Previously I have mentioned solar power, its benefits, and how it works. However, I wanted to go into more detail about future energy alternatives in addition to, and in comparison to, solar power. Wind power is one of the most promising alternative sources of energy today. Wind energy is becoming increasingly popular and, according to altenergy.org, if a household used wind generated electricity for 25 percent of it’s needs, that household would only need to spend about $4- $5 per month for that energy. And as time passes and technology progresses, that cost is dropping. Offshore wind has the potential to produce even more energy at a cheaper price than most other energy, because of the speed of offshore wind. Wind is a very promising source of energy for the future because wind is an unlimited resource and wind is somewhat easy to convert into energy. In my opinion, wind is a great option for the future as an alternative to fossil fuel produced energy. Ethanol is another talked about alternative source of energy. This is the conversion of corn and other foodstuff into energy in order to power our lives. However, there is a difficulty converting these resources into energy, and there is a limited supply, unlike sun or wind. While this is a nice idea, I believe that solar power and wind power are much more practical sources of energy for the future. Hydrogen power is another much talked about means of energy production. Hydrogen is a completely clean burning fuel, however, in my opinion, hydrogen is not an efficient form of alternative energy. Hydrogen production on a large scale has proven to be very difficult and it takes much energy to produce this energy source, which sort of defeats the purpose. Again, while this is a nice idea, I do not think that it is a realistic alternative for energy production in the future. While ideas for alternative energy are being though of every day, I believe that solar energy is the future. Although the initial setup has a high cost, as technology improves, this will continue to decrease, and the infinite amount of sunlight can provide our world with the energy we need to continue our hectic and high consuming lifestyles. Solar power is also a sustainable option, not depleting any of the earth’s resources to harm the lives of future generations. I think the most important thing about energy today is to be aware of your energy use. By doing little things everyday, we can significantly cut down on our energy consumption. Whether that is turning off the lights when we leave a room, or riding our bike a few blocks instead of driving, this can make a huge difference. Because our energy seems to be unending, wasting it does not seem like a big deal, but if we keep in mind that energy is not a bottomless resource, and spread awareness of energy consumption, I think that we can make a difference for our future and future generations.
General Blog in Review Post
ReplyDeleteMelinda,
Throughout your blog, you do an excellent job of providing us readers with opposing viewpoints while still managing to use up a small space effectively with a preference of which of the options YOU choose. Thank you for that!
Your first three blog posts remind me just how superfluous everything technology has provided us is after all. From your Semester at Sea, yeah, we really don't need to be connected to everything online (although, like when your phone was taken, we certainly feel like we do). Deleting your Facebook account after graduation is a great idea, and I wonder if I could just stay off it for the summer afterwords, but I think I use it to connect to people I don't otherwise reconnect with, which seems different from your own use. You say it well when you write, "While technology can supplement human interaction, I do not think it can take its place." How often we forget the man behind the curtain, that we are people behind these façades! Again, thank you for your reminder to all of us.
Your posts about power again displayed differing viewpoints. I think SCU is doing a great job leading Universities in green energy with all of our initiatives, especially, as you mention, in solar power. You fail to mention hydroelectric power and nuclear power (I'd be interested to hear what you have to say about those!), but I totally agree with your assessment of solar, wind, hydrogen, and ethanol. Leave oil for the dinosaurs and let's move on already!
Thank you for reminding us just what we don't need (more technology that gets in the way of our relationships), and precisely what we do need (an alternative and renewable energy source)!
Blog Overview
ReplyDeleteI have to say that solar power and wind power generates is technology that must be improved rapidly in order to make it cheaper and more efficient. I think that the wind power generators are not a replacement for fossil fuels, but more like a supplement to reducing our independency of limited resources. People don’t understand that we are driving our Earth into an oven. For over a decade now countries are undermining the issue of global warming and continue to increase their reliance on limited resources.
I find it interesting that even thou you didn’t have internet when you were studying abroad you manage to find a way to remain on the network. Our dependency on the internet and other technologies endanger our ability to continue our lives without them. If you analyze the older generation, they have a different life style, traditions, values, and methods when compared to the modern generation. Greatly it has to do with the fact that the younger generations were born during the technology revolution. Just the same way we are finding ways to reduce our fossil fuel usage; we should become less dependent on our technology.
Overall, all your post are great. I really enjoyed reading them because a lot of time we agreed on similar issues. Your references to personal experiences provide authenticity and value to your reasoning. All of your posts were of great length, not to long that discourages you to read and not too short that encourages you to skip. In order to change our bad habits we must take action, simple post like these can change people’s mind and encourage them to create change.