Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Renewable Energy - What Can I Do?

By Eric Q. Duncan

Renewable energy is not that easy to define. The definition has to be all-encompassing as it is the general term for a whole range of unconventional energy sources. Most experts mean that renewable energy is something that occurs naturally and very widely.

Most renewable energy sources are dependent on nuclear power. This nuclear power comes from the sun. In a huge nuclear reaction, the sun produces energy in the form of light and heat and this reaches the earth as natural sources of energy. The sun is the ultimate source of solar power, wind power, biomass energy and so on. Fossil fuels may be categorized under biomass energy, but are limitedly available and have plenty of disastrous side effects.

The US federal National Renewable Energy Laboratory has a good renewable energy program that researches the latest energy-saving building techniques. Scientists have realized that energy efficiency is the way to go, and this body educates people in this aspect.

They work in synchronization with the big shots of the construction industry, highlight efforts towards building with renewable energy and inform producers as well as consumers about what financial gains they may make from using this form of energy. NREL also cooperates with agencies to set guidelines for buildings and other energy consuming appliances.

Using renewable energy is beneficial for the nature in our polluted world of today. The most important types of this type of energy is wind and solar energy. Bio fuels, geothermal energy and wave or tidal power are becoming more popular, but we have to remember that some of these can potentially harm the earth.

What is the difference between renewable and alternative energy?

Many of us are not aware of the tenuous difference between the two. Renewable energy is basically natural; it is the energy we can use from the sun or wind or waves. Alternative energy, however, includes bio fuels and nuclear energy sources and some of them are not that healthy for us.

The infrastructure of today is made for the use of fossil fuels, even though renewable energy or green energy is way more cost effective. The government has taken very few steps to make any changes and go for renewable sources of energy in a larger scale. With the present situation getting worse day by day, there must be a change pretty soon.

One positive thing about fossil fuels is that we can store the energy we get from them, unlike renewable or green energy sources. Solar power, for instance, is useless in cloudy weather. Unless there is any wind, that source of energy cannot be made use of. This and the fact that initial costs to get energy from these unconventional sources are high, have lent it a definite drawback as compared to traditional sources of energy. - 15437

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