Some Energy Sources

In a society that is dependent on increasing amounts of energy, the experts and scientists that we rely on are turning to studying the pros and cons of various energy sources. All energy sources are the materials or the processes that contain concentrations of energy or potential energy.

Because the transformation of one kind of energy into another never results in the ability the use 100% of the potential energy, the concentrations in the raw sources has to be high enough to be worth the work involved in capturing it. All energy sources on earth are fed by the sun except for nuclear energy, tidal energy and geothermal energy.

Ups And Downs

No one type of energy source is all good or all bad. Much of our electricity is generated using fossil fuels which include coal, petroleum and natural gas. The transformation and purification of these energy sources produces electricity as well as waste, heat and pollution.

On the up side, fossil fuels produce large amounts of electricity using small amounts of fuel. Coal is the less expensive fuel but natural gas is more efficient. The technology for finding and refining these energy sources is already in place as is a distribution system.

On the down side, the production of electricity using fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, airborne particulates, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, mercury, arsenic and lead into the atmosphere. They are non-renewable energy sources which means they will ultimately run out. The increasing difficulty in extracting the raw materials makes them more dangerous and more environmentally damaging.

Water power is the extraction of energy from the movement of water. This includes hydroelectricity from dams, wave power from oceans and tidal power from tidal basins. All forms of water energy are renewable, low-cost, reliable and constant. The downside is that all forms impact the environment at its most basic level.

Other renewable energy sources include wind power and solar power. Renewable sources are the focus of technology development to make their use more dependable and practical and less environmentally harmful.

More problematic energy sources include nuclear and biomass. Nuclear energy has a big down side in the production of nuclear waste. Biomass energy sources, which include both the production of methane through the decomposition of vegetation and the burning of organic waste, can result in pollution from burning and higher prices for food and it will still be less than cost effective. Technologies don’t yet exist to make the most of the pro side of these energy sources.

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