Sustaining and Improving the Earth’s Energy Resources
A Changing World
Introduction
Mankind has been using Earth’s energy resources in one way or another for thousands of years. But recently, in the advanced society of the present, humans have been taking advantage of Earth’s energy resources. Every day, an average United States resident uses about 29 pounds of worth of coal in electrical energy; that adds up to more than five tons of coal a year. In addition to that, the average United States citizen also uses 500 gallons of gasoline each year. If one person, alone, consumes that enormous amount of energy, imagine how much whole world consumes.
There are many different energy resources, and all have different advantage and disadvantages that add or subtract to its overall effectiveness; factors such as its reliability, its supply, or how much pollution it emits. Some energy resources are not extracted from the earth, but from nature’s elements or recycled materials. These energy resources are called “renewable” energy resources; renewable energy resources consist of wind, hydrokinetics, biomass, hydroelectricity, geothermal, and solar energy. On the other hand, some energy is extracted from the Earth and the supply will run out one day. This is called “non-renewable” energy resources. Non-renewable energy resources consist of fossil fuels (petroleum, coal, natural gas) and uranium (nuclear energy). The amount of pollution released from producing energy is a big concern, but not all of the energy resources emit the same amount of pollution. The alarming fact is, recently, many of the energy resources that emit large amount of pollution are being overused. The depletion of natural resources, in addition to the rapid increase in consumption of these resources, has encouraged many nations to conserve energy. Energy is mankind’s future and together human can protect it by sustaining and improving the Earth’s energy resources.
Fossil Fuels
The United States is the world’s largest consumer of fossil fuels. Coal,
Introduction
Mankind has been using Earth’s energy resources in one way or another for thousands of years. But recently, in the advanced society of the present, humans have been taking advantage of Earth’s energy resources. Every day, an average United States resident uses about 29 pounds of worth of coal in electrical energy; that adds up to more than five tons of coal a year. In addition to that, the average United States citizen also uses 500 gallons of gasoline each year. If one person, alone, consumes that enormous amount of energy, imagine how much whole world consumes.
There are many different energy resources, and all have different advantage and disadvantages that add or subtract to its overall effectiveness; factors such as its reliability, its supply, or how much pollution it emits. Some energy resources are not extracted from the earth, but from nature’s elements or recycled materials. These energy resources are called “renewable” energy resources; renewable energy resources consist of wind, hydrokinetics, biomass, hydroelectricity, geothermal, and solar energy. On the other hand, some energy is extracted from the Earth and the supply will run out one day. This is called “non-renewable” energy resources. Non-renewable energy resources consist of fossil fuels (petroleum, coal, natural gas) and uranium (nuclear energy). The amount of pollution released from producing energy is a big concern, but not all of the energy resources emit the same amount of pollution. The alarming fact is, recently, many of the energy resources that emit large amount of pollution are being overused. The depletion of natural resources, in addition to the rapid increase in consumption of these resources, has encouraged many nations to conserve energy. Energy is mankind’s future and together human can protect it by sustaining and improving the Earth’s energy resources.
Fossil Fuels
The United States is the world’s largest consumer of fossil fuels. Coal,