Global Warming Phenomenon
The issue of global warming has been a critical problem across the entire world due to the effects associated with this condition. Global warming is caused by the increase in Earth's temperatures due to the effect of greenhouse gases. The greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide emitted from burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas to provide energy are responsible for trapping heat and preventing it from escaping from the Earth’s atmosphere. Human activities like cutting down trees and burning forests for farming activities has been attributed to the emission of greenhouse gases that are responsible for global warming. Considering the adverse effects of global warming, it is a critical problem worthy for investigation to device the present and future ways of mitigating this problem.
The history of the greenhouse effect and global warming can be dated from 1896 when a Swedish scientist called Svante Arrhenius made the first claim that the burning of fossil fuels could eventually result in global warming. The scientist identified a strong relationship between the atmospheric carbon dioxide and the temperatures. The global annual temperature curves started to rise from the 1980s leading to significant climate change that has caused many negative impacts on the entire world up to date. The adverse effects of global warming have been felt both locally and internationally forcing many environmental organizations to push for suitable measures for environmental protection in order to prevent further global warming (Morales, 2015). It has caused an intensive impact locally by affecting the climatic conditions of the entire Earth’s surface, which makes it difficult for people to enjoy a sustainable life without the fear of exposure to the severe effects of global warming.
Development of Solar Thermal Technology
Many measures have been devised over the years to try and address the alarming increase of global warming that has really affected the world’s climate. These measures have played significant roles in promoting environmental protection through the reduction in the emission of the greenhouse gases that are responsible for global warming. The development of the solar thermal technology is one of the significant technologies that have ever been developed to address the issue of global warming globally. The solar thermal technology uses the sun’s energy for provision of environmentally friendly thermal energy without necessarily having to burn fossil fuels in order to generate energy (Lewis, 2015). The energy produced through the action of the solar thermal technology can be used for the purposes of heating water or other fluids, as well as powering the solar cooling systems. It indicates that the technology can be used to provide an environmentally friendly energy to the people for both industrial and domestic uses without necessarily increasing the global warming.
The solar thermal technology can be used in different areas to ensure that the outcome of the use of the technology is clearly visible and sustainable. It has been instrumental towards the environmental protection through boosting the energy efficiency in all the parts of the world. Energy is used in various areas as sources of power, for heating and cooling purposes in homes, businesses as well as industries (Socaciu, 2012). The process of production of this energy for domestic and commercial use is the largest contributor to the global warming experienced in today’s world. The use of the solar thermal technology for production of the energy used for heating or cooling purposes in homes and industries has improved the quality of the energy produced for such purposes. The solar energy produced in the solar thermal power plants using this technology is considered to be the cleanest energy on earth with minimal effects on the surrounding environment (Raheem et al., 2016).
It uses the sun rays to heat a particular fluid to very high temperatures, which is then circulated through pipes for the purposes of transferring it to heat water and produce steam. The steam produced during the heating process is then converted into mechanical energy in a turbine then converted to electricity through a conventional generator. The entire process takes place in the solar thermal power plants and it is believed to produce large amounts of energy sufficient enough for heating and cooling purposes in domestic and commercial areas. The use of the solar thermal technology promotes energy efficiency which allows the users to get access to clean energy at lower costs than purely relying on other sources of energy which are harmful to the environment (Lewis, 2015). This technology has provided a suitable alternative source of energy enabling significant avoidance of other harmful sources of energy, such as burning of fossil fuels which tends to be very destructive to the environment. Therefore, the solar thermal technology can be used to provide more safe and cheap energy which is not destructive to the environment thus preventing the increase in global warming.
The use of the solar thermal technology could be utilized to phase out the fossil fuel electricity, which is not environmentally friendly. Fossil fuels have high amounts of carbon responsible for the current climate change. The burning of these fossil fuels to produce energy is responsible for emission of harmful greenhouse gases that lead to global warming. Therefore, the adoption of the solar thermal technology is very significant in dealing with the problem of global warming which results from the use of harmful sources of energy (Aziz, Amanullah & Stojcevski, 2016). This technology can be used to improve the nature of the energy sources available in the market to eliminate the harmful sources of energy, which accelerate global warming around the world. The solar thermal technology can be used for the purposes of reducing the use of fossil fuels as sources of energy considering the adverse effects associated with continued burning of fossil fuels. Major improvements on the technology can be made to ensure that the solar thermal plants have the potential of producing significant amounts of energy that can efficiently facilitate the domestic and commercial operations.
The use of the solar thermal technology across the world has driven the business value for many economies through the provision of cleaner and cheaper sources of energy. The use of this technology has led to a significant impact on the value of the utility bills for businesses. Through the adoption of this technology, the businesses that require large quantities of hot water and other fluids can now pay less for the fuels required for heating these fluids. The use of the solar thermal systems that uses the solar energy to heat fluids in industries and homes has reduced the utility bills by up to 70 percent (Socaciu, 2012). The solar thermal technologies have also led to significant compliance with sustainability mandates because many industries are required by the environmental laws to implement renewable energy technologies which are capable of providing more eco-friendly energy. The use of solar thermal technology for domestic and commercial purposes has helped in meeting these requirements by providing the solar energy which is not harmful to the environment (Socaciu, 2012). The adoption of this technology has also played a major role in reducing the carbon footprint through the provision of solar energy that does not generate the greenhouse gases that cause global warming.
