Today, most are well aware of the effects of climate change. We can only hope that it is not be too late to reverse the course we have taken with our oil-dependent culture. Perhaps we can still affect things in a positive fashion, if we accelerate the utilization of alternative, green energy resources.
Green energy is clean and many green energy sources are renewable. Oil that is easily refined (sweet light crude) is becoming increasingly difficult to come by and at the same time, is only rising as the reason for regional wars and political conflict.
While most of our current energy infrastructure is still functioning, it is aging. Our domestic oil resources have dwindled. Though we may not run out of oil tomorrow, most would agree that the upside to turning to green energy resources makes sense in the long term. It is ironic that in the debate over whether to move more quickly toward renewable energy that initial cost considerations are the main hurdle. And yet, this is what we must confront.
There are numerous avenues that can be taken in the pursuit of alternative energy and none need to be in conflict. That there is a demand for green technology around the world is not a question. There is great potential for the industry to be one that can reinvigorate an economy if steps are taken to exploit existing green energy resources.
Virtually all big technological changes in society are full of controversy and debate. The idea of moving towards a renewable energy infrastructure is no exception.
While green energy sources can produce electricity, how much it can generate is not consistent. This is because we have no control of the weather so if a certain area relies on solar energy and there is a weather disturbance, a solar power system will not be able to convert sunlight into electricity.
Solar panels and industrial-grade wind turbines take up a lot of room, so the idea of going large-scale towards a green energy infrastructure isn't necessarily an easy road forward. Tough decisions will have to be made in terms of land allocation.
Oceanic wave energy and geothermal energy sources present their own unique problems. Wave energy systems require massive waves of 16 feet or more, and geothermal energy can be both expensive to reach and restricted to the edges of tectonic plates.
These arguments are often lacking in investigative research. Yes, there may be limitations to how much land is available for a wind farm in a given area, but does that mean there is NO available land? More often than not, there are other location alternatives, including somewhat more remote mountainous or hilly areas, or even ocean installation options.
The variables presented by weather conditions are a given, however, the sun is not going away any time soon! Solar systems must be designed taking into account periods of low sun energy. For short time periods, this is where battery backup systems come into play, having stored previous energy generated by the solar panels.
Often times arguments are put forth to discourage the use of green energy resource in simplistic fashion, when in fact, there may be no simple solutions. Does that mean no solution is possible? Of course not. We must turn to our on creativity to determine how our energy consumption needs will be met utilizing a variety alternative sources. We need not limit ourselves to merely one or two sources of energy, and researchers around the world are continuing to study other sources of power.
An example of another. less-commonly-known-about energy resource is "Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion" (OTEC). This technology for power generation takes advantages of differences in ocean water temperatures and is today being used on a small scale in Japan and Hawaii.
Energy consumption in the U. S. has been going up while domestic energy production has been in a long-term decline. This is due largely to the dependency upon fossil fuels and the diminished supply of domestic fossil fuel resources (oil in particular). To continue down this path means to increase our dependency upon foreign resources, and more than likely, never-ending wars. Would it not be smarter to massively redirect capital towards building a renewable energy infrastructure?
Consider that we can the generate the power we need from green energy sources such as biomass, biodiesel, geothermal, solar, water and wind. These alternative energy sources are things we have all around us, currently underutilized by over 90%. More likely than not, our future may depend upon the harnessing of these renewable resources.
Whether or not the current generation is up to the task remains to be seen. You can get started yourself by visiting http://diygreenhome.org