Do we really need to invest in alternative energy systems? I mean whats the big deal right, we've done pretty well so far, and alternative sources of energy are more expensive. So why is alternative energy important.
So here's the simple fact, we are running out of our current means of creating energy. Our civilization as a whole are energy consumers. It used to be that we were exactly like every other organism on earth, we converted energy, by eating other life, to use simply for survival. Along the way of our evolution we began to differentiate from other organism's, and started to consume energy not just for survival but for comfort and entertainment. I would venture to say the first instance of this happened with fire. We created an energy source for protection, comfort, and ease of mind. But this article is not about when, how, or why we are the voracious energy consumers of today, it's about the simple fact that our main energy source, and the source that has elevated our civilization so far in so little time, is running out.
Fossil fuels take millions of years for nature to produce, once we have exhausted them all, that's it, their gone, no more, Nada. Some scientists have even claimed that in the last hundred or so years we have literally burned through half of the worlds supply of fossil fuels. Everyday we are using more and more energy, so you can only guess the exponential effect our energy use is having on our sources.
Not to mention the effects of obtaining fossil fuels. You have mountains being blown apart for coal, disastrous oil rigging on our coasts, and shale being split asunder for natural gas. It's destructive, we are literally killing what we love because of an addiction to energy. Compared to the very low amount of negatives included with an alternative energy project fossil fuels are toxic. Now I'm not telling you to go build a hut in the middle of the Sierra Nevada's and live off the land. Some of you might like to and that's great. But for our civilization to survive we need to start cultivating alternative sources of energy.
When I talk about alternative energies I really mean renewable, clean, and to be completely candid, our next step in human evolution. There are many methods of obtaining alternative sources of energy. There is wind power, solar power, thermal power, and even synthetic fuels, that will without a doubt be key to building the future of our race.
Everyday scientists around the world are not only dreaming up ways to create these alternative energies, they are revamping previous designs, creating new and more effective materials to use, and implementing new alternative energy technology to increase efficiency and lower the cost.
Because that's really what it comes down to at the moment, the cost, and for now as far as alternative energy vs traditional energy, alternative energies are more expensive than there traditional counterparts. But the playing field is leveling at an alarming rate, this is due to not only the increased difficulty and scarcity of obtaining fossil fuels, but because the technologies incorporated into alternative energies is becoming more and more sophisticated.
Now if we take a step back and take a logical stance on this, we can see that we really have no other choice in the manner. Without fossil fuels our civilization as we know it ceases to exist. The future is alternative sources of energy and the many benefits we can gain from it. Because it's really not about the cost, or the difficulty of the solution, it's really about doing it, well, because we have to. That is what makes alternative sources of energy important.
About this Author
Eli Wagar-Kustermann is on a mission. It's about spreading the word of alternative sources of energy, to help make our world a cleaner, more efficient, and productive place. Where are kids will enjoy the same freedoms we have taken for granted. If you would like to see more of what he's been writing about click the link below.
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