Ever since we first realised we could use different forms of fuel as a means to do more than just have some light in our homes, our technology has radically advanced. But while we can now have our food delivered to us via personal computers that could just as easily provide entertainment, plan out businesses and communicate with people from across the globe, we’ve burned up considerable amounts of fuel to get to this point, and our growing population means only a higher demand for electricity in the future (over a billion people today still lack this luxury). But there is a workaround that could benefit everyone, taking the form of sustainable energy.
What Is Sustainable Energy?
Much of our electricity derives from burning fossil fuels like coal and oil.
Sustainable energy is the practice of, providing power to millions without the concern of the fuel needed running out or causing damage to the environment. It’s low risk and extremely high reward, and it can be generated by means that rarely require huge resources, and environmental agencies around the world recommend local governments using sustainable energy.
Types Of Sustainable Energy Sources
Here are 3 of the most common and prevalent examples of sustainable and renewable energy you can find in the world today:
Solar – What if you could take something as powerful as the sun and use that to generate electricity? Well, it’s already being done. Solar panels can and have been set up along rooftops to save energy costs in the summer, or as dedicated farms, the largest of which set up in Morocco is expected to provide electricity to a million people upon completion this year. Many leading scientists claim this as being the future of our energy. It’s easy to see why.
Wind – Similarly, perhaps in countries where the sun isn’t nearly as prevalent (hello UK readers!), wind can be just as plentiful. We knew it had potential over 7,000 years ago as it helped sail our boats, but the design of the windmill has prevailed past its use for pumping water to farms and now providing over 28 million homes in the US with electricity as of 2020
Hydropower – This method has drawn some criticism for harming or disrupting river and aquatic ecosystems, as well as the release of methane from a buildup of decaying organic material. That being said, it’s also easy to see the positives when entire oceans and rivers are rarely ever calm and still. Unlike Solar and Wind sources, which could suffer from a lack thereof, Hydropower seems to have a genuinely unlimited supply no matter the weather.
Why Should We Use Sustainable Energy?
There are two huge reasons why sustainable energy should rightfully be the future of our electricity. The first is the rippling effects of climate change. We’ve spent years constantly burning resources, sometimes wastefully, and releasing gases on an ever-increasing scale. The ice caps have been melting as our global temperature has risen and this isn’t a concern that’s going away anytime soon.
For those who still throw caution to the wind at the notion of climate change, there’s an equally valid reason why sustainable energy is being slowly incorporated by companies across the world. Coal, oil and gases are the products of thousands of years of dead wildlife fossilising under the earth’s crust. We’ve used most of this up in a few hundred years. With our increasing population and demands, it’s only a matter of time before these sources of energy dry up completely, and we’re gonna need sources and methods that’ll last us for more than a few hundred years. Douglas Healey specialises in natural resources and can help you with any of the legal implications if you are a company thinking of creating a sustainable energy plant.
Sustainable energy is important because it provides a plausible answer to both of these major issues. Electricity for billions of people now and in the future, without concerns for power sources both finite and harmful to our planet and us in turn? Sounds like a pretty obvious upgrade to me.
*Collaborative post
