¶ … alternatives to traditional fossil fuels, and evaluate them based on their relative availability, renewability, and known environmental impacts. We begin with a baseline characterization of fossil fuels, and outline some of the factors contributing to their current market and industry dominance. We then examine three of the current most prominent and viable renewable alternatives to fossil fuels, including the controversial nuclear energy technology and two emerging technology areas, wind power and algae-based bio-fuels.
Subterranean petroleum-based resources which are currently extracted via drilling and other methods also originated as living algae albeit hundreds of millions of years ago, which accounts for their categorization as "fossil" fuels along with other hydrocarbon-based deposits including coal and natural gas. The combined fossil and renewable biofuels worldwide market was estimated at $5.8 trillion dollars in 2010, of which approximately $1.5 trillion was based in the United States. The cost per unit weight of fossil-based fuel production is very low, at about $0.60 per pound for gasoline that retails at $4.00 per gallon. This is a result of the very high efficiency achieved by the established industry and petroleum refinement technology, and presents a challenge for newer alternative energy technologies attempting to compete with the cost efficiency of petroleum and fossil fuels. This cost factor becomes compelling at the very high commercial production volumes involved in global energy consumption, and sets a high standard of production efficiency for renewable energy production methods to be viable.
About one fifth of the United States' electrical consumption is currently generated via nuclear power. Nuclear reactors produce heat through controlled nuclear fission chain reactions. This heat is then used to turn water into pressurized steam, which then drives turbine generators to generate electricity. Two prominent types of nuclear generators include pressurized-water reactors and boiling-water reactors. Pressurized-water reactors account for about three-quarters of the nuclear reactors in the United States, while boiling-water reactors account for the remainder. Pressurized-water reactors are distinguished by the fact that...
It is clear that if we as a species are to survive the 21st century and beyond, we must concentrate on changing our approach to the environment by reducing our carbon "footprint" and exploring the idea of renewable energy sources that will be appropriate for a growing global population. The Turning Point -- Transition to Renewable Energy -- the bleak reality is that the age of oil has dominated global
Instead of analyzing the innate meaning of these examples using a structured technique, Chomsky argues that it is only through subconscious knowledge of transformational grammar that one can truly understand the deeper meaning of language. Of course, this theory has been challenged by many with its emphasis on syntax and lack of focus on semantics, but as Chomsky himself said: But the fundamental reason for [the] inadequacy of traditional grammars is
Energy in the United States In terms of total use in the year 2010, the United States was the second largest consumer of energy (Barr, 2012). After Canada and a couple of small nations, the United States comes at the seventh position in the per capita energy consumption (World Resources Institute, 2001). In this energy consumption, the energy that is used overseas for the production of the retail goods used in
Alternative Energy Sources Concerns that have been raised regarding energy security have been occasioned by fears about oil and other fossil fuel depletion; reliance on foreign sources of energy; geopolitics; developing countries' energy needs; environmental concerns; population dynamics; and renewable and other alternative energy sources (Shah, 2011). This essay seeks to establish whether alternative energy sources can help ease human reliance on oil. It is important that governments invest on alternative sources
These and other concerns associated with wind energy development are discussed below, and are addressed in the Wind Energy Development Programmatic EIS. To get more information about these concerns and access current research, please visit the suggested web sites listed on the Wind Energy Links page (Talley 2). Economic factors that make necessitate a switch from fossil fuel power production to wind power production. The initial cost of installing a wind
Future Energy: Guiding Decisions Evidence in order reduce negative environmental impacts growing human population increasing demands energy technological advances continue, individual countries, states, cities households opportunity shift energy sources renewable Most consumers are unaware of the extreme negativeness surrounding their consumption of goods and that it inevitably leads to environmental degradation. However, there seems to be a more conscious effort to go around the negative impact of consumption of energy by
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now