Alternative Energy vs. Fossil Fueled Energy
One of the largest issues that we as a nation are facing in the 21st century is how we as a nation can go about obtaining the energy we need to support our nations operations; from transportation, production, lights and heat. In today’s world fossil fuels is supporting upwards of 90 percent of our everyday energy needs. Through the US Department of Energy, nuclear power plants provide roughly 19 percent of our power needs while the rest of our energy requirements are met through either coal or renewable / alternative energy sources. However, the way that our nations demand for energy is growing within the next twenty years we will need at least double the requirements that we have right now. Both the public and private scientists have been debating for some time on how we plan to fill the gap of energy. Are we going to remain constant with burning fossil fuels or finally go with the greener alternative methods of producing energies? Both fossil fuels and alternative energies have their ups and downs; however, we need to make up a decision before it becomes too late change the ecosystem.
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However, in order to enact change, we must first take a look at the past and see how we got to our current point in history. There are early reports that coal was first used in China around 2000 B.C. for cooking and heating, and they were using this fossil fuel for at least 4000 years at that time. They even used coal during med-evil times in Europe for cooking; however, due to coal creating so much smoke and soot they considered it to an inferior product so most stuck to wood.
Around 200 B.C. the Chinese discovered natural gas, and devised a use for it such as heating. The Chinese were also able to create table salt from the brine that would be created in the natural gas-fired evaporators. About the same time in Europe, the Europeans we able to harness the energy from moving water with the creation of water wheels. Then with this new creation they were able to crush grain, tan leather, saw wood, and smelt and shape iron. With this invention it would be the early signs of industrial processing. The productivity and output increased drastically, so the dependence on animal and human muscle power began to decline. The places that had good water sources for these water-powered waterwheels became great centers of industrial and economic activity.
Now, during the first century A.D. Chinese discovered petroleum (oil) and with its discovery they found a way to refine it for use as an energy source. Now moving forward to the tenth century A.D. the people of Persia developed the first windmills, the mechanics were quite similar to the currently used waterwheel. The uses for the windmill were very similar from grinding corn-grain, and since they may have not had a readily accessible water source the windmill would be used to pump water to irrigate crops. The invention of the windmill would spread around the world from India, China, Europe, Middle East, and even gradually make it to the United States.
As we move throughout history everything grows and multiplies as will the need for energy, we get to the 1700’s and people are beginning to realize the benefit of coals energy production is much higher than the waste left behind. So people use coal to replace wood, water, wind, and even the oil from whales. However, where coal is mined from they have to come up with a way to get rid of the water that keeps filling the mines in order to get access to the coal. So during the early years of coal mining was a slow and tedious problem that was solved in the early 18th century the first steam engine was developed and with this steam engine they made a pump in order to pump all the mines free of water. With this development they were able to increase the production of coal by 300% in the United Kingdom. By the mid-18th century and a commercial coal mining begins in the United States in Richmond, Virginia.
More and more feats and first occurred more rapidly. In the early 19th century according to the National Hydrogen Association, Electrolysis was developed by scientists William Nicholson and Sir Anthony Carlisle. Electrolysis is when you apply an electrical current to water, this process produces hydrogen and oxygen gases. With these discoveries was one of the first steps of developing hydrogen energy and or hydrogen fuel cells. The U.S. drilled its first natural gas well in 1821, and with this new energy source they weren’t able to transport it over large distances yet so it was mainly used for lighting. However, with the limited use at the time natural gas was only used for street lighting till around the end of the 19th century and was replaced by the new electric lights.
During the 1800’s the United States saw many different revolutionizing inventions in regards to energy sources. Coal took the place of wood in the steam engines of locomotives due to it burning hotter and longer than wood. Ethanol was developed and became a very popular alternative to what oil lanterns mainly due to being incredibly cheaper, and whale oil when burnt left a residue on everything. Then a few years later as people began to move west into the heart of the country people needed water to drink and irrigate their crops so these homesteaders built windmills. The windmill was used for pumping from deep within the earth since regular water sources weren’t readily available.
Shortly after the Civil War, the petroleum industry continued to make advances and this continued to grow the demand for energy production well into the 20th century. This industry drew the interest of many different business men; however, none will be as dominant as John D. Rockefeller. Mr. Rockefeller created Standard Oil Company during the late 19th century, and with his new company he found way to increase production / refinement of petroleum, and he was able to do this much cheaper than his competition. With the efforts that John D. Rockefeller and his inventions, he was able to push petroleum to the forefront that it is today.
Then in 1876, scientist William Adams and Richard Day were able to create the first solar cell from Selenium. This was a step in the right direction for alternative energy. Even though the solar cell didn’t work properly the footwork was there and they just needed to make a few adjustments and come back at it. Even Thomas Edison called this discovery “scientifically of the most far-fetching importance.” So as you can see Thomas Edison saw the direction the world was headed to and didn’t like the outcome and hoped for change.
Right around the corner in time, the young inventor Thomas Edison was perfecting his DC (Direct Current) electric generator and in 1882, Edison installed the first electric plant in New York near Wall Street. The first electric power plant only served a square-mile area. Only the extremely wealthy could afford electricity at the time. The first customers were J.P. Morgan, the nation’s largest newspapers at the time, and the New York Stock Exchange. Now lets’ move forward in time about 50 years to 1935, the Hoover Dam is built and with it came the world’s largest Hydroelectric Power Plant. The Hoover Dam is located on the Colorado River, and it creates most of the energy used on the west coast of the United States.
