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Alternative Energy resources are becoming a much bigger deal as the
level of fossil fuels remaining on earth slowly depreciates. Another
issue is pollution. Eventually we won’t be able to use gas and oil in
our cars they will run solely on something like solar energy. Things
like Hydroelectric power have been around for many many years, just not
with such magnitude or demand.
There are four main kinds of alternative
energy sources, they are:
Solar Energy
Solar energy is used to do various things. For instance, heat,
light, and cooling are all very common uses for solar electricity. The
solar rays are converted by solar cells that turn the light directly
into electricity. This is a very good idea and in no way really
pollutes the earth. On the contrary, what would we do on a cloudy day?
We would have to just go without electricity. Some larger businesses
have their own solar cell so that they can save money on energy they
would normally have to purchase.
Wind Energy
Wind energy is yet another for of alternative energy that has proven
that if it can be harnessed, controlled, and used to suit our needs it
can be a prominent source of energy. Three Huge blades are mounted on a
rotor. These blades are spun by the wind and the rotors convert that
into electricity. The rotor and blade is held high in the air by a
large pole. This pole has all the equipment in it to transport the
energy to the ground where it is then transported to the powerplant.
After this all that is left to do is send it to the customers. The main
catch in this plan is: What if the wind isn’t blowing? If the wind
isn’t blowing then we would have no energy. Of course we could always
store it up, but that would be more hassle than it was really worth.
Geothermal Energy
Geothermal Energy is a method which is less used than the previous
two. It involves pumping heat and warm water up from the ground and is
able to convert it into energy. This can be used nearly everywhere
because the first ten feet of ground almost all around the world is
able to maintain a pretty constant temperature. This is great for the
environment because it releases little or no emissions into the air.
Hydro Energy
Where there are rivers there is a good chance that we can use their
flowing energy to create electricity. As the water flows downstream, it
can be used to turn giant turbines, which like wind energy turbines,
can be used to create electricity. Most commonly the electricity is
controlled with the use of dams. This is very good because water is
almost always flowing, and really has no harm to the environment.
If we don’t start switching to alternative energy resources soon, we
will run out of fossil fuels, and then we won’t be ready to switch and
the new energy will cost far too much. Sooner or later, we have to
change.
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