Development of a Sustainable Technology
The solar thermal technology can be considered significantly sustainable because of the major contribution it has made towards provision of clean and cheap energy. The technology has been embraced in many parts of the world since the solar energy has proven to be the most sustainable source of energy due to its eco-friendly nature. The adoption of this technology that provides a better source of energy has made a very huge contribution towards ensuring a sustainable development is attained. Countries that have embraced the solar thermal technology have been able to reduce the rising level of global warming that result from use of alternative sources of energy which are not eco-friendly (Rodrigues, 2016). The analysis of the environmental impact, the social impact, economic impact and the government influence of the solar thermal technology can be used to determine whether the technology can be considered sustainable technology or not. The impact of the use of solar energy on these four factors is a clear indicator of the sustainability of the technology since its impact on the environment, society, economy and the government portrays the extent to which the technology can be relied for future generation.
The potential impacts on the environment caused by the adoption of the solar thermal technology relates to factors such as land use, habitant loss, water use, and the use of hazardous materials used in the solar power plants. The use of solar energy has both positive and negative effects on the environment depending on the nature of use of the solar energy produced. The use of this technology has an immense impact on the land use because the solar energy systems are associated with massive materials exploration, extraction, manufacturing and disposal of energy footprints (Rodrigues, 2016). However, the technology is responsible for provision of an alternative source of energy that does not accelerate global warming. On the social aspect, the use of the solar thermal technology has enabled households to perform their heating and cooling activities in a more economic and eco-friendly manner. Therefore, the presence of solar energy in the society has significantly reduced the financial costs of electricity thus improving the living standards of the people. In addition, it has also developed energy independence among the communities through the adoption of the solar energy systems which help them eliminate their dependence on foreign fuel sources.
On the economic and government perspective, the impact of the solar thermal technology on the global economy and the government regulations has improved significantly. The cost implication of the use of solar energy as compared to other sources of energy is very different. The solar energy has proved to be cheaper than other sources of energy because the energy is driven from the natural sun rays thus making it more economical than the energy from fossil fuels. Many governments have had minimal issues with the regulation of the production and use of solar energy because it has proven to be the most sustainable source of energy. The eco-friendly nature of the solar energy makes it very much accepted by many governments leading to enactment of laws and policies that seek to promote the use of solar energy for both domestic and industrial purposes (Gupta, Chand, Patel, & Soni, 2016). Therefore, the outcome of the analysis of the impact of adopting the solar thermal technology on the environment, social, economic and governance aspects proves that the technology is a sustainable technology that can be relied upon in future. The technology is significantly sustainable because of the ability of the solar thermal technology to support long-term ecological balance in future.
The Future of the Solar Thermal Technology
The future of the solar thermal technology is very promising considering the numerous developments initiated to ensure that the technology provides more affordable and accessible source of energy. More countries are turning their attention to the renewable energy solutions, which provide eco-friendly electricity for heating and cooling purposes both in homes and businesses. Due to the sustainability of this technology, numerous researches have been commissioned to facilitate the development of the technology in order to provide solar energy in large quantities and improve the quality of the energy. The most current researches in the solar thermal technology include the full spectrum stacked solar thermal and PV receiver, hetero epitaxial solar cell for hybrid converter and the liquid filter with plasmonic nanoparticles hybrid solar system. This current developmental projects in the solar thermal technology aim at improving the quality, quantity, and nature of the solar energy for the purposes of making it the most sustainable source of energy in the entire world (Raheem et al., 2016).
There are many proposed developments in the solar thermal technology aimed at providing more energy efficiently for productions. The proposal for development of an all polymeric collector-Polysol is meant to address the issues of weight and cost reduction, overheating protection and pressure resistant. The proposed development of the vacuum super-insulated water store focuses on reducing the extreme heat losses experienced during solar thermal heating process (Gupta, Chand, Patel, & Soni, 2016). The development of the solar thermal technology has been instrumental towards the attainment of a cleaner and cheaper source of energy for domestic and business use. The technology has been developed to help in addressing the issue of global warming that result from emission of greenhouse gases from burning of fossil fuels to produce energy. This technology has proven to be sustainable because of the positive impact it has on the environment, the society, the economy and the government in provision of clean and cheap energy.
References
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Morales Jr, E. (2015). Global climate change as a threat to US National Security. Journal of Strategic Security, 8(5), 134-148.
Raheem, A., Abbasi, S., Memon, A., Samo, S., Taufiq-Yap, Y., Danquah, M., & Harun, R. (2016). Renewable energy deployment to combat energy crisis in Pakistan. Energ Sustain Soc, 6(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13705-016-0082-z
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