Since the industrial revolution – an era known for the peak of coal combustion to supply the energy requirements of mechanically evolving world – humankind has been relying on fossil fuels for the majority of energy. However, although the fossil fuel production is at the point of exhaustion, the world, in general, still is experiencing energy shortages, which is almost always associated with high energy prices (Pimentel 1). Furthermore, environmentalists advocate for cleaner energy source, such as the renewable energy sources, as an alternative to fossil fuel due to the fact that the fossil fuel itself, as well as the production of fossil fuels, has a great negative impact on the environment.
Essentially, the fact that fossil fuel is a non-renewable energy source and its great negative environmental impact are the two biggest factors why we cannot rely on fossil fuels for the global energy requirements. As a non-renewable energy source, it is notable though that the Earth's supply of fossil fuel is enormous. Mankind has been mining fossil fuels for more than a century, and yet the Earth still has more. However, the long period of turning organic matter to fossil fuel makes it almost non-renewable (Botkin & Keller 305), which means that it can be exhausted. In addition, peak production will be followed by less available fossil fuel, which will lead to energy shortages and high energy prices (Botkin & Keller 308). Needless to say, fossil fuel will not stay in the future as the major source of energy.
Another problem with fossil fuel is its extensive environmental destruction. During mining and drillings, layers of soil can be contaminated with drilling chemicals, or develop fractures that can accelerate contaminations and leakages. Moreover, companies destroy acres of land and forest to construct the drilling mechanisms. Furthermore, the chemical wastes from drilling can contaminate nearby environment, which will further destroy ecosystems. On another note, the transformation of fossil fuels to energy results to air pollution, as the burning of fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases. In fact, burning every fossil fuel that is economically available, it would release three tons of carbon dioxide, which would increase global temperature past 3° Celsius (Clark).
With these problems with fossil fuel, mankind has turned to develop cleaner and efficient sources of energy. Most environmentalists recommend the development of energy from renewable sources, such as the solar, wind energy, geothermal, hydroelectric, and biomass. Although these sources are renewable, the technology has not fully optimized the production of energy from these sources. Still, it is deemed more important to invest to these environmentally cleaner renewable energy sources than to rely on fossil fuel for the global energy requirements.
At the present, the renewable energy source that has the most contribution to the global energy supply is from hydroelectric plants (Pimentel 2). However, the instability of their production due to the rapid climate change has reduced their efficiency. In most parts of the planet, the el niño has reduced the water level of most plants to almost critical, while the frequency of strong storms increases the dam water level to almost destructive. Moreover, hydroelectric plants have greater environmental impact relative to other renewable energy sources. In the US, a hydroelectric power plant that supplies 1 billion kWh per year of energy requires around 75,000 hectares of land area and 14 trillion of water (Pimentel 2), which means that the construction of this power plant would sacrifice potential animal habitats.
Aside from the hydroelectric energy, the next alternatives to fossil fuel are wind and solar energy. In fact, both these energy sources, in my opinion, are likely to take over as the primary source of energy. Note that both these energy sources have advantages and disadvantages; however, weighing which is better is a complicated matter due to the fact that the efficiency of both these energy sources depend on the environmental setting of the locale (Botkin & Keller 328). For instance, wind turbines are better to be constructed in places where wind is year-round abundance, while high elevated locations that have limited obstructions are optimal for solar farms. Nonetheless, these two energy sources, relative to the other renewable energy sources, are the two best candidates to meet our global energy requirements in the future. But if I were to choose which would play the most roles in the future, I think solar energy will be more used.
In terms of recoverable energy, solar power has the upper hand compared to wind energy. To compare, the recoverable solar energy is 75 times the global energy consumption every year, while the recoverable wind energy is just enough for the current global energy consumption (Botkin & Keller 328). Another advantage of solar energy over wind energy is that photovoltaics can be easily installed in houses and buildings, while wind turbines are too large that most of them are connected into large grids. Furthermore, wind turbines have a relatively greater environmental impact than solar power. Some wind power farms are being reconstructed due to the fact that large wind turbines obstruct the paths of migratory birds and bats (Botkin & Keller 337).
The only downside of solar cells is that its conversion rate is less than the conversion rate of most energy sources. At the present, enhanced photovoltaics can only convert a few percent of sunlight it absorbs to electric energy. Still, the technology of solar energy is evolving rapidly that the economy has been experiencing the most growth annually compared to other renewable sources of energy (Botkin & Keller 330). In conclusion, solar energy is likely the energy source that would take over fossil fuels as the primary source of global energy, provided that the solar energy technology has improved its efficiency significantly. Moreover, wind energy will contribute significantly to meet the global energy requirements in the future.
References:
Botkin, Daniel B. and Edward A. Keller. Environmental Science: Earth as a Living Planet. 8th Edition. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2011. Print.
Clark, Duncan. “Why can't we quit fossil fuels?” theGuardian. The Guardian, 17 April 2013. Web. 12 May 2016.
Pimentel, David. “Renewable and Solar Energy Technologies: Energy and Environmental Issues.” Biofuels, Solar and Wind as Renewable Energy Systems. Ed. David Pimentel. New York, NY: Springer, 2008. 1-18. Print.
