Fossil fuels had been the energy source of most countries in the world for several decades. However, the backlash of using them have only hit us recently. As fossil fuel reserves are running out and the effect of global warming has become more noticeable, and countries must find an alternate energy source for them to depend on.
Global Perspective:
United States:
While the United States created a record 78 quadrillion Btu (quads) of energy in 2011, it expended more than 97 quads of energy in different forms. Fossil fuels made up more than four-fifths of U.S. energy utilization.
Renewable energy consumption exceeded nuclear in 2011, with 9.1 quads contrasted with nuclear's 8.3 quads. Renewable energy incorporates 4.4 quads of biomass , wood
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On the other hand, the environmental risks brought about because of the unnecessary utilization of fossil fuels have been an issue of significant sympathy toward a long while now. In 2013, China drove the world in renewable vitality generation, with an aggregate limit of 378 GW, essentially from hydroelectric and wind power. As of 2014, China drives the world in the creation and utilization of wind power, solar photovoltaic power and smart grid technologies, producing as much water, wind and sun powered energy as all of France and Germany's power plants combined. In the same year, China's coal utilization fell by 2.9%. This is the first decrease in China's emissions from oil, gas and coal since the Asian economic crisis over 15 years back. It's additionally the greatest recorded fall in 30 years, and the first run through on record that emissions fell while total energy utilization …show more content…
South Africa appreciates a portion of the best daylight on the planet throughout the entire year and its power is among the most costly on the planet. The nation's sun powered ambitions therefore come as meager astonishment: Forty-two percent of South Africa's recently installed energy capacity ought to be renewable by 2030. Its solar power generation is required to achieve 1,050 MW by 2015 in contrast with just 25 MW in 2012. The nation is likewise anticipated that would have introduced more than four million solar panels and have the ability to set up 1.6 million all the more by the same date. South Africa's solar photovoltaic (PV) limit ought to additionally achieve 8.4 GW by
Some of the measurements are examples of countries in the world such as China for example, that are working towards energy efficiency improvement. This is important to the SDG as China’s “economic growth resulted in [a huge] conflict of economic development and resource environment” (Pan, Zhang, and Zhang, 2012). Which means that it is a country that will have a huge, positive impact on the environment if it aims for an energy efficient way of life. Unfortunately, results obtained by the National Natural Science Foundation of China show that China still has a long way to go as its “six major energy consuming industries accounted for 72.4% of [its] total industrial energy consumption.” (Pan, Zhang, and Zhang, 2012)
The world is in need of fossil fuels. Without them, we would not have cars, airplanes, and not to mention enough energy. A lot of energy is produced from them. They are a very big support. Unfortunately, they are running out.
The Federal Governments Initiatives to Implement Renewable Energy Currently the federal government uses fossil fuels as their main source of energy, but the efforts to implement alternative sources are steadily rising. These types of energies are referred to as renewable meaning they are generated by fuel sources that restore themselves over a short period of time and do not diminish. Some examples of renewable energy include wind, solar, hydroelectric, geothermal, and etc. The three major fossil fuels used in the United States are petroleum, natural gas, and coal and they accounted for most of the nation's energy production in 2014. An article from the U.S. Energy Information Administration provides that usage of energy as the following – natural gas 31%, petroleum 26%, coal 24%, renewable energy 11%, and nuclear electric power 9%.
For example, the China is the top consumer of fossil fuels in the world. some of the reasons could be the use of coal in power production, manufacturing, industry, along with domestic use. Because the world is technology driven and China is a culture that thrives on the production of technology, the CO2 emissions of China is higher than other countries. China is a big contributor to global warming. In other countries, the production of goods are not as cheap as they are in China, so the more companies outsource or offshore to china the more fossil fuels will be produced.
Now you better strap in your seat belt because I’m gonna give you so much facts you might not be able to handle it. Did you know that coal gives the world 40% energy and nearly 70% of the energy in china? Coal is converted to electricity by being burned in a furnace with a boiler then the boiler water is heated until it becomes steam, then after that the steam then put in these spinning turbine thingies and generators to create the electricity. Different types of coal contain different amounts of carbon.
