary household in the community is said to utilize 901kWh per month. According to the U.S Energy Information Administration, the average use of electricity in homes of the American community sums up to 901kWh per month; this would suggest a total of 901kWh*12( number of months annually) giving a total of 10,812 kilowatt-hours annually. If each and every household consumes this among of electricity in a month, this would suggest that over the 124 million homes in America, 124*10,812kwH to give 1340,688 kilowatt-hours consumed by the American community every year (Bureau, 2015). The American society consumes high levels of electricity, thereby in the acquisition of an alternative source of energy for the community, one need to look at a source of energy that is more reliable in the aspect of facilitating power within these households. One can also go further to identify a source of energy that does not cause environmental degradation, and at the same time is readily available to the community.
Alternative sources of energy in the common obtained include hydropower, solar power, wind turbines and geothermal energy. Hydropower is the type of energy that is produced by hydroelectric power plants. Hydropower energy works on the concept that flowing water can be utilized and turned into electricity (Thomas, 2007). In hydroelectric power plants, water is retained and used to turn turbines that in turn produce electricity. Hydropower is stated to make up 25% of the overall sources of energy in the community. The use of power as a means of electricity production is harmless to the environment as it does not cause an adverse effect on the environment. Solar energy is a renewable source of power that utilizes sunlight. Sunlight is either converted to electricity by direct use of photovoltaic or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar energy is reliable and easy to adapt to as it only involves the use of solar panels that steer the process of sunlight conversion. On the other hand wind, turbines utilize the natural of wind to generate electricity. The process involves the development of wind turbines that are propelled by the strength of the wind. To produce adequate amounts of energy, turbines are developed in large numbers and placed strategically in locations where they are exposed to the wind. Since the early years, wind turbines have been used as sources of energy in pumping water and the creation of electricity.
Geothermal energy is the heat produced by the earth. Research has termed it as a safe and sustainable source of energy in the community. The heat from the earth is located at the earth’s magma; escaping through hot springs steam from the land’s heat is harvested and used in propelling turbines that produce electrical power (Shahan, 2013). Geothermal power is as sufficient and reliable as the other renewable sources of energy in the community. Geothermal energy is responsible for the production of electricity as well as the direct use and the geothermal heat pumps used in the shallow ground to cool or heat buildings. Among the alternative sources of energy in the community, solar energy exhibited characteristics of easy adoption and utilized in the different households making up the community. Solar energy provides a practical source of energy due to the natural means of using solar panels. Not only are solar panels easy to install in different households bur also provide a renewable source of energy that does not need the supervision. Solar panels are cheap to purchase thus making it cost effective for the procurement of households. Furthermore, solar panels differ in size; thereby households with a high demand for power are in a position of acquiring larger solar panels that will lay better energy collection.
Solar power is a sufficient and renewable source of energy beside from being a considered clean energy, solar energy is based on the natural resource of sunlight. The community has a need for alternative sources of energy that are renewable and safe to the health of the community and the environment. The district is expected to accept and adapt to the source of energy as a result of its advantages. Solar power installation and maintenance comes at cheap variations; this is likely to encourage the community is adopting the source of energy. As compared to the other alternative sources of energy, solar power is easiest to employ and use in the household. With enough solar panels, households should be able to produce sufficient electricity to support the needs of the community. The idea of solar power as a source of energy has been adapted in various regions of the American community; this is likely to encourage the whole community in changing solar powered means to energy provision in households. Moreover, in regards to infrastructure solar power does not required enhance support as those of wind turbines, geothermal or hydropower sources of energy (Thomas, 2007). And since the natural resource of light is available at all ends of the community, solar power maintains its position as the best alternative source of renewable energy in the community.
Solar energy suits the environment in various ways. As it does not emit gasses or other by-products, solar power is an environmentally friendly mode of power. Solar power relies on the sun on the provision of sunlight; furthermore, the energy converted is stored in large batteries for later use. This improves the quality of energy provision by solar panels. Solar power can be employed as an alternative source of energy in the household; this would involve being a secondary source of authority in the community. Because of its low maintenance cost, solar energy serves as the best alternative source of energy for the community. The use of solar energy does not demand particular skills for qualification of use, individuals from the community can install solar panels and the proper connections required. Due to the growth of technology, different technological devices aiding to solar power have been developed (Thomas, 2007). Example solar powered phones and cars have been designed in the community; the migration to solar powered energy sources will influence a high acceptance of the source of energy in the community.
Conclusion
Energy is an important aspect of the community. Not only is energy required in production but also in the provision of health services in the community’s care centers. Energy sources include both renewable and non-renewable sources; renewable resources are sources that reoccur at a relatively short period. Renewable sources of energy do no deplete, rather they are re-formed and ready for use over short periods of time. Non-renewable sources, on the other hand, include sources of energy that consume in the completion of use. These sources of energy take longer periods to reform, for instance, fossil energy is believed to take millions of year’s information, and this defines these sources as depleting sources of energy in the community. Individual sources of energy have been stated to influence an adverse effect on the community. Non-renewable sources such as fossil energy and nuclear energy have resultant by-products that cause poor individual health in the community (Jefferson, 2016). For instance, the burning of fossil energy sources has been identifying to release toxic gasses that cause respiratory issues in persons belonging to the community. Moreover, emitted gasses are a major contributor to the formation of the ozone layer leading to higher levels of global warming around the globe. The resultant effects of global warming lie between changing climatic conditions, melting of the polar ice and increased temperatures in the community.
A good choice of an alternative source of energy depends on the significance of the power supply towards the health and environment of the community. As pocket-friendly as the solar power is, it provides a cheap alternative source of energy without adverse effects. Solar energy would serve as the best alternative source of energy in the community.
References
Bureau, U. S. (2015). Quick Facts United States. Washington: United States Census Bureau.
Jefferson, M. (2016). Energy Realities or Modelling: Which is more useful in a world of internal Contractions. Yale: Energy Research and Social Sciences .
Shahan, Z. (2013). Advantages and Disadvanatges of Solar Power. New York: Clean Technica.
Thomas, S. (2007). Bioenergy: Source for Electricity, Heat and Transport Fuel. Thessaloniki : Energy Tech.
