Pros and Cons of Different Sources of Energy

Introduction

Energy is the driving power of the world: human beings and other living organisms require energy for their survival and functioning. The growth of the Earth’s population and technological progress further increase the demand for energy. Between 1870 and 2010, world energy consumption has increased by 70 times (McKinney, Schoch and Yonavjak 187). Furthermore, the intensiveness of energy consumption also increases: currently the humanity is consuming by 6 times more energy per capita than 200 years ago (McKinney, Schoch and Yonavjak 188). Although intensive use of energy within a country contributes to economic development and to overall progress, these achievements have significant environmental costs. There exist various sources of energy such as fossil fuels, nuclear power, hydroelectric power, etc. Currently the leading fuel in the world is oil: its consumption accounted for 33.1% of all world energy use in 2012 (McKinney, Schoch and Yonavjak 189). Each of these energy sources brings specific environmental consequences. Furthermore, some of the sources of energy are exhaustible. Resource competition increases as the developing economies mature. The purpose of this paper is to analyze different sources of energy – coal, natural gas, oil, solar power, wind power, and hydropower as well as their advantages or disadvantages considered from the environmental perspective.

  1. Coal

Coal, natural gas and oil are energy sources based on the extraction of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are the most extensively used sources of energy. The historical development of energy consumption patterns was based on the extraction of fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas due to their relative inexpensiveness and transportability. World consumption of energy according to the sources of energy (by the end of year 2006) is shown on Fig. 1 (Craddock 37). It is possible to see that fossil fuels make up to 85% of the total world energy consumption (Craddock 37).

Figure 1. World energy use in 2006 by source of energy (Craddock 37)

Coal is a nonrenewable source of energy; it is a sedimentary black rock which consists of hydrocarbon and carbon (McKinney, Schoch and Yonavjak 209). Coal was formed from the remains of prehistoric animals and plants. Extraction of coal takes place in deep mines which go down to many miles: the layers of coal found in the mines are exploded to crush the coal, and taken to the surface. Currently the use of coal in the total world energy consumption is 25% (Fig. 1).

Overall, the pros of coal as a source of energy are its relatively abundant supply, inexpensiveness of extraction, reliability and the potential to generate large volumes of energy. However, the use of coal also has numerous cons (especially with regard to environmental consequences): coal burning is the major source of acid rains and greenhouse gases, and mining processes themselves harm the environment (McKinney, Schoch and Yonavjak 211). In addition to this, mining present numerous dangers to the lives of miners. It should be noted that new technologies of clean coal burning are being developed, such as carbon capture and sequestration technology (McKinney, Schoch and Yonavjak 212). Although the development of technology allows reducing environmental effect of coal burning, the damage caused by mining processes still persists, and the deposits of coal on the globe are reducing, so coal is not an optimal energy source.

  1. Natural gas

Natural has is the second most widely used fossil fuel: according to Craddock (2008), natural gas accounts for 23% of all energy production worldwide. Earlier, natural gas was received as a by-product during the search of oil, but currently the deposits of natural gas are considered independently of oil deposits, and new methods of natural gas extraction are being invented (e.g. hydraulic fracturing). Natural gas produces less carbon dioxide and in general fewer pollutants when burned compared to other fossil fuels. According to recent forecasts, natural gas is likely to become the leading source of energy before the humanity performs the transition to renewable sources of energy (McKinney, Schoch and Yonavjak 211).

Natural gas as a source of energy has lots of advantages: the deposits of gas are widely available in different locations, burning gas has the minimal impact on the environment compared to other fossil fuels, gas is often combined with other sources of energy to make the process of electricity generation more environmentally safe, etc. Natural gas leaks are dangerous for human health, but since the gas is mixed with artificial odor gas, people can identify the leaks. The cons of natural gas as a source of energy are the following: it is expensive to deliver the gas to the places of consumption, in some locations natural gas is not available due to the lack of infrastructure, gas pipelines have a negative environmental effect and impact the ecosystems. Although the process of burning natural gas is relatively clean, there still are emissions. Some methods of gas extraction such as hydraulic fracturing have significant negative consequences for the ecosystems and might lead to earthquakes and seismic instability in the neighboring regions.

 

  1. Oil

The most popular fossil fuel is oil along with its liquid products: in 2006, the proportion of oil in overall energy production was 37%, and in 2012, this value has decreased to 33.1% (McKinney, Schoch and Yonavjak 204). This gradual decrease of oil reliance took place because other sources of energy are adopted and infrastructure for them is being created. At the same time, oil has various industrial applications and is particularly important for transportation. Oil supplies in the world are reducing, and the prices for petroleum are increasing, affecting the whole economic system.

The benefits of using oil and oil products as a source of energy are: efficient fuel transportation and distribution all over the world, wide use of oil and oil products in manufacturing, comparatively low costs of oil extraction and transportation. However, the use of oil also leads to huge environmental damage: when oil and oil products are burned, they produce carbon dioxide; environmental damage happens when oil products drill during transportation. Ultra-deep extraction of oil during water operations damages water resources of the Earth. More than 30% of all carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere because of oil burning processes; in addition to this, oil products release other pollutants – hydrocarbons, dioxide of sulfur and oxides of nitrogen (McKinney, Schoch and Yonavjak 206). The deposits of oil are located in limited areas and there is a significant threat that oil supplies will be quickly exhausted. Overall, the humanity is currently very dependent on oil and oil products, and it is important to break this dependence before the environmental damage is irreversible and before the oil supplies are exhausted.