Fossil fuels are the predominant energy source in the modern world, mainly consisting of coal, natural gas and oil. Its extensive use can be attributed to the affordability and reliability of fossil fuels, with these factors preventing renewable energy sources like wind and solar power from surpassing its usage, and in the example of Australia, “around 86% of … electricity is generated from [fossil fuels], with renewable energy sources [making] up the remaining 14%” (Origin Energy, 2015). However, fossil fuels are not without disadvantages, which include its detrimental impact to the environment through the emission of greenhouse gases, as well as its eventual exhaustion in the near future. With the world’s population growing and the supply
China is facing one of the huge problems such an environmental pollution today and it is causing irreparable harm to the country. Air pollution is the one of the form of environmental pollution that has been struggling against by China for many years. Air pollution is caused by gases released by vehicles, factories, and even smokes from burning leaves and cigarettes. Particularly, coal is the main reason for the degradation of air quality. As Tan (2013) claims “China burned about half of the world’s coal in 2009 and China receives 70 % energy from coal”.
Coal is running out and won’t last forever, and it’s also very dangerous for us and our planet. Did you know that there is only about 180-250 years left before we run out of coal? What are we planning on doing when that happens. We don’t use coal nearly as much as other fossil fuels for electricity but if coal will run out, then that means that other fossil fuels will be very low or already gone by then. Coal is a fossil fuel which means that its non-renewable because it takes hundreds of millions of years to form from dead plants.
Introduction Coal is a variety of solid, combustible and organic sedimentary rocks formed from vegetation that has been consolidated between other rock strata and altered by the combined effects of pressure and heat over millions of years (IEA, 2017). Around the world , requirements for energy and electricity are met by fossil fuels amongst which coal is the most abundant and broadly distributed. It is the most common fuel choice because it is a secure and low cost energy source and is relatively easy to mine, ship, and store. Coal is the second source of primary energy after oil and is mostly used for power generation.
Fossil fuels have played a pivotal role in the development of society since the time of the Industrial Revolution. As a result, our dependency upon fossil fuels has not only improved our way of life, but also risen questions regarding our use of these energy sources and their adverse impacts on the environment. Given the results of scientific studies and the knowledge gained from them over the past several decades, society itself has done very little to move forward as a whole to push for cleaner and less destructive ways to produce energy. Despite the results of many models projecting the supply of fossil fuels running out anywhere between 2050 and 2100, capitalist economies continue to exploit and surpass the limits of reasonable use of oil, coal, and natural gas. This paper will not only discuss a relevant article by Merrill Singer and my position arguing
China’s hydropower empire: A look into the developing rewards and cost to a rapidly evolving energy climate in one of the world’s largest economic powers The Chinese population is currently the largest in the world, with over a billion citizens. And with this sizable population, comes also one of the largest consumers of power. With the large energy demands of this industrialized country, the Chinese government is making strides to become more sustained on renewable energies. The energy needs of the Chinese were reflected on highly by the article Reinventing Fire by Lovins and Creyts, where it mentions the cost on the environment to industrialize at such a rapid pace.
It is commonly known throughout human history that the energy used is burned from coal which creates biomass. During the Industrial Revolution, coal was an essential need to everyone, hence the discovery of oil as a substitute. Yet, the mass formation from the unearthing of oil causes more damage than benefits for the planet. Humanity had never seen a more compatible source in which came a higher demand for oil. As the public has urged to generate more oil, scientists theorized that fossil fuels will eventually run out, making way for a renewable energy route in the future (Mason).
Fossil fuels primarily powers the world through natural gas, petroleum, and coal. Fossil fuels are non-renewable and eventually will completely dissipate. Fossil fuel plants cost more to operate than nuclear power plants. A coal fired power plant will require three million tons of coal; generating the same amount of energy a nuclear power plant would produce using two hundred tons of uranium fuel annually. (Gale 1).
Natural gas is primarily composed of methane; the main products of combustion of natural gas are carbon dioxide and water vapor; same compounds that are exchaled when breathing. Coal and oil are composed of much more complex molecules with higher carbon ratio and higher nitrogen and sulfur contenents. When combusted, coal and oil release a higher level of harmful emissions that are dangerous to the environment. Coal and fuel oil release ash particles on the environment that are substance that do not burn, instead, it was carried into the atmosphere and contributes to the pollution. Burning natural gas releases a very small of those gasses that are harmful for the environment and contributes pollution to the surroundings.
In addition to that, Pollyannaish analysts also argue that this particular type of problem will pass when the global carbon cap as well as the trading schemes will be put to place, and price as the result, will be placed on carbon emissions. This will also lead to the rise of new technologies and efficiencies that would dramatically reduce the global warming gases. In addition to that, this method should have been thought through as part of trade liberalization, rather than leaving it to the indefinite