Sociology

With the advent of climate change, the natural processes of the Earth were adversely affected. The melting of polar ice caps is not just a warning but a catalyst for us to make a move to save the only planet that sustains all forms of life. The calamities that struck many areas in the world are messages from Mother Nature telling us to change our ways and be innovative in our daily activities. Much of the damage in our environments are accounted to the widespread use of non-renewable energy sources that gives off unprecedented amount of greenhouse gasses that cause global warming and eventually climate change. Now is the right time to harness natures resources that can be replenished in no time. These environmental-friendly energy sources include wind, solar and biofuels among others.

    On of the most abundant source of alternative energy is wind. Wind is abundant anywhere. The most common type of useful energy out of wind is electricity. Wind energy is generated from wind farms where wind turbines are assembled. Boyle (2003) explained that turbine blades in wind farms enable the turbine to create mechanical energy to run the electrical generators. These electrical generators will then produce electrical power that is being distributed to electric companies and into individual homes of consumers. Wind energy is definitely renewable making wind farms very viable. Wind farms can be constructed near seashores, off-shores or even in the shores where wind is constant in speed. There are many advantages of using wind power as it is a clean power that does not damage the environment. The wind turbines do not also cost a lot and the maintenance of the structures is just minimal. The only disadvantage of wind power is the fact that it creates a lot of noise and wind may not be constant. But further measures to minimize this hazard are being undertaken like putting up wind power structures in areas where people does not usually reside. Other forms of energy are also being used in case wind power is not enough to provide electricity to homes.

    Another alternative and the most abundant source of energy is the sun, hence, solar power. It is the most viable alternative to fossil fuel as it is readily available and can be replenish anytime. Through abundant, solar power still remains untapped. However, there are lots of reasons why solar power has to be mainstreamed as a major source of energy. Solar power is very friendly to the environment as it does not produce any waste materials or pollutants that can harm the atmosphere. It uses natural energy from the sun through the help of solar panels. These solar panels are also recyclable. Despite the fact that solar panels are expensive to manufacture, using it would still prove to be cost effective in the long run.

     According to Hester and Harrison (2003), the cost of manufacturing solar panels is really high but alternative materials are now available to make the production cost less. The use of CIGS instead of silicon has been widely researched. It is very important to make use of the suns power in these times of crisis and disasters given the suns constant energy supply wherever in the world. However, solar power also has its disadvantages. Aside from the costly production of solar panels, solar energy source is also dependent on the weather and can only work when the sun is shinning.  Nevertheless, the suns energy can be used freely thereby making solar power cost effective and sustainable.

    Along with solar and wind power, biofuels or biomass is also of great deal when we talk about alternative energy sources and sustainability. Biofuels are gaining much attention for the production of heat as well as power generation. Biofuels are renewable and clean energy source. It comes from wastes products of animals and humans in their various activities. It can be extracted from wastes caused by dying or decaying woods, wastes from agricultural crops, wastes collected from communities as well as in the industries. Corn is also a major source of biofuel which is the major source of renewable alcohol fuels. Henderson and Ikeda (2005) discussed the importance of biofuels for a sustainable future of energy sources. According to them, aside from the fact that biofuels came from wastes products, it also serves as a mechanism to collect wastes that are often the cause of drainage blockage, flooding, land and water pollution. They added that any source or waste can be used to produce biofuels. These sources can include animal manures, chips of wood, household wastes, seaweeds, corn stalks and other rubbish and wastes. Some sources are even found on rainforests that are hardly noticed and oftentimes taken for granted. The production of biofuels from waste products is very simple. Wastes are gathered and are fed into biomass plants. In the biomass plants, these wastes are burned and the heat created in burning these wastes is used to boil water. The steam produced by the boiling water then rotates the turbines and generators in the plant. The energy created will then be transported back to individual homes and consumers. Another method in producing biofuels is through the creation of a Landfill Gas. The wastes collected will be dumped in a landfill and left to decompose. The decomposing wastes gives off methane gas which are then collected through pipelines and distributed to power plants. All the three alternative sources of energy reduce global warming and help people reduce their wastes. Solar, Wind and Biofuels are great sources of energy that can sustain energy needs for many generations to come.