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Then in 1946 after the creation of the nuclear bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, scientist found that there are peaceful application for nuclear power; hence the Atomic Energy Act was put in place and the United States created the Atomic Energy Commission. Then low and behold just a few years later in 1950, petroleum becomes the most consumed fuel in the United States. Then in 1954, Congress passed a law that made it possible to use atomic energy for non-lethal purposes. (Atomic Energy Act 1954) Shortly after the AEA (Atomic Energy Act) went into place we had our first operational nuclear power plant in Shippingport, PA. This was the first large scale operating power plant just 15years after Enrico Fermi was able to sustain the first nuclear reaction. This power plant only operated for 25 years before being shut down in 1982. Then four years later the world had the largest nuclear accident in Chernobyl, Ukraine. The accident occurred at the number 4 reactor, where a sudden surges of power destroyed the reactor and with this destruction, massive amounts of radioactive contaminants were released into the atmosphere. Even though the number of people directed by the explosion were minimal, there are people still paying the consequences today from the cleanup efforts.
So as you can see there has been numerous developments for the uses of fossil fuels, and quite a few for the alternative energies. The problem that we face is that we as people of the United States and the world have become too dependent on fossil fuels such as oil / petroleum for our energy needs and the cost for these necessities are mounting higher and higher. All the technological advances that are being created today hardly make it to the main stream due to the car manufacturers, or anyone that would stand to lose large sums of money with these improvements in alternative energy.
There are arguments all over the place when it comes to pro alternative energy or pro fossil fuels. We are trying as a nation to get renewable energy to take the place of fossil fuels. When the Bush Administration lifted the ban on off-shore drilling, they thought this would help reduce the price of oil, and help us save money at the gas-pumps. However, the true impact was insignificant except for the wildlife affected in the area of the drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans. Just look at the BP oil spill in April 2010, from there Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded and the open oil well continued to dump crude oil into the Gulf for 87 days before stopped. Executives from large oil companies saw that we as a country need these reserves of that are off-shore to create the energy for tomorrow. (Exxon Mobil) However, as a nation we need to put a stop to inflating the profits of these companies, and focus on the newer cleaner energies.
One of the things that people tend to forget is that renewable energy is renewable and it’s quite easily generated, while fossil fuels are considered to be a perishable item that can be used only once. Unfortunately, there are people that think we are stuck using fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, nuclear energy, and petroleum. All it takes is the right person to set the tides of change in motion, and then we will be on our way to a healthier / cleaner world.
There are scientists that believe that United States could be a zero-CO2 emission nation within the next thirty to fifty years and this is accomplished without nuclear power. Our nation could achieve this remarkable feat, we just need to make a bigger push for solar farms and wind power turbines. However, other scientist in Texas believe that we are incapable of achieving this due to their studies of wind energy and solar geothermal could never replace the power output of nuclear power plants. Also, they went on to say that the United States is maxed out on hydro-electric power stations due to all the major rivers this would be viable is already in use. This is the thinking that has got us to where we are today. Sometime in the future the world will need to reset itself with an “ice age.” If you take a look at the timeline for CO2 emissions in history, it shows that the emissions rise to a certain level then the earth began to cool causing and ice age. The way that we are going about pumping millions of tons of CO2 into the atmosphere it may be speeding up the process.
Now let’s take a look at solar power. The benefits of solar energy vs fossil fuels energy are insurmountable, solar panels create no emissions or waste during their use. Unlike the power plants that use fossil fuels, solar panels produce a clean renewable energy that gets its fuel from a source that doesn’t need to be located, transported, combusted etc. So as you can see solar energy is the cheapest, better yet all-around energy source. The scientist that are supposed to better mankind, instead are focusing putting down solar power stating that solar isn’t a viable option due to the vast amount of area required to collect the sun. So this alternative energy has only remained a viable option due to the tax breaks given to the green earth community. Even though taking up a lot of land may be wasteful, the change in technology and solar cells today is makings solar energy a lot more viable of an option. If during the construction of homes they include the new solar technology available they could possibly eliminate the need for external energy requirements (RGS Energy).
We as a nation are always looking for ways to combat Global Warming. Wind power remains at the top as a competitor form of alternative renewable energy. According to a study conducted by the National Audubon Society in 2008. Wind Turbines in the United States generated nearly 15,000 Megawatts of power. That amount of power was enough to power roughly 3 million homes or 20% in the nation. Unfortunately, the windfarms need large amounts of land in order to operate compared to the fossil fuel counterparts. Also windfarms of course need to be in places the wind blows constantly. Unfortunately, the locations needed are also the migration routes for many of our endangered species of birds. The Sierra Club refers to these windfarms as “the Cuisinart’s of the air.” The understanding it’s horrible that innocent animals may die during energy production. However, we will find that creating one megawatt of electricity by the wind turbines and reducing the our use of biofuels such as oil and coal far outweigh causing the earth to become even more polluted than it already is.
As we moved through a few different alternative energies let’s look at nuclear energy, and how we as a nation turned away from coal power plants to nuclear power in order to affect change in the right direction from facing another climate change. In the United States today there are 707 operating coal-fired electric plants, and these plants are producing 36 percent of the CO2 emissions. CO2 gas is the primary ingredient of greenhouse gases that are needed for the climate to change. The Atomic Energy Commission believes that nuclear power is the only way we are going to meet our energy needs of tomorrow. Green Peace International believes that the United States can cut those CO2 emissions by 75 percent within the next forty years. Yes, we can complete this without nuclear power or new efficient coal burning technologies. This can only be completed by continued development of energy efficient and renewable energies.
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