Energy Resource

Energy Resource Challenges

Three of the renewable energy alternatives presented in the video in the course material where wind power, solar power, and biomass fermentation. First, we have wind power that is using the winds to power anything that can be generated from the giant wind turbines. The second resource described was solar power by the use of solar panels to generate the suns light for power and energy. Last in the video biomass fermentation was described from the left overs of farmers using the grain remains to get an ethanol base liquid to substitute for gas in vehicles. I can think of one resource that was not discussed in the video was the use of water energy through dams and rivers known as hydropower. To channel the water use for energy like electricity or even power to run machines. Some of the challenges of the wind power resource are the cost of the turbines or even the location of them to not interfere with city guidelines of power lines and etc. A well-known challenge of the solar power resource is the cost of the solar panels to own personally, the cost of production to make them, or even the up keep of the equipment. With the last resource of biomass fermentation one major problem could arise is a large drought to farmland. Also you must factor in the cost of the scientist and the labs fermentation process of grains to gas. I think within the next 20 years the United States should exploit coal as a resource. I think the dangers of mining coal, burning coal, or consuming coal is more hazardous to the environment than oil or natural gas will ever be. According to Berg and Hager, “Coal burning generally contributes more of the common air pollutants than burning either oil or natural gas. In the United States, coal-burning electric power plants currently produce one-third of all airborne mercury emissions. Some coal contains sulfur and nitrogen that, when burned, are released into the atmosphere as sulfur oxides (SO2 and SO3) and...