ForumsWEPRMost Suitable Energy Sources

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Skyla
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Skyla
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Right, since I have a geography exam in... about 30 minutes, I thought I might as well kill that time. I want to know what people think is the safest, and efficient, energy source. Without energy, I wouldn't even be able to use this computer!:

The use of the sources of energy available on this planet has allowed us to advance in many ways. Without these sources of energy, the planet would be a lot darker. Imagine having to use candles as a light source every night! Oh, how dull life would be, without electricity to power your computer, without petrol to drive your car! The use of energy has changed through the years, with more appropriate sources being discovered.

Humans have gone from using the earliest, primitive windmills to the use of fossil fuels and other more suitable sources today. There are many sources of energy, which can be classified into 2 groups: Renewable Energy and Non-Renewable Energy. Renewable Energy is energy that can be produced again in a short period of time. Non-Renewable Energy is energy that cannot be produced in a short period of time, and is being depleted.

Energy plays an exceptionally large role in the development of countries. It is always important to have alternative sources of energy for each developing country, especially if the source they are currently using is non-renewable, oil, for instance.

All developing countries need more than one source of energy. Let us take the United Arab Emirates as our example for this thread, shall we? The UAE is a special case as it is advancing at incredible speed. The projects that this country is working on are a great help to advertising the UAE, but they are also very expensive, and that is forcing the UAE to export its primary source of energy for money.

Although the UAE is thinking and working on solving this problem before its too late, they clearly are not paying enough attention to the risks involved here. The UAE does not use any form of renewable energy, and lacks any alternative energy sources that would independently support the country.


Examining some sources of energy:-

Non-Renewable:

*Oil (Petroleum):

A few petroleum products are ethane, diesel fuel, fuel oils, gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, liquid petroleum gas and natural gas. Petroleum is obviously an energy source that can be relied on, but it does have its disadvantages. The cost of extracting the oil is large, and can damage the environment. Another feared risk of using petroleum is the oil spills, transporting the petrol is a large risk on its own! Petroleum has also been associated with global warming; burning the oil produces carbon dioxide which contributes to global warming.


*Natural Gas:

Natural gas consists mainly of methane. Natural Gas is used for a lot of the things that petroleum is used for, only it is not as efficient, but healthier to the environment. It can be used for generating electricity and hydrogen. It is also used as a cleaner alternative for gasoline and diesel in some automobiles. Natural gas is also used in homes, for common tasks, some ovens, cloth dryers, cooling and heating systems operate on natural gas. Even aircrafts have began using natural gas! Like all other sources, natural gas also has a disadvantage, although it is colourless and odourless, leaks may result in a fire or explosion, which can sometimes be extremely dangerous.

*Coal:

Coal is a fossil fuel formed in ecosystems. It is mainly used as a fuel to produce electricity and heat. We consume 6.2 billion tons of coal every year, 75% of that coal is used for producing electricity. 40% of the production of electricity uses coal. If we continue to take coal from its deposits, using all our modern technologies, that coal would be enough to support us for 300 years, if the consumption levels do not increase, that is. A few disadvantages include the release of carbon dioxide and methane from coal burning. Coal burning also produces acid rain. Mining of coal interferes with groundwater. Mining coal also makes the land useless for other things.



Renewable:

*Solar:

Solar Energy is the energy collected from sunlight. Solar energy can be used to generate electricity using PV cells or concentrated solar power. It can also be used to heat buildings directly. It is also used for heating, in ovens.

*Wind:

Wind power is the most rapid growing renewable energy source, but provides little energy, less than 0.5 of global energy. The technical potential of wind energy is said to be 5x the total global energy production. A disadvantage is that wind strength varies and therefore this source of energy cannot be relied on for continuous power.



I believe these energy sources would all prove to be suitable ones. However, I have come to the conclusion that countries should use Natural gas as a primary energy source. Although it is not as efficient as other sources (such as petroleum,) it is a reliable energy source which is a safe source for maintaining a clean environment. Despite the risks of explosion, this is still a good energy source. It would greatly aid in getting rid of all the pollution.

I know that governments is aware of this problem and are trying to solve it, but this should be treated as a high priority problem that needs to be solved as soon as possible, before theyâre out of time. Now is not the time to be planning for gigantic projects that would cause more problems, this is the time to solve the problem that has been waiting to happen since oil was first discovered!

I have decided that natural gas would act as the finest energy source. As it is the least damaging to the environment and in fact, a lot cleaner than the energy sources used currently. Risks from transporting petroleum are also more dangerous than the risks from natural gas. The only downside to using this is that it is less efficient than petroleum, and is a non-renewable energy source. When compared to other sources, natural gas would prove to be the right alternative.


Now it's your turn to decide what source would be most suitable! Go on...

*watches thread die*


I'm sorry if this post is incoherant - I don't have enough time to check for mistakes.

Proofread plz kthxbai.

-Skyla <3

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