  1. Solar power

Three next alternative sources of energy that will be considered in this paper relate to renewable sources of energy. These are solar power, wind power and hydropower. The Sun is the ultimate source of power, and many energy sources currently used by the humanity indirectly depend on solar energy: for example, fossil fuels are the remnants of living organisms which captured solar energy in such a way that human beings can now effectively use it (McKinney, Schoch and Yonavjak 250). Every day the Sun radiates enough power to satisfy the needs of mankind for several years (Craddock 50). However, the process of accessing solar energy is complicated because it depends on the weather and on the efficiency of mechanisms of energy conservation.

Solar power can be used with the help of passive solar design (constructing the buildings in such a way that they capture the light and the heat) and with the help of active solar collection (which is implemented using special devices such as flat-plate collections, photovoltaics, etc.) (McKinney, Schoch and Yonavjak 250). Solar energy has very significant advantages: it does not cause any damage to the environment; it is a very abundant energy source which can sustain the needs of the humanity for many years ahead; systems of solar power generation are long-lasting (between 15 and 30 years) (McKinney, Schoch and Yonavjak 250). The cons of this type of energy are the following: both active and passive solar energy collection requires significant initial investments, the processes of energy generation are dependent on weather (so in the areas with low sunlight other sources of energy might be needed). In addition to this, photovoltaic panels require a lot of space, and the supply of poly-silicon materials for such panels is limited (McKinney, Schoch and Yonavjak 251).

  1. Wind power

Wind as a source of energy was used hundreds of years ago – ships and windmills are vivid examples of the use of wind energy. Currently the amount of energy produced using wind power equals to 0.3% (Craddock 37), but the interest to wind power is increasing. Among the countries which are actively developing technologies for wind power generation are Germany, Denmark, Spain and the United States (McKinney, Schoch and Yonavjak 254). The power of wind is captured using turbines; there exist giant wind farms where large wind machines with wind-powered turbines rotate and follow the wind. Smaller wind machines are also becoming popular in rural locations.

Wind energy is clean and efficient: it does not lead to harmful emissions, it is economic and affordable, and it does not cause much disruption to the ecosystems. Wind farms can produce significant amounts of energy. However, there also exist drawbacks: the output of energy is proportional to the speed of the wind and is therefore heavily dependent on the weather; not all locations have enough winds to generate noticeable amounts of energy; wind farms require a lot of space and therefore lead to extensive use of land (McKinney, Schoch and Yonavjak 254). Moreover, technologies needed for producing wind power require significant initial investments and maintenance costs.

  1. Hydropower

Hydropower is so far the most well-known renewable source of energy: it accounted for 3% of total world energy consumption in 2006, and among the sources of renewable energy, hydropower accounts for 70% of all energy (McKinney, Schoch and Yonavjak 236). Hydropower is generated due to the use of the energy of running water. The natural cycle of water makes it possible to use hydropower. In order to generate hydropower, dams are built in order to create artificial waterfalls (Craddock 68). In some cases, natural conditions of the river are enough to generate hydropower. When the water falls at a great height, its mechanical energy pressures the turbines and the turbines turn, therefore creating electricity. Along with power generated by mechanical energy of the flowing water, people also use tidal power and the power of waves (McKinney, Schoch and Yonavjak 237). With the help of tidal barrages and channels for waves, it is possible to capture the energy of the flowing water and to use it for human needs.

Hydropower looks like an ideal source of renewable energy: it does not have any emissions damaging the environment, it is reliable and it is possible to generate huge amounts of energy using hydropower. Furthermore, the output of the hydroelectric stations can be regulated (by changing the height of the dams and the design of the barrages and channels) to match the increasing needs. However, hydropower has numerous environmental costs as well. They are the changes of the environment in the places where dams are located, destruction of ecosystems and erosion of forests, increased possibility of floods and high costs associated with the construction of dams (McKinney, Schoch and Yonavjak 238). Water evaporation affects the neighboring locations, and there might be significant damage to farmland due to dam construction.

Conclusion

The analysis of the pros and cons of different sources of energy shows that it is currently highly important for the humanity to stop burning fossil fuels and to eliminate the global dependence on fossil fuels and on oil in particular. The consequences of the use of fossil fuels as the major energy sources are detrimental for the environment. Acid rains, global warming, damaged surface of the Earth, pollution of water, destruction of ecosystems – all of these phenomena are the consequences of intensive use of fossil fuels. The deposits of fossil fuels are exhausting, and the competition for these resources is increasing. It is crucially important to stimulate the adoption of new sources of energy, especially the sources of renewable energy like solar power and wind power. Hydropower is the most popular source of renewable energy nowadays, but it has many negative consequences for the environment. Although the cost of solar power and wind power is currently higher than the costs of energy obtained due to burning of fossil fuels, this tendency will be changed with the development of the infrastructure aimed at alternative energy sources. Therefore, it is important to support the investments into solar power and wind power, stimulate the enhancement of energy-capturing technology and propagate the use of alternative energy among population.

 

Works Cited

McKinney, Michael, Robert M. Schoch and Logan Yonavjak. Environmental Science: Systems and Solutions. Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2012.

Craddock, David. Renewable Energy Made Easy. Atlantic Publishing Company, 2008.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

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"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

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freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
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"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]
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