Geothermal Energy

thermal Energy

Geothermal Energy

Global Climate change is an issue in the United States that has become a huge debate in our last decade. We cannot deny that it is happening and that our energy consumption is partly to blame. The burning of fossil fuels emits carbon dioxide into the air which traps greenhouse gases from escaping the atmosphere. Power plants and factories release harmful toxic gases into the air which ultimately affects humans. Our energy use also affects the United States socially and economically. Oil and food prices are linked in a big way. The higher the price of oil, the higher food prices hike in order to keep up with profits (The Oil Drum). Socially, we as Americans do not like change very much and are not very susceptible to it, so adapting to eco-friendly methods of energy use becomes an issue because of this normal flow we have established ourselves in as a society.

The method of energy I selected for a great source of renewable energy is geothermal energy. Geothermal energy is a source of energy collected through heat. Magma deep inside the Earth’s crust heats up rocks and the water deep down heats up and rises and escapes through cracks in the Earth’s crust, the water then forms pools known as geothermal reservoirs (How Geothermal Energy Works). We then tap into those reservoirs through pumps and use the heat as an energy source. It does not have a huge effect on resource consumption because we will always have magma producing these reservoirs inside the earth’s crust. Therefore, it is a plentiful resource. Geothermal fluids, contains arsenic, mercury, lithium, and boron due to underground contact between hot fluids and rocks (Te Ara). This could pollute waterways and make them unsafe for irrigation (Te Ara). It does not impact much of the ecosystem but the process of hydro fracturing could create earthquakes in the area (Geothermal Energy).

The social implications aren’t that huge, the only problem people might have with the...