Alternative or renewable energy, sustainable solution

Due to the energy crisis and the global warming problem there is a need to find new sources of energy that may minimize the serious problems that stem from this situation.

One of the ways to solve the problem of global warming is to review a large portion of the energy matrix used by man until now.  That led to the development of alternative or renewable energy sources that are derived from virtually inexhaustible natural sources, some due to their great energy potential and others due to their natural regenerative abilities.

Man has great problem-solving abilities, however, his ability to create problems is much greater; that is the main reason we are in our current situation.

Because we underestimated, or did not realize, the gravity of the situation, we have now discovered that we face an eminent manmade climatic catastrophe that has no historical precedence.  We may be living the last chapter of a phase and the start of a new phase over which we have no control.

Much has been said about this problem, but it seems that we will only awaken from this deep sleep when it is too late.  Or not.  Potentially thousands of people, perhaps entire communities, have already awakened from this nightmare and are taking the first steps into our civilization’s new sustainable development phase.

The energy base that supported our growth over the last few decades was founded on fossil fuel that pollutes even as it is extracted from the ground and has a large environmental impact.  Before that we used coal, which is equally harmful to human health and nature.  Modern life has been set in motion by exhaustible resources that took millions of years to be created and will be depleted some day.

The unrestrained use of these resources has significantly changed the composition of the atmosphere and the thermal balance of the planet, leading to global warming, thawing of polar ice, acid rain and poisoning of the environment.

Oil and coal seemed like good fuel solutions due to large reserves and low prices up until a few years ago, they have now become a time bomb and an unprecedented environmental liability for humanity.  We find today that the price we will have to pay for this adventure is much higher than we imagined or would have appreciated.

New alternative energy sources represent a light at the end of the tunnel.  In the near future there will probably be new, more potent and economical energy sources, but we don’t have to wait to substitute coal and oil for clean and renewable energy.

Renewable energy sources have the potential to meet most of the growing energy demand, whether the demand is for electricity, heating or even transportation.

There are three important aspects about this type of energy that should be stressed: its economic viability, the sustainability of its sources and the availability of renewable resources for its generation, which varies in different regions of the globe.

Renewable energy comes from natural solar radiation conversion cycles, which is the primary source of almost all energy available on Earth.  For that reason it is practically inexhaustible and does not change the thermal balance of the planet.

Renewable energy may be generated from different sources:  hydraulic, water potential energy generated in hydroelectric plants; aeolian, kinetic or movement energy that uses wind harnessed by wind turbines or wind mills; oceanic, kinetic energy from wave movements transformed by a turbine into electric energy; solar, energy that is captured by thermal panels and is stored in batteries for home use; geothermal, energy resulting from Earth’s internal heat that uses geysers as thermal sources; nuclear, consists of using controlled nuclear reactions to generate electricity; and biomass, plants capture solar energy through photosynthesis and transform it into chemical energy.  This energy can be converted into electricity, fuel or heat; sugar cane is one example.

Whatever the source of the energy that will prevail in the near future, its characteristics will allow for extremely low polluting gas emissions and great renewal capabilities.

The environment has suffered a level of devastation with air, soil and water pollution and the current outlook is extremely dangerous and almost irrecoverable.  Times require that governments and society review habits, customs and interests in a way that creates a new mentality and commitment with the future.
The time remaining before collapse is short.  We have to rush the required solutions and change our perception of progress while there is